Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wade Bennett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Wade, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I originally started YouTube under a different channel name back in 2010 when Apple’s first iPad was introduced. I was always into tech – and especially Apple – and even had the very first iPhone in 2007 as a middle school kid. When the iPad was introduced, I was already watching YouTube videos about smartphones, computers, product unboxing, etc., and thought to myself, “well I could do that!” And so my very first YouTube video was an unboxing of Apple’s iPad.

Throughout most of high school from 2010 to 2013, I uploaded tech videos mainly for fun, but I also earned some money from YouTube’s original invite-only Partner Program. I went off to college and assumed I would major in Computer Science and actually work for an Apple or a Google or a similar tech company. I quickly realized that was not the field for me. I floundered around in college for about a year after abandoning my Computer Science major, and I decided to use my free time to jump back into YouTube.

In January of 2015, I created the TechDaily YouTube channel and began uploading all sorts of tech videos. My intention was to make content that the everyday person could enjoy. I wanted my videos to be made for the masses, and I try to keep the information simple & straightforward. I really just want people to make the best purchase decision based on the product, its features whether or not a person actually uses those features) and the price. I’m intentionally not-so-technical with my reviews so that everyone can enjoy them, and sometimes I’m even brutally honest with my critiques. Not everyone needs a $1200 smartphone, and most of these companies are just pushing gimmicky new features that 99% of buyers would never use.

I just want people to get the straight answers when it comes to their smartphones and other tech products.

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?

TechDaily is a YouTube channel with nearly 300,000 subscribers and more than a million views per month. My videos are primarily product unboxings and straightforward reviews on all the latest tech: smartphones, tablets, earbuds, speakers, and other consumer electronics.

I cater my videos to the average shopper. I like to tell people straight-up whether or not some expensive new smartphone is “worth it” or if they should instead just stick with that they already have. My goal is to help people keep their hard earned money and only buy products that are genuinely good or that they would find useful in their every day life.

I don’t *sell* anything. In fact, it makes no difference to me if someone buys a product I review, or if they think I’m being paid off by some brand, or if they disagree with my comments. I’m sometimes brutally honest, and not all of my reviews are positive. I’ve even cut ties or had bad relations with brands because of the things I’ve said.

At the end of the day, I just want to be sure that the viewer gets the information they need in order to make a good purchase decision.

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

Building an audience can best be described as a snowball effect: it’s a slow process that starts small, but with consistency & momentum can eventually transform into something much much larger.

No one is going to watch your first 100 videos. They’ll be awkward, poorly edited, boring, and you may even end up deleting them because you’re so embarrassed. But that’s part of the process.

Eventually, a handful of videos will randomly be shown to the right audience. Or an Instagram post pops up on everyone’s feed. Or a tweet goes viral. But that only happens after you’ve created a ton of content.

I randomly had 2 or 3 videos do really well. They got picked up in Google search results or were recommended by YouTube nonstop for a week or two. But that didn’t happen until I already had hundreds of videos uploaded.

I think the average person underestimates just how much content needs to be created nowadays in order to actually build an audience. There are literally millions of YouTube videos and Instagram Reels and TikToks being uploaded every single day. You absolutely cannot build any substantial audience with a couple random YouTube videos uploaded sporadically over the course of a summer.

But if a person genuinely wants to build an audience, they should find a topic they are interested in and knowledge about, upload content consistently, and give it time. 6 months to a year at least. And don’t stop creating.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I fall into the category of entrepreneurs who irresponsibility risked their livelihood in order to achieve success. It’s not a situation I would recommend most people put themselves in. However, I do think it can be the motivation some people need in order to push them into success.

After I graduated college, I wanted to put all my effort into trying to turn TechDaily into an actual business. At the time, it was essentially a casual YouTube channel generating maybe $1,000 per month on its best months. I figured I would need $3,000 per month in order to at least stifle off getting a “real job” and perhaps that would be enough to even move out of my parents’ house.

I made it a point to upload videos as often as I could (sometimes even daily 😉) and also did freelance writing work on unrelated websites. Every dollar I made was reinvested to buy more tech products, and every opportunity I had – whether it was a free phone case or a $50 sponsorship – I said “yes” to. It took probably 5-6 months to grow my YouTube income to around $3,000 per month, and the following summer I moved out of my parents’ house and signed a lease on a condo I literally couldn’t afford.

I moved into that condo with barely any furniture, had zeroed-out my bank account (I didn’t even own a car at this time!) and essentially had 30 days to make-it-or-break-it with rent coming due. I emailed every single company I could think of – including literally begging for smart lightbulbs – in the hopes of getting free products and even furniture to make videos on. I continued to say “yes” to every opportunity I was offered (even to the detriment of my channel as some weeks I was reviewing products or taking sponsorship offers my audience was vehemently against) but ultimately was able to build & grow month after month.

I learned a number of things along the way, the most important of which is something I tell other entrepreneurs: if you put yourself in a position where you have no choice but to succeed, you will. I really didn’t have a choice after I moved out. I had bills, I had no money to my name, no job prospects, and no other choice but to turn TechDaily into a business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techdaily.jpg/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/techdaily
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechDaily