MY HEALTHY DISH: TikTok, Youtube Shorts, and Instagram Growth Hacks | MY NGUYEN

MY NGUYEN [0:00]

It's great to try to aspire to be them and try to follow in their footsteps, but never compare yourself to someone who's been this for eight, nine years and you're just starting off.

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CAMILLE WALKER [0:20]

So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business sharing your voice? How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

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CAMILLE [0:39]

If you've ever had questions about how to grow on social media, my guest today is going to blow your mind. My Nguyen is the creator of My Healthy Dish. She's been diving deep into social media for the last nine years and has grown each platform on Instagram and TikTok and now YouTube at such a rapid rate. It's almost unbelievable.

What I love about My more than anything is that she is very humble. She's very kind and she is a mother of two, living in California, who values time with her children as well as her parents. She creates a lot of fun YouTube videos. Now, it's everywhere where she creates healthy dishes. And she is a Disney lover, just like I am. That's how we originally met was working through Disney. And I cherish our friendship so much and truly value the time that she's spent with us today. If you find this helpful, please share it onto your own social media platforms. It helps so much for others to know that this resource is available here on Call Me CEO. So, thank you so much and let's dive in.

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CAMILLE [1:52]

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Call Me CEO. And today, I am so pumped because my friend, My Nguyen, is on with us today. She is the owner of My Healthy Dish and has gained quite a healthy following. If you've been around at all, you've seen her face. She has gained a following of 3.4 million on TikTok, 1 million on Instagram, and just hit 280,000 on YouTube. And on top of all of that, more than anything, she is a fantastic mother. She has the biggest heart and one of the most generous people I've ever met in life as well as helping fellow creators. So, you are all in for a special treat. My, thank you for being with us today.

MY [2:38]

Can you just do that intro for my phone too to anyone who calls me?

CAMILLE [2:43]

I'm happy to.

MY [2:48]

I'm going to have your voice recording every time someone calls me. Yes, I'm so excited. I love you and I love chatting with you. So, I was looking forward to having a chat, but we always talk business anyway. I feel like our conversations are like a podcast sometimes.

CAMILLE [3:02]

Oh, for sure. I know I've thought about that before where I'm like, "Really, those kind of conversations is what I want the podcast to be where it's two friends sitting down and getting the healthy dish."

MY [3:14]

Healthy dish.

CAMILLE [3:14]

Yeah, dishing it out. So, yeah, this is a special treat. I'm so excited. I wanted to introduce our audience to you specifically and have you tell them about your background, how you started, what your roots are as far as your family, and where you've come from, where you are now with your family. Because I think what's really unique about your platform is how much it's influenced your work and what you truly value.

MY [3:43]

So, I'm an immigrant from Vietnam. My dad was in the war. And so, we were able to get the refugee bill to come here to the United States and I came here. We left Vietnam when I was one and then we were at a refugee camp in the Philippines for a year. And then, we ended up in New York for two weeks in the dead of winter. And my dad was like, "No." You come from this humid, hot country into, I don’t know, concrete jungle frozen ice.

CAMILLE [4:20]

And it's humid too. So, it's like wet to the bones. It's the worst.

MY [4:22]

It's dirty ice and snow. Yeah. So, we planted our roots in L.A. thankfully. If you're an immigrant, you know that you rely heavily on family and friends when you first come here, whoever's here already. So, we were able to stay with friends for a while and acclimate here, still dirt poor. And then, we eventually moved to the Bay Area where I am now. And this is pretty much where I call home because this is where I plant my roots. We own our home here. My family owns a home here. Business and everything is here. So, how I started My Healthy Dish, that was interesting. I was in mortgage and finance and then I got fired. No, laid off because during the bubble, the housing market crashed.

CAMILLE [5:14]

Did you know that I worked in mortgage too and I had Jackson?

MY [5:18]

No, you didn't.

CAMILLE [5:18]

Yes. I had Jackson in 2008 and that's when everything went combust.

MY [5:25]

Did you lose your job too then during that time?

