Event Recap: New Year, New You

Written by Sharon Lee, Stacy Sun, Jessica Lian on Sunday, 06 February 2022. Posted in Event Recap

On January 15th, 2022, Girls For Business hosted our first event of the new year, ‘New Year, New You’. This event featured two panelists, Tatiana Marie and Michelle, who shared their experiences in lifestyle content creation and business.

Tatiana Marie (Instagram @tatianammarie; Youtube @Tatiana Marie) is the creator of Self C Apparel and focuses on positivity and self-care. She has worked with brands including JCPenny, Daniel Wellington, CVS, and Barnes & Nobles Education. She is a graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in computer science and is now a lifestyle content creator with an audience of over 68k.

Michelle (Instagram @mishujo; Youtube @Mishujo) is a third-year psychobiology student at UCLA. She started her Youtube channel during quarantine and grew an audience of over 50k. Her content focuses on college, studying, and romanticizing daily life.

Q&A

Question: How did you start Youtube and what did you use to edit your videos?

Michelle explains that she started posting videos on her Youtube channel during quarantine, around August after we had been let out of school. She always knew she wanted to do Youtube; she actually started making videos in high school but felt too embarrassed to continue. However, during the beginning of COVID with no job and not being that busy with school, she decided to start up again. As for editing tools, she uses free apps like iMovie and ILL.

Similarly to Michelle, Tatiana started her channel over quarantine during May and June. She says that she had always wanted to do Youtube too, but she was not allowed to; in her household, social media was frowned upon due to its potentially damaging nature. However, now that she has grown up and graduated, she can pursue her passion and share content about college life and give advice to her viewers. For editing, Tatiana had minored in digital arts and sciences in college where she learned about Adobe products; she now edits with Adobe Premiere Pro.

Question: How do you manage your workload?

Tatiana talks about how important it is to keep a healthy mind. In the beginning stages of starting a business, she felt that she did not have a healthy mindset; thus, she spent a lot of time refocusing her time around what she loved to help her maintain a positive mental space. Now, with a much busier workload, Tatiana keeps a list of the top three tasks she needs to accomplish each day, with the number one task being what she was least looking forward to. This method helps to overcome the mental barrier people often face when trying to accomplish the “harder” tasks. 

Michelle says she uses a to-do list as well; every night, she writes down what she needs to do the next day along with when she needs to accomplish the task. She also creates a rough schedule for herself and notes how important it is to remember to finish up and move on when the time you allotted for a specific assignment is over.

Question: What are the hardest aspects of content creation?

Michelle mentions how important it is to not get caught up in numbers. She notes how ranking videos on Youtube often gets to her head, but she has learned to put videos out there for herself and not for the approval of others. Overall, making videos that she was satisfied with helped her create a better community for her channel.

Meanwhile, Tatiana explains that she not only has to worry about showing up and consistently producing content, but also making sure her content is enjoyable and good enough to post. She feels that she always has to look her best when she posts online and creates content in public.  

Question: What are some of the greatest lessons you have learned from content creation?

Tatiana explains that she used to be someone who felt uncomfortable with spending money; however, she has learned that in order to progress in her content creation and save time, she needs to invest in people who have already achieved what she is looking for. In general, she has learned that she needs to learn from the best, spend money on what she determines is valuable, and remember to not create videos just for the money but because she truly has a passion for it.

A lesson Michelle has learned is that she can do anything once she puts her mind to it. When she started Youtube, she did not know how to make thumbnails or monetize videos. However, with practice, she has learned that making mistakes has allowed her to learn and create her best content. 

Question: How do you balance work/school with content creation?

Tatiana mentions that there are a lot of aspects that go into play and it all ties back to mindset. Not every week is going to be a good week, and it is important to find each person’s individual balance that works best for them. She also emphasizes that it is important to reward yourself; she recommends incorporating hobbies and extracurriculars into your schedule, along with having a social life and even going out and doing productive things with friends.

Michelle explains that ‘balance’ is hard to define and often means different things for different people. For her personally, she has been valuing her sleep and makes sure she has an adequate amount of rest each night. However, she says she is still in the process of learning what balance means to her. Especially since she has been going back to school, she recognizes that it has been hard to incorporate her Youtube and social media into her personal life and responsibilities. She has learned to make sure to put her full effort into every task, as half-efforts will never accomplish anything.

Question: What is a typical day in your life?

Michelle explains that since she is still at home, she wakes up, makes brunch, and goes to class. After class, she will do homework and edit. Since most of her time is taken up by school, she has a pretty set schedule everyday.  

Tatiana mentions that her daily routine that she set for herself did not happen overnight, but happened as a product of multiple trials and failures. Typically, she tries to wake up at 8 am, then meditates for 5-10 minutes and does a gratitude statement. After eating breakfast, she makes her to-do list and sets three main goals to tackle throughout the day. Tasks she sets for herself usually consist of creating content, personal development courses, designing, pitching herself to brands, and more. Her tasks vary day by day so she never has a dull moment. Weekdays tend to be rather long for her, so depending on the day she could work up until 6 or 10 PM. After work, she exercises and takes accountability calls with her friends to see what has been working out and what needs to be changed. She tries to be in bed by 11 or 12.

Question: Are there any business fields or business majors that you can go into if you are interested in entertainment and content creation?

Tatiana thinks that there are a lot of fields to go into to pursue entertainment and content creation. For business entertainment specifically, one could take the traditional business major route through majors like marketing, accounting, management. There are also more out-of-the-box fields like sports management, travel and hospitality, and event planning that intersect well with entertainment. She does note that the entertainment industry is hard to break into, and more often than not you can be overworked and underpaid. To remedy this, she suggests getting an internship or making connections, since entertainment is more about who you know than what you know. However, having a business in entertainment is different and all comes down to your motivation and creativity.

