In June of 2022, I branched off within my coaching company to do an intensive focus group on becoming confident on camera. Before this point, every time I’d think about turning on the video setting of my phone, I’d get into my head about everything that could possibly go wrong, and I’d tell myself I’d do it next week.
When I forced myself to be held accountable and stopped procrastinating, I found that what everyone tells you about video is absolutely true: You are going to be awkward at first. The first videos will be bad. You will someday look back on your first videos and laugh at yourself. But most importantly, you have to start doing the dang videos to get this part out of the way.
Being awkward and nervous in your first few months of videos is kind of normal. I’ve met a few people who chose to keep these videos private and didn’t start their YouTube channel or their Live video schedule until they were feeling better about the content. I chose the opposite option: Just start getting content out there! Start the weekly posts to get into a groove. Make that weekly consistency part of your new expectations so your channel starts to gain a little traction. Without any followers (or very few at first), the awkward content isn’t exactly reaching too many people, but maybe by the time you DO gain a following, your videos will be much more polished and professional.
I’ve been publishing at least one video to my YouTube Channel now every week since June. They’re not all winners. I’m still working on my presence, my messaging and figuring out proper camera settings and placement. It’s a work in progress, but I’m also now looking for some better ways to get my personality across to my community.
Believe it or not, I have the ability to be kind of funny. I have a dry sense of humor that is speckled with sarcasm, movie quotes and a decent dose of swearing. I also have the tendency to get extremely enthusiastic about a hot topic of discussion, waving my hands all over the place and making stupid faces that give away every emotion I’m genuinely feeling. My personality can be big with the people I know best, but my shy self is showing up on video. Someday that will change and my personality will come through in a variety of ways. But for now, I’m looking toward a new format that will allow me to bridge the gap.
By the end of Q1 2023, I have plans to launch “The Business of Apparel Podcast.” I’ll be recording the very first interview episode this Thursday, and it is with a very good friend of mine. Where I’ve struggled to bring out my personality as a solo video subject, I am hoping that this new format will allow me to come out of my shell a little bit more. Going back and forth with a friend, talking through current industry topics and issues should not only bring relevance and interesting opinions to the audience, but I hope you all get a chance to know me a little bit more, too!
Keep an eye out for the launch announcements this year. I hope you’ll tune in and join us through comments and suggestions as it progresses.