Master the Craft Before the Money
For ten years I never thought about money — I only asked if people liked it and shared it.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 85%
Shands started on YouTube in 2010 and didn't monetize until 2020 — for ten years he never even thought YouTube made money. His only questions were whether people liked the content, shared it, and commented, and whether he was a good, engaging interviewer. Because he came before the 'jump on YouTube to make a million' era, he had time to perfect his craft. His blunt point: you have to be good at it first — no three-step hack helps someone whose content isn't amazing.
Origin
Shands podcasted and posted on YouTube for a decade (2010–2020) focused only on quality and engagement before monetizing, crediting that pre-monetization era for letting him perfect his craft.
Core principles
- 01No tactic saves content that isn't good — you must first be good at it.
- 02Chasing money early skips the craft that makes money possible.
- 03The right early metrics are whether people like, share, and comment.
- 04Consistency and gear don't matter if the content itself isn't amazing.
How to run it
- 1
Put craft before cash
Commit to becoming genuinely good at the work before expecting it to make money.
Pro tip Shands went ten years without thinking about money, treating that runway as craft-building time.
Watch out No tactic, camera, or lighting saves content that simply isn't good.
- 2
Use engagement as your metric
Measure early progress by whether people like, share, and comment, not by revenue.
Pro tip His only questions were: are people liking this, are they sharing it, are they commenting.
- 3
Study your industry
Watch trends and what's working in your space, and learn from it deliberately.
- 4
Keep raising the quality
Focus relentlessly on making the content itself amazing rather than only upgrading gear or cadence.
Pro tip Best camera and best lighting with un-amazing content still won't work.
In the wild
Shands started posting in 2010 and didn't monetize until 2020, never even considering that YouTube made money. He focused only on whether people liked, shared, and commented, and on being an engaging interviewer.
→ By the time he monetized, he had a perfected craft and a large loyal following, having built skill before chasing income.
Common mistakes
Optimizing money before skill
Chasing monetization first means publishing content that isn't good yet, which no growth hack can rescue.
Confusing production polish with quality
Best gear and consistency can't compensate for content that isn't genuinely engaging and shareable.
Is it for you?
Best for
New creators tempted to optimize for money before they've built real skill.
Not ideal for
People who need near-term income and can't afford a long unpaid craft-building runway.
From the transcript
“for those 10 years I'm not even thinking that YouTube makes money... my only thing was are people liking this content are they sharing it”
“if the content isn't amazing it's not going to work so practice your craft”
From the episode
David Shands: The Entrepreneurial Mindset, How to Build a Loyal Community and Hone Your Niche for Massive Success
David Shands