15 Youtube Channel Success Stories [2024]
For anyone looking to start a successful YouTube channel, there are plenty of YouTube channel success stories that can be used as inspiration and encouragement. In addition, YouTube has an established monetization system and boasts incredible popularity, making it a potential platform for revenue generation.
In this article, we'll look at different approaches you can use to help promote your channel and grow your viewers. While there's no quick and easy way to success, you can take these tips to build your own YouTube Channel Success story. If you love content creation, you can capitalize on YouTube's popularity to earn extra income.
If you want to join the Youtube partner program to monetize your channel, you will need to reach a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months.
In this list, you'll find real-world youtube channel success stories and very profitable examples of starting a youtube channel that makes money.
1. Annmarie ($12M/year)
Kevin Gianni, the founder of Annmarie Skin Care, stumbled upon the idea for his business while researching natural health therapies. After traveling the world and discovering a line of skincare products that aligned with his values, he partnered with the owner to bring the line to the wider public. With a platform already established through their YouTube channel, the business was able to launch successfully and continues to grow.
How much money it makes: $12M/year
How many people on the team: 26
Kevin Gianni, CEO and founder of Annmarie Skin Care reveals how he and his wife went from being youtubers to having the ability to run their seven-figure, natural, organic skincare and beauty company, with over 105k subscribers, using their existing platform.
2. Pete & Pedro ($7.2M/year)
Aaron Marino, the founder of Pete & Pedro, came up with the idea for his men's grooming brand after his image consulting business struggled to make money. He started making YouTube videos to help guys with their style, and as his audience grew, he saw an opportunity to create and sell his own haircare products. With his existing YouTube channel as a marketing platform, Marino was able to successfully launch and grow Pete & Pedro into a multi-million-dollar business.
How much money it makes: $7.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 8
Learn how one man went from bankruptcy and driving a beer cart to launching a successful men's grooming brand, Pete & Pedro, featured on Shark Tank, by leveraging the power of YouTube and a slowly growing audience.
3. Delray Watch Supply ($3.84M/year)
John Pietrasz and Federico Iossa, co-founders of Delray Watch Supply, came up with the idea for their tech-driven luxury watch dealer through their shared passion for watches and their expertise in the industry. They launched the business with $4,000 in their kitchen and now see sales of over $3.3 million annually, attracting and retaining customers through engagement on YouTube.
How much money it makes: $3.84M/year
How many people on the team: 4
Delray Watch Supply, a tech-driven luxury watch dealer, co-founded by John Pietrasz and Federico Iossa 20 months ago with $4,000 in a kitchen, has seen sales of over $3.3M annually, with sales expected to reach close to $4M this year.
4. Music For Pets ($1M/year)
"In 2011, Amman Ahmed decided to invest what was left of his student loan in a company called Roundwaves, to make soothing audio to help busy people unwind.
He found composer Ricardo Henriquez online, and they started working together on a series of relaxing audio tracks.
However, both quickly noticed that not only were humans pleasantly zoning out to the backing tracks, but pets were responding as well.
Henriquez is based in Central America’s smallest country, El Salvador, a country known in part for infamous gangs such as MS-13.
His dog Zuki suffered from anxiety whenever the noises of gun violence filled his neighborhood, so he came up with the idea of composing specifically to relax his dog. "
How much money it makes: $1M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Discover how Amman Ahmed turned a $50 investment into a $9.6 million/year business by creating soothing audio tracks for pets on YouTube, Spotify, and more, with only $5,000 spent on marketing over the years.
5. EM Cosmetics ($960K/year)
Phan was introduced to the world of beauty at a very young age. Watching her mother, a beautician, work, she developed an admiration for the transformative power of makeup. While attending Ringling College of Art and Design, her passion for beauty and knack for creativity led her to start a blog and YouTube channel to share her makeup looks and skincare tips.
How much money it makes: $960K/year
Learn how a self-taught beauty artist leveraged YouTube and social media to grow her brand EM Cosmetics, achieving an impressive revenue of $960K/year by engaging millions of followers with makeup tutorials and skincare tips.
6. MTN SIDE BUILDERS ($480K/year)
Cameron Vilcsak, the founder of Mountain Fire Woodworks, came up with the idea for his business through his passion for carving and building things out of wood. After documenting the process of building a log cabin on his YouTube channel, a viral video with over 25 million views, he realized the potential to turn his passion into a scalable business. With steady passive income, plans to release more content, and exciting future projects, Vilcsak's business is thriving.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 5
Mountain Fire Woodworks founder Cameron Vilcsak shares how he used YouTube to promote his log cabins, chainsaw carvings, and passion for woodworking, culminating in one of his videos that has gone viral with over 25 million views and counting.
7. Pursuit of Passive Income ($264K/year)
Michael was looking for a passive income generating approach when he stumbled upon blogging and decided to venture.
How much money it makes: $264K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
This case study is about a blogger who turned his passion into a business that generates $20k per month, mostly through affiliate marketing and consulting, by focusing on long-term sustainable passive income streams through blogging.