CAMILLE [5:26]

Well, I was on maternity leave and I did lose my job. So, I was on maternity leave, but then I got a severance, so yes. It was that perfect storm of at least the timing for me, I was just starting my family with kids at home.

MY [5:43]

But don't you think because of that moment, it led to where we are today? Because it got us out of a job that we didn't like. Because you would never have quit a job that was paying the bills. It had to be forced on you, even though I hated the job, yeah. So, that's so funny that we had that in common.

CAMILLE [6:04]

I know. We've never talked about that.

MY [6:06]

I just found that out. Yeah. So, we lost our job. My husband was in mortgage too. Harlen was in mortgage too. So, we both lost our jobs around the same time. And then, we lost our home. And then, when I got pregnant, it was twins. I don’t know if you know, maybe I told you, that I was struggling to get pregnant for so long. And I think the stress of the job and everything and having that miscarriage was all because of where I was in that moment of time. I was so unhappy.

So, once I lost the job, I got pregnant with twins like that. So, it was starting over in your 30s where you have no home, no job, no career. You don’t know. You're pregnant with twins and you can't actually just go back to work. Who's going to hire you? Whatever. And I didn't have time. How can I go back? I have these two kids to raise.

So, I was living with my parents. My husband went back to work. And I was just feeling really restless because as me and you, we're creators. We're always thinking. We're always trying to figure out what else to do. And you feel so restless when you're at home with these two kids. I love them, but I want to do more than diapers, feeding, nap times, and this monotony of the day-to-day of everything.

So, we had a garage sale when the girls were three or four maybe and we sold all their baby clothes and all their baby stuff. And we made enough money to buy an iPhone. And so, me and my husband bought an iPhone. And I'm dating myself because back then, the big thing was Angry Birds, the download.

CAMILLE [7:47]

Yeah.

MY [7:49]

Because that was when the app was just starting and stuff.

CAMILLE [7:52]

Yeah. That was the one game that you're like, "This is pretty cool."

MY [7:56]

Yeah. Angry birds like, "Oh my gosh." And then, Instagram. That was when Instagram was new too. So, I downloaded those apps and Instagram just instantly called to me as more than a place that you post photos of your kids and all of this. I was like, "Oh, there's something here." And this was before they bought out from Facebook, so it was just a photo-sharing app.

They're very basic and very simple, but I just saw something in it that no one else did. And I hit the ground running. I borrowed $1,500 from my mom to buy a MacBook. I started somewhat of a blog. I'm not really a blogger, but I'm like, "This is what you're supposed to do. You're a food creator." And I just spent 40 hours a week just creating content on Instagram, way, way, back then. And I remember hitting 3,000 followers. And my friend at a barbeque like, "Oh my god. You're famous, 3000 followers." That was how back then was. It was so early. It was so, so early.

CAMILLE [9:08]

You hit it way early.

MY [9:09]

Yeah. So, I think there's something to be said about being an early adopter with any social media platform. So, with anything that opens up like TikTok or Periscope or all those, I always reserve my name and give it a shot and see what happens. You roll a dice with it.

CAMILLE [9:32]

Okay. But you're skipping over one of the most intense things I've ever seen is when you found out what TikTok was. We found out about it at the same time together, but then it was about six months later that you're like, "No, I'm really going for this and I am posting three or four times a day and I'm just creating, creating, creating." There was this gleam in your eyes. You are the most focused person I've ever seen.

MY [10:02]

Tunnel vision.

CAMILLE [10:02]

You do. Sure, there's other things going on, but I'm creating content. What is that that drives you in such a strong way?

MY [10:14]

I remember that conversation with you. I remember calling you like, "Okay. I think I got it because I had been playing around with TikTok and I think I know what I'm going to do now." For months and months, trying to figure out this app and I'm like, "I think I know it. And I think I'll make this guacamole video and it's a secret chipotle, whatever." And that was one of my first viral videos that I was talking to you about. I was like, "I think I know how I'm going to approach TikTok."

