On "Quitting" YouTube

If you start feeling burned out.... cut off an arm. Got it.

Marques can you not scare us with a title like this

I'm not a content creator by any means, but I cannot express how much this video has helped me come to understand what I'm feeling and why something needs to change. Thank you for all you do, and for all the greats who are putting themselves first!

Glad you put this up, Marques. 😊

I relate so hard to what you said about not being able to review all three phones in front of you - I used to want to try and cover every single new thing that I could buy or that arrived with me. I felt like each was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'd feel stupid to let pass me by But when your content becomes better, and the time required for every single part of the process goes up, not to mention your standards get higher, it becomes completely unfeasible and you have to pick and choose. Here's to making more things just because we enjoy them!

Nearly 20 years doing this now, ive resisted having a cameraman/editor/ team etc as the thing that made youtube so good back in the day was it was normal people and there mates doing awesome stuff and i've always felt if i get a team of people behind the scenes i start to become a TV show or a manager so my work process today is the same as back in 2006 lol. Its put a limit on the amount of content but thats all. My only tip at present is KEEP ON DIGGING. Great vid Marques as usual.

Very well said. Even outside of KZhead, starting a business of any kind can be very difficult. Especially when it starts to grow and you begin the process of adding different levels of responsibility to your team in order to maintain it. This video definitely makes all of the sense in the world to me and it is very helpful. Thank you for it.

I really needed this right now. I'm by no means a big creator, but the pressure still mounts at times. Thank you for putting this so eloquently and for the great insights.

Tom Scott did it best. He told us a year in advance what was going to happen and he followed through. He is an awesome person and I wish him the best.

What's weird is... even if you never cater to the algorithm, ignore pressure to post frequently, don't sell any merch, and avoid management headaches by never expanding to a team, continuing to make videos the same way you always have... you can experience burnout. I've heard.

Great video! Very well said. Having been on this platform now for 18 years - I totally feel every single word you said. I "left" KZhead as my full-time job almost six years ago now, and it was such a good decision for me. I don't have to focus on maintaining all 8 of my octopus tentacles, but instead can work with a larger team and just stick to my core competences and "heart." Loved all the disparate analogies here - you get it.

I 100% agree. As a content creator in China for around 7 years now with over a million followers, I can tell you that making sure that you're still spending at least 60-70% of your time doing the part of content creation that you love, but also remembering that you can sometimes slow down to a walk, and speed up to a jog or run when it comes to the number of videos you're making is totally ok. It's not all or nothing for the entire time. It's your career, and you get to decide because burnout sucks! And the whole point of working for yourself is YOU get to make the rules.

Not growing is always an option. I want to keep things small.

Didn’t think I’d be getting a MKBHD shout out for quitting KZhead 😂 great insights! For me I don’t feel burnt out but I do feel the need to stop the machine for a bit, slow down, learn, recalibrate and give myself time to figure out what the next phase is. Whether that’s coming back to KZhead but doing it differently or doing something completely different. It’s just very hard to do that figuring out while keeping the machine going. Anyways thanks man 🙏🏻

I appreciate your honesty! As a fellow KZheadr who started a few months ago and focuses on hair tutorial videos, I totally relate to the part about "cutting some arms," which, for me, one of the arms I will like to cut off is the editing process. As I grow and evolve, seeking help with editing is something I'll likely explore. I've noticed many big creators expressing a desire to quit. In my view, pacing oneself can indeed help reduce burnout. I'm committed to keeping the creative process enjoyable - it should be fun, not a chore. Let's continue creating and enjoying the journey

I gotta say. Your octopus analogy applies outside of the creative space, to anyone who is working with or managing teams. It’s smart to know your own strengths and fill that role as best you can while relying on and trusting others to do what you’re not great at and reaching the same goal. Great vid

"You are making stuff. And that's the fun." You've kept focused on that and it's inspiring. Thanks for showing the way!

