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The Simple YouTube Setup That Helped Build a $30M Business — Transcript · YTtoTranscript

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The Simple YouTube Setup That Helped Build a $30M Business

Authority-io · 2,724 words · 14 min read · EN-ORIG

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Below is the complete, readable transcript of The Simple YouTube Setup That Helped Build a $30M Business by Authority-io on YouTube. Read the full text, copy any part you need, or generate a transcript for any video with our free tool.

What if I told you that the setup that helped build a $30 million business was just an iPhone, a stack of books, and a window? And that's not a metaphor, that's literally where it started. And yet every day I talk with experts, coaches, consultants, professionals with decades of experience who are convinced that they need a professional studio

before they can hit record. Well, they're wrong. And in the next few minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how to film your very first YouTube video with the gear that you have. No super expensive gear or complicated setup, just a simple system that you can get started with today. But before we

dive in, if you're thinking about starting a YouTube channel for your business, make sure you comment monetize down below. We'll send you our free guide on how to monetize YouTube from day one, even if you have zero subscribers. So, click the link in the description or just comment monetize below and we'll get that right to you.

Okay, now let's talk about what it actually takes to film your first video. Before we touch all the technical settings, I think we should really touch on one important reframe first, and that's your job on camera is not to perform. Your job is to teach. There's a pretty massive difference between those two things. A performer is trying to

entertain the audience, while a teacher is trying to help one specific person with one specific problem. And when you show up as a teacher, and when you're really trying to deliver value to that one person watching, something really shifts. The nerves calm down, the self-consciousness fades away because it's no longer about you, it's about you

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trying to help that person. And this is really the foundation of every successful YouTube business channel. Not the editing, not the backdrop or the gear, the commitment to being genuinely useful to a specific person with one specific problem. And here's why this matters more than anything technical. The most common mistake I see when

people are just starting out is they start obsessing over their setup and their video gear before they're even clear on who they're speaking to and what problem they're [music] solving. They buy a whole lighting setup and convince themselves that they need the most expensive mic possible, and then they rearrange their entire office setup

just for the video. And then after all that, they still never end up hitting record cuz the real block wasn't actually the gear. That's actually the thing that helps a lot of people procrastinate and push things off further. The actual block is the lack of clarity on who the video is actually for. So, before we go through the

settings checklist, ask yourself this. Who is this video for? What problem are they facing? And what will they walk away knowing? Make sure to get crystal clear on that first because the rest is just logistics and we're about to make the logistics simple. Nowadays, most modern smartphones shoot professional quality video. And really, the quality

gap between what the professionals use and what you have in your pocket has shrunk quite a bit. Most iPhones and Androids nowadays are shooting 4K or sometimes even higher, which back in the day only professional cameras could accomplish and usually for thousands of dollars. So, you've really got a ton of power right in the palm of your hand.

It's just hard to feel that way sometimes because technology moves so fast. So, once you realize that the gear that you've already got in your hand is already enough and will give you quite a good image, well, the only gap that's left is the decision to start. People who are building YouTube channels,

attracting their ideal clients, and growing their online businesses right now aren't able to do so all because they have these crazy expensive camera gear setups. They're doing it because they were wise enough to just press record. So, let's run through some quick settings so you can start recording right away. First is set your resolution

to 4K. Next, you can set your frame rate to 24 or 30 frames per second. Either one works. If you're planning on doing any color grading, make sure to turn off the HDR setting because it'll make it easier to color match later on in post. Next up, make sure to use the back

camera whenever you can. This actually has a better quality camera than the front camera. So, if you're using this, you're going to get a higher quality video and it's going to look a lot better in post. Next super simple gear check is going to be getting a little microfiber cloth and making sure to wipe

your lens cuz you don't want smudges in there. If it's been in your pocket this whole time, you've never filmed with it before, it's likely that it may be kind of smudged up. So, microfiber cloth is good so you don't scratch any of the lens. And yeah, get it nice and cleaned up and ready for filming. So, now you're

all set. You've got a professional camera right in your pocket. Now, the question is, will you use it? But, before you're actually ready to film, there's a couple more components that we want to hit on. First of all is our lighting. And this is kind of the section where a lot of beginners get

really overwhelmed and start to overthink it. So, we're going to make it as simple as possible. Good lighting makes even basic cameras look professional, while bad lighting makes expensive cameras look like they're an amateur film. So, we really want to make sure to dial it in properly, but a simple setup can go a really long way.

Now, one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to get decent lighting is by facing a window. Natural lighting is one of the best and most powerful lighting sources out there, and the best part is, it's free. So, it's the perfect thing to get us recording super quickly. Now, you may think that a

super bright sunny day may be the best time to film, but it's actually kind of the opposite. Overcast days are really great because clouds act as a natural giant diffusion source. So, as the light passes through the clouds, it spreads out, and it stops some of those big harsh shadows that could come up on your

face. So, overcast days are great. But, if you only have certain harsh lighting conditions, one thing that could be great to pick up and is quite cheap is a little piece of diffusion fabric like this. And what you do is essentially, when you're about to film, you'd put this in front of your light source. And

as the light's coming in, it just helps soften it and make sure that you don't have big harsh shadows all going across your face. It helps spread the light in a nice soft way, which is what we want, and how you get a bit of that professional look on a budget. Now, in

terms of light placement, I'm actually breaking my rule here because you really shouldn't have the light source behind you. But, the only reason why this works is because I've actually got a secondary light source here, which is my key, the stronger light source that's coming from this direction. So, wherever your key light, which is going to be your

strongest light, is, it should be, ideally, in front of you and slightly to the side, because that allows us to get some nice depth in our image. It's not totally flat with us facing the light source. So, when you're filming, make sure to be right in front of the window and ideally position yourself slightly