But if you go backwards, TikTok started during the pandemic when we were all, again, these moments where we slow down. These moments where we have to pause, just like when I lost my job. And so, when the pandemic hit in April of 2020, literally that was when I really started to focus on TikTok. Before, I was just playing around with it, filming here and there and not growing. I can't figure it out. I was stuck at 60,000 followers and I was since November. I’m like, "Ah."

And then, in April when everything shut down, we weren't travelling anymore. A lot of my contracts were on hold because no one knew. So, everything was just paused. I'm like, "This is a good moment to dive deep into TikTok and just all this extra time that I didn't have." So, I'm like, "I'm going to film two to three videos a day every day."

Every day, it was spaghetti to the wall. I just felt like there was something there and that's still growing slowly. But it wasn't until that conversation, that lightbulb moment that I told you about, that was like, "Okay. I think I figured it out." And that was when everything exploded. I had at that time maybe 100,000 followers and then I think I hit 1 million within two, three months because it was just like I have the secret sauce. I finally figured it out.

And I think that's with any social media that you play around six months to a year, really testing things out and I call it the spaghetti to the wall theory and then learning from each one and getting to this aha moment where that's it. That's the secret sauce and that's what I'm doing and that's what happened. I finally just lightbulb and that same thing with Instagram, TikTok and now YouTube. It was just I finally figured it out. And then, I just hit the ground running like, "Okay, filming all day." But I neglect everyone else. I neglect my children, my husband, and my other socials, my friends. And then, now we're at 3.4 million.

CAMILLE [13:02]

It's incredible. Your amount of dedication and focus is so unique. Because I too was like, "I'm going to try." And I got burned out with doing so many videos and I wasn't even doing as many as you were. I was doing five a week and that alone was like, "Ugh."

MY [13:24]

Yeah, it's torture.

CAMILLE [13:25]

For those who are listening right now and they're thinking maybe they want to create on TikTok, do you think it's too late and what is that secret sauce? Is that something you share or is that something you have to discover?

MY [13:41]

It's a little bit of both. I don't think it's too late to grow on any social media channel. I think now is the time that all four, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are all competing against each other to have creators stay on board. So, they're giving you a lot of incentives. So, they're giving you money and creator fund. I think Instagram's paying bonuses and whatever and Live, IG TV. They're giving you money everything. YouTube is now having a creator fund and everything.

But what the big value here is if you really are neck deep into it is that there's such an opportunity to grow on any channel. Whatever your hand touches, it seems like it's just going to grow if you're consistent because they want you there. They're competing for your content. And this is what I find amazing about TikTok is that they led the way and they took the shift from putting the users first on their platform like Instagram has their users first. Everything was for the users.

And then, TikTok flipped it and put it as the creators first like, "You guys are important to us." They're having swag bags and having boom calls and questionnaires and events and just appreciation things and monetizing, giving you money and a marketplace to get campaigns. They were just creator, creator, creator. And guess what? A lot of people left Instagram to go to TikTok because they were making money and they were growing, where they were so stagnant on Instagram.

So, then, what happened was Reels became and now Biz and now YouTube has Shorts and Facebook, they moved the like button to a follow button, which is giving you more views. It's just slowly everywhere you post, you're getting more engagement, more views. So, I think it's just a great opportunity and that's part of the reason why I'm so busy and driving myself nuts is that I don't know where to put my hand because where do I go? Because oh my god, this is this and this is this.

So, no, it's not too late. In the form of content, I think this is also amazing if you have all four platforms open, great. And you create one video and it bombs on Instagram. I'm like, "Okay. Let's see if it's going to do well on TikTok. "It bombs on TikTok. "Okay. Let's put it onto YouTube Shorts." Surprise! It went viral on YouTube Shorts and then it did okay in Facebook or you might hit the lottery and do well on all four. But you have an opportunity to film one video, at least you have four opportunities for it to grow you on one channel, if not all four. So, that's what I like is that you can do one thing and grow it on all four channels. And that's what I've been seeing.