"A dream job, is still a job" is very well said. Work-life balance is very important.

Oh man, everything you said hits so close to home 😪

Man 2008 is when your channel started. I was still in Highschool back then. I'm glad you're not leaving us and thanks for keeping it real.

The octopus analogy is actually so accurate

I almost had a heart attack when the notification popped up. I’m happy we still we have you around MKBHD.

It's refreshing to hear a realistic and thoughtful perspective on the complexities of being a content creator. Your analogies really hit home and made the message clear.

As someone who is going through a transition career-wise who has also thought about going all in on KZhead from time to time, this resonates quite a lot. Thank you for making this.

In summary: become a comfortably jogging two-legged octopus and buy six more treadmills for each of the other 6 legs and make sure to keep your three hearts intact

My answer has been to save some videos for myself. Just make something for me, without help. It may not even be for KZhead. Use the scale to keep the machine going. To pay the bills. The trap is chasing money. Creativity is always at arms reach if we ignore the game

I think the trick is youtube creator jobs actually DO scale like regular jobs - what you're describing is very similar to how most small businesses scale (your job becomes more and more overhead and coordination). For example, it's not that different than trying to scale a plumbing business. The biggest difference seems to me that you still need to be the "star", which makes it hard to naturally transition into a management / owner role because you can't delegate that role easily. A lot of these "quitting youtube" videos seem to happen when creators reach the level of scale that they realize they need to delegate the star role, and that requires a conversation with fans to reassure them and try to keep them onboard through the transition (Linus Media Group seems like a great example of this).

I connect to this so much being a 27 year old ceo for a food brand. Every single thing you said is true and I hope everyone hears you clearly. You have to be good at everything to a degree, but you also need to be good at getting rid of tasks and managing people. The future of wealth is owning your situation and being at your speed on the treadmill. Thanks Marques

Treadmill is 10/10 analogy. Big fan 🤠

Great video (as always). I went through this as a writer before I experienced it as a KZheadr. I always dreamt of being a published novelist (and with good reason; it's a wonderful job), and I spent a lot of time doing it for free before anyone ever paid me. But the creativity part of writing, while of course it's at the center of the work, is only part of the story. You also have to think about invoicing and net-45 payment schedules and marketing your books effectively and collaborate with designers and editors and audiobook producers and foreign language agents and so on. All of this is great work, of course--it's inherent to your dreams coming true, which is of course an amazing experience--but it's very difficult to remain creative while also doing a good job of the other stuff, and "the other stuff" becomes a bigger and bigger part of your job. This is one reason why I used to publish a book every other year and now it's every four or five. With KZhead, it's even more extreme, because there is even less support, and the business models aren't as mature. And when people feel like they've lived the dream, and now they're ready to go on and live another life, I think we should thank and congratulate them. Thanks as always for using your voice with such care and thoughtfulness. -John

thanks so much for putting this up as a musician and creator who is trying to establish herself and struggling to find the balance in all this, i can really relate. The analogies were very eloquent and intelligent and gave me hope and a feeling that it's normal what i'm going through. thank you! 💕

This is part of the magic of your brand the way you articulate the subject you're discussing makes it easy to follow, I love your channel and have been faithful to your brand for Years now

I totally resonate with what you've expressed here. The KZheadr job is more multifaceted than most people understand and the burnout is real. Keep your passion at the core of everything you do and remember why you started.

thank you Mr HD, I'm going to work with 1 arm from now on

I appreciate you making this video and putting it out there for everyone to see. I just so happen to come on your channel since it's been a long minute and stumbled on this video. It's something I needed to hear going into a different work field in general. I'm on that path where I'm trying to figure out my passion is and what is worth my diligence and time. Listening to you gave me a little different perspective and I think it will help me down the road. Much love and kudos to you for being where you're at today! 🙌🏻😎

“Do what you love. Love what you do” is on my wall above my imac for a good reason. 💖 Delegating the things you don’t love sounds like a wonderful idea. Because somebody will love to do that thing you don’t. I’m so glad you are there being an inspiration in a way that goes way beyond tech - just in your being-ness. Such good energy and authenticity - and so smart. Just some of the things we all appreciate about you. 💖

“Catch you guys in the NEXT ONE.“ More relieving words were never spoken.

