It was just another Monday morning at YouTube's Los Angeles offices.
For most employees, that meant strolling to work, grabbing a free breakfast, and catching up on emails. But for one employee, Alex Costa, it was a day he'll never forget.
That was the day he quit his six-figure paying job and took the biggest risk of his life.
Alex called a meeting with his boss to break the news.
“So what's next?” my boss asked, still in shock.
“I'm going to be a YouTuber,” Alex replied.
You have to understand the absurdity and audacity of Alex's decision to quit. Quitting YouTube to become a YouTuber is like working in an NBA office and believing you can play like LeBron James. Sure, you've been watching the game for years. But… actually play?
Photo by Alex Costa
It is also What makes Alex's story so unique is that by day, he was a Partner Manager helping top YouTube creators grow on the platform. By night, he was trying to grow on the platform himself. To further illustrate, by day, he was mentoring LeBron on YouTube. meanwhile I train with them at night.
In other words, Alex's decision to quit wasn't impulsive, but was something he'd been planning for years.
“I'd helped so many people grow through social media that I started to think, 'Why can't I do it too?'” Alex recalls.
He tried everything from blogging to gaming videos to make his channel a success.Tips to grow hair faster for men” He said his YouTube and Instagram following began to skyrocket.
“At first I couldn't believe it, but now it makes a lot of sense. It's embarrassing for men to ask other men about fashion or hair products, but online they can be themselves. They can watch my channel and learn without prejudice,” Alex says.
But finding his niche wasn't enough. Alex worked long hours and built up his subscriber base to 650,000 on YouTube and 120,000 followers on Instagram before finally quitting his day job. Alex spent several hours scripting each video, an hour filming it, six hours editing it, and another hour uploading and promoting it.
“I was going crazy. I couldn't sleep,” he recalled. “It strained my relationships with exes, friends and family. It affected everything. Most people don't realize how much work it takes to make a video.”
Many people, including Alex's family, wondered not only why he was working two jobs, but also why he left a more stable career. After all, working at YouTube is a dream job: it comes with great benefits, you work with amazing people, and you get to attend exclusive events like YouTube's Creator Summit, where Alex met Will Smith in 2017.
Initially, working at YouTube was just a dream for Alex. Born in Brazil and barely speaking English until he was 14, Alex has come a long way. But sometimes you need to wake up from your dreams. Or rather, dream up a new one. Ironically, Alex's new dream came true by replacing sleep with filming.
“I kept thinking, what if I look back in 10 years and I didn't take this risk? It would kill me. I couldn't live with that regret,” he said.
14 months after quitting his job at YouTube, Alex's risk has already paid off. His YouTube channel now has 1.7 million followers and he's making more than four times what he made at Google. He's worked with top brands like Ferrari, Nike and Mastercard, and he's signed with United Talent Agency. Recently, Alex has also started his own grooming line, which is set to debut this summer. But most importantly, he's built a community where millions of fans look to him as a big brother who's always available to give advice on fashion, fitness and more.
Alex's story shows us that the biggest successes don't happen overnight, but over time. In fact, Alex's success is similar to that of many other entrepreneurs and artists. For example, Grammy Award winner John Legend worked at the Boston Consulting Group while recording his albums. Many people forget that he created PowerPoint presentations during the day and performed concerts at night. The same can be said for self-made billionaire Sarah Blakey. She sold fax machines during the day and spent her evenings and weekends building and marketing the prototype for Spanx, which is now valued at over $1 billion.
Interestingly, a study by Professors Joseph Laffey and Ji Feng found that entrepreneurs who keep their day jobs are 33% less likely to fail than those who quit their jobs. Why? Because entrepreneurs who keep their day jobs are more likely to test out side ideas before finding one worth pursuing, like Alex did with his video idea. However, those who start on a whim are much less likely to succeed.
What Alex, John, and Sarah teach us is that we can't just live our 9-to-5 lives. Instead, ask yourself: What are you doing between 5 and 9? Find your passion and work towards it, just like Alex did with video, John did with music, and Sarah did with Spanx. You don't have to do it all at once, but it's better than nothing. Just try things. Make videos, record music, create prototypes. Maybe you'll be the LeBron of your industry.
For more stories and photos, follow me on Instagram @Youshaei, I'd love to connect!