CAMILLE [16:55]

That's awesome and I think you're right. TikTok really changed the tide of the way that content's being created and the way that now the apps seem to be competing where before it was like, "Play our game or else." And now, it's like, "Okay. If you can do this 9 by 16 vertical video, and it's engaging, come here. Come here." It's all about that short-term video. So, I'm curious what hacks you've learned along the way for filming that have made repurposing easier as you've been able to grow on all the platforms?

MY [17:30]

The hacks I would say with any video, people would say the first three seconds is really important, but I know for a fact that TikTok knows their flaw. So, Instagram has it down. They have it there like the monopoly. So, if you play into what TikTok wants or whatever platform wants and I know that TikTok want learning content because they're not competing with Instagram, they're competing with YouTube.

So, YouTube is where we go to get information. It's somewhat like Google. I want to learn how to make the best chocolate chip cookies. Let me go to search this. So, what TikTok wants to be is the place where you get information too. So, any content that you create that is educational, that people are learning and you create it in a fun, interesting way, automatically the algorithm's in your favor because how the algorithm works is that things that are interesting are the ones that are saved, shared, engaged in. So, recipes that are saved, anything that I'm learning that I'm going to save for later, so it's just already in your favor.

So, I know for a fact that that's how it works and they invest a lot of money in their #LearnOnTikTok initiative. So, they actually hire influencers like myself to create content that's on the #LearnOnTikTok. So, I just know for a fact that that's what they want. So, if you give them what they want, you have a better chances of going and getting more engagement.

And then, on YouTube, it's the flip side, which is interesting. YouTube already has it down. They have the long-form down. They have the horizontal down. People go there for information, but now they want the short-form entertainment videos to scroll because the scrolling in the short-form. So, now they're pushing Shorts and they're like, "Give us just sixty-second videos. We're not picky. I don’t care if the watermark on TikTok is on it, just give it to me. We need it because not a lot of people are using it." So, I had an interesting week with YouTube. So, you said I had 280,000 subscribers on YouTube right now. Last week, I had 170,000.

CAMILLE [19:49]

What?

MY [19:52]

Yeah. So, I had one video go viral.

CAMILLE [19:56]

Oh my gosh.

MY [19:56]

On YouTube and grew 100,000 subs in three days.

CAMILLE [20:00]

What was the video about?

MY [20:04]

So, it was a refurbished video, which is so funny is that I tested this chocolate video over and over again repeatedly on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook and it was just me making chocolate from scratch, from the cacao pod and I filmed it in steps. But I never edited it down to one video because back then like three months ago, Reels was only 30 seconds. Do you see how it moves fast?

CAMILLE [20:31]

Yeah. It's so fast.

MY [20:33]

Back then, Reels was 30 seconds. When I'm saying reels, that was three months ago. And so, I can't fit all of this information on one video, so I did it segments. This is the fermentation process, whatever. And so now that I have a full minute to work with, I compiled it all and posted it again. And they all did well on all the channels, but on YouTube, it has 37 million views and that is how I grew 100,000 subs in less than a week on one video and it's still growing.

The video is crazy. And what's great about YouTube is that they're so hungry for this short-form video is that you're not competing against anyone. So, if you have a great video on YouTube Shorts, it would do well. Guarantee. There's no competition, so the same thing last year with TikTok. There was less competition. It was easier to go viral. Have you noticed the views are getting harder because there's more people on the platform? So, it's almost like how I would say you're getting, what is it when you're first to the app? Why am I drawing a blank?

CAMILLE [21:50]

Like a beginner?

MY [21:52]

What was I saying? Oh, an early adopter. So, Shorts is still in beta. If you look at it, it's on beta.

CAMILLE [22:01]

So, tell me if you're repurposing TikToks, is there an app that you like to use to take it from there to another? Because I know there are apps specifically made for removing the watermark. I know you said that YouTube doesn't care right now or do you simply just save it and just upload it to YouTube just as it is?

MY [22:20]

So, with the newer content, I'm editing it twice, so it doesn't have the watermark. But the old content that's on TikTok, I'm not going to reedit again. I’m not going to go through all of that footage, so I'll just pull from the TikTok and upload it with a watermark because right now, they're not being picky about it. Eventually, they will be.

