Today we’d like to introduce you to Emre Tichelaar.
Emre, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It all started during freshmen year as a student attending the University of Houston. At that time my parents lived in West Houston so to avoid the commute every day I would live in the Freshmen dorms on campus. However, the thing with the freshman dorms was that you slept in a small room about 3 feet away from your roommate. Along with sharing a suite with two others. Therefore, when I wanted to start making videos I would head home a couple of times a month on the weekend to shoot and edit using only my smartphone.
After doing this for about a year, in the Summer of 2016, I decided to start producing weekly content, and this is when I started to really build an audience. I finally switch from using my smartphone to a DSLR when the opportunity to make a series of marketing videos for a local business came along. We agreed on a set rate, and that same day I went to Best Buy to purchase my first DSLR knowing that I would make back what I paid for it and more.
Now in the Summer of 2018, after creating weekly videos for about two years I have gained a solid base of weekly viewers. I am jumping to two creating two videos a week to try and build a better connection with existing viewers and to gain more.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey so far has been anything but a smooth road. To begin with, making weekly videos is a huge time commitment, one video takes at least 15 hours to complete. That is not even counting, countless hours of coming up with content ideas, promotion, doing live streams, etc… Due to this time commitment, I have had to choose between spending time with family and friends versus working towards the dream of one day doing YouTube full-time. This vision seems very far-fetched to my friends, who to them I am “just making videos” and to the parents who don’t understand the time we are living in.
Therefore, it is long-nights of editing and watching friends going out or doing fun things while you sit in solitude editing. It can get very lonely and gets rough sometimes. Lastly, because of the time commitment needed for each video, it often is impossible to have others help with creating a whole video since nobody will ever care about your dream as much as you do. However, recently I have started to slowly find the right people to ask for help and bring on videos.
In addition to this there is always a question, should I study for school to secure that A in this class or do I maintain just above the minimum GPA needed for my scholarships, and spend all other time building the channel?
To end off with, doing YouTube, a very low-paid job as pretty much your, well, job, gets pricey. Right now I think I am shelling out $400 a year just on subscriptions to my audio-library, stock-footage site and editing programs. But keeping costs down is also not too easy. It’s rarely the smoothest when I am working with my very old computer that can barely handle to more intensive things I am working on. Often I will have to wait a couple of seconds for my mouse clicking to register.
It is a tough road, but if it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Please tell us about Emerrias Studios.
My business is Emerrias Studios. I currently focus on two different areas. One is the entertainment side of things where I currently produce weekly entertainment videos that are meant to build my personal brand as an online influencer.
On the other end, I work on more professional promotional content for local businesses. Doing everything from planning to filming to editing. I am in the works to really quadruple down on Twitch, Live streaming, and creating merchandise- branded fashion.
What sets Emerrias Studios apart is that one, I deliver professional quality service for little or no cost, just to build up a reputation in Houston and a loyal client base. And two, I interact with my viewership on a very personal level which makes them feel connected to me on a deep level.
The one thing I am most proud of as a company is the community I have built around me being me, as an entertainment hub.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, if I have to start-over the only thing I would do differently is to put myself out there way more, way sooner. In the beginning, I was very nervous about what friends would think and therefore didn’t make too many videos.
If I had, who knows how much bigger Emerrias Studios would be now!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 832 941 8248
- Email: emerrias@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Emerrias
- Facebook: FaceBoook.com/Emerrias
- Twitter: Twitter.com/Emerrias
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/emerrias
YouTube.com/Emerrias
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