About this episode
Fernando Hurtado is a former NBC Telemundo journalist who walked away from a six-figure media career to build on YouTube from scratch. In this episode, Fernando breaks down how he got monetized in days, landed (and lost) brand deals early, priced himself wrong, and rebuilt with a repeatable system for publishing high-quality videos without burning out. We talk risk, leverage, time-boxing creative work, and what journalists actually need to know before betting on themselves.__Watch Fernando’s AAPI Latino’s video __Fernando HurtadoYouTubeTwitter/XInstagramTikTokLinkedInFrancis ZiererLinkedInTwitter/X__Timestamps00:00 Introducing Fernando Hurtado01:06 The hardest part of full-time YouTube04:40 How to land (and lose) brand deals09:30 Transitioning from NBC to YouTube16:02 Four reasons to become a YouTuber21:00 Learning the business side of journalism28:59 Diversify your revenue streams30:41 Building a sustainable upload schedule — without burnout35:09 Creating videos for the algorithm and the culture40:48 Showing the journalistic process43:27 Creating a video that inspires discussion45:50 Successes from one year as a YouTuber51:36 Advice for going all in on YouTube