So, what's now going on, of course, I'm editing in one place and then posting. Before I had a feeling that TikTok was giving you more boost because you would edit in-app. So, I would edit on TikTok and then I would edit in Instagram. It's like, "I'm doing too much work." And then, now I'm just going to edit it once on Splice and then post it wherever. So, just to save time and it doesn't seem like it made a difference, so maybe my theory was wrong.

CAMILLE [23:15]

You never know. Sometimes, it is that guessing game of just like you said the spaghetti method of just going for it and seeing what works. You are dominating. It's funny my son, Jackson, and My's daughters are the same age as we just figured out. They know each other. They're friends and it's so funny because Jackson said, "My friends think I'm cool because I know who My is." You're famous. He's like, "Yeah. Because I know her, so they think I'm famous." How is that changing your life as far as your visibility? Because it has really exploded in the last year.

MY [23:57]

I'm glad you asked that question because during this growth period, we were in the middle of the pandemic. So, we were still in this bubble. So, I really had a good comparison when I went into the real world to how it was a year and a half ago to now. And just being recognized so much more is very shocking, but the way people treat you are different.

I do notice that the work is different. People have high expectations. Producers are emailing me. Publishers are reaching out, so there's almost the point where before, I was not begging, but constantly forcing work. As a creator, I need to find my next thing. I need to find work and now, I don't have time where we have turn down so much work and that we just pick and choose the opportunities.

So, I have a great team behind me that I didn't have before. So, a lot happened in a year and a half where I signed with a great manager and team. And they're really guiding me to make the best decisions. And yeah, there's just so much that I'm overwhelmed of, "What should I do next?"

But just simple things too. I don't know, the treatment, I'm just not used to it. And the biggest surprise is the girls, all the girls are the super fans, the kids at their school, their teachers. They all know about our lives. They're just like, "Oh, you guys are filming this for your project this week." The teachers just know about us. The kids want me to go pick up the girls from school because they want to meet, whatever. They have friends from their school that DM me. It's like, "Oh, your daughter's in my class." It's just the weirdest thing from a year and a half ago where we were like nobody. And then, now your face is plastered everywhere.

CAMILLE [26:08]

You are never nobody and you had a very healthy large Instagram following. What? You were at 800,000. You've been in that status, but you really have catapulted in a new level and you talked about your daughters. They're 13 or 14 now?

MY [26:27]

They're 12.

CAMILLE [26:28]

Okay. They're 12. So, right at some really important formative years and TikTok is very much a part of your lives. It is. And social media can be hard on teenage girls. What are your concerns and how do you plan on creating a healthy relationship with that visibility and that popularity?

MY [26:50]

Oh, gosh. That's something we all struggle with, picking and choosing what we share and what's appropriate and respecting our kids' privacy. There's just so much that we have to think about, responsibility about us. So, even when we're having dinner, I don't geotag where I am. And when we go check in hotels, I don't tell people where I'm staying until I check out. It's one of those little things that I didn't have to before. I don't tell them where I work out where we regularly would go. People don't know where the girls' school is.

And I question if the girls even belong in social media sometimes. But then, are we doing them an injustice by not allowing them because there's so much that’s going to be hands-on in the future with social and work and school, I think it's all going to be intertwined. So, there's just a lot of parenting in this world of social media and attention that it's thrown at me at once. And do you remember Mindy McKnight with Brooklyn and Bailey? I just see how well-rounded.

CAMILLE [28:10]

Oh, she's incredible. Yeah.

MY [28:13]

I see how well-rounded Brooklyn and Bailey are, how amazing they're doing and how Mindy really took cute hairstyles and grew Brooklyn and Bailey from it. And now, Brooklyn and Bailey are killing it on social media. Why can't we do that for our kids? They are too. So, we are looking into either expanding the girls' page and making it more for their future more like a fashion cosplay because that's what they're into.

CAMILLE [28:39]

Oh, that is so fun.

MY [28:43]

Yeah. If I had time.

