BIG Ideas with Essie Michelle
Every YouTube creator has a starting point. Essie’s began with a simple goal: helping friends through beauty tips. What followed was a journey of turning a passion into a profession by learning to treat content creation like a business. BIG Ideas Creator Catch Up, Essie shares the lessons, tools, and mindset shifts that helped her grow and stay creatively fulfilled.
Q: Let’s start at the beginning—why did you first start creating YouTube videos? What inspired you to hit publish for the first time?
A: To help my friends. When I first started creating content on YouTube in 2013, adsense and monetization were not where it is today and I purely started as a way to share beauty tips with all of my friends at once.
Q: What’s the journey been like since then? Tell us how your channel has evolved along the way to where you are today.
A: Over the years I’ve learned that you have to treat YouTube like a business and not a hobby. Once you treat it like a business, you can earn livable wages by streamlining your production workflows and building proper infrastructures around your content. I wish I knew earlier how to treat it like a business and not just a hobby.
Q: If YouTube were to become everything you hope it could be, what would that look like for you? Paint the picture of success in your own words: what would feel meaningful and fulfilling?
A: If I could get better insight on how to target my ideal audience. YouTube’s algorithm serves my content to people they think would be interested in my content, but if there were a way I could more effectively find them and serve it to them that would be great!
Q: Fill in the blank: “The best ideas come when I’m______”
A: On the treadmill or in bed late at night. I think this is the best time for my ideas to flow because I’m in a moment where I either zone out or turn on a really good podcast. In doing so, it helps me streamline my thoughts and think of great ideas.
Q: How is Spotter Studio supporting that journey? Has anything inside Studio helped you improve your videos or move closer to your goals?
A: Everything! It’s helped me better at envisioning my thumbnail compositions and bringing them to life. It’s also helped me extremely with titles, concepts and storybeats.
BIG Ideas:
1) Q: What book, resource or creator expert have you recommended most to other creators, and why?
A: Save the Cat! Such an amazing screenwriter’s book that makes your scriptwriting stronger.
2) Q: What $100-or-less creator tool or purchase has made a surprising impact on your channel or workflow this year?
A: Capcut Pro for Desktop. I love CapCut because it’s affordable, easy to use and offers copyright free music all in the app. I love that it features text based editing as it makes my editing workflow a lot easier.
3) Q: What’s a “brutal” 10/10 video flop that ended up teaching you something critical during your creative career?
A: The biggest flop video was doing a general vlog. It made me realize that I still have to cultivate a community. Even though I have 230K subs, they’re there for what I’m teaching them and not necessarily just me.
4) Q: If you could put one banner at the top of every creator’s YouTube homepage, what would it say?
A: “Sometimes you have to work for years to be an overnight success”
5) Q: What’s been the most worthwhile investment of time, money, or energy you've made to level up as a creator?
A: My cameras and audio equipment. I invested in a good quality DSLR camera once I earned my first check on YouTube. It made a world of a difference and boosted my confidence. I also invested in good quality mics like the DJI or Rode mic because you can have good visual footage, but if your audio is bad, it will ruin the whole experience. In my early days on YouTube, I forgot to properly set up the mic and I received a comment stating that “everything was great but the audio was terrible.” From that moment on, I knew audio was just as important, if not more important, than camera equipment.
6) Q: What idea, habit, or shift in mindset had the biggest impact on your growth on YouTube?
A: Focusing on myself. It’s crazy how focusing on yourself and drowning out the noise can help you produce amazing work. Once I started focusing truly on myself, my videos performed better.
7) Q: What’s the BEST advice you'd give to a smart, serious creator just starting to post consistently? What’s the WORST advice they should ignore?
A: BEST: Treat it like it’s a business. Be serious from day 1. Don’t look at YouTube as just a hobby and be consistent. Consistency isn’t just about how often you post. It’s about showing up with the same formats, topics, video length, and storytelling structure. This builds trust. From day one, your audience should know exactly what to expect from your channel and that predictability is what keeps them coming back.
WORST: Continue doing things how you’ve been doing them. There’s always opportunity for growth, changes and improvements.
8) Q: What’s one idea you’re still wrestling with—something you’d love to unpack more with the help of the Spotter Studio Community?
A: How do I best blend all of the different content styles I’m interested in: Investigative Journalism, Exploratory, Cinematic.
9) Q: What idea are you most excited to create next?
A: Traveling the world and taking my audience with me. This makes me the most excited because I love traveling and showing how unique other cultures are. I think it’s a true gift to be able to travel, and I would love to bring my audience with me.
10) Q: If you had a million dollars to make your dream video, what would it be?
A: 48 Hours In The World’s Most Expensive & Largest House. I love luxury and I love being fully immersed in it. But here’s the thing: just because something’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s actually worth it. Money doesn’t buy class, and I want to be the judge of that. Imagine exploring the most over-the-top homes and breaking down whether their features live up to the price tag. Because luxury should impress but it should also make sense.
Final Note
From investing in better gear to developing strong creative habits, Essie continues to evolve with intention. Her story is a reminder that growth comes from consistency, community, and a willingness to adapt. With clarity around her creative direction and a drive to keep improving, she is focused on reaching new audiences, exploring bold formats, and making videos that genuinely connect with her audience.
Subscribe to her channel to follow her journey!