Michelle explains that there is no specific field that you need to go into to start a business. When starting out, she mentions that you can apply to jobs where people with platforms are looking for social media managers or thumbnail creators. These jobs give you a good idea of what the industry is like and allows you to ask any questions you have. As for Michelle, she majors in psychobiology so she does not have much knowledge about business as a major. However, she emphasizes that anyone with the motivation and mindset can get started and thrive in business.

Question: What resources did you use throughout your journey?

Michelle mentions that she gathers creativity and inspiration from other creators’ content on Youtube. She even reaches out to creators to ask questions. She notes how it is important to ask others with similar platforms and interests for advice and to reciprocate in kind.

Tatiana recognizes that the resources you use depend on the kind of business you want to go into, whether it be corporate, a small business, or your own business. She agrees with Michelle in that there is a wealth of information online. She also mentions using University alum networks and investing in people you think will get results with.

Question: Since you are both on the lifestyle side, do you have any tips to stay organized?

Tatiana reveals that her biggest tip to staying organized is writing everything down as trying to keep everything in her head would make her crazy. She cited the importance of deadlines in order to set goals, but also emphasizes that you should not beat yourself up if you may not be able to make a deadline. Tatiana also likes to do small tasks right away, like making her bed or doing the laundry, so she starts off the day on a strong foot and does not waste her energy constantly worrying about small tasks.

Meanwhile, Michelle touches on her journey with organization tools. When she first became a content creator, she used bullet journals. She soon switched to online planning since bullet journals were more time consuming. She explains that online planning was easier to modify and use, and she could add whatever she wanted whenever she pleased. On a day-to-day basis, however, she uses pen and paper and checks tasks off as she completes them.

Question: How do you stay motivated and limit screen time?

To limit screen time, Michelle reads, takes walks, and consciously tells herself to stop scrolling on her phone. She even downloads apps that help her minimize screen time. Michelle explains that it is more of a matter of disciplining her mind and not necessarily motivation. She often draws motivation by seeing other people disciplined with their screen time as well.

Tatiana sets rules for herself regarding social media; she stays off social media until she has at least had breakfast, along with turning off notifications from apps like Instagram so the urge to go on her phone decreases. She also aims to “create more than she consumes,” and focuses on production quality and other aspects of her job in order to keep on improving herself. As for staying motivated, Tatiana agrees with Michelle, stating that motivation ties back to discipline. However, she stresses the importance of taking breaks and prioritizing mental health, and in general figuring out what you personally need to keep on going.

Question: What were some major challenges and obstacles along the way of your journey as a content creator?

Tatiana explains that she never knew what she wanted to do when she was younger and had to figure it out with time. She did not know any career options outside of the traditional ones presented to her. However, once she went to college, she came to realize the many paths open to her. Tatiana explains that the hardest part was getting over the judgment and expectations others may have set for you. She says you have to realize that you are still learning, and though imposter syndrome may never go away, strength of mind will keep you going. She advises everyone to stay strong and focus on your mindset and positivity because “if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else really will.”

Michelle expresses her fear of posting when she first started Youtube. She also talks about how in content creation, there is often no goal or level of satisfaction that you can reach, and the hunger for more will keep on growing. Thus, she concludes that you cannot compare yourself to anyone else because all people are different, and you should take the good and hard times in stride since life goes in waves.

Question: What are some self care tips?

For the past week, Tatiana explains that she felt drained. To remedy this feeling, she went on walks to experience a change in scenery, drank tea, meditated, read books, and hung out with friends. In general, she explains that too much routine may be bad at times, so she recommends breaking up your routine with things that make yourself feel better to help long-term motivation. 

Michelle touches on her love for watching anime and reading manga. She also talks about her new goal of going to the gym, which she said was both intimidating and scary at first but a good hobby for her to start.

Question for Tatiana: Did you find switching your focus from computer science to more creative fields difficult?

Tatiana explains that her shift did not happen overnight. She graduated with a degree in computer science but then left any kind of future in it after declining a job at Microsoft. Then, she went home without a plan but contemplated starting a few different kinds of business in Amazon FDA as well as art commissions. Soon after, Tatiana realized that doing art commissions might burn her out; she realized that she could not enjoy what she was doing for the rest of her life. She emphasized that finding something creative that you can enjoy without the work taking away your love of the hobby is important and is why she can enjoy doing what she does all the time.

Question: How can you stay positive under a lot of stress?

Going back to college, Michelle explains, made it difficult to keep a healthy mindset due to the competitive nature. However, she eventually realized that she needs to do things one step at a time and think of the bigger picture; she asks herself questions like 'What is the worst thing that could happen?’ and realizes that her anxieties are not a big deal in the long run and just a small portion of your life.

Tatiana talks about a rewards system she has put in place for herself – for example, after finishing a page of work, she can take a sip of coffee or go online. Overall, she says that breaking up work into small goals can help keep up the positivity. If she ever feels overwhelmed, she lets the emotions out rather than suppressing them.

 

Through this Q&A event, we were able to learn more about the business and behind-the-scenes of content creation, along with tips to keep a healthy and happy lifestyle for the new year!

About the Author

Sharon Lee

Sharon Lee

Sharon is a Business Education Writer at Girls For Business.

Stacy Sun

Stacy Sun

Stacy is a Business Education Writer at Girls For Business.

Jessica Lian

Jessica Lian

Jessica is the Editor in Chief leading the Business Analytics Writing Team at Girls For Business.

Leave a comment

Please login to leave a comment.

© 2025 Girls For Business. All Rights Reserved.