CAMILLE [28:45]

All in due time. I think what you're doing right now is going to give them plenty of opportunities whether they want it or not because what's really fun for your girls is the cosplay and I think that they are going to be set up in a really cool spot, where if they want to, they can and if they don't want to, they don’t have to. So, I think that what you're saying Mindy McKnight has a book and I'm trying to remember the name of fit. I will link it in the Show Notes below. Do you remember what it is?

MY [29:14]

I know the book you're talking about is raising children in social media or something like that. That's the premise of it. That's a smart book.

CAMILLE [29:22]

And it's phenomenal. So, if you're listening to this and wondering how to parent well during this age, Mindy McKnight is absolutely the best example I've seen especially being a spotlight and being famous. She really is so down to earth and so are her kids. So, that's a really good example. Okay. So, what I want to know is what is your next goal? It's so funny on your pre-interview you're like, "More, more, more." So, I'm like, "Oh my, what is it?" You are in a trajectory where you truly could do whatever you want to. What does that look like and how do you balance that with family life?

MY [30:07]

I think it's crazy to even say that. I never thought that this is where I would be right now in this moment in time that the sky's the limit kind of thing. If I work hard enough, I will get to that point if I wanted to. So, the problem is, what is it that I really, really want? More money? I think we're comfortable. So, do I really want to work really, really hard just to make more and more money? I don't think that's the purpose. So, now, we're looking into, what is it that I want, this legacy that I want to leave behind or when I retire or something to be really, really proud of? For me, my kids, my grandkids, and so it's going to start in these baby steps. We're working on a cookbook right now.

CAMILLE [30:55]

Exciting.

MY [30:55]

In the works next month and I had to be talked into it, but I'm on board now. Here's an interesting story about the cookbook and the reason why I was still bulking about it because the cookbooks we're hoping would be a bestseller. A bestseller will lead into more mainstream media and then we're looking at Amazon, Hulu, whatever, Netflix for a show. That's the end point is having your own show on one of the streaming networks.

But I don't know if you know, but I have a cookbook already. I published when I was very green and this is a good lesson for anyone who doesn't know what they're doing and they make all these mistakes. That was my biggest mistake and I don't regret it because I learned so, so much from it. I published with the wrong publisher. I didn't listen to anybody. The book was terribly put together. I didn't have any help. I didn't have the right people to support me and I did not know what I was doing. And so, when the book was published, I still didn't know what I was doing to sell books and all this stuff.

So, when my team came up to me and set up a meeting with my lit agent. I was like, "No. No. I don't want to do it. This is not worth it. I spent nine months of my life. I lost so much. I lost a lot of time creating content. My socials were hurting. Everything was hurting. My family was hurting because I was focused on this book and I could have spent those nine months creating content." You don’t really make money in books.

They talked me into it because it's not about money. It's about advancing your career and going more mainstream and stepping out of social media because you have the social media part down. So, we want to go to this area here. And that made a lot of sense, but here it was so different. Back then, I was begging to have meetings with publishers, flying to New York, begging to have this meeting, walking away feeling defeated because no one wanted to publish my book and all the publishers were like, "No. you're wrong. You're not good for camera. You're not camera ready." I got all these doors closed in my face and I left New York feeling really, really defeated.

For now, I have people from publisher Random House and Penguin and whatever messaging me begging to publish my book. I have a literary agent begging me and my team begging me to write this cookbook. And it's just like full circle. I have all this help and everyone leading me in the right way and pointing me to the right direction, but I know that this second book is going to be amazing because I'm doing it the right way. But I was this newbie not knowing what I was doing to now, it was a good reflection when I was in New York last month and sitting down and speaking to these people and them just like, "You've got this to me," back then, begging. Oh my gosh. It's just really overwhelming that I cry.

CAMILLE [34:08]

You've worked so hard. Nonstop, that has got to be such a good feeling.