Extremely well said. Watched this from start to finish and agreed with every word.

Hey man! I've been watching your videos for years. Before I was even in a creative field, and now I am! It definitely is my dream job, people do get burnt out for sure. I've struggled to understand why the older generations want out of the industry, I love the work but I can see in a few decades being taxed by it. Hope to see you on here for years to come, good to see professional perspective from a peer at the same age range. Thanks for the hard work!

Your NAILING this. Thanks fo the brilliant deep dive and honest revelations. This is also true for any other person working for himself and growing. You end up doing absolutely nothing you started off enjoying. Brilliantly you also looked at the solution and not just the problem.

Final achievement: made it into a MKBHD video 😁 You're absolutely right on this one! Although I believe it requires a skill to delegate (cut off arms). A skill I had trouble with. I have huge respect for small businesses and channels with a small team that succeed at this. It ain't easy, I can tell now 🙂

It's still wild to me that KZhead has been around long enough for even some of the most dedicated creators to move on. The recent retirements aren't just your usual KZheadr that's been on the platform for a few years. It's creators that have been here for 10+ years, creators who were there when KZhead was starting to take off. We're slowly moving to a new era, and it's a weird feeling as a long time user of the platform.

I resonated deeply with your video about why people stop making KZhead videos. Your insights touched on the emotional aspects that many creators experience. Your words reminded me of the journey and passion behind content creation, and it's reassuring to know others understand the challenges. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and fostering a sense of connection within the community ❤ Jarno from Easy Finnish

It's interesting, on my path as a new teacher, watching and listening to KZheadrs describe the process. It parallels a lot of the feelings that go into our careers - how it feels like you're always trying to keep up, running constantly, how it consumes your life. It's an art, a passion. If you don't remind yourself of the core of why you are there often, you will lose yourself to burnout. I relate a lot to Mattpat, how he said it's best to end on a high note. I think it's why we lose a lot of teachers - to quote Harvey Dent, you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.

as someone who recently started hiring people to handle some of my editing work after 11 years of doing everything myself, it's been a huge boon to my creativity. i don't need to think about editing nearly as much, which has almost revitalized my brain and my motivation to do more interesting things. i think a lot of people who want to start a channel really do not realize how much work it is. when i first started, i saw so many channels and people who thought they had so many good ideas for youtube, but once they exhausted those ideas, they just full stopped creating content, whether it was because they ran out of ideas, or got too tired of it. it's not enough to just have 8-10 video ideas, make them and that's it. you gotta make those and then keep it going... forever. and that is not something many people are prepared for, both physically and mentally. i'd rather be doing this than 99.9% of other jobs out there, it is a privilege to be here, the freedoms are amazing, but that doesn't mean it's all sunshine and rainbows either. you have to eat, breathe and sleep content.

Great advice! It's important to remember why we started creating and what we loved about the process and not turn it into a rat race.

Hey Marques! As a new KZheadr, this video really resonates with me, and I can't help but think about how it relates to your journey as a seasoned content creator. It's so true that being a KZheadr might seem like a dream job, but it comes with its own set of challenges and complexities. Your content has always been top-notch, and I admire the way you handle your channel. I think finding that balance between external goals like growth and fame, and the internal motivation of simply enjoying the creative process, is crucial for creators like you. This video reminds us all to be deliberate about our KZhead careers, preserving what we truly love about creating content while delegating tasks that can lead to burnout. As a new KZheadr, I appreciate these valuable insights and consider them as gems of wisdom. Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Marques! It's a valuable reminder for all creators, including those who look up to you. 🙌🎥💡

Loved this video! Thank you! Love the three hearts analogy and love the transparency you shared, too!

