Carpe Diem! ‘Seize the Moment’! Everyone gets one small window of opportunity to chase their dreams and this is what exactly happened to Anshu Jain. She quit a stable job and plunged into YouTube as Small Town Girl. We have covered a lot of YouTube biggies on #OnTalk but this week, we bring you a rising star in a candid interview. Following are the excerpts.
1. How did a small town girl from Rajasthan end up starting a YouTube channel?
I did my engineering from MNIT, Jaipur and was placed as a metallurgical engineer in Reliance. The job didn’t suit me so I quit my job and started preparing for MBA. That didn’t suit me either but nonetheless, I ended up scoring 92 percentile in the entrance exam. So on my birth-day, I was alone as everyone was busy with MBA preparation, and I visited an orphanage and old age home and spent the day with the kids. I recorded the moments and then uploaded it on YouTube and that is how my journey started.
2. Academically you are a bright student scoring centum in 12th standard. What made you choose an unconventional career of being a YouTuber?
I used to think that scoring good marks would fetch me a job that I really wanted. Even in school I was not only a bright girl academically but also part of dramatics and dance events. Hence there was a balance between the academic and creative side. Later the creative side took over and that is how I became a YouTuber eventually.
3. Your travel videos have been very popular. Do you keep a travel diary with you so that you can record memories and then transform them into YouTube content?
Yes, I do a lot of travel videos because I love travelling and also because I want to prove that even girls can go on a solo trips because I do my trips alone. I had quit my job and hence there was no other source of income. Hence I ended up doing other videos just to act as a buffer to sponsor my travel videos.
4. Your channel will be turning 1 year old soon. How has been your experience of being a novice YouTuber?
My channel will be turning one year old on 14th October this year. I had just thought that I will dedicate one year of my time to YouTubing and see where it takes me. Today, I have good number of likes of facebook and get good number of views on YouTube. So I will continue with my YouTube journey!
5. Which Indian YouTuber do you follow?
I like AIB very much. Their videos are inspirational. They layer their comedic content with sarcasm and that I like very much. I like stand up videos of Kenny Sebastian too. Other than that, I follow Bhuvan Bham too. Whenever he uploads a video, I just leave everything else and watch his videos.
6. How did your peers and parents react when you told them that you wanted to be a YouTuber?
My parents are Marwaris. So convincing them that I am going to quit a stable, high-paying job and going to pursue YouTubing was tough. They suggested me to pursue this as a hobby. They eventually came around when they saw the work that I was doing and the fact that I was happy doing it.
7. You receive a lot of comments calling you adorably ‘cute’. What do you have to say about that?
I am humbled that guys find me cute and thank them all for their kind comments but I would rather insist them comment on the content of my videos than me because that is how I can improve my videos.
8. Do you think a lot of people come to see you or your content?
It might happen that some guys come to the channel just because they find me cute but there have been videos which have got a million views which is an indication that people do watch my content.
9. STG covers a video on so many topics. Will you continue doing that or stick to a genre?
It is always going to be like that because I am not a genre-specific person. I am a very abrupt person and do my videos very randomly. So you would find me doing videos on travel, comedy and on sentimental topics too.
10. Your video on ‘Michchami Dukadam’ was awesome? How did you come up with the idea? What do you have to say about the few people from the Jain community taking offense to it?
Whenever some people find out that I am a Jain, they are inquisitive about Jains’ eating habits and other practices. So the video that I made was an answer to all those questions. I don’t know why some people from my community felt offended. I just told them if they could pin point to anything specific that was offensive, I would cut out that part.
11. How do you decide the subject of your videos? Is it just on impulse?
Yes, I decide impulsive that I have to make a video on a particular thing. Once the subject is decided I do a lot of planning and work on the content of the videos. I am an observational person. So I make videos on the same.
12. What is the story behind the name of your channel ‘Small Town Girl’?
After I had compiled my first video, I decided to create a YouTube channel and upload it there. I wanted my YouTube channel name to be an idea rather than my own name. We have had so many Youtubers from metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai etc. So I named my channel ‘Small Town Girl’ because I wanted people to know that even people from small towns can project creative ideas.
13. How do you battle the negativity when you see a video not doing well or getting fewer views?
Whenever I compile a video, I put in a lot of hard work so I expect it to do well on the channel. So when I see a video not doing well, I, obviously, become disappointed for a few hours. Then I pick myself up and try to introspect and maybe do a SWOT analysis to improve my content and then start working on my next video.
14. We know you are a fan of Dead Poet’s Society. Given a chance of either recreating Dead Poet’s Society or going on a road trip with SRK, which one would you choose?
I would recreate Dead Poet’s Society with SRK!
15. What next for ‘Small Town Girl’?
Since my channel would be turning one in October, I am thinking of uploading a 20 sec clip every day for the month on something very relatable. On the long term basis, I will be aiming to improve my subscribers and also work on collaborations with few Youtubers.
16. Any message for your fans a.k.a #STGArmy.
Just keep watching my videos and never hesitate to express your views. Dekhte Raho, Haste Raho.
For a girl giving her first interview, Anshu Jain breezed through her interview with top honors for being funny and honest. We wish that the ‘Small Town Girl’ scores a home run on her videos in the coming days!