We were lucky to catch up with Kyla Sanders recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kyla, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Youtube is my craft. I have relentlessly been working towards bettering my craft since I founded my love of content creating over three years ago. Throughout this journey, I’ve learned the ins and outs of what it truly means to be a multi-platform creative. Many people don’t take content creating seriously or deem it as just a hobby or pass time. What I love about this generation of young influencers is that not only is content creating a stream of income in itself, it’s also an outlet of self-expression. One of the main goals I try to express through my content is be yourself and go after the things you want in life, even if it seems unattainable. I always say my only regret with making content, especially pertaining to my Youtube journey, is that I didn’t start it sooner. Even though I started my Youtube channel three years ago, I just recently got monetized earlier this year. I’ve learned that consistency is key and that was an obstacle I had to overcome due to balancing college, work, and essentially life. This may have kept me from being further along in my journey, but I wouldn’t trade any moments. I’ve come this far carrying a heavy load, which makes my journey that much more special and that much more of a blessing. Essentially, mastering my craft has come with learning what works specifically for me and having a personalized niche catered to my content. Along the way, I found that the only way to progress in anything you want is to dedicate time to work at it and learn it to the best of your ability. Learn and you shall grow.

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

Let’s flashback to 2020 for a moment. I was just a teenager with an iPhone and a dream that one day I would stop procrastinating and finally make my Youtube channel. I was so much in my own head about what people would think about my content or if they would even watch or listen to what I would have to say. But I’m grateful that I didn’t succumb to those doubts. On January 3, 2020, I put all the uncertainty away and I did it, I started my content journey. Thus, TheKylalmani was born. Three years and almost 200,000 views later, I’m monetized from Youtube profiting off the content I work so hard creating. A business I never knew was possible for myself. I’m most proud that I never gave up. Even when I thought my goals were nowhere in sight, I kept pushing towards them until I reached them. One of my biggest take aways from when I started YouTube to now, is to keep going even when the going gets tough.

I always knew that words have power and your voice can influence people. I wanted to use my voice to make a difference, even if it was just a small one. Youtube, being a multi-national platform, gave me that voice. The content I make is a direct reflection of who I am and how I portray myself. With every video I upload, my subscribers get to know who I am a little better. I’m Kyla Sanders, a 22-year-old senior in college, a daughter, a sister, and the digital creator of TheKylaImanii.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started my Youtube journey in 2020. Months would go by and I wouldn’t see the results I wanted. Then years would go by and I still felt like I wasn’t receiving the recognition that I deserved. I would see other creatives and their content blowing up before my eyes. I would continuously check back and they would be that much further ahead of me. It seemed like the more work I was putting in, the more consistent I was, it just wasn’t enough. It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough because why are they so far along and I’m still stuck here. But that was my problem. I compered myself, which is something you should never do because everyone’s journey is different. I had to learn that not everyone reaches goals at the same time because God has different plans for all of us. I once heard a quote that resonated with me which stated, “God is never going to deliver your mail to someone else’s house.”. Why should I question why I haven’t reached a certain point, just because someone else did? They’re not me. I had to stop discouraging myself for what I didn’t have and start appreciating what I did have. Of course, that was easier said than done but it helped me build character. And for that very reason, I am who I am today.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

A very common misconception with Youtubers is that what we do is easy work or not even work at all. Quality videos take time and effort. Some people do not realize all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a video for people to watch and enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, before I started YouTube I thought the same. There is so much work done before a video can even go public. For me personally, the upload process requires numerous steps before I can export a video.

First off, there’s content planning. For you to truly be successful in this business, you must plan what content you were going to produce. This encompasses what your video is going to entail, what you are going to talk about, and the specific niche your video is targeting. Then comes execution. This is taking the time to sit down and record your content. Once your content is filmed, comes the editing process which in my opinion is the longest step. Editing can consist of cutting out dead footage/sound, adding music, voice overs, text, overlays, and much more. For me, depending on the length and type of video recorded, it can take between five days to a week and a half to edit a single video.

Consistency is key, so taking the time to do all of this is very time consuming. But once all of that is done, a video is finally ready to be exported and uploaded to YouTube. This process is not an easy one and done situation. That is why I appreciate everyone who can devote their time to being a content creator.

Content creating has easily become a passion and love of mine. It has opened so many doors for me and I hope this can help people understand that yes, YouTube is a lot of work but seeing your ideas come to life is worth every second.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekylaimanii/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheKylaImanii/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thekylaimanii