As a 72yo video guy with a 53 year creative career, I can honestly say this is the best advice I have ever encountered.

No ad interruption. No shiny objects for b roll video to cut to. No frame switching 15 times a minute. Honest. Eloquent. Felt like Marques was in my living room. THIS is what KZhead’s supposed to be about. Marques, can I grab you a drink bro? Awesome video.

Marques, what you so clearly and eloquently share in this video regarding a KZheadr job applies perfectly to everyone who decides to become an entepreneur and -in the track of growth- faces that “octopus challenge” presented here. Great message: THANKS.

This was an excellent video. The growing pains that you’re speaking about are actually very common and lots of areas of industry. The restaurant industry, for example. That industry has a lot of failure in it for this very reason. A chef loves to cook, and gets the joy in cooking for other people, and then thinks the logic responses to start a restaurant. And then, as the restaurant you spend more of your time working on the business end of it and teaching others to do the thing you love to do, which is the cooking. The answer? Others to take on the pieces that are stealing away your first love so that you can go back to focusing on what made you great… financially possible, of course.

As someone running a computer repair shop business full time while trying to scale a channel with crazy growth, this video is reassuring that I’m not alone in my struggle. Literally another full time job.

We're a channel with 2 million subscribers, and it's been extremely exhausting creating content for the past couple of years. When videos no longer hit, it gets harder and harder to justify the investment we put into the platform. We're doing what you suggested and going to focus on content we enjoy making and hope there are others out there like us. -Eric

Marques always has The Insight on things going on in the internet. This makes a lot of sense and has me thinking on things as I grapple with where I want to go in my own creative endeavors. I'll be keeping this video in mind.

So true. I am over 5 years in and I share testimonies and miracles. It’s been amazing but it’s also a lot of work. I didn’t monetize my channel. It takes a lot of time to preview guests, read their book, record, edit, write, graphics, social posts…reply, etc. As a busy mom of 2 I find I am getting a little burned out. It has been wonderful but people really have no idea how much it takes to keep it going. I may cut back my content or pause. I don’t know yet. You made great points here. ❤

Perfectly well said 🙌 Something we're grappling with here at Viva La Dirt League. Burnout is a real thing and we're actively looking to keep this sustainable for ourselves!

An accurate, out of control, and somewhat disturbing analogy.

Thanks for your advise. I really needed that because there is no one teaching, showing what is really going on. You have always been an honest person with regards to this. Thanks again for being real.

Thank you Marques for sharing your thoughts today! Appreciate your insights on Quitting. 💝

The articulation of Marques is truly something I need to learn about. No stutters, no repeating of the facts, the flow is simply amazing.

Great advice and Yep It's a dream job and so grateful we can do this, but it is way more hours than many people think. Just like anything it has its ups and downs for sure. Finding what works for you and working on a scale that works for you takes time to figure out. Either way all those videos resonate with any full time creator.

I found this video to be so helpful. Especially the treadmill analogy. Marques, my dad was one of your biggest fans. He passed away last year and every time I see one of your videos I think of him. He would often send me your videos to encourage me with my own channel. He was 76 when he passed. I just wanted you to know that. ♥ ~ Jennifer

I love the real talk in this video and analogies you used. Really helps explain the experience.

Now this has come full circle. I became aware of the new set of KZheadr creator, quitting videos, based on a tweet that you put out a week ago on X. Great stream of consciousness, post! Had a kind of Coltrane solo vibe to it. It started inside and then you started improvising way outside the changes with your octopus analogy. Totally dug that! Thanks 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Great response man and love the analogies! For me, the only thing with cutting off the "arms" is that you still have to manage those arms and I am a terrible manager lol. So I've just not scaled up and cut back on content.

