hey everyone it's Richard. You're watching the Plain Bagel. A bit of a different video today. I had a gap in my scheduling, and I'm just getting over a cold. So, I figured I'll fill the space with a bit of an easier kind of one-off type video. If there's no interest in it, no worries. We'll see you in two weeks' time. But I want to touch on a topic that often comes up around the channel and that was sort of recently relevant because in June I went to my first event as a YouTuber. I've gone to a lot of fin events and conferences for my day job, but this was kind of the first thing I've ever gone to because I have the YouTube Plain Bagel Channel. It might sound shocking given the size of the channel, but I just admittedly haven't made much of an effort to get out of the house, and there's not a whole lot of stuff nearby in Canada. But recently, I was invited to

a social event hosted by Blossom, which is an investing social media app, in Toronto. And there were going to be a bunch of Canadian Finance creators, as well as some US creators attending. So, I decided to make the trip down and go to my first event as an ambassador of the channel. And it was a really fun event. I got to speak to a bunch of other creators in the space, meet some viewers in person, and I didn't get any nice photos, but I'll throw up whatever I have. And while I was there, I spoke to Adrian from Canadian in a T-shirt, who runs a solid Canadian-focused personal finance channel here on YouTube, and also a really nice guy in person. And he asked me why I still have a full-time job, and I gave him an answer. But I figured I would make a video out of it because it's something that does often come up given the size of the channel. So, thanks, Adrian, for the easy video topic. Now, for those unfamiliar in

addition to YouTube, I actually work full-time as a registered portfolio manager in Ontario. For a local Ottawa money manager, where I do both portfolio management and investment research. And for the past seven years, while working at this company, I've been sustaining the YouTube channel on basically lunch breaks, lunch breaks, some late evenings when I need to, and the occasional weekend. And because of how much the channel is growing, I'm at a point where if I wanted to, I could do this full-time. It's a really privileged position to be in, and I could even maybe make more money than I currently do if I were to, say, pump out more videos or just go full Finance personality MK this for everything it's worth and sell an ebook or something. But there are a few reasons why I haven't yet done so. And outside of just generally sharing the information, I'd be genuinely interested in people's opinion on this, because I have my own perception of things and these points. But I'd be

curious, especially if you were a longtime viewer or someone who watches a lot of other finance content, what your thoughts on these points are. So today we're going to go over the four top reasons Richard still has a boss. Now, the first point here is going to sound really cheesy, I acknowledge that, but I actually like my day job. I am a big finance nerd. The reason I started doing the channel, in part, was because I wanted to do more and speak more about finance beyond what I was already doing in a full-time finance job. So, I have a job that lets me work in an area that I'm passionate about. I do both company research on the analysis side, as well as client-facing portfolio management. I know a lot of people don't look at the finance industry fondly, but I get a lot of fulfillment out of helping people with their finances and sitting down and sorting things out. And I would hope that the channel does help with that to an extent, especially given the broad reach. But there's something more.

tangible about working with someone individually, and it's not really something I'd want to do outside of the professional capacity for reasons I've kind of touched on before. I recognize that I have a really unique opportunity with YouTube, but I also have a pretty rare type of job in the finance space. Not only is it, again, a sort of hybrid position where I get to do research in addition to working with clients, but the employer has been incredibly respectful and helpful with the channel, very supportive, good work-life balance. I also have the opportunity to even do YouTube alongside this. One of the reasons we don't have a lot of professionals on YouTube posting videos is that a lot of companies just won't let their employees do so because of the liability risk of having this side operation. So, given all that, I'm not really keen to give that up so easily. So, that's the first point is I like my day job, and I have a pretty

rare type of job in the space. Uh, the second point is that I don't know that I want to post any more content than I already do. I don't know if I would want this to be my main job. It's hard to say without uh trying it and knowing what the experience is like, but posting one video every two weeks really feels like about as much as I care to make. And really the only reason I've been able to do YouTube in addition to a full-time job is because I've always kind of weirdly treated it as a hobby. I've always really enjoyed doing video editing, um, and in University I had a teaching role, uh, which showed me that I really enjoyed doing that kind of stuff. So I really enjoyed making content for YouTube. Yes, I spend a lot of my free time, uh, making videos, uh, but I enjoy the process so it doesn't feel like work. If I were to do it full-time, however, I think it would be a lot more draining. I don't know if I have it in me to be a

full-time Creator. Even in the space of Finance, now am I open to doing more YouTube stuff and events. Of course, would I box Patrick Bole at the next Creator Clash. Absolutely. But Creator burnout is real, and I know this is finance. We're not making the most artsy productions out here, but I'm very fortunate where if I don't have the energy to make a video or discuss a given topic, I don't have to. And I have a really good balance with my full-time job, where I have the energy to make these videos, videos on the side, and then way touches on the third point, which is that because I don't have to rely on YouTube income, I'm allowed to focus a lot more on the areas that I want to focus on out of interest, rather than needing to make sure that I'm always making money with YouTube, because YouTube AdSense is incredibly volatile. Some months you make more than you ever expected, and you're on top of the world. Other months, the amount begins to dwindle, and you wonder if you made a

