Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Williams.
Erin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a full-time working wife and mother to 3 boys! That’s a lot of boys in my house. Needing to feel extra girly in a home of men, I began watching YouTube makeup and hair tutorials like a lot of other women, only I began at the age of 31. By age 34, I found that my priorities and interests were shifting to less of beauty videos and far more motherhood lifestyle, DIY, and home decor videos. One day, near the end of my first trimester I thought, “I can do this”, so I pulled out my camera and began filming my story and my laundry routine; at the time, laundry routines were my favorite thing to watch. It did well, one video led to 3 more, which led to 10 more and now, 1 year later, I have over 100 videos, public on YouTube in the same space that my interests had shifted to just 2 years earlier. I officially call myself a YouTuber and am proud to be doing something I love! Around the office, I will get the random IMs at work that says “I watched your video this morning; great tips!” How cool is that?!?
In addition to YouTube, I’m working to build the Erin Williams brand, posting likeminded content on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, which are admittedly smaller. I like to remind myself that I work a full 40 hr. minimum a week job in addition to taking care of my family, cleaning my house, shuttling kids to activities, and YouTube. I think a slow-grow on the other platforms is ok for now.
My hopes are to continue to build the Erin Williams brand to be able to begin my own company handling social media and eventually opening an Etsy shop where I can create and sell some of my own work. On that note, please excuse any typos… after all, I’m typing this at the end of a long, multi-job work day, haha!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road! Probably the hardest thing was trying to emulate perfection. When you are just beginning, you feel the need to compare yourself to other YouTubers on the platform who have millions of subscribers. Needless to say, that they have teams of people helping them do their day-to-day activities, professional videographers, editors, etc. and meanwhile, I’m doing ALL THE THINGS myself. It’s so easy to want that first video (and every piece of the content following) to be perfect. However, my mantra for the past year has been “done is better than perfect”. If I try to make it perfect, I’ll spend 10x longer on a project and make 10x less the content. I don’t rush through my content by any means, but there’s always something to be improved… and boy will people let you know! And hey, it’s fair. After all, they are the ones watching! I want viewers to be as happy as possible, as entertaining as possible, and maybe learn something to help them in their lives too!
My advice to any women, especially young women would be this: do not compare yourself to others, be gracious to yourself, tell yourself that you don’t have to be perfect, and don’t be afraid to put in more work at the beginning – the most helpful piece of advice though… don’t let ANYONE, not a husband, not a boyfriend, not your Mom, make you feel like you can’t do it. You totally can!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Erin Williams – what should we know?
Already having covered a bit of what I do, what I hope to be able to establish in my brand is that family is beautiful and important, and you are beautiful and important; it can all be summed up there. Whether I’m showing you a video on a super-easy casserole to make when you’ve forgotten about dinner, telling you it’s totally ok to leave the laundry in the washer for a full day or that sometimes dry-shampoo is your best friend, I want all women to know their value and importance. I want them to learn to decorate their homes inexpensively, find their creative outlets in DIYs, or try a fashion trend that they’ve been wanted to try. I want to empower women to be the best version of themselves that they can be, and if my content is able to help form one good habit, or help them give themselves a bit more grace, then my job is done.
What I’ve noticed is that what currently sets me apart from most of the other women in my niche is that my husband and I work outside the home, so I’m truly a full-time working women who deal with things like traffic and daycare expenses, comes home to her family of men, and then somehow finds time to film, edit, and create content on a weekly basis. Of all the women and friends that I’ve met on YouTube, I’m truly one of the rare women in my space who juggles that much. It is definitely refining…
Which women have inspired you in your life?
On a non-personal level, Jenna Kutcher and Rachel Hollis. I listen to both of their podcasts religiously and they both have amazing content. They know how to empower women in all aspects of life and have a true wealth of knowledge when it comes to entrepreneurship and being a girl boss!
On a personal level, my Mother-in-Law. First of all, she is an incredible present Grandma, but what impressed me most before we had children, was her backstory. She worked full-time outside of the home and raised two children only a few months apart BY HERSELF! Ok, to anyone who has ever raised a child, one child with a partner is hard. Two babies by yourself are insane, but she did it. Who wouldn’t be inspired by that?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.youtube.com/c/erinwilliams1204
- Email: erin.will.yt@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrserinwilliams1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinwill1204
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/erinwill1204
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