8. Higher Levels ($120K/year)
After transitioning from engineering to tech sales and quickly excelling, Eric was shocked by the lackluster tech sales bootcamps charging $2,000 without delivering results. Motivated by this gap, he began offering free advice on YouTube, which rapidly grew, culminating in a platform generating $10,000/month organically and helping hundreds secure top tech sales jobs.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $750
How many people on the team: 0
Case study synopsis: In just 2 years, Eric and Kris grew their YouTube channel 'Tech Sales With Eric' into a full educational platform, higherlevels.com, generating over $10,000/month in revenue from organic YouTube traffic, and are now exploring paid advertising and affiliate marketing to fuel their hyper growth phase.
9. Cinquanta Cox-Smith ($120K/year)
Cinquanta Cox-Smith, a Multipreneur from South Carolina, stumbled upon the Print On Demand industry 12 years ago when she wanted to create a unique shirt and discovered Spreadshirt.com. Through her creativity and networking skills, she found success in designing and selling catchy, conversation-starting shirts. This eventually led her to create multiple POD brands on various platforms, generating an impressive $120k per year in revenue.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
A multipreneur shares how she built a successful print on demand side hustle, generating $120,000 per year through multiple brands spread over various platforms.
10. Ask Holly Hall ($72K/year)
Holly Hall, a clairvoyant life coach, was introduced to the world of astrology and spiritual therapy through a book lent by a co-worker. With her unique abilities and a deep understanding of individuals, she launched her business, Ask Holly Hall, and has since garnered endorsements from esteemed figures like Dr. Shefali. With an average income of $5,000-8,000 per month, she aims to expand her reach through podcasting and publishing her book with a publishing company.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Meet the Clairvoyant life coach who has built a highly successful business generating an average income of $5,000-8,000 a month through her talents as an Author, LifeCoach Astropsychologist, Spiritual Therapist, astrologer, and Clairvoyant with the ability in remote viewing to help clients understand their existence, relationships, careers, and connection with the universe or source.
11. Biteplay ($72K/year)
Henrique Chappuis, co-founder of Biteplay, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the potential of YouTube ads in generating revenue. He had previously experienced success with YT ads and saw the opportunity to automate the process and target relevant video placements. Through beta testing and educational courses, Biteplay gained traction and has since been featured as a top product on Product Hunt.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 0
Biteplay is a one-year-old SaaS that allows brands to place ads in relevant YouTube video content and create collaborations with influencers, generating up to $10k each month and growing revenue by 30% per month.
12. The Kavalier ($72K/year)
Jon Shanahan came up with the idea for The Kavalier after realizing the need for guidance in the exploding online menswear brand space. Modeled after The Wirecutter, Jon started the YouTube channel in 2015 with the goal of delivering helpful, in-depth recommendations by category. With a subscriber count of 57k and revenue of $7,000 per month, Jon continues to grow steadily and redefine the modern context of being a gentleman in the menswear world.
How much money it makes: $72K/year
How many people on the team: 1
The Kavalier started as a YouTube channel in 2015 delivering honest and approachable reviews on men's fashion brands, growing to 57k subscribers, 500 videos, and earning $7k per month in revenue, providing helpful, in-depth recommendations by category with a YouTube strategy focused on standing out and niching down.
13. Mrs Daaku Studio ($60K/year)
Chhavi, the founder of Mrs Daaku Studio, had a desire to achieve financial freedom and work from home. After finding success as a freelance writer, she and her husband Amit realized there was a demand for information and guidance on working from home and starting side hustles. They launched their blog and YouTube channel, offering valuable resources and products like The Client Magnet Bundle and The Content Mojo, which have helped them earn $5-7k per month and live a flexible life.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 3
Learn how this entrepreneurial couple made $5-7k a month by helping others find legitimate work from home jobs and creative ways to make money online through their blog and YouTube channel, as well as offering two flagship products designed to help beginner freelancers and new bloggers accelerate growth.
14. YourAverageTechBro ($30K/year)
Dohyun Kim, the founder of YourAverageTechBro, stumbled upon creating social media content during the pandemic. After realizing the potential of short-form videos on TikTok, he leaned into his competitive advantage as a software engineer and began creating content that resonated with his audience. Currently earning an average of $3,000 per month, Dohyun plans to expand his revenue streams through original content and product sales in the future.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 1
Dohyun Kim shares his journey starting as a software engineer on YouTube and pivoting into short-form content on TikTok and Instagram with 155,000 followers and 11,000 subscribers, currently averaging $3000/month across ad money, sponsored content, and course sales.
15. Chicken Armor® ($9.6K/year)
Jill Bong, the co-founder of Chicken Armor, came up with the idea after her beloved chicken died from mating injuries. Unable to afford traditional saddles, Jill and her husband developed their own affordable and low-maintenance chicken saddle, which has since sold over 50,000 units and protected chickens in all 50 states and on 4 continents.
How much money it makes: $9.6K/year
How many people on the team: 2
Chicken Armor has sold over 50,000 affordable and easy-to-maintain chicken saddles since its inception, and utilizes a no-strings-attached guarantee and extensive media coverage for customer acquisition and retention.
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