Transcription
[Applause] Now, this is a video I've been putting off for quite some time. Um, and you'll understand why shortly. There's been some huge changes in my life, and uh, a lot of people have been asking questions recently to try to work out what's going on. So, this video is to fill you guys in on what is happening.
So, if you're new to this channel, um, my name is Mitch, and I built this channel to help people make better coffee. That was the idea of it. That's why I started doing it. This was never meant to get to the point where it is, where we have a few thousand followers and people that take my word as gospel, although they probably shouldn't. Um, like I said, I just wanted to help people make better coffee using my experience. And along the way, of course, I learned things as well.
Now, if you've been with this channel for a while, you would notice that I've changed the dynamic of this channel completely. I used to post several times a week. Um, it was a lot. Um, and I did really enjoy it, and it was a lot of fun, and we did create some really cool content. However, over the years, we've obviously had some changes which we are going to talk about, and I'm going to explain why a lot of these changes came into play and hopefully help you guys understand why the channel has done what it has.
So, of course, changing from multiple videos a week down to sometimes no videos for three months. There are a lot of reasons for that. Um, number one, we had a baby. Um, if anyone's become a parent, you would fully understand that everything changes. Your life revolves around this tiny little human that you're trying to keep alive. And I'm a very supportive partner. At least I think I am. Which means I need to pull away from things that I was enjoying doing. I did some other things. I stopped riding motorbikes as much. I did a lot of things that I used to do that I don't do as much anymore, and that includes making content.
Now, when that little boy arrived, my life changed all for the better. Um, but it also meant I had to make some changes in my lifestyle. I had to stop making content multiple times a week because I just didn't have time. Um, there's really not enough time in the day to do all of the things and be a dad. And the amount of time my baby was asleep, I couldn't physically make coffee. I couldn't grind things in the—we don't have a giant house, or I don't have a studio that's separate to our house. So, I had to pull back on that stuff just to make sure my baby was asleep.
Now, the second reason is uh kind of in line with the first thing. Uh, when my baby arrived, or not long before my baby arrived, I decided to close my cafe because I knew I wasn't going to be able to be a good dad and run the business. The business was taking a way too much from me as it was. So I closed the cafe. Now that means quite a few things because obviously I'm not in that environment as deep. Now I'm still in the coffee industry, working for a roaster and have my own coffee stuff of course, but it means I'm not completely saturated with the cafe level and the customer environment. So even my own focus has just changed a lot, but I also have a boss now, which means I don't have the luxury of leaving the cafe, getting my staff to run the place while I go and film a video for you guys. Um, so it obviously changed the dynamic there a lot.
Now, the third thing, and this is probably going to come across as very negative, and it's because it is—this is the part of the video that I'm probably going to cop some backlash from, and I'm okay with that. It's honestly fine. This has all been part of the journey for me. But making coffee content, I've learned that people are very sensitive to negative feedback on something that they have either purchased or that they enjoy or just their opinion. Um, people don't want to be wrong. Um, and I get it. I don't like being wrong, but a big part of this channel has been the journey of learning. And that means sometimes admitting when I'm wrong and asking questions because there are people that watch my videos that know more than me. And that's great because it means I'm learning things. Sometimes I will post my opinion on a product. People don't like that. People want to hear that the thing they bought is amazing, and that's it.
I'm going to give you one example, and I don't want to sit on this for too long, but the Weber Uni filter—that portafilter in Australia costs I think 7 or $800 Australian, which in my opinion is absurd. Not only is it too expensive, my experience with it didn't give me what they claimed. Now, Weber claimed that that portafilter made coffee taste better. Number one, taste is subjective. So, it's impossible to say that. Number two, my opinion of the flavor that it created was not better. Which means I told you guys what I don't like about it. Number one, it's too expensive. Number two, it didn't make the coffee taste better for me. That doesn't mean it didn't work for you. Relax. And so many people just lost their—I I wasn't trying to be negative towards the product. When I do a review on anything, whether it's a machine or an accessory or a part or a coffee, I tell you guys what I think because that's all I can do. I can relate potentials. I can say, "Hey, this might do this," if you have this, etc. But I can't deal with that anymore. I'm so over it. It's not worth it for many, many reasons, which we'll touch base on in a minute. But it's it's just not worth it. The amount of keyboard warriors I have just telling me I'm wrong, I'm rude, I'm offensive, I should be sued, it's just ridiculous. I am allowed to tell you guys my opinion. And if you don't agree with it, that's okay. Leave a comment. Let me know your opinion. But you can't tell me that I should enjoy a coffee that I don't enjoy. That's just stupid.
So, I hope that—I know we probably went down a bit of a rabbit hole there, but that's the frustration, and that is the main reason I just don't post content anywhere near as much.
