We were lucky to catch up with Tassanee Croell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tassanee, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Of course, I was so excited! I started “JUST FILMs” my Youtube channel with no idea I would come this far. Even though it took about a year, it always reminded me that I did it. My small success told me that I came the right way. Right now it is just a hobby but someday, who knows, it could be my second job or a full time job in the future. Now I will enjoy every moment, do my best, and keep sharing my American experiences! Thank you to everybody that is always supporting me and thank you so much for clicking on my channel and I hope you leave with a smile. Have a fabulous day!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Tassanee Croell and I’m originally from Thailand. I moved to America in 2017 and originally lived in New Jersey for a year and then moved to Colorado 6 years ago. I was working in Thailand after graduating and as fate would have it, I was laid off. Everything happens for a reason. If that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t know about the Au-Pair program which led me to the United States. “Au-Pair” is a term for a child care provider who lives and works with an American host family as part of an international cultural exchange program. With it, a foreigner of the United States is able to live and take care of the kids in a “host” family for up to two years.

I did everything I could to save money to apply for the program until I was eventually hired by an American family. I was able to move to the United States. Learning the English language and different cultures has been another significant aspect of my journey. It’s been a journey filled with ups and downs, moments of frustration and breakthroughs. But through it all, I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of language as a tool for connection and understanding.

Since I moved on from being an Au-Pair and transitioned into the role of an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Paraeducator. Helping kids with autism makes me feel like I am doing something very meaningful and impactful on the world. It makes me happy to be there for students who need additional support. Everyday is challenging but also extremely rewarding.

I started a Youtube Channel in 2022 as a hobby. I like to share my daily life and new experiences that I never had before when I lived in Thailand. This not only connects me to the world, but also to my family and friends back in Thailand. I want them to see what I see and it’s a way for me to tell them that I am doing well. It brings me joy if any of my videos help others or make people happy. Small wins are the best motivation. I should have started it 3 years ago but I believe that you can always start something that you are really interested in, somewhere that you think is right, and start at any time that you think is good. Just be patient and just keep going. Trust in yourself that you can do it because you are so much more capable than you think you might be. Now I have been doing my Youtube channel for over 2 years and I never once regretted it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have liked taking videos and photos of almost everything in my life since I moved to America. Before I started my Youtube channel, I usually made videos to share with family. One day I started cleaning my apartment and I felt I wanted to share about American apartment with someone else too. Some people have never seen what an American apartment looks like, so this was an opportunity to create a video and then simply share the link. I started with 0 subscribers and got about 10 subscribers from my family and friends after a few days. I posted a new video every week for about 6 months until I got 1,000 subscribers and was able to monetize my channel. Now my Youtube channel is over 2 years old and has over 12,000 subscribers.

Some advice I would give would be just be yourself, post consistently, be patient, and never compare yourself to others because everyone has their unique journey and definition of success. Success for me is making people happy, even if it’s just one person. Even though I don’t have as many subscribers as many would deem as ‘successful’ , I am still very happy to have those that choose to watch my videos and experience the United States through the lens of a girl from Thailand. It’s important to celebrate the small wins and keep your own version of success. I can do it, you can do it! Everything you do just believe in yourself, keep going, and when your time is right, it will be your day someday. Now I am very happy with where I am at and look forward to sharing my future adventures with the world.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding piece is the ‘experience.’ Helping and entertaining people, learning new things from people’s comments, sharing opinions, and even arguing is a good experience as well. Learning how to solve problems which is great! Earning money is good but I believe most artists or creators prefer what experience or feeling people get from their work. It is not just about money. Money is just a bonus and proof that you are heading in the right direction. So be sure to celebrate small successes!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Tassanee.croell
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JUSTFILMS.T

Image Credits

All photos are my own.