This is a post to encourage the small YouTube community. I created a new YouTube channel in 2013 with zero knowledge on how to make a YouTube channel or how to start a YouTube channel. My path in growing a YouTube channel has not been a smooth or sucessful journey.
My YouTube Channel
The vast competition from top YouTube channels and no knowledge of You Tube were super overwhelming to me. I only watched YouTube videos, I didn’t know how to make YouTube movies. What is a niche..itch? I barely learned how to use iMovie as my movie editor. My YouTube upload over the years were a combination of how to, diy, tutorial, and vlog videos. It was really nice to learned how to make money on YouTube. I got my first and only $100 paycheck from google a few years ago. In the latest YouTube Policy update I was quickly demonetized from the you tube partner program. It made me super irritated and upset.
YouTube channel motivation
I didn’t know how to grow YouTube channel. My YouTube subscriber count remains very low. My emotions have been a huge roller coaster as if I had a huge YouTube channel. Like most you tubers, I had great emotional attachments in creating a YouTube channel. Comparing top YouTube channels with small YouTube channel, small youtube channel didn’t equal less frustrations. I decided to collected and summarized of my 6 years experience into a video to encourage small you tubers. My slogan is “One step forward is one step closer to your goals.” I haven’t quit after 6 years. So, my fellow small you tubers, keep creating and you will move forward.Â
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iPhone Battery Replacement Needed
I need an iPhone battery replacement for my old iPhone5, could I fix it / do it myself ? An iPhone repair is not something that I think I could do. However, I was super excited by the idea. I wanted to know how to take battery out of iPhone. Did iPhone5 battery replacement cost a lot? How complicated is it to do a iPhone battery repair? On the other hand I was also very intimidated by the idea, so my iPhone sat in a box collecting dust for over a year.
DIY iPhone Battery Repair Preparation
My mom was interested in playing with an iPhone but she didn’t want to invest so much money in a new iPhone. She does not intend to use most of the features. Remembering my iPhone stashed in the corner I decided to take a chance to see if I can fix it for her. I did some research and found a kit called IFIXIT iPhone5 Battery Replacement Kit . After watching more than 20 instructional videos I decided I could do it. To prevent myself from backing out I went and bought the kit at a local Fry’s Store. I went home and started the whole process with a live recording session. You can watch me stumbling through this challenge of my skills and nerves in the video below. I hope you will stick around to see if I succeed or fail miserably!!!
Conclusion
The kit only cost a little over $32 with taxes included, a much better option than spending a few hundred dollars for a new iPhone. My mom is very pleased and I am totally amazed that I fix it by myself. You do have to be prepared, be organized, be gentle, be careful and most importantly be patient in the whole process. It took me close to 2 hours from start to finish. I was taking my time so I wouldn’t make any stupid mistakes. It’s very rewarding to know I could do something that I thought was very complicated and impossible for me. This IFIXIT iPhone5 Battery Replacement Kit is excellent, I am super happy with it. I hope you will be inspired to try something challenging for personal your growth as well.
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YES, the Flowbee is My Haircutting Tool!
Flowbee is a really old vacuum haircutting system not targeted for haircuts for girls with long hair. Flowbee works great for short haircuts for women, men, kids and pets. If long layered hair or long haircuts for women is what you want, stick with me.
I got my Flowbee from my dad and he bought it between the 80’s and 90’s. The video I made below is to share with you Flowbee’s pros, cons and how I hacked the Flowbee to cut long layered hair. I wanted to share how you can cut your own hair with ease, no experience needed. You can use this method to cut really short or really long layers up to 15″. I have been cutting my own hair for the past 8 years with consistent good results.
Worth the Effort to Hack the Flowbee
With all the flaws the Flowbee has I can see why it’s not very appealing. If Flowbee did some design adjustment to secure the spacers and reduce gaps to maintain suction, reduce the noise level, and maybe a self-sharpening blade, I am sure a lot more people would be convinced to use it.
Good thing it only takes earplugs, tape and 1/2hr of time for the hack setup.  If you don’t have the system you do need to invest some money to buy the system. The system will more than pay for itself in due time. It’s been worth it for me, I only spent less than $40 dollars on extra spacers and oil. I have used it since 2010 and my dad used it when he was young. It’s been through two generations. Once you have it set up, your haircuts will be a breeze. I have not found anything that works better and easier than the Flowbee yet.
A Vacuum Haircutting System is a Great Investment
According to a google search, a girl’s haircut average to $43 and girls get their hair trimmed every 12 weeks and get a haircut every 6-8 weeks. Guys haircuts average to $28 and get a haircut every 3-6 weeks. There’s 52.1429 weeks in a year.
My haircuts averaged from $38 to $50 in Asian salons back in 2010 so I have more then recovered what I put in. If I had 6 cuts per year and if the price for my haircut stayed at $38 dollars per cut, in the past 8 years I would have spent $1,824 not including tips. My savings is for one person, imagine what a family could save.
As time passes by haircuts always goes up. Around 2002 – 2008 my friend’s haircuts were about $20 dollars but for me it was $28 dollars because I have super thick hair. I was upset I had to pay more. Prices spiked up to $30 dollars the next year and for me it was $38. My haircuts were always about $8 dollars more. Plus tips brings the cost closer and closer to $50 dollars per haircut. I have no idea how much a haircut would cost me now.