MY [34:17]

It feels that you know that your value, before you were looking for outside validation, I need it because of this. And now, I know internally my value of what I can offer that I don't need these people and they need me. And that is that revelation that really helped me feel really confident in everything I do is that I'm more valuable. My content is valued. I don't even need you guys. I could do this. I need my team because they're great and they lead me. But I don't need this outside source. I don't need to be on TV because I could get 37 million views on one video and you'd probably have 10 million people watching maybe. Do I even need to be on TV? That's what I tell myself.

CAMILLE [35:08]

So, you have this full circle moment. You're ready, full steam ahead. You have this book. What is it that you want next beyond that? Do you feel like TikTok is going to be where you want to live? Do you want to be on TV or are you happy with social media and the book? Where does My want to end up? What is this goal?

MY [35:31]

That's so easy to say, "Hey, where do you want to end up?" I don’t know. I'm enjoying this journey and I feel like a lot of us always want this end game. What's the purpose? We don’t sit and just enjoy this moment of this journey, this crazy ride, the eight, nine years of peaks and valleys and learning from those lows and enjoying those highs and all those moments. Who knows what social media is going to be in two years from now, five years from now? Maybe it will take over mainstream media and maybe what my goal was to be on television is going to be obsolete with social media.

CAMILLE [36:20]

So, my question is do you feel satisfied?

MY [36:26]

No.

CAMILLE [36:31]

I love it.

MY [36:32]

I think you feel the same way that it's not about wanting more, but how can I be better at what I am today? What more can I give? And how far can I go? That's what I'm excited to see. I do not want to be complacent and just be okay where I'm at. I always want to see how far I could go. And if you give me a goal or a number, I will shoot there. I will go there. And my team knows that, so they're like, "If you hit 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, I'll take you to a BTS concert." Okay. It's not about the concert, but it's once you give me a destination, I will find a way to get there. And so, I think those small goals, I wouldn't say 500,000 is a small goal, but those little goals that you set yourself up for, you just keep checking them off, but I don't think there's an endpoint until I retire. My, okay. That was enough.

CAMILLE [37:48]

Yeah. I believe you. I think you'll be spinning those wheels to the grave. I can't see you ever stopping.

MY [37:57]

No. At 55, I should slow down and I just want to travel the world essentially and have the business run itself. That's what we want. I don't want to always be still on, but I don't think I'll ever let go of the business.

CAMILLE [38:11]

I will be shocked if you stop at 55. I'm just saying that right now.

MY [38:19]

Let's see. We could just go to Disney World together.

CAMILLE [38:20]

We could do that right now. Yeah, for sure. I'm going to be one of those old people at Disney living it up. No doubt. Okay. This is really insightful. You are so forthcoming with what you've done and how you're doing it. What advice would you give for someone who's listening and they're thinking, "How do I even get to 3,000, 5,000? How do I do this?"

MY [38:56]

Yeah. So, the one thing that all of us create that is really toxic is this comparison in this environment in social media where she has more followers than I do or she's doing that and why can't I do that? Or she just published a book or she just made it on that show and, here, I'm not there yet. All I could say is when you're following someone who is on that level that you're not at, it's great to try to aspire to be them and try to follow in their footsteps, but never compare yourself to someone who's been this for eight, nine years and you're just starting off. There's no comparison.

Let's go back to my video five years ago and how terrible they were. So, even just the little things. This is a good example. My sister-in-law started this social media page and I'm training her and helping her. And she's constantly comparing herself to others, me, and she was like, "Oh my god. Your video went viral. You got this campaign. I really wanted it."

You don't understand how we built these relationships for eight years and I've learned so much from each video and there's this learning curve. And so, I would just say never, never compare yourself to someone's end when you're beginning. There are such good role models if you just go back in time. Their content is there.

Go back to the beginning and follow their journey and you'll see the growth. You saw Mindy's videos when she posted her old ones. They just looked like a handheld camcorder in their bathroom with dark lighting and you see that and see where they are now. Okay. So, where are you in that timeline? And that's what I would say because that will give you anxiety.

CAMILLE [41:02]

Yeah, which we've all had. What advice would you give for moments when you do feel that anxiety because we've all been there?