mistake, and if this is the end of everything you've ever built on the platform. Uh, so needless to say, it jumps around, and it's nice that when that happens, I don't have to stress, really. Um, you know, obviously, I want to see the channel do well, and I like money, but I'm able to set very clear boundaries around what I want to do and what I don't want to do, uh, because I don't have to worry about my monthly expenses not being covered if the channel doesn't do well. And to be clear, this isn't to suggest that you can't be a full-time creator and find a good balance with these things, and likewise to suggest that I'm not motivated by money. I still do sponsorships on the channel, but it's really nice not feeling a need to play the algorithm or, uh, take on a shady agreement or sponsorship or just sell stuff that I don't care to sell. And as sort of subo to that, I don't know how long the YouTube Finance gravy

train is going to keep running. I join the space at a near flawless point in time, not by any active choice of my own, but just because a few years after I started posting videos, we had Bitcoin come into prominence, and other cryptocurrencies, NFTs, the pandemic, the lockdowns, and the surge of interest and content on retail investing, GameStop in the mem stock rally, and all these events brought a lot of interest that didn't exist before into the niche of finance and investing. I don't know if the space is always going to keep growing, if in a few years from now it's going to be bigger or smaller from where it is today, so kind of on a risk standpoint, it's nice again having a solid kind of career, given the uncertainty about where Finance YouTube goes from here. Finally, the last point as to why I have a full-time job in addition to doing YouTube is that I genuinely think it helps the channel. I've been working in finance for nearly

a decade. I went to school for it. Um, I did my CFA and CFP designations. I'm still learning something new every day in my job. I get to work with people who have been in the industry for decades themselves, uh, who in most cases are more experienced and better educated than myself. I also have access to tools and resources that I might not otherwise be able to access, and I get to spend a lot of my workday researching topics that, uh, can later translate into helping the channel either directly or indirectly, uh, whether it just be improving my understanding of financial concepts and economic concepts as a whole, uh, or something that actually translates into a later script for a video or a point to talk about, uh, such as with, for example, Silicon Valley Bank. Uh, when that institution collapsed, I had to look into it for work because it mattered to what we were doing, and it later translated into a video. So, I know the term synergy gets overused in business, but there's a pretty good one between what I do for my day job and

what I do for YouTube because they're the same topic. I do Finance for my day job, and then as an extension of that, I post videos on Finance on YouTube. So in a way, my job does help with content generation, and I would hope, uh, helps with the quality of content, given that I can bounce ideas off of co-workers. And if I've done a deep dive into a topic for work, it gives me that better understanding for making a video. And just overall, like I said, it's a lot of synergies. So those are the four reasons why I currently do both. That's not to say that will always be the case, uh, my priorities might change in the future. They changed quite a bit when I had my two boys, and you know, there might be a point where I don't have the energy to do both and I focus on one versus the other. But over time, I have been able to manage the two, in part because outside of getting more efficient with my channel, I have really cut back a lot of

the work I put into editing videos. You might know that I used to animate a lot in my videos, and that was before I had kids and before I had a PM role at my company. But you might notice my editing style is very refined these days, very basic, which saves me a lot of time in putting these videos together and gives me more time to focus on what I think matters, which is the information. But with all that being said, I still have a drive to grow the channel and try different things to bring new projects to the forefront, to box Patrick Bo, and just try new projects and things with the channel. And over time, it's always just been getting more efficient with making these videos, and the next big thing is going to be probably hiring an editor, since I do most of my videos by myself. I know you guys love my editing style and the flair I bring, but it's about focusing on what I can add the most.

value with so despite everything I've said and despite the intent to continue working a full-time job. This is not to say that I'm done with YouTube or content with just riding the wave as it is. I'm incredibly fortunate to have this type of following, and my goal is to continue to innovate, whatever that means for YouTube, to try new things and bring more hopefully informative content to the forefront. Anyway, that's a video. As mentioned at the beginning, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of it, especially if you are a long-term viewer who has maybe seen the change of content over time. What your views are on it, maybe you're of the mindset that you miss the crappy Little Richard animations, or you like the plainer style, whatever it be. I would really be interested to hear your feedback. Given the nature of the topic, I do want to take the opportunity to say thanks for watching and for supporting the channel. I hope this doesn't give the impression that I take

this for granted uh because I don't this has been an incredible experience to be able to have any sort of following online let alone the size we've had for the channel so thank you uh for sticking around if if you've been with the channel for a while and for even just joining me today so we'll leave the video there like I mentioned let me know your thoughts we'll see you in the next one

Why I Don't Do YouTube Full-Time

Investing and personal finance educational videos with a hint of economics, posted regularly.

I'm a CFA and CFP professional working as an analyst for an investment management company in Ottawa. I'm a huge finance nerd and am passionate about the field - I think people lack the resources they need to make educated financial decisions, and hopefully this channel helps with that!

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DISCLAIMER:
The videos on this channel are for education purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Richard Coffin does not provide recommendations on The Plain Bagel - those looking for investment advice should seek out a registered professional. Richard is not responsible for investment actions taken by viewers and his content should not be used as a basis for investment trades.