We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Taylor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Mary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Last year in 2022, I decided to take a huge risk and become a Youtuber/ Content Creator. I studied some of my favorite Youtuber journeys and studied how to become a Youtuber since 2018. What held me back from becoming a Youtuber was myself. The fear of getting out of my comfort zone was too much for me until I had enough and took a leap of faith to become a Youtuber. Without even noticing I was prepared to do this throughout my entire life. From taking media classes in elementary school and editing random videos on iMovie. To be invested in photos and posting them on my social media during high school. Between the years 2019 and 2022, I started to practice making wigs and teaching myself how to install them. Every time I was out in public, I would receive a lot of compliments, then I began to get offered to work with brands. I told myself I needed to do more. On February 11th, 2022, my first Youtube video was posted. I am still at the beginning of my Youtube journey, but taking that risk helped me overcome my fears. Also, it helped open plenty of doors for me, and I am happy I get to explore.

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?

For those who may not know who I am, my name is Mary Taylor. I also go as Wealthie Baby, which is my brand. I am Youtuber and do content creation for a different companies. My Youtube Channel mainly pertains to the beauty lifestyle, such as wigs, makeup, and skincare. At a young age, I was fascinated with content creation, photography, and beauty. It all began while I was in middle school at North Kenwood Oakland Charter School. We took media classes and learned how to edit videos, produce music, and take photos, but what caught my attention was making videos and editing them. So often time my friends and I would record random videos on our Macbook laptops just for me to edit and create memories. My auntie noticed how much I enjoyed editing videos, so she decided to buy me a camera right before I went into high school. My fascination went from editing videos to taking photos of myself. I developed the joy of taking pictures of myself because it reminded me of my favorite childhood show, America’s Next Top Model. The more I progressed with taking my photos, I became interested in learning how to do my hair and makeup, and it became a hobby for me. After graduating high school, my life changed, and I stopped what I was doing on social media. I became too busy with school and didn’t have time to do what I once enjoyed. After graduating college, I had a lot of free time and didn’t know what to do about it, but I was studying how to do my makeup by watching a Youtube video. I started to experiment with different hairstyles and practice on myself. I started taking my pictures and posting them on social media. I spend more time on social media than I ever had before, and I saw the trend of wigs starting to rise. It was different, and I saw women like Ari Fletcher getting wig installs and blowing up on Instagram. I was shocked to see how social media was evolving and people were getting opportunities just by taking pictures, and I was doing that in high school for free. I became very fascinated with wigs and planned out my own hair business. Starting a hair business isn’t easy, but during this process, I came up with the perfect idea to finally start a Youtube channel to create the foundation for my business. It was time to get paid to do what I love.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn during my journey is worrying about being judged for doing something I love. What I am doing is different from the norm of what I was raised to do; I was taught to get a degree, a car, and get a decent-paying job. I was scared to step out of my comfort zone because it was new. Youtube was the perfect opportunity to help me challenge myself. I had to put myself out there and showcase what I love. So many insecurities surfaced at the beginning of my Youtube journey. Besides the loving support I received from my boyfriend, what helped me unlearn this lesson was going within. One, I did a lot of praying and asked God for strength on my new journey in life. I had to work on my positive mindset, which helped me overcome the fear of judgment. Secondly, I had to make the videos, promote them, and keeping going. As I continued to do Youtube and content creation, I no longer cared about what others may think.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have been interested in social media since high school. I was a natural when it came to social media. I posted pictures and received a lot of engagement, but that was during the year 2011-2012. Time has changed, and I had to learn to change with it. I had to pay attention to how social media was changing. The best advice I can give someone who wants to build their social media presence is to be consistent with the amount of time you post. Consistency is important because your audience will be looking forward to seeing you, and also you will gain more followers. Also, build genuine connections with your followers, engagement rates are important when it comes to brand deals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/shop/wealthiebaby_
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wealthiebaby_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chanel.cymone.39
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWrgAP6-SOPmudG5xtHfUpg