For the creators we work with here at Semaphore, the “Semaphore Tax Moment” is often defined as the moment where they “made it” – the instance when they realized that what was once just a hobby could be turned into a lasting career. In our exclusive series with Tubefilter, appropriately dubbed “Creators Going Pro”, we profile professional YouTubers who have hit it big doing what they love.

Our creators span all different backgrounds, from families who were once on food stamps to nurses who would edit videos during night shifts at the hospital. No matter how humble their beginnings, the “Semaphore Tax Moment” signified a shift in their current reality. It was the realization that perhaps there was a future and a purpose to all the hard work and effort they had been pouring into this thing called YouTube.

In an age where new media is constantly changing and its stature as a profession has skyrocketed in the last decade alone, it can be terrifying to not know what’s next, or to not know what may lie ahead in an industry that can be so unpredictable. The “Semaphore Tax Moment”, though, is the consistent point where these careers became real and full of true potential.

When asked about her Semaphore Tax moment, Brittany Null, the mother and mastermind behind the channel Britt’s Space, said, “I think it was the year I hired Semaphore Tax to help with the money side of things! In the beginning, it was just a hobby, and the payment wasn’t much. But as the channel grew and partnerships started flowing in, it was surprisingly overwhelming. In 2015, Semaphore Tax walked in and saved the day!”

Like so many on YouTube, Brittany needed assistance with the business side of things – and that’s our specialty. We educate our clients not just on how to run their business, but also on how to grow and navigate the challenges of a new, everchanging environment. By doing this, we can give back to our clients in the best way we know how – by giving them more time to create and do what they love.

Aaron, the dad behind Nerf-filled channel Twin Toys, shared what his experience has been after going pro: “Everyday I am always juggling the YouTube, Dad, and Husband hats, but that is the adventure that gives life a purpose, all the challenges and never a dull moment.”

Megan Hickman, know on YouTube as the “Queen of Clean”, shared a similar sentiment: “…it has been the best time of our lives. We have had so many opportunities for business, travel, et cetera. The freedom to be with our little family every day, doing what we want, when we want, is just priceless!”

For others, their “Semaphore Tax Moment” happened when they were first recognized on the street.
Nick Ireland, of The Ireland Boys, said, “I think the first time I realized I was doing this for real and I was a professional creator was the first time I got recognized from doing YouTube. Not from someone at my school, but from someone I’ve never seen before saying they love the videos.”

His brother, Ricky Ireland, gave TubeFilter a similar answer, “When we were on the road trip tour in 2018 and we had our first official meetup, where literally hundreds of people came out just to see us. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh snap,’ and I realized the impact we have is REAL. It put real faces to all the numbers we’d see on the screen.”

Creators aren’t just making waves in the lives of their viewers either; they’re often disrupting their own. For many of our clients, diving headfirst into the world of YouTube was a far cry away from the conventional jobs they and their families had always expected them to do.

Logdotzip, also known as Tyler Pappas, was one of these creators. When interviewed, he said, “I had been given the tough decision between sticking to the ‘traditional path’ of going to college while working a non-YouTube job, or putting that on the shelf to pursue what I saw as one of the greatest opportunities of my life to turn my teenage hobby into a real job with a real future. Obviously, I opted to move full speed ahead with YouTube, and took my leave from college. I never looked back.” Tyler is now one of the most famous Minecraft YouTubers, and recently moved his growing company to Austin, Texas.

Our incredible creators all have one thing in common – the drive and perseverance to work through the challenges of making it big in new media. This is especially true for Brad Mondo, a hairstylist and guru who launched a line of haircare products in 2019. When talking about his “Semaphore Tax Moment”, Brad said, “I consciously changed my profession for sure. Everything I have now, I have because I wanted it to happen, and I made it happen.”

Your “Semaphore Tax Moment”, whether it be the moment you were recognized on the street, or the moment you got your first AdSense payout, is the juncture in your life where the gears shift and the possibility of a new and different reality opens up before you. For us at Semaphore, it’s the opportunity for us to give back to our talented clients and allow them the room they need to thrive and do what they do best – create and forge their own paths to success.