The Downsides of Being A Youtuber

For the information of those who don’t know yet, I graduated with a college degree in Commerce with a Major in Marketing in the University of Santo Tomas. When people ask me, what’s your job? I hesitate to answer because it’s complicated. I don’t like explaining as well. I say, “Oh, online. I make videos on Youtube.” Of course the next question is, “How does that work?” So then I go on and on explaining as briefly and I can how my “job” works.

This job may seem like heaven for some. I mean, it is also heaven for me as I need not work for any other company anymore and just be my own boss. My time is flexible. I work whenever I want to. And it is my main source of income (among other things like my freelance work, workshops, small businesses) But it’s not always a bed of roses. Let me enumerate the downsides of being a Youtuber (from my point of view)

1. You only get paid at the end of the month—this is not really a huge issue for me because I have other sources of income. Although I wanted to put this on the list. Comparing it to people in the corporate world or basically majority the jobs out there, they get paid every 15th and 30th. With Youtube, you get it at the end of the month.
2. You slack off, you decrease your earnings—yep, that’s right! You need consistency, hard work and perseverance. You work for it. If you don’t, then you don’t get as much.
3. You need to develop a thick shell, or get defeated—I’ve heard hundreds of Monster Boss stories from the corporate world, or perhaps gossiping among co-workers in the office, in Youtube, all those happen as well…in a much harsher level. You have people from all over the corners of the Earth critique you. You either get praise or get bashed.
4. People will always find fault in you—you put yourself out there. Don’t expect everyone to love you to bits. There will always be people who’ll find the littlest thing about you and hate you for it. (i.e. the way you talk, your teeth, your mannerisms, your hands, the way you dress, your grammar…and don’t be surprised, even your lashes may be a ground for you to be hated on!)
5. There will always be people [in the same industry] who’ll hate your guts—if befriending you doesn’t work for them, then they’re left with the much easier option of bringing you down. Just because! You just stay away from these people because if you let them affect you, you allow negative energy to enter. You musn’t. Just imagine, by responding, you ‘take the hands’ of these crabs (people with crab mentality) and in turn, you let yourself get pulled down.
6. You’ll get misinterpreted—the words you say/use in your videos trigger different responses from people; the more people join in a “she said this and that” issue, the more there will be people who’ll be against you and those who’ll agree with you. YOU DON’T NEED TO EXPLAIN. Imagine trying to explain to each and every person who were fed the wrong info about you? DON’T BOTHER!!! The good ones stick around. The rest just pass by.
7. You are expected—to correct yourself, to adjust your attitude to their [viewers/people in the industry] pleasing, to do whatever it is that they ask you to [even as a favor] and when you don’t, you get fried. YOU DON’T NEED TO PLEASE ANYONE. Don’t do things to please them. In some cases, you’ll still be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. By all means follow your OWN heart and your own instinct.
8. You will be scrutinized in every possible way and you can’t talk back/argue—because issues get longer and longer and drag on until God knows when. Sometimes silence is the best option. It can never be misinterpreted. You can never be misquoted if you’re silent.
9. You will ALWAYS be COMPARED to other gurus—she’s better than this and that, she’s fatter, she’s thinner, she speaks better,…and all that stuff. DON’T LET IT AFFECT YOU. What they say don’t define who YOU really are. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. No one else is like you.
10. Some people will go out of their way to create issues which never really existed—yet another turbulence to face. But you can choose not to face it. If it doesn’t have anything to do with you in the first place, why bother? Let them stress over it. The only persons involved are those who made up the stories anyway! All bad things come to an end.
11. Until when will Youtube last?—you need a fall back. You can’t rely on this forever. If MySpace/Friendster died, why won’t Youtube? Just have a fall back. You will never know.

There you have it! Downsides of being a Youtuber in my point of view.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.