03/12/2015
Entrepreneurs can learn a few important lessons from kidpreneur Evan.Imagine building a business that exceeds your wildest dreams--a business in which you get to do what you love and get paid for it. The idea that finally makes you a millionaire, successful beyond your greatest hopes.Now imagine that you're nine years old.Meet EvanTubeHD, an enterprising young man with more than a million subscribers and a billion views on his YouTube channel. All of that activity is earning young Evan over $1.3 million dollars in revenue a year.Did I mention he's only 9?!Just what does this second-grader do to garner so much attention and money? How is it even possible?It's not as outrageous as you might imagine. It all started when Evan began reviewing his favorite video games and toys on video--with the help of his dad Jared, of course, who was tasked with recording him. They experimented with special effects before sharing the finalized videos on YouTube.Evan's mom and sister sometimes make a cameo and occasionally, Evan reviews a local children's attraction. In 2011, Evan and Jared began making Angry Birds stop-motion clay videos, which they posted on YouTube to share with friends."We were making about one video per month, for fun, when we started," says Jared. "It was interesting to see just who was interested and who was tuning in to our channel." It was when their original clay model video hit one million views that they really started to grasp just how popular they were becoming.Evan received more and more requests to talk about toys. "And the rest is YouTube history," jokes Jared, also known as DaddyTube (Evan's mom is known as MommyTube).Although Evan's business was built organically, the advertising inventory had become so big that DaddyTube and MommyTube needed help. They turned to Maker Studios, an advertising network and production company that specializes in YouTube talent, where a dedicated sales team sells ads and negotiates deals with brands and businesses.And what are DaddyTube and MommyTube doing with Evan's ad revenue?The proceeds go directly into savings and investment accounts for the kids.Evan and his team recently added two new channels: EvanTubeRaw, featuring behind-the-scenes content and a family vlog, and EvanTubeGaming, which focuses solely on father-son videogame commentary and gameplay.Evan's success story is an inspiration, but it goes to show the extent to which technology has torn down barriers to entry for entrepreneurs. Like 12-year …