MY [41:12]

It's just to organize your life. When you feel so, so, so overwhelmed, clean up your workspace. Write all your thoughts down. Write that check-off list of things that you need to do. And let's say, you have those ten things that you need to do, the one that you're dreading the most, do that first. Get that off your table.

I hate editing videos. That's the one thing. I feel like I'm reliving the filming process. I'm doing this over again. So, that's the first thing I do is edit videos to get it off my desk, so stress, anxiety and don't take on too much. I’m the worst person to ask that question actually. I can't. I'm so overwhelmed sometimes that I do still deal with anxiety and I think that's a good point. We all don't have it together. Just because we're here or there, and you're watching us and you're seeing this growth or these achievements, it doesn't mean that we all have all the answers either.

CAMILLE [42:22]

Amen. My, this has been incredible. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. Let our audience know where they can find you.

MY [42:33]

Which one, Instagram?

CAMILLE [42:35]

All of them, all of it.

MY [42:36]

Okay. My Healthy Dish is everywhere, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, but I would love some help on Instagram though.

CAMILLE [42:47]

Congrats on hitting 1 million. That's a huge marker.

MY [42:51]

I saw that coming and we were excited. At one point, I dropped to 739,000 followers on Instagram that was when life, those little lows, and I just kept on losing. And so, just to learn from that moment, is growing back to 1 million. It was a really big moment.

CAMILLE [43:17]

I can't even imagine. I love how you're like, "Yeah. I just need to grow on Instagram. It's only 1 million." I don't know. Pretty incredible. You're amazing. Thank you so much for being such an example of kindness and putting good content into the world. I love knowing that you're creating content that is making so many people happy and it's content that teenagers can see and learn from and just I don't have to worry about that filter. I think there's so much online right now that we worry about what our kids are seeing and it's so nice to have education content creators that are putting good into the world and you have one of the best hearts I've ever met. So, thank you.

MY [44:04]

You're awesome. You too. I miss you.

CAMILLE [44:05]

I miss you too.

MY [44:07]

We need to do a hangout together, all of us.

CAMILLE [44:11]

We do. I would love that.

MY [44:13]

The girls miss your kids too.

CAMILLE [44:16]

That would be so nice. Awesome. I will put all the links for everything that's coming up and when the book is coming out, I don't know when that's going to be, but I'm sure I will be sharing it on here as well. So, thank you so, so much. Bye.

MY [44:30]

Thank you. Bye!

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CAMILLE [44:34]

Hey, CEOs. Thank you so much for spending time with me here today. If you found something helpful or inspiring, please leave a comment and let me know with a 5-star review on iTunes or wherever you are listening to this podcast. Continue this conversation on Instagram @callmeceopodcast or grab your free business starter package at callmeceopodcast.com. And never forget, whether inside or outside the home, you are the boss.

Over the last 10 years, my life has been greatly blessed by being able to work as a stay-at-home mom to help us pay down debt and also have more financial independence to do things we like, like vacationing and having fun activities for the kids. A question I get asked a lot is, how can I too create my own at home business? And after racking my mind for quite a long time, I decided that a virtual assistant business is where it's at right now.

There are so many ways to be a successful virtual assistant and this is something that I wanted to help other moms be able to do. And that is why I created this 60 Days to VA program and it has been so wonderful to see these women who had no previous experience be able to create a business of their own with clients and success.

I have a recent graduate, Rachel, who says, "I can't believe how much I learned in only 7 weeks. When I started the course, I learned how to do administrative work that I found online, to have my own LLC, beautiful website, knowledge how to properly market myself on any platform, and the ability to use my different business programs. I feel so professional and confident to take on new clients. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is thinking about joining. The live sessions with Camille and other experts are worth the investment alone. You will complete the course with all the tools and resources you need to be your own boss, make additional income for your family, and really feel content in the value you add to the business world."

I want this for all of you and I can tell you that this is the kind of confidence that will come to you as well when you take my virtual assistance course. If you are interested, go to camillewalker.co/VA. Again, that's camillewalker.co/VA.

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