Legit Side Hustle Interviews: Meet Faith

Welcome to the third installment of our Legit Side Hustle Interviews! If you’re new here, this special series on my blog is where I interview women who are crushing it with their side hustle. My criteria for everyone was women who have started their own legit side hustle earning at least an average $200 profit per month and working less than 10 hours per week. Enjoy! 

In today’s interview, you’ll learn about Faith Farris and her side hustle as a lifestyle YouTuber. If you have ever thought about starting a YouTube channel, you’ll definitely want to pay attention to today’s special blog post.  

Editorial note: some responses have been edited for readability and storytelling. These interviews are not clients of New Morning Coaching, unless noted. 

What do you do?

​I do a lot of things for a side hustle but one of my more "fun" ones is making YouTube videos! I mostly make videos about travel, my life as a mom and virtual assistant, and sometimes film reviews about products. My channel is called Traveling with Faith.

​How did you get started?

​I've been on YouTube basically since it started! The first videos I posted were from concerts. I remember filming with my handheld digital camera and then posting. I've had a lot of channels since then, including a movie review channel, a channel about my Christian faith, and a channel where I used to post music. I've always loved film and even have a degree in filmmaking! So it was only natural for me to be endeared by the platform since it is video based.

What made you want to do this?

​I love making videos! I've always wanted to make videos since I was a child. It wasn't until college though that I realized I could one day make money through YouTube. I always figured I'd just work in Hollywood. But moving to California is expensive! YouTube is great because it's accessible no matter where you are as long as you have the Internet. In college, I got serious about content creation, writing scripts for my videos. When I moved to South Korea to teach English, I then changed my channel to be more about traveling. I noticed that people in the U.S.A. were interested in what it was like living in a different country. That really "launched" my channel in a different way.

Christine: I love this! I’m always telling my clients when it comes to starting on Social Media (YouTube is just one option) to start with the platform that has the format you’re most excited about or feel most drawn to. In Faith’s case, she already loved video so it made sense for her to start with YouTube! 

​What do you like about doing this?

​I love that no matter what my life is like, I can always film it! Like I said earlier, I've had a lot of different channels out there. I know that it's important to niche down, but I don't feel like I want to! One thing I like about vlogging is that my audience can go with me wherever I go. As I change careers, geographical location, and interests, they can "travel" with me. YouTube, for me, is basically a video diary. I look forward to the day when I'm old and gray, and will be able to show my grandkids what my life was like when I was in my 20's. I look forward to sharing with them my travels and other aspects of my personal life. It's awesome because no other generation has been able to do this on such a mass scale. 

Christine: Niching down can help propel your business forward, but oftentimes people make the mistake of niching down too soon. When you’re just starting out, you have to throw a bunch of content at the internet “wall” and see what sticks before choosing to niche down. This is what Faith has done. She’s tried a bunch of different types of content and different channels and is now finding her groove with her audience. Also since YouTube is very much a search-based platform, people can still find your content even if you posted it slightly outside your normal wheelhouse. 

​How did you come up with the idea?

I heard about YouTube back in 2007. Someone mentioned it to me as a place to upload videos. Back then, it was really not at all what it's like today. You could mostly find videos about concerts and music. I went to a lot of concerts back then so I decided to start uploading. From then on, YouTube as a platform really grew. I started subscribing to vloggers and decided to start vlogging my own life. It was so embarrassing back then though so I really shied away and didn't post often. I definitely didn't share it with friends. Now, it's just standard that someone might be filming content for the Internet, but back then it felt like something uncommon.

What were your start up costs?

​I used what I had, which was an $80 camera I got for my birthday and my parent's computer. I also had basic editing software on the computer that was free. But when I first started, I uploaded to the platform directly without editing. You can get started with YouTube with just your phone now! I use my phone regularly to film videos. You can even edit on your phone. Getting started does NOT have to be expensive. While I do have some expensive equipment, I rarely film with it. The most expensive part of my costs is my computer, which is a Macbook. But any computer will work.

How much time do you put into this per month?

​It depends on the video. If it's a video about traveling, we (my husband and I) film those whenever we travel. As you can imagine, filming takes a while because we vlog the entire trip. Editing and writing a script for that may take 2-3 hrs. Other videos where I do a review or just vlog about something in my life take about 2-3 hrs per video. I aim for 3 videos per month. So maybe 6-10 hrs per month, depending on the type of video?

​How much PROFIT do you earn per month?

​Right now, I'm averaging about $200-$250 per month.

​What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone thinking of starting a side hustle?

​Just keep at it and stay in your lane. Starting any type of business is hard and takes time! It's so easy to compare yourself to others in business and feel like a failure when they become overnight sensations when you've been at it for years. But remember that there is really room for everyone. Your people are not their people and vice versa. You can speak to someone just by staying in your lane and focusing on YOUR brand. Stay in it!

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Great parting words, Faith! Thank you so much for sharing your side hustle with us! If you would like to see Faith’s YouTube channel, you can check it out here.

​Be sure to subscribe to our email list so you can get updates for all the interviews! Wondering what makes a side hustle legit? Read our article. 

Check out our previous Legit Side Hustle Interviews:
Anna earns an extra $500 upcycling leather scraps! 
Kathy turned her love of travel into an $8,000 side hustle! 

​Hey! I’m Christine. I’m a small business coach who helps women who are new to business turn their passion into profit. Your first coaching call with me is completely free, and it’s not a sales pitch. Let me help you sift through the mental clutter and come up with a plan that’ll help you turn your passion into a profitable business.

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