Why it's taken me 4 years to start my YouTube channel

1. My attention was diverted

In November 2017 I started the Motion Hatch Podcast – it was much more work than I anticipated that's probably why only a small percentage of podcasts ever get past 20 episodes. We're two episodes away from our 100th episode, which is an incredible milestone. I can hardly believe that I have achieved it.

The Motion Hatch podcast was met with excitement and enthusiasm from the industry which is what drove me forward – even through those critical first few months, where I worried that no one would listen to it.

I started getting more and more questions around the business side of motion design and it made me realise that providing some downloadable content and guides would be useful for motion designers everywhere.

What I felt was the most helpful would be to make a contract template – a handy resource that would help solve problems freelancers have when working with clients. So I set about creating the Freelance Contract Bundle. This was my first online product. Following that, we started our Mastermind Program, where motion designers learn and grow together in peer groups with their mentors.

I came to a crossroads where I was getting burned out. I was still freelancing full-time at this point. I had been putting out these products and programs and the podcast on a bi-weekly basis for around a year and a half.

It seemed like I had a choice – I had to either quit freelancing and do Motion Hatch full-time or I had to quit Motion Hatch. But by this time Motion Hatch was changing our students' lives.

I was helping people to go freelance and earn more money and the feedback I got was so humbling. I was and still am extremely proud and appreciative of every person who has come through our virtual doors and helped Motion Hatch to become a full-time business.

2. I was building a successful podcast

 It's now around two years since I started Motion Hatch and it's been quite a journey. For a while now, I have really wanted to launch a YouTube channel.

It seemed like the best way to get short actionable videos out there that could really make a positive difference in motion designers' lives. I promised myself that I would get the podcast working well and build a good system around it before we went into YouTube. Setting up a regular channel is quite an undertaking, to say the least.

So I waited…

In the meantime, we launched our course Client Quest helping motion designers to get regular high-paying clients doing work that they love. The course was a huge success and in making it, I had to learn how to get used to being in front of the camera, as I recorded video lessons for each module of the course.

In June 2019 I interviewed Kelsey Brannon AKA Premiere Gal on YouTube. I wanted to know what it was like for Kelsey being a full-time YouTuber and how she managed it.

Kelsey is really someone who I admire in our industry, she puts a lot of hard work and effort into her videos and is an all-around amazing person. However, I didn't make much progress on my plan to officially launch my YouTube channel because having a bi-weekly podcast, two courses and growing the Motion Hatch team was taking up all of my time!

3. I felt like I wasn't ready

I also felt like I wasn't ready yet. I needed to learn more. This is something we tell ourselves all the time. We don't trust ourselves to take action – we always feel like we could be more prepared. I think in general this is a good thing but sometimes the fear of failure stops us from taking any action at all.

My favourite thing these days is an idea I heard from entrepreneur Pat Flynn and it's called “just in time” learning. The idea is that you don't bombard yourself with trying to learn everything you think you need to know instead you learn things “just in time” I actually did this the other day when I created my channel trailer for YouTube. I didn't know what was supposed to be in the trailer but a quick search on YouTube brought up three very informative videos on how to create the trailer. So I watched them and immediately made it. I learnt what I needed to know “just in time”.

I've spent the past year buying many YouTube courses because I wanted it to be the best YouTube channel it could be, so more motion designers could find it and hopefully learn from it. I think I must have spent around £4,000 on courses just for YouTube. To be honest, I haven't even half-finished them. This makes me realise I could have just started to create the videos and learnt as I went along and you would have had the videos and resources sooner.

 4. I thought everything had to be perfect

Finally, the final reason that it's taken me a full four years to launch the channel is perfection! I was adamant that the launch needs to be perfect, the graphics need to be perfect and the content need to be perfect. When in reality, NOTHING is ever perfect and by setting myself up this way it just meant that the channel has been delayed and I'm setting myself up for disappointment.

Another of my favourite quotes is “done is better than perfect”. I feel like many of us fall into this trap of perfection. When really practice and shipping our work is really what will help us to grow and become better. Better but probably not perfect. 100% perfect doesn't exist!

I realise the one thing that has allowed me to release 100 podcast episodes is that I haven't tried to be perfect. Maybe I did in the beginning but after a while, I realised what was important was getting the information out there to help you.

I suppose you're wondering how did I finally manage to get a launch date in the diary. 4 weeks ago on the podcast intro I decided to say that we were launching our channel on Thursday 21st October. This was after we had pushed it back time and time again. I knew I needed accountability and I knew I needed to commit, so by saying it in the public domain I was setting myself a goal I couldn't back down from or delay.

Today I realise the things that are really important is that the information is out there for you and it doesn't need to be perfect!

Here are 4 lessons I learnt from launching the channel:

• If you don't prioritise something it won't get done
• Sometimes “just in time” learning is all you need
• You never feel ready.
• Done is better than perfect.
• Remember your why and always come back to it

Why I started Motion Hatch is to help motion designers grow their careers and build successful businesses and the YouTube channel is the best next way to achieve that mission.

I'd love for you to join me over on YouTube. We'll be releasing videos every week to help you to progress in your career – so far we've covered how to price your work as a freelance motion designer, how to manage your motion design projects and how to earn more money with less effort.