Now, the fourth reason: if you're not aware, I have a second YouTube channel that I started purely for fun. Um, and then it escalated quite quickly. Now, this is the Does Garage channel, which has very little to do with coffee. It's more about bikes and cars and all of the things that I do passively. So, like I said, the family and having a full-time job means my time is compressed into doing things outside of work less often. So, I ride motorbikes regardless. I play with my cars. I've got some projects. I have friends with cars and bikes and just garage stuff in general. That's stuff that I'm going to do regardless. So, I decided to just start filming that, make content because I do enjoy making content. I do enjoy the filming and the editing. I don't enjoy listening to my own voice as much as you might believe. Um, but I'm able to do that stuff passively without having to dedicate time separate to the things that I would do outside of it. And that's what the coffee stuff was doing. So, the garage stuff, like I said, I can do in my spare time with things I would normally do anyway.
Now, of course, the last thing is the financial benefits. If I invest money into something, typically I want a return. That's just being smart with business. This channel was never meant to do that. It was not the goal. But it got to the point where I'm—I was investing a stupid amount of money. So, I'm like, I'm going to click these boxes. After about 2 or 3 years, I was able to apply. Let's go. Let's see if we can make some money and just make—take the pressure off me having to spend my own money because I've spent a lot. Now, we got to the point where we have been monetized, and I think the first month I made about $100, which is not a great deal of money. It probably didn't even pay for the amount of coffee I used making videos in the month. But that's okay. Like I said, it was never the goal to make money. It was purely just made to help people on their coffee journey. But it got to the point now, especially with the family, I have a lot of priorities and I have uh obligations to support my family. And if I'm putting time, effort, and money into something, there better bloody be a good return on it. And there's just not.
So, like I said, that first month I made about $100. So, this month we're on track to make $129. Now, that's not good enough. It's just not worth the amount of time. And obviously, I'm making less content. So, the views are obviously dropping off. I think the peak I ever made in a month directly off Google Ads was about $180. That's not enough. It's ridiculous. It's less than $50 a week. So, the amount of time I'm putting in just really isn't worth it. I'm going to show you guys how much I've made the entire time. I can show you guys right now how much I've made the entire time I've had this channel. And it might seem like a lot, but it's not. So, down the bottom there, $4,188. I don't know about you, but that's not a great deal of money. If you were to add up the amount of hours I have put into filming, editing, buying a camera—the camera is $1,000 on its own. The microphone, there's just so much money spent. It doesn't even come close. Not even close. So, that in itself, I need to look at and just say, "Look, this doesn't deserve my time anymore. It's just giving me negative stuff in the comments. It's not benefiting me in any way.
And I am sorry to a lot of people out there that have enjoyed the content and contributed to the content, whether it be just through sharing with their friends, whether it's, you know, the few people that were a part of the membership program, which I am going to close down soon because I don't feel right taking, even if it's only people paying a dollar a month. I just don't feel right taking money from people with the current content I'm giving cuz it's not worthy of anything. Let's be real.
Now, there will still be content coming through the channel. I'm not stopping. I'm just changing the direction of the channel because it has to change. I will continue to do product reviews on products that people send me for free. They are not paid. So, no one's giving me direct money for them. I am relying on views and Google ads to pay me something. But most of these companies are also letting me keep the product. Most of the time, it's not a product I necessarily want. So, the benefit for me isn't really in the content. It's not really in the product. It's purely just I do enjoy doing this, and I want to do my best to get you guys honest reviews because I know how hard it is to find an honest review.
Now, I do get offered products multiple times a day—the amount of junk that I get offered. And sometimes I want to say yes just to show you how bad some stuff is and so that you believe that I'm not just putting out content for my own benefits. Typically the content I do create is something that I can see it has potential. So I'll ask them to send it to me. I'll give you my honest opinion of it. I'll tell you whether it's worth buying or not. And sometimes they're great, sometimes they're not. But I'm still going to give you my honest opinion of it. And uh, there's been a couple of videos that I've filmed all the way to completion, showed the brand, and asked them, "Do you want me to post this or not?" Because I'm not here to destroy brands. I don't want to do that. There's a lot of people out there trying their best. And sometimes it's simple as they've made a mistake. Um, they've sent the wrong power setting, so I can't use the machine in Australia, and if I try it blows it up. That's not a product review. That's just been a mistake that someone's made.
So, I am going to continue to do those sorts of videos where I've got a roaster right there that I'm going to be playing with. I've done some machines. I've got all that stuff. And there's more of that coming that I will continue to do. But my main focus moving forward when it comes to content will be the Does Garage channel. It's going to be more about bikes and cars and garage stuff and messing around and just doing things that boys enjoy doing. So, if you're interested in that, go and check that channel out. But if you do enjoy seeing this face for some stupid reason, subscribe to that one cuz there'll be more content over there. But thanks so much for watching, guys, and we'll see you later. [Music]