YouTube is a brilliant platform to express yourself through your talents and skills with the world, build a community and maybe even make money out of it. You obviously need to have a vision for your channel and lay out targets for yourself, but what else do you need? Well technically you need graphic and motion assets.good cameras, lights, microphones, studio and location gear, and editing software. Wait, don’t shillyshally already. I’m here to help you start your content creation adventure with the most basic and minimal assets. Here we go:

1. START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

Just remember that anyone with a camera can create a YouTube channel and run videos on it. It’s not about the resources, but how resourceful you can be. Look around you, and use every possible thing that can be used. You can use your smartphone or the webcam of your laptop as a camera. There are plenty of tips and tutorials out there to help you capture solid footage with your smartphone. You don’t have to buy a tripod stand or a C stand for supporting your device. You can rather stack your books or use a wall for support. Instead of buying expensive ring lights, you can sit before a window and use natural light to shoot videos. Sunlight is free after all. Be clever and perceptive.

2. CONTENT VALUE SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY

A common mistake committed by many people is spending a lot of capital on production costs instead of focusing on the content value. Remember, content value > production value. The viewers come to your channel for the content that you put up—information, motivation, inspiration, and to seek answers to their questions, not for your production show. Focus on the primary objective. You don’t have to buy expensive accessories to make your videos look attractive either. Just shake things up and try making the most out of everything that’s available. Check Pinterest maybe.

3. COLLABORATE

Use your connections. You could consider this as a barter system. You could either collab with someone having better gears and appliances in exchange of using their gadgets when you need them or do something for them in return. Talk to as many people as you can and build a friendship with them. Don’t fret to ask for favors.

4. START EARNING

If you don’t have the money, starting making some. Let’s be honest, you can’t sit and wait for money to come to you. You have to get up and hustle. You could do odd jobs. There are many ways of earning money these days. Start looking for a job and then save up for the future. As you start earning you could buy additional aids for yourself. Gradually, there would be traffic on your channel and hence monetization.

It seems like a long road but at the end of the day, it’s all about the journey, isn’t it? There’s no ‘right time’ to start. You just start and make things right for yourself. Baby steps are all it takes. So buckle up and get started!