I can’t remember when was the last time I went to the salon. The Flowbee is pretty much a guaranteed money saver and success for me.
Flowbee Prices Going Up
If you are interested in investing in a vacuum haircutting system, definitely explore the options out there to suit your needs.  If you want to buy the Flowbee, I would suggest getting it on amazon for free shipping. The Flowbee website shipping cost seems a bit crazy.
7.5″Â Flowbee layered haircut with one set of attachments.
Here’s the research I did for the Flowbee vacuum haircutting system in 2014 when I got extra spacers & oil from Amazon.
Replacement oil – I didn’t see any on amazon, it sold for $5 at Flowbee’s website. The old shipping was just under $3 but now it’s crazy.
2019 prices have gone up. Flowbee Haircutting System + Extra Rubber Vacuum Adapter) – $139.95. I suggest getting the one with extra vacuum adapter. The one sold without the extra vacuum adapter is the same price. The original vacuum adapter broke since my dad’s era, but there’s nothing duct tape won’t fix. If you have an extra vacuum, you won’t need to rip the tape out every time you need to clean the house.
Replacement oil – Not available on amazon and it still sold for $5 at the Flowbee’s website.
Conclusion: I Love my Vacuum Hair Trimmer
It’s nice to have total control of my time and hairstyle I choose without having to worry about messing up. My favorite function is no hair to clean up. I recently dared to cut a super short pixie after years of having long hair. Short hairstyle is really liberating and super easy to maintain. Now, I love short hair. I have lots of fun cutting different hairstyles by myself and hope you will too. Here’s other haircutting methods I have tried cutting my hairs with.
Hi friends, welcome! The sole purpose of my blog and channel is to keep things fun and positive. My topics are diverse and come from my daily life. At the core all topics have one common goal, “obstacles are opportunities.â€
First Time Contacting YouTube Creator Support is Confusing!
Today my mini obstacle is to “Send an Email to YouTube Creator Supportâ€.
I received the YouTube notice about loosing my YouTube Partner Program Status. Immediately I wrote a two page complaint email to YouTube expressing my dissatisfaction with the new YouTube Partner Program Threshold. I hit the “reply” button. My email bounced right back with delivery failed status! I couldn’t believe I can’t even vent. My feelings were frustration and confusion. It took a few days but my steam eventually cooled off.
With big changes in the YouTube Partner Program Threshold small creators deserve and need answers to our questions! I tried harder to find an email contact for the YouTube Creator Support. I followed YouTube Help’s directions to get connect to a YouTube Creator Support representative. But the directions given were not accurate and did not lead me to a contact email. The inaccuracies led to more research and confusion. I am guessing they don’t want to make it easy for us to reach them.
Where’s the YouTube Creator Support “Email” option?
It took me a while to finally stumble upon the email contact form. I am sure other small creators will have a mutual need to ask questions. So I thought I’d share my findings with fellow small creators. With an YouTube Creator Support email form at your disposal, you can vent or scream at them all you want. Maybe even try to squeeze the last bit of information from them so you can reach the new 2018 threshold. Whichever you prefer. It took way more effort then necessary to find their “Email†option. I hope this video can spare you the headaches, time and hoops I had to jump through to find their email form.
Keep creating and fighting for your dreams! Hit that subscribe button to super charge my motivation. Your support is what keeps me going. Thanks and see you around.
Did YouTube’s email make me angry or confused? I can’t decide. Both emotions fused into one. If you are a small creator with low subscription and watch time you may receive the same letter from YouTube. What was your first reaction? Here’s a small quote from my email.
” Under the new eligibility requirements announced today, your YouTube channel, Focus Positives, is no longer eligible for monetization because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. As a result, your channel will lose access to all monetization tools and features associated with the YouTube Partner Program on February 20, 2018unless you surpass this threshold in the next 30 days. Accordingly, this email serves as 30 days notice that your YouTube Partner Program terms are terminated.”
It will be nearly impossible for me to reach the threshold by next month and the odds of loosing all the monetization tools and features are great. I know a lot of small creators like me who received the email from YouTube are upset and have many worries. One that stood out for me was the possibility of loosing the custom thumbnails feature. A custom attractive thumbnails is absolutely essential in building audiences. We definitely don’t want to loose that. We will know by the deadline. I don’t want to lament on YouTube’s disrespect for small creator and just get straight to a solution that will help and ease small creator’s worries. Here’s my video tutorial to stop YouTube from taking the custom thumbnail feature away from you.
My Video Experiment Update
I think I have outdone myself! After I uploading my video ALL THREE default thumbnails are showing my customized thumbnails. Rest assure you can definitely keep your customized thumbnails if YouTube takes it away on 2.20.2018! You won’t need to upload a single custom thumbnail again. Show some love and encouragement. Support small creators in reaching YouTube’s new threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000hrs of watch time! A subscription or simply watching some videos is much appreciated.
This screenshot is from my YouTube Dashboard.
This screenshot is from my iPhone.
The default thumbnail is slightly blurry compared with the other customized thumbnail. It may have something to do with the quality of the video. My earlier default thumbnails were very clear. I will have to experiment more on the export settings and update you. If we do end up loosing the customized thumbnail feature all default thumbnails would be the same resolution. I’d choose a blurry customized thumbnail over no customization any time.
If you don’t meet the threshold yet, keep working to make original content and build your audience. Here are some resources that can help you grow your channel:
