Learning and experimenting have played a huge role in my journey. Along the way, I discovered what works and what doesn’t. To be honest, I've always been attracted to sharing a piece of my mind. Not that I felt better than anyone else, but more like... if those things could help me, there was a chance that they could help others with similar problems too.

After learning a few things about content creation, I decided to give it a try. It was at the end of 2022 when I created a TikTok account focusing on self-improvement tips for young women. It covered self-awareness, overcoming insecurity, building genuine love towards ourselves and others, etc. As someone new to content creation (I mean... it's the first account that I literally took seriously), I needed to experiment with a few topics and content formats before finally, yaayyy finally... I reached 23K followers in 2 months and 80K loyal followers in 6 months.

The account grew so fast, and I was thrilled that my words could reach such a large audience. It wasn't the number that made me feel fulfilled. It was the audience themselves, the ladies in my community - they were my biggest motivation to share more.

As a new content creator, I was surprised by how many people my content reached. Again, I was on the platform simply to share what worked for me. That's why it was absolutely thrilling to see that so many people could benefit from the simple content I created. It gave me purpose. I wanted to give my best; I wanted to truly help them; I wanted them to benefit from this just as much as I did.

​Besides creating content from my worksheet ideas, I also invested my time to create personalised videos. Mmm, what does that mean? Well, it was basically a type of video where I answered my audience's comments and gave them either practical steps or a mindset shift. For example, after I posted my video "Avoid These 5 People to Truly Become a High-Quality Woman," a sweet lady left a great question:

"Sis, how can I stay away from the number 4 (envious people) when we're already friends? I feel so bad to do it and I don't wanna make unnecessary problems."

To answer her question, I created a video, "How to Deal with Envious People - Stay Away from Them without Staying Away." There, I mentioned my personal story where I needed to face some people in the past and the lessons I finally understood. Long story short, the video revolved around focusing on ourselves and our personal growth. It doesn't mean we become selfish. It simply means we put our well-being first - because we can't pour from an empty glass, can we? The more we invest our time in our areas of our lives, the more we transform ourselves into someone better. When it happens, our connection with some people (including the envious ones) won't be the same. Why is it? Simple: we'll start to see things differently; what we talk about will be different; we'll be heading towards different directions - and the most fascinating thing: it happens by itself. So, we don't have to force ourselves to let go of the connection; it'll go naturally - sooner or later.

Alright, this is the emotional part. A few months later, the sweet lady came back and left a comment on the video. Here's what she said:

Translation: "Hello, Sis. I'm back here again because (I'd love to tell you) I've cut her off. I've met some more supportive friends, and they taught me how to be brave enough to leave what didn't serve me."

When reading it for the first time, I literally shivered and felt like crying. It made me so sure that I wanted to do more; I wanted to help more. Again, myself in 2023 never thought that simply sharing what worked for me could change someone else's life too. Sometimes, I scrolled down the comment section and found their sweet words like these:

Translation: "I'm in love with your content, you never judge others' choices."

Translation: "Your content always challenges my mindset."

Translation: "All praise is to due God, thank you, Sis! Keep making these contents 🥰 They're so positive, and they help me improve myself."

Translation: "Thanks, Sis. After watching this, I'm motivated to start a healthy lifestyle."

Well, should I translate this one too? 😅🤭

Plus, it was always heartwarming to see the ladies sharing their experiences and opinions too.

Translation: "That's right. I'm in the process right now (to strengthen my boundary and to stop saying yes to everything), and it feels so good."

Need translation? 🤭

Translation: "I haven't figured out how to make myself happy, but I've learnt to accept compliments and care."

Translation: "Actually, Social Science/Citizenship Knowledge (two subjects we learnt at school), if we read the books again as adults, we'll relate to it more now."

Did you get negative comments?

Oh, absolutely. Sometimes I got some constructive ones like, "You're speaking too slow," "Just get straight to the point," "Your intro is too long," or "The music makes me dizzy," etc. Those comments, I truly appreciate them. They helped me learn a lot during this journey. And the destructive ones? Oh, plenty. But that’s just part of the journey, right? Not everyone has to like my content, and I'm glad to have served people I was meant to serve 💖

Why? What happened?

First of all, your questions make perfect sense, like everything seems okay, so what's wrong? Alright, remember when I mentioned that I made content simply to share some stuff I learnt? As a newbie, I... didn't know what to do after gaining some audience. I ended up looking for advice. Yes, it's not a wrong move. What made it wrong was me forgetting what I truly shared and why I shared it. From then on, my content became a funnel "expansion" game. Instead of thinking about how I could serve my audience more, I ended up expanding my niche too broadly. As a result, I became confused. It made me question my capability because... oh, I started talking about things that are waayyyy beyond what I understood back then.

If I could go back in time, I'd look deeply into her tired eyes, "Hey, please, take a deep breath. Slow down. Look at me." I'd smile softly while handing her a notebook, "First, let's write a few things here. I'll guide you, I promise." Here are what I would want her to reflect on:

​Why do you share what you share?

​What's your true goal with it? And will it fulfil you?

​Since you're planning to expand your niche, would you give yourself compassion to at least take your time to learn and be okay with the process instead of wanting to immediately understand and apply everything at once?

​If I say that your audience doesn't need perfection, what would you do differently instead?

Haha, yes. Unfortunately, I can't turn back time. So, here's what I did instead. I decided to take a long break from content creation - like literally almost an entire year. I took my time to think through everything, and I finally came to the conclusion: I simply want to share what works for me. It's basically the intention I unconsciously had when starting the account for the first time. Now that the account had become a collection of niches I forced myself to talk about, I... didn't know what to do with it. I could either fix it or start a new, stronger one. Either way, there would be quite an effort too. After the long, deep consideration, I finally made up my mind.

Yep, I finally let go of the account. It wasn't an easy decision, of course. However, when I finally deleted all the posts and uploaded a new one to announce my quitting (from the account), I felt... relieved - immensely. It doesn't mean I don't feel sad, especially when their comments on the post are like this:

​Translation: "Oh, it's been a long time since I opened this app. So this is why I never found your posts on my FYP? Sis, what's your new YouTube channel? Please spill it."

​Translation: "Ohh," We use this expression (yah) to express sadness, upsetness, or even disappointment.

​

Translation: "Siss :( ,"

​Translation: "THEN AFTER THIS, WHERE WILL YOU POST YOUR CONTENT??? 😳"

​Translation: "Sis, please spill your new YouTube channel."

Not getting emotional after reading those sweet words? For me, impossible. The fact that they wanna keep following my journey after I left them hanging for one year, that's... something. Not that I don't believe they'll stay, but because I was there only to share what worked for me, things that I believe will help people with similar problems. From this wonderful adventurous chapter with them, I learnt something: "When you truly care, you don't have to try so hard, people feel it."

I guess there might be a question in your mind, "Did I share my new YouTube channel with them?" Well, I guess it's not "did I share," but "will I share." I haven't decided it yet. A part of me wants to start new and fresh, but there's another part of me that still wants to connect with them - and I'll let my heart decide. For now, here's what I can say to them:

Translation: "The chance is I'll switch to YouTube, but not as ACB (the name of this account) 💕,"

Translation: "It's okay, I'm sure there are a lot of wonderful creators that'll walk alongside all of you. Keep shining, Luv 💕✨,"

Translation: "Why do I feel like crying after reading your comment? 🥹 For the YouTube account, I'm still not sure if I'll share it or not. But we'll see, Luv. Keep growing, okay? ✨"

Well, I needed to make a profit and was planning to sell some products to them. And for that reason, I did study a lot of things about marketing, product management, and business. After all my learning and practice, I finally came to a conclusion: "They're human, and humans want something real: true genuineness, not just strategies." Pretending to care (it happened every time I felt tired but still wanted to show up in the name of consistency) won't work because they can feel the energy, even from the contents.

After all the confusion, there was something I needed to rediscover: my why. That advice about funnels and sells - well, they're not wrong. It was me who should've paused and asked myself more about how to craft it to fit my purpose - and that I should've reaffirmed my purpose more often. Now, I've made peace with it. It happened for a reason, and I'm glad I've gone through the journey with these amazing ladies.

No worries, I won't convince you to work with me. I believe professional collaborations, just like other kinds of connections, need genuine interest too. So if you're interested in working together, feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to help 😉​​