Last week, YouTube’s #1 makeup tutorial guru, Michelle Phan detailed her steps toward success in Forbes Magazine. The YouTube star who joined the video-making website in July 2008, currently has over 6.5 million subscribers and over 900 million views. She started by filming short video tutorials of herself applying makeup to create certain looks, and over time created not only a huge fan base on YouTube, but also started her own makeup line with L’Oreal called “EM by Michelle Phan.”

Forbes magazine calls the beauty expert a “millennial mogul,” yet asserts her success is easy to replicate. Upon asking Phan to outline her steps to success, the YouTube sensation asserts that one must “think of life as the ultimate road trip.”

The first step toward succeeding is to have a goal and create a vision. Phan stresses the importance of knowing what it is you want to accomplish. She says: “Just like you wouldn’t set out on a road trip without knowing if you are going east or west, you have to know what you want to accomplish. I knew I wanted to inspire women and build confidence, so everything from that point on was built around that goal.” Her vision to build confidence in women started in 2005 with her beauty blog, and really took off in 2008 when she got a laptop computer at Ringling College and was able to post makeup tutorial videos.

At first, her videos attracted about 40,000 views, but soon took off. She was motivated to create a career out of making videos for women, and after partnering up with YouTube to make money for videos, she was able to quit her job as a waitress and start making her dreams, and the dreams of others come true.

The next step according to Phan is to find a vehicle, or to pick the right medium to establish presence. For Phan, her “vehicle” is YouTube. The third step is to find some accomplices or co-pilots. “Whether it’s a business partner, friend, or online fan base, you need to have someone to bounce ideas off of and seek advice,” explains the YouTube star. For Phan, her co-pilots are her fans who provide feedback, or fellow YouTube stars who offer collaborations, advice, and inspiration throughout the journey.

Step four is to “optimize your fuel.” According to the Phan, one must always keep track of where they are on their path or journey to be sure they’re still headed in the right direction toward accomplishing their goal, or if one is aimlessly wasting their fuel. Phan is constantly reassessing her path to be sure she’s aiding in inspiring and building confidence for women.

Step five is to look at what’s coming down the road. For Phan, this includes staying on top of emerging and upcoming trends and predicting what’s going to be hot next. “You can’t just look at what is just right ahead of you. You always have to look at what’s also on the side of the road,” Phan says.

The YouTube sensation asserts that the road trip toward success is ongoing, and can never be completely mapped out. Long-term goals should be established, but road blocks should always be accounted for.

Photo: Youtube