Great thoughts and thinking as usual, love it. And also love seeing the shift in mindset from more, money, fame to more being in the moment and having fun doing something creative in the first place. People naturally love to have fun and other people love to join in but business kills all the fun

What an incredible message. I think a lot of people should hear this and it certainly doesn’t just apply to video creation. Thank you! Absolutely love the octopus analogy 😄

"If you ever get to live the dream, be very deliberate about it!" This video resonates with me so much and Im glad you made it. Thank you.

"Pick the right speed on the treadmill." Man, that resonates. I'm trying to branch away from my day job, and it feels like I've got one leg each on two different treadmills.

Two points come to mind. First, my mother taught me something important when I was really young. Decide whether you are a leader or a worker. Leaders will shoulder the burden of responsibility and all the rewards that come with risk and control. Workers will maintain routine, creative, reliable employment. Decide which is at your core and follow that path. Second point. Your description of chasing opportunity that leads to overhead and oversight, drawing you away from creativity is shared by many others. Generally speaking we learn to Walk then Run then Fly... and it's all so natural for this to happen. I suspect youtubers aren't aware of the formula until the reality of a living wage is dangled just within reach and then... the chase is on.

Love how you explained this so calmly and clearly. It's not just about creativity; it's a business too.

As a person in their 50s, this is one of the most insightful videos I’ve seen. This advice is not only good for “You Tubers,” but for any career person in general. Every high schooler and college student should see this- regardless what they inspire to do in life. Wow!

This is perfect. Thanks for making this, man. To see someone to discuss what we do so eloquently and objectively is as rare as it is great.

The octopus example just hit me hard. I think I was the octopus a couple of months ago for 5+ years; I was doing everything: taking way more than I could handle, getting a bonus --> buying real estate, more money in Airbnb than the rental, making it Airbnb, doing consulting work after 9-5, I love to write a blog (blogging before 8 AM or after 6 PM), if the blog is paying good, create another niche based, that niche is doing great, make another sub-niche, there is no F... end. I had to cut my arms, but as Mkbhd said, not all the arms would disable me permanently; I cut the arms in which I was weak or trying to be the best and hired some people who were doing a way better job than me. Now, I am focusing on three things I genuinely enjoy. Although your analogies are a little strange, they make more sense when you connect the dots. Thanks, brother!

Appreciated this so much 🙏🏼 Thanks for sharing your thoughts, experience, and wisdom!

This is so much NOT just about KZheadrs or creators. As you get into management you can lose what you loved about any job, for example. Thanks for this video!

This is all true. I think a lot of the younger people dreaming of being a youtuber also don't quite realize how many hours they will be working, and how little of a social life they will have.

wow you can say things so beautifully and clearly. This confirms for me that I am doing well. I haven't been doing it for very long but I really enjoy doing it. I have seen many videos in which they give certain advice on how to best have a KZhead channel, but it makes me so unhappy. I just follow my own path in this. I also learn a lot about myself. I also had to get used to seeing myself on video, but that is quite a process😂 Thank you for this video!

This is one of the best video I watched after long time with great analogies. Enjoyed it. Thanks Marques

“they’re just finding their hearts… if you ever get to live the dream, be deliberate about it.” beautifully put!

This applies to any business, not only to the business of KZheadrs. That's why way more people should listen to this. If you are an expert on something and want to have your own business, you will soon shift to manager and it takes different skill set and it's taking a lot of time to manage everything. Great analogy-filled and advice-filled video 👏

Thank you for taking the time to make this video and share it with us. It's great once in a while that you let your guard down and share a piece of yourself and your thoughts with us in this way.

Love you Marques, thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom

For those wondering, the microphone he's using is the teenage engineering CM-15 (€1199)

This video really resonated with me man. Thank you for this

Such a great video. Never in a million years would I have anticipated the grind that this job necessitated when we started. It's always nice to see more experienced creators speak on this topic

I have a travel/ theme park channel, and I realized having fun with your videos and enjoying the process creates constant creativity. Love what you do 🥃

I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say, it's quite refreshing to see Marques still being genuine and 'real' after getting so big. So many creators, once they've 'made it', completely start to change for the worse.

