How hard are you willing to work to be successful?
For most of us mortals, success is usually preceded by periods of discomfort and drought as we make our way to the promised land.
In this interview, Shannon Boodram, successful Youtuber, author and clinical sexologist, shares how she went from broke to landing a deal with MTV and appearing on The View. Like Mike a few weeks ago, Shannon lets us in on her money situation.
On the various jobs she’s worked
“I, like a lot of people, spent ages 15–18 doing jobs like door-to-door sales, cold calling. I worked at a pizza shop. I worked at the Running Room. I did background in movies for eight years. Background work is honestly the best I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing-in-my-life-yet-and-I’m-trying-to-figure-it-out-and-I-still-have-school-debt job. You make $18 an hour. You hang out all day. Even when my book came out, I was still doing it.”
Fun fact: She was an extra in Mean Girls!
On her educational path and the start of her career
Shannon studied journalism, and while in school, wrote Laid, a book on young adults’ sexual experiences. Then, she landed a publishing deal at 23.
“For anyone who’s a first-time published author, it’s not what you think it is. You get an advance when you sign a deal. They tell you they’re paying for everything: drafts, book cover, printing, binding, editing. You have to pay all that back through sales.
“You don’t get to receive another cheque until they’ve recouped all of their investment. If you don’t know the game very well, you’re not going to read the fine print. They overprice everything, so it’s almost impossible for you to make money back. I was 23, and a publishing company said yes. I was excited, so at the time, I didn’t really think about it. It was definitely a great learning experience.”
The lesson: Read the fine print.
Given all the expenses, Shannon wasn’t making much money from her book.
“I remember calling my parents at one point, ‘Why didn’t you tell me to be a chemist? Why didn’t you push me into the sciences? Why’d you let me follow my passion?’”
On how she started making money
“I started doing wedding photography to make ends meet, and that became a booming business. Money was slipping through my hands. I was lending everyone I knew money. It was a really good time.
“I never consider myself an artist—I always make a joke that I’m a robot. Even my creativity feels mechanical. With photography, it’s like, I’ve researched weddings, these are the settings for optimal results without fail.”
The lesson: Perfect your craft and be open to learning.
On her financial philosophy
“I think that, with anything in life, if you’re not a part of the cycle, you’re not receiving the gifts of it. If you’re in a place in your life where you’re hoarding money or you’re trying to save and you don’t want to give any away, money doesn’t come to you as free-flowing. When you’re in the energy circle of giving it away, it comes easier. Even if it’s something as simple as giving it away, volunteering your time, buying your friend lunch...when you open up in that way, you just see that the Universe is like, ‘She’s giving money away, let’s give her money back.’”
The lesson: Sometimes you have to give in order to receive.
On dating someone who makes less
“I would pay on the first date. It’s not my personality at all to expect someone to pay for me.
“My family is a Caribbean family; it’s a lot of sharing. We’ve always regularly had my grandma living with us, my uncle, my aunt—there was always someone to whom you’d say, ‘You know what, we have enough for right now. You need a boost. Come on in and we’ll give you that.’
“I think that’s how I approached relationships with people too. I never look at it as I have more and you don’t have enough. I’m always like, maybe that person needs a little help.”
On whether men feel intimidated by successful women
“It’s funny because people ask me this question when it comes to sexuality. Like, how do your partners deal with you being so sexually liberated? Do they feel marginalized by you? I’m sure there are a lot of men who don’t work well in that dynamic. I would never partner with that person. You have to look for the warning signs.”
On shooting pilots and YouTube
Shannon started Those Girls Are Wild with her business partner Andrea (Hazel on Degrassi—yes, the show Drake was on). Their goal for the channel was to engage young women trying to find their space in the world. In 2012, they went their separate ways.
From 2012 to 2015, Shannon focused on traditional media.
“They say, ‘You’re going to shoot a pilot and you’re going to see for the next six months if it gets picked up.’ When you sign a holding deal, you can’t work anywhere else.”
She did four pilots after moving to LA, and then got tired of waiting for a “yes,” so she returned to YouTube, where her work is released instantaneously—there’s no trial period.
“You film it, you edit it, and you put it out. And that’s when my life really turned around.”
Her channel now boasts almost 200K subscribers; she’s landed multiple brand deals and sponsorships. Since launching, she’s also branched out into online love and sex consultations.
On how to kickstart your YouTube channel
“Being afraid of putting out a video is like being afraid to put a wave in the ocean. There’s so many videos out. People will watch you and move on to something else. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Just put it out there and move on to the next. No one looks at you as much as you look as yourself.”
The lesson: Just put out a video already!
On the financial problems millennials face
“You really have to be creative in finding ways to make ends meet. You definitely have to have a clear plan when it comes to finances and what it is you’re studying, and how long it will be before you’re actually making a sustainable income in that field. It’s probably this year for me that I’m making a sustainable income, and I’ve been doing sex education for 10 years now. If I didn’t have photography or background work, I would be in a mass amount of debt that would have shrouded this point of surplus in my life.”
The lesson: Have a plan. Winging it isn’t always best.
“I have a middle class mentality when it comes to money. I’m not thinking a lot about surplus or good debt or investment. If I owe money, I pay it off. And once I’m in a surplus, it sits in my bank account and collects dust. That’s where I’m at now. Everything is okay, and everything flows. I realize I have to do the next bit of education now that I’m making more than enough to cover my bills, and I’m no longer in debt.”
On how she feels about money
“My parents are true middle-class people, and they saw people who were rich as being miserable. So I never wanted to be rich. It’s only recently since moving to LA that I’ve realized money just means access: access to food, access to interesting people, access to experiences, access to beautiful things. If you look at it like a stressful thing that’s going to drain you, it will seem evil. But if you look at it for what it can provide you and your family with, it’s a really beautiful thing.”
On how to address a partner whose spending habits you disagree with
“It’s hard to comment on people’s financial situation without making it seem like you’re commenting on their adequacy as an adult. The same goes for sexuality.
“If your partner is overspending, ask questions and let people come to their own conclusions. ‘Where did you learn about money? What type of life do you want to be living? What makes you feel good? What stresses you out? What does financial freedom mean to you?’
“I find the tourist approach vs the tour guide approach is more effective. Saying, ‘This is what you’re doing wrong!’ isn’t helpful. We’re a product of years and years of teaching, so you have to understand before judging.”
On talking about money with her peers
“There’s a culture of talking about money amongst YouTubers. ‘How much did you make this month? How much was this brand deal?’ Because it’s a new field and you don’t want to feel like you’re being cheated. There’s a culture of sharing. I encourage all fields to be in that culture. That’s how major businesses win, because they talk about money and profits and costs, and they set a price according to what is comfortable for everyone to be in surplus. It’s better than a mentality of ‘no one else should know and no one else can help me,’ which I don’t think breeds a wealth mentality.”
To learn about sex from Ms. Shan Boody, check out her informative and entertaining channel.
To learn about how you can create a financial cushion before quitting your 9-to-5, enroll in my free 5-day e-mail course.