I was intrigued and inspired by reading this story on Yahoo! yesterday:
Though you may not know her name (yet), Bethany Mota is a superstar. Millions of young girls are familiar with this “Mota-vator,” an 18-year-old YouTube personality who has built herself a media and fashion empire — all from the comfort of her Northern California bedroom.
Now with her own clothing line at retailer Aeropostale, Bethany’s rising stardom goes far beyond her “MACBARBIE07” — a YouTube channel that’s generating an estimated $40,000 per month and has garnered over 300 million views since she launched it. She is an inspiration to pre-teens everywhere who’ve ever struggled with boredom, shyness and bullying.
Home-schooled as a child, Bethany entered public school in junior high but decided it wasn’t for her after a devastating bout of cyber-bullying in 2009. Bored, lonely and looking for an outlet, she redirected her energy into an unexpected hobby: creating YouTube videos for girls just like her that offered make-up tips and fashion advice, among other things.
While I’m not a huge fan of the whole teen celebrity culture, I thought Bethany’s story was quite inspiring — especially for those who are feeling “stuck” where they are in life or discouraged by hurtful comments others have made.
Bethany has built a massive platform, all by herself without any funding or experience. Not only is she impacting many lives, but she’s also making pretty downright incredible income, too.
She could have chosen to let the bullying demoralize her. She could have decided there was no hope or future for herself since she was shy, introverted, and lived in a really small town.
But she didn’t. And I think her story can serve as a motivation to anyone who is feeling frustrated or overwhelmed by the circumstances you find yourselves in.
No matter your situation, you have a choice: you can become a victim or you can become a victor. Which will you choose today?
I love this! My my sweet girl and I are just starting out on you tube, trying to launch her singing career, such an inspiring read for young girls! ?
Shes awesome ! Keep it up sweetheart
Hey Crystal,
Thanks for sharing this awesome story. I have what may be a really stupid question, but is this actually possible. 40,000 per month seems like an insane amount for only 300 million views. How exactly does one go about reaching such financial heights via youtube alone?
Awesome girl, shows how anyone can turn bad into good for themselves and others. Its all in attitude and choice. Way to go girl. All kids need to take inspiration from her, bet she goes a long way in life helping others.
Although I’m waaaay older than Bethany, I’ve been a big fan of her channel for a while. She is such a positive light in a world full of dross. I love her spirit and that her videos always make me smile. It’s so great to see you feature her on here!
“No matter your situation, you have a choice: you can become a victim or you can become a victor.” SO TRUE!
Oh Crystal!!!! I can’t WAIT to show this to my 14 yr old daughter!!!!!
She is a Type 1 diabetic, and just in the past month has decided that she is going to start doing videos for other Type 1’s for YouTube. There isn’t a lot of support as far as stuff besides just education…like fashion when you wear an insulin pump, eating great foods, how to get in some fun exercise, questions that siblings have about diabetes, etc.
We are super excited to get started and this will just pump (pun intended) her up even more!! So glad you shared this!!!!
I LOVE it! And what a great idea!
I agree, Dawn, that you and your daughter have a great idea!
One song came to mind as I read this, in regards to the people that bullied this girl. That song is Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?”
I am glad that she was able to turn for good what they meant for her harm. From one bullied girl to another – Way to go, Bethany!
Thanks for posting. Enjoyed watching the interview — she’s mature and quite articulate — young ppl can learn a lot from her. Very inspiring.
Loved this story. And I love how she says she engaged her readers- she went to the comments and answered every question they had. We all know how important that is, and it was cool to see the tried and true logic in action!
I know; I thought that was fantastic to see how engaged she is with her followers!
If you have a 13 year old daughter, then you have definitely heard about Bethany Mota! We waited in line to see her on her “Motivatour”!
The Internet is an amazing thing….you can make money (but it takes a whole lot of work and an insane amount of patience!) and live life on your terms.
This girl is super smart. Build a platform. People overlook this ALL the time. YouTube is easier now with SmartPhones and a little tech savvy in ya and you can excel. But you have to get a follow and a reason for people to follow you.
But I go back to that “lots of work” and “patience” thing. Those are hard pills to swallow but necessary for any online success. But the rewards are worth it! 🙂
Such true words!
How do you generate income from you tube?
It’s mostly ads with increased visitors and viewers. 🙂 -Meg, MSM Team
So cool, I have a friend who makes $500-$700 a month from YouTube. It can be lucrative if you build up an audience and keep doing a video a week or every other week.
As for bullying, I was bullied so I know what it feels like. I am glad you found an outlet and funny as it is, I bet the bullies want to be her friend now.
Very cool! Congrats to your friend!
I love her entrepreneurial spirit! What an awesome girl. This is certainly something I will show my kids. Thanks for sharing it!
This is awesome. I love that she’s a home schooling teen. Some people still have the idea that home school kids are socially inept.