We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Blair recently and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, appreciate you 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?

The first dollar I earned from my creative work was when I got monetized on YouTube. It was such a big moment for me because, honestly, my first couple of years teaching were really tough. Most people assume teachers are super Type A—organized, structured, planners to the core—but I couldn’t be more Type B. I struggled to find my groove, and I knew there had to be other teachers out there feeling the same way.

So, I started a vlogging channel to be that relatable, honest voice for teachers who didn’t fit the ‘perfectly color-coded lesson planner’ mold. It took a full year, but when I finally hit monetization, I was over the moon. I think I made something like $10 a month at first, but that didn’t even matter. What mattered was that I had reached 1,000 subscribers and racked up 50,000 watch hours. That meant at least 1,000 teachers out there resonated with what I was saying, and that feeling—that I was actually helping people—was everything. It made all the late-night editing worth it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an outgoing person who simply loves helping people. That passion led me to become an elementary teacher, and over the years, I’ve taught 1st grade, 3rd grade, and now 6th grade. But teaching didn’t just shape my career—it opened the door to so many other creative outlets.

I started with social media, creating an Instagram and a YouTube channel (actually, two YouTube channels!), and eventually, I launched a Teachers Pay Teachers store. The common thread through all of these? Helping teachers, parents, and students in whatever way I can.

My first YouTube channel, TeachMeSomethinGood, was all about sharing the reality of teaching—the struggles, the everyday wins, and just being a relatable voice for other educators. From here, I only started a matching Instagram page to be able to share my YouTube videos. Then before I knew it, my Instagram was at 20k & was way less of a hassle than YouTube. Fast forward to 2020, during the challenges of distance learning, I saw how much students were struggling to stay engaged. So, I launched my second channel, Blooming With Ms. B, which started with different multiplication strategies because, let’s be real—kids weren’t paying attention on Zoom! I figured if they could rewatch my videos whenever they needed, at least they’d have a fighting chance at learning how to multiply and divide, which is crucial in 3rd grade! That channel has since grown to over 14,000 subscribers, and I love that it’s helping not just students, but even parents and adults—because let’s be honest, math today looks very different from how we learned it!

Now, I’m expanding even more with my Teachers Pay Teachers store, currently focusing on history lessons. None of these things on their own are enough to replace a paycheck, but I see them as pieces of a bigger puzzle. Every new resource, every new video, every new connection I make with students, parents, and educators—it all builds towards something bigger. I’m excited to see where this journey takes me in the next year and beyond!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

The best advice I can give is to just make the jump, be consistent, and ‘fake it till you make it’—at least a little! Don’t overthink it.

When I started my YouTube channel and Instagram page, I was struggling in my teaching life. First graders—adorable as they were—just weren’t my people. Too many tears, too many shoelaces to tie, and I was also in an awkward place with my coworkers. I didn’t quite fit in with any group, and I often felt out of place. So, I started my social media journey partly because I didn’t want to feel so alone.

I wanted to ‘be real and open,’ but let’s be honest—it’s hard to do that when you’re unhappy, and it’s even harder to attract an audience if you’re constantly negative. Social media, in a way, helped me put on some rose-colored glasses. It held me accountable for showing up every day and, more importantly, connected me with teacher friends online when I didn’t have many at my first school.

One day, I came across a teacher YouTuber, Shelley from EarlyEdVentures. She was fun, relatable, and kept it real, and I thought, ‘I could do something like that too.’ The next day, I ran the idea by my best friend and my mom, and they said, ‘Heck yeah!’ The first name that popped into my head was Teach Me Something Good (yes, like ‘Tell Me Something Good’), and they reassured me that people would get the reference. So, the day after that, I created my Instagram account and sent a contract to my principal to get permission to film on campus—as long as I didn’t include students, their names, or our school’s name.

From there, I started filming and posting to my five followers—who were just my best friends, none of whom were teachers but wanted to be supportive. I kept posting and slowly growing. I hit my first lull at 3,000 followers about 4 months in, feeling like I’d never crawl out of it. Then, all of a sudden, I skyrocketed to 10K & 15K within a year and a half! Now, I’m in a new lull at 24K, but I know the drill—if I stay consistent and just keep being myself (only faking it till I make it every now and then *wink wink*), growth will come.

And how did I get out of that first lull? I stopped trying to post what was ‘cool’ or chase trends. I just posted whatever I wanted. I also learned that when your post gets to the ‘wrong’ side of the internet and you start getting hate comments, that’s actually a good thing—it means your content was boosted to a wider audience. Even when I felt stupid for being a teacher and accidentally using the wrong your vs. you’re, all the comments correcting me just pushed my post further, helping the right people find my page and follow.

At the end of the day, it’s all going to be okay! But if you’re just starting out, do it for fun first. If you enjoy it, everything else will follow.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the teaching world, I’ve definitely pivoted—switching grades and schools multiple times. But each transition gave me a better sense of what I enjoyed and sparked new ideas for creating content.

Pivoting in social media was an unexpected journey. My original plan was to focus on building a YouTube channel. I spent hours filming, even more hours editing, and had to learn everything from scratch—how to make thumbnails on Canva, how to optimize videos, and how to keep people engaged. It was a huge learning curve. I was grinding to hit 1,000 subscribers and get monetized when I suddenly realized… my Instagram had already grown to 2,000 followers without nearly as much effort. I had been so focused on ‘doing everything right’ for YouTube that I didn’t even notice I was building an audience elsewhere.

That was my first big pivot—shifting more energy into Instagram while still pushing toward my YouTube goal. Eventually, though, the time it took to film and edit long-form YouTube videos just wasn’t worth it anymore. But then, distance learning hit, and I was trying to figure out how to keep my students engaged. Because I had already developed the skills to start and run a YouTube channel, I was able to quickly pivot again. This time, my videos were short, skill-focused, and easy to produce. I didn’t think much of it—I was just trying to help my students—but before I knew it, I was monetized and sitting at 8,000 subscribers. Now over 14,000.

Every pivot has a purpose. Every challenge teaches you something you’ll need for your next adventure. It’s like unlocking the next level in a video game—you gain skills and experience without even realizing it, and suddenly, you’re ready for the next big thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmesomethingood/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BloomingWithMsB
• Other: Teachers Pay Teachers Storefront: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/blooming-with-ms-b

Image Credits

Chair Picture: Steph Young Photo
She is a friend who gave full sharing rights.