We were lucky to catch up with Noel Norcross recently and have shared our conversation below.

Noel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

At any given time, I have 5 jobs: copyeditor for a technology/marketing company, yoga instructor, YouTuber (unboxing channel), product photographer, and academic editor.

For the latter 3, I work for myself and while I relish the flexibility of this, it does mean managing dozens of clients at a time and also scheduling work around my travel. I do feel a bit guilty when I am unable to keep my posting schedule up when I am away, but I have built enough of a community that my subscribers understand those interruptions.

For the first 2 jobs where I work for companies, I consider the flexibility of being able to travel as part of my compensation as a freelance, hourly worker. In both cases, I could work FT at either of these jobs for a great deal more, but the cost of my life-work balance — not being able to travel or do my other jobs — would be too great.

I think being able to travel is essential to my happiness and productivity. It also encourages detailed scheduling and strategy, which can turn a pain point into an advantage.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I started editing college application essays while I was still in college myself, over 25 years ago. I no longer work for that company but still do freelance academic editing (journal articles and grad school applications) that come to me through referrals.

In mid-2019, I found myself watching YouTube unboxing videos, trying to convince myself NOT to buy subscription boxes. I noted what I admired in some reviewers and their styles and where I thought I might be able to provide value in that space. After seeing how some nano-influencers could actually create communities on YouTube and provide information to help viewers make informed buying decisions, I decided to try my hand at it. By the end of 2019, I had only posted a few videos and only had 100 subscribers, but I found that I enjoyed the “work,” saw that there was an opportunity to get monetized, and I thought that I was a different voice in the subscription box unboxing world. My channel name, HI Noël, stems from being raised in Hawai’i but I also like to think that the H and I stand for honest and informative.

The pandemic allowed me to grow my channel quite a bit because people were home, spending time online, and often looking for some retail therapy and human interaction It was not a great indicator of growth, however, which has slowed in years since. So I honestly thought that almost 5 years in, I would have quite a few more subscribers than I do. It is my least lucrative job, but perhaps the one that I enjoy the most because of the community I have helped to create. We have a private Facebook group, a quarterly book club, our own subscription box awards, and we do gift exchanges and giveaways throughout the year.

My product photography was a natural extension of my channel. For several years, I included this service with my unboxing videos. When I learned how much some box owners were paying for photography and started getting requests, I decided to start charging a nominal fee. With the time it takes me to stage and edit my photos, I still do not even make minimum wage, but I continue to do it because I enjoy the creative process and supporting small businesses. Just as I believe I’m a better editor than a writer—I try to find what sounds best versus what’s technically correct—I am a self-taught photographer, so I delight most in the staging and figuring out how to showcase items versus knowing the correct settings or apps to use.

As with most of my jobs, I started with a desire to help people and companies best present themselves, in areas where I can use my creative skills. This is in part why I continue to create and post unboxing videos in exchange for the product alone. Many channels charge a sponsorship/posting fee. At times, when I am feeling overwhelmed by everything on my plate, I am of course tempted to sacrifice YouTube first, but I feel like this is where people and companies rely on me most.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like an ATM machine at a barbershop, etc.)?

Most YouTube channels have multiple revenue streams depending on their content: ad revenue if they’re part of the YT Partner Program, affiliate sales, and sponsorship. All of these take time to build. Currently, it is only with ad revenue, affiliate sales, and my photography that I break even on my YouTube channel because I don’t get all of the boxes I review as PR, and my channel is still too small to be accepted to many affiliate programs (and many companies don’t even have affiliate programs), and I do not require a placement (posting) fee. The good thing is that there is room for growth in all 4 streams. My intention was to invest in my channel for a year, try to break even in the second year, and start making a profit to justify the time it requires by the third year, but well into my fourth year, it’s still not even a third of my annual income, so I may have to make some shifts in the near future.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think my audience appreciates my authenticity and unedited style. I do continuous-take videos which is definitely a differentiator among my peers. I also always strive to make a human connection with my audience and respond to every comment. When working with clients, I try to be casual but professional. Despite working on a marketing team in one of my other jobs where we have proposals and contracts, I’ve found that that can be off-putting for some of the small businesses I work with. As with my editing, most of my work comes from referrals. I also send out queries, but I think a lot of bigger companies are put off by my simple production quality and small subscriber count despite my solid engagement metrics. I think a lot of smaller businesses are wary and have received ridiculous quotes from some of the big players in this niche and they assume that I will charge the same fees. I try as much as possible to be eloquent, but also approachable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @maui_noel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelnorcross
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/mauinoel