to the side just so you get a bit more depth there, and that'll work out great. If you don't have any window access, though, a 20 or $30 ring light will work totally fine. The key is just that people can see you and they can take in the information that you're saying clearly and effectively. Next up is

audio. Bad audio is going to kill your attention far faster than bad video. Viewers will forgive imperfect video, but they can't actually hear what you're saying and get your transformation, they will click off. Now, this is actually the one area where I would say that a small investment can go a really long

way. There's nothing wrong with your iPhone's built-in mic. In fact, it does a really great job if you don't want to have to purchase anything. But, what I would say is that especially if you can only film yourself from further away, well, that's a longer distance that your voice can travel and your audio quality

may suffer because of it. So, a 20 to $50 lapel mic that plugs directly into your phone will help you get that clear, crisp audio that'll help you sound professional on any device. Beyond the actual microphone, make sure to think about the environment that you're actually filming in. Soft surfaces will help absorb some of the sound while hard

surfaces will reflect it. So, if you can, try and film in a room with a carpet or curtains or even a couch to help soften a bit of that excess noise so it doesn't reverberate around all the different walls and cause a bunch of echo in your sound. A quiet room plus a

basic lapel mic can really rival some great setups out there. So, give [music] it a shot and really think about making the 20 to $50 lapel mic upgrade. It will make a world of a difference and it's probably [music] far more worth it than making extra upgrades and tweaks to your camera. Next up is your framing. How you

position yourself in the frame will really impact how much trust the viewer feels towards [music] you. Framing communicates authority, and when your setup looks intentional, it communicates to the viewer that you are actually somebody who's worth listening to. So, when your framing, make sure your camera is right at eye level. Makes it feel

more conversational and more like you're a real human being versus the camera being way too low and pointing way up at you or way too high and we're all looking down at you. Now, if you have something like a little phone tripod, that works great, of course. But, if you don't, then just stack some books

together and put your phone on top. It's [music] again easy and it's with stuff that you already have. Now, when you're framing, you can leave a little bit of space on top of the head. Again, we don't want to be pushing right to the very top of our [music] frame because maybe in post we'll want to zoom in,

right? So, you don't want to already be cutting off parts of yourself. And then, when we're talking to camera, it's good to have yourself nice and center frame or, if you'd like, even off to the side a little bit if you're going to be adding graphics into certain parts of the screen. Now, ideally, try and make

your background nice and clean and not too cluttered just so all the focus is really on you and what you're saying. But, also make sure not to go too far on the simplistic side and just have a boring white wall because, at the end of the day, it's still meant to be entertaining and to hold people's

interest. And real quick, here's one habit that really builds more trust than any production upgrade. Make sure you're looking directly to your lens, not off to the side and looking at your viewfinder screen. Make sure you're looking direct to your audience so that you're actually talking straight to them. When you're looking directly at

your lens, it actually feels like you're talking to a real person who's talking back to you. And it also helps create a lot of trust with your audience. Looking off to the side at the viewfinder and not at the camera ends up breaking that eye line and also breaking the connection that you have with your

viewer. So, really practice doing this. It makes a whole world of difference. Camera at eye level, clean background, look [music] directly into the lens. These three things alone will make your video look intentional and professional. Okay, so here's where we bring it all together because none of the technical stuff actually matters if you don't know

what you're talking about when the camera turns on. So, every video should serve one [music] specific person and solve one specific problem. YouTube is an information platform. [music] People come with questions and they stay for answers. Your job is to be the clearest and most helpful answer to that one specific question that your ideal client

is asking. Not a little bit helpful to a lot of different people. Extremely helpful to one [music] specific person. So, here's the formula. Solve a real problem, demonstrate your expertise, and point them to a next step. Your video answers the question that your ideal client is already searching for. Your program delivers the full transformation

that they're working toward. The video is the what, and your program [music] is the step-by-step how. When you structure your content around this, when every video exists to serve your ideal viewer and move them one step closer to the result that they want, you stop creating content for views and start creating content for [music] clients. That's the

shift. One person, one problem, one video at a time. Keep that as your North Star every time you sit down to film. So, let's do a rapid-fire run-through of the checklist before we wrap. Settings dialed in, 4K, 24 or 30 frames per second, HDR off, back camera on, and lens clean. Light source directly in

front of you or slightly off to the side, and for this [music] you can use your window or a simple ring light. Acquire a room or a lapel mic, and ideally we're aiming for minimal echo and [music] soft surfaces. Your camera is at eye level. Again, you can stack it on books or use boxes, [music]

whatever it takes to get you there. And lastly, you know who you're filming for. One specific person with one [music] specific problem. If you have all five of those in place, you're ready to film. Here's the thing I want to leave you with. The setup that helped build one of the most recognized online coaching

businesses in the world was just an iPhone, stack of books, and a window light. That's it. That's the starting point. And the people who are still out there researching what the best [music] camera setup is or the best desk or the best studio setup, well, they're still waiting. Versus the experts who decided

to start imperfect and scrappy, but clear on who they're serving and exactly what they're teaching are the ones who are actually building businesses. You [music] have everything you need right now. You just need to use it. So, here's the bottom line. Your camera isn't the problem, your lighting situation isn't the problem, and your audio [music]

setup isn't the problem. The only thing that's actually been standing in the way of you and your first video is making a decision to actually start. [music] You now have the settings, set up, and the formula. So, go film something this week. And if you want to know how to turn that video into a business that

[music] generates leads and clients from day one, make sure to comment monetize below. We'll send you the free guide that actually walks you through how to make a YouTube channel [music] that converts even with zero subscribers. And for your next step, watch our video right here, the ultimate guide to building an online coaching business.

I'll see you there.