Content creation is such a journey. It is a lot of work, but you gotta find your path. And I respect all the creators who have quit, or found other passions or interests. Changing careers is common and I’ve seen many people change to being a creator later in life too and start smashing it.

I thank you and think that you accurately defined the transformation required in "any" job that one undertakes in their life journey. The prospect of doing everything well is a myth and needs to be understood at the fundamental base of the journey/job. The quote, "Do what you love," means exactly that. It's not complicated yet we make it so. Your perspective in insights are invaluable and again, I thank you as a beginning YT content creator~

As a business owner, who's business is growing rapidly after 15 years of nurturing the calling God placed on my life, this was very well delivered and said. A lot of people also believe I'm living the dream, which I will never say I'm not. Every dream has layers. Thank you for this.

You hit the nail on the head with this one! The biggest lesson I’ve had to learn is that you CANNOT do everything on your own… the creation of content stays in the center of everything, and all the other pieces get outsourced! Being a jack of all trades is the fastest way to burnout! It sounds good but it’s DANGEROUS ‼️

I retired in 2020 after 36 years in IT, the last 21 in cybersecurity. I cannot tell you how many career burnouts I hit along the way. My only hope was that I would be able to hobble along until I could get my head back in the game. There were times when I was on top, there were more times when I was just struggling to not make a target of myself. I finally hit that point where my age and income really could not save me if I hit the next on-coming burnout, and when the company asked for "volunteers" for early retirement, my hand shot up. It's that realization that - you just don't want to play any more. It's no longer interesting and there is nothing and no one in the field to spark your enthusiasm. I retired in 2020. Best freaking decision of my life!

Thanks for the insight. I'm going to share this with all of my young colleagues in media who have quit or are dreaming about quitting their traditional media jobs to go independent.

Great advice! ("Keep the creativity part at the core of what you're doing"). Thanks. I teach digital marketing at a college and a few students have started Instagram channels, which is great. Two students started a KZhead channel reviewing hip hop albums and they're doing great. My advice would be to just EXPRESS YOURSELF. Not necessarily on KZhead, but on ANY channel you resonate with, whether it's Facebook (like I do, being an obsessive writer lol) or Linkedin or Tik Tok (wait, Tik Tok is very toxic, just my opinion) or X. From a career or economics standpoint, people have to realize that social platforms give them ENORMOUS power. Eventually, they'll find a way to monetize their content, but it's important to START CREATING CONTENT (blogs, videos, podcasts, whatever). In fact, the timing is right since AI is probably going to eliminate most, if not all, non-creative jobs (including knowledge work jobs requiring a university degree). I have a 15-year-old nephew who started composing music and he's on Spotify! Kids, the world is yours! Go for it!

Really love the octopus analogy! I’ve had to learn so many different things over 10 years to become a full-time creator from all kinds of camera settings, lighting techniques, animating, etc. It’s hard to imagine letting go of an octopus arm and allowing someone else to control a part of my channel, but I feel like that’s going to be inevitable if I want to grow to the next level. Very blessed to be on this treadmill though! For creators trying to make this a career: There’s 2 ways you can approach this. 1) Try something, fail, and get discouraged. Or 2) Try something, fail, and keep going until you figure it out. If you keep trying to figure it out, you will eventually, so keep learning and don’t give up! 🙏🏻

“If you ever get to live the dream, be very deliberate about it." - Powerful words, even as a side thought. Good on you, Marques!

"If you ever get to live the dream, be deliberate about it." That's a fantastic quote. I'm gonna comment this so I get reminded of it every once in a while.

The dedicated work you are talking about I learned it a different way from a Trade School teacher in 1961, "Success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."