Marketing Strategist and Creator, Latasha James
Latasha James’ superpower is helping freelancers build profitable businesses. She does that through a number of mediums like hosting The Freelance Friday Podcast, online courses, YouTube videos, coaching and facilitating mastermind groups. Helping others start and scale their businesses is what she’s most proud of.
“One program in particular that I facilitate is called the Social Media Management Accelerator. It’s a cohort based course and my goal was to model it like a college classroom. It’s pretty intense but the students find a lot of value in it. It’s where we see the highest completion rates and a trove of success stories as a result.”
Latasha is a content creation machine. She’s built a massive YouTube audience with nearly 7 million video views and she publishes multiple videos per week.
During our interview, Latasha stated that 90% of her website traffic is referred through YouTube. That’s actually how I discovered her work when I watched her video about everything you need to start a video podcast. Her authenticity and level of detail in her videos make them entertaining and educational to watch. Every time I view her work I know I’m going to learn something new.
Latasha’s YouTube video: How I’d Start a YouTube Channel in 2023:
I wanted to know how she makes it look so effortless. And what’s preventing people to tap into their creativity to publish their work online?
“I used to think it was having enough time. But most people say they’re afraid to publish content because of what their friends might think or that they’ll say the wrong thing.”
Latasha said that the creators in her circle aren’t thinking about that at all. In fact, quite the opposite.
“Not that they don’t have bad days, but they’re just looking at the positives. They see the long-term vision and they’re not worrying about the day to day insecurities.”
One of the reasons Latasha has hit her creative stride is because she’s had a lot of reps. She’s been publishing content since 2008. Back then, the videos were on different topics like vlogging her life and reviewing makeup. But what I noticed over time was the growth of Latasha finding her own voice and the contrast of production quality improving ten-fold.
“You just have to dive in. Your first anything is going to be bad, just keep that in mind.”
She may have gotten her work ethic and discipline from her father who had a military background. While her family always had a roof over their heads, Latasha remembered that growing up they just had the means to get by.
“I feel like it really is so much of my entrepreneurship story. At the end of the day, I know how to survive and to make something out of nothing. That’s helped take some of the fear out of entrepreneurship because when I really sat down and thought about it, I thought — what's the worst that could happen?”
For Latasha, the shutdown may have provided the needed clarity to help her navigate her business.
“I doubled down. I created a course on how to use video to create digital content and another titled the Social Media Management Toolbox which went on to become my best-selling product. I used that downtime to create things I’ve been meaning to do or that my audience had been asking about — and that really outpaced everything else.”
She also had the foresight to understand that others were working from home with the uncertainty of losing their jobs. Many had extra time because they weren’t commuting to an office anymore.
“It was the opportunity for many of those people to start a business. They started viewing my videos and courses, and that’s really when things began to grow.”
A rule of thumb that has helped her become more intentional about what she creates is a lesson from her mentor.
“He said, ‘Before you press publish on any blog post, ask yourself how it’s helping someone?’ That little reframe completely changed the way I create content.’’
Part of living intentionally for Latasha means to make sure she starts off her day right which includes making sure she eats breakfast and spends some time with her husband before the workday begins.
“That also means eliminating screens as much as I can in the morning. Being mindful not to immediately scroll through email or social media upon waking. I also try my best to abide by the no phone in bed rule.”
Ironically, much of her work revolves around social media — but she’s also trying to cut down on her usage. She’s curated Twitter lists to view specific content and she tries to remember to only look at social media when she feels happy.
“If I’m already feeling down or if it’s late at night, that’s when those negative emotions bubble to the surface. If I’m going to scroll I try to keep it to the weekends.”
I explained to Latasha that one of areas I’m trying to be more intentional about is learning from my own setbacks. When I asked her about a failure of hers that she’s learned from — half jokingly, she said she’s been mulling about created a video where she would reflect on several of them.
I think that’s what's so special about being a creator — you feel the rollercoaster of emotions from fulfillment to failure and nobody tells you how hard it truly is. When your work is on public display, you can actually see the growth from the past to the present. When Latasha shared invaluable career advice it reminded me of the Tony Horton quote about doing your best and not attaching yourself to the outcome.
“My favorite boss to say ‘Be the best you can be.’ Sometimes we think of the long-game, especially when we’re young. Whatever your ultimate career goal is, you will get there, but you have to put those building blocks in place and nurture the stepping stones along the way. I now understand that all of my life and career experiences have brought me to this point.”
—
Click here to listen to the full interview with Latasha James
