The Honest Channel passes 100k subs – but 99,999 is the number that tells the story

The Honest Channel has passed 100,000 subscribers and though that’s an obvious landmark to celebrate (and we will), 99,999 is the number that really moves me.

Because it tells the true story of a channel I started seven years ago and which has taught me persistence with purpose pays off. 

I started the channel pretty much accidentally by uploading a couple of review videos to YouTube that I had created with my husband as an experiment for a news platform I worked for.  

The first was a very enthusiastic and mercifully brief review of the Karcher window vacuum. Yes, I still use my Karcher every morning.

Where it all started – I can’t watch! 😂

When I left the news company I uploaded my reviews simply so I had readily accessible examples of my work that I could show potential employers and clients. 

A couple of months later one of my sons told me those videos had several thousand views and I already had a few hundred subscribers.

That’s when my husband and I decided to produce one review a month and we did that for a few years, slowly growing and just doing it as a hobby more than anything. 

A new direction for the channel

As I aged I became more and more interested in how to do that well and how to look after my skin too.

I had so many questions and I realized I now had a platform that could give me (and my viewers) access to some of the experts who could help us figure out how to live a fuller, happier, healthier life for longer – and keep our skin, hair and bodies in good shape too! 

So I began interviewing experts on the channel and that’s when my speed of growth really began to pick up. A couple of years ago we began publishing an episode pretty much weekly.

I left my job in December 2023 to do this full time but my husband still fits in editing my videos around his own professional audio and video work. 

99,999 subscribers represents simply keeping going and coming up with new content through the highs and the lows and the days when you question whether you should be doing it, whether you’re good enough, whether people want to hear from you or not.  

What I’ve learned

I have doubted myself so many times but I realized that when holes are knocked in your self confidence yet you carry on anyway, eventually they get filled by your greater sense of purpose.

That purpose propels you on until nothing can stop you – not even the hackers who took my channel down for 8 days in April! 

I was always a person who feared criticism, but in many ways I’ve immersed myself in it by taking on some of the hottest topics around health and wellness and inviting a lot of different opinions as a result!

I realize I’m stronger than I thought, that my instincts are pretty good and I need to stick to them and by them. I think my core viewers have similar instincts and it’s them, and me, that I enjoy doing this for.

We are people who want to understand how to age well, but as part of a happy, balanced life.

A family effort

The Honest Channel is a family team. My husband David has been utterly incredible these past 7 years, spending hours of his own time every week editing my videos! Oh, and now The Honest Channel is a podcast too!

My eldest son Oli creates my thumbnails and is our data guy (as well as being a talented editor) briefing me on where we’re going right and wrong, while my youngest, Sam, keeps our feet on the ground and smiles on our faces! 

Probably contrary to what some might think, ad revenues are pretty tough for content creators so we are beginning to work in a small way with sponsors who are aligned with our values.

I also recently launched channel memberships for supporters who want to contribute in return for some extra perks and content. 

Keep going, keep growing

I want to say a huge thanks to those subscribers who tune in regularly and keep supporting my work.

Whether you have been kind enough to leave encouraging comments (they are so appreciated) or you have just simply kept coming back time and time again, I feel your support, and it helps keep me going.  

In fact, ‘keep going, keep growing’ has become my motto and helps me stay focused through the good and the bad days.  

Because the trick with anything you love and hope to build a career around is to keep your eyes on the road ahead, don’t get distracted by what you see and hear around you and, most of all, don’t stop.