Why I’m Quitting YouTube This Summer

Jun 16

Yep, you read that right. And no, this isn’t clickbait.

I’m taking a mini hiatus from YouTube for the summer.

While I truly love creating content for you guys and connecting with you over in the comments section, Trena needs a break!! This break includes Instagram too. I may pop in here and there on my Stories or share a quick post, but for now, I have nothing scheduled.

I talk all the time about how to avoid burnout as a small business owner and why you shouldn't overwork yourself…and it’s time that I put my own advice into practice.

Even when you’ve got a strong team by your side, running a business does not come without its challenges. And as things over here at TLHQ get busier and continue to grow, it’s dawned on me that I need to take a step back if I want to sustain that growth.

Why I'm Taking a Break From YouTube

There isn’t just one particular reason why I’m taking YouTube off my plate this summer, but there are some things that have influenced this decision. I can feel myself getting burnt out, and I can see it in my team too. So it’s time to prevent that from happening.

My Kids Are Home for the Summer

Having kids at home all day, while you work from home, is tough. On one hand, I’m happy I get to spend more time with them, take them to the pool, or to go get ice cream, but on the other…it’s REALLY hard to get work done.

Between summer camps and summer hobbies like swim practice, trying to give my kids an exciting summer while also trying to take care of my business is tough.

Yes, I do feel stress and strain during other times of the year, but because the kids are with me 24/7…it’s insanely difficult to keep a steady stream of focus for a long time.

Mamas — you know what I’m talking about! And if you aren’t a mom, just imagine a coworker knocking on your office door every 5 minutes just to tell you that Jerry from accounting sneezed. #NoThanks #Didn’tNeedtoKnowThat

I want to focus on the clients I have

Last month, I launched my new coaching program, $10K on Replay, and I’m super excited to dig in and cheer these people on towards success. We’re currently working on helping them launch their first course, or launch a new course, and I’m ready to see what they come up with. I want to be fully present for that!

In my agency, we’re also maxed out on clients. We’ve got a waitlist, which means we have more work than we have hands to do the work. So, we’re hiring an account manager to help us sustain the growth we’ve been seeing. That means our clients can have my team and I’s full, undivided attention, and hopefully, we can take on some more in the future.

I want to be a good leader

I’m a firm believer that a good leader doesn’t lead their team to burnout.

While I’m still in shock that I even have two full-time employees on my team, even though they’ve been here a while, I never thought I’d be a boss. But I always told myself that IF I did become one, I wouldn’t let my team slip through the cracks just to produce more.

That doesn't benefit anyone.

I want to focus on finding the right account manager and helping them integrate into our business well. I want to support my team because they work so hard every week to make sure things are running smoothly and our clients are happy. I want to create a business environment I’m proud of.

I really value the work they do and overworking them, especially in the summer, is not the way to say thank you!

I’m taking a vacation

I am so thankful that my business is set up to where I can take some time off and avoid burnout later in the year — a two-week vacation with my family to the beach to be exact.

I didn’t want to scramble to push out tons of content before that, because what’s the point? I didn’t want to feel guilty for taking a vacation in the middle of so many to-dos. So I took something off my plate!

And my team is getting time off too. Throughout the summer, they have Fridays off so they can also rest, relax, and enjoy the summer.

Things may look different when I return

I will be back! I’m only taking a four-week break. And I’m really looking forward to getting pumped up about creating new types of creative content with my team.

I’ve been thinking about pivoting my content strategy for some time, so the return from my break feels like the best way to usher that in. Don’t worry though — I’ll still be talking about YouTube and giving you some of my best tips and tricks.

But I also wanted to talk more about my path to how I got to where I am in my business today.

It wasn’t easy. There was no overnight success or one viral video that catapulted me into success. It was slow, steady growth. I was focused on raising a family and being present for them. And that’s okay! It helped me build my business sustainably.

I know many of you are in that same position, and I want to share how I got through it all because look, doing business is hard as hell, and I know some of you are tired of seeing just highlight reels online. You want to hear stories about the grit it takes to make it to success because you are in the trenches right now, and if I can, I want to help. It does get better, friend.

That being said, would you do me a favor?

I’ve created a survey to help my team and I figure out what to discuss over on YouTube. I want to hear straight from you what type of content you want to see so I can best serve you — that's why my channel exists. In my eyes, if my content isn’t helping you, then what’s the point?

If you’re willing, you can fill out this short content survey here.

And now…thank you, friend.

It’s because of your support that my business has reached this point. I’m grateful for all of your likes, comments, shares, and conversations in my DMs and in the comments. It means the world and I can’t wait to see you back here at the end of July!

Happy summer!