--- title: 'Quit His Job and Moved to Thailand – How This Guy Made $12,000 on YouTube Without His Own Channel' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=eZo9fCw_8_k' video_id: 'eZo9fCw_8_k' date: 2026-08-05 duration_sec: 1323 --- # Quit His Job and Moved to Thailand – How This Guy Made $12,000 on YouTube Without His Own Channel > Source: [Quit His Job and Moved to Thailand – How This Guy Made $12,000 on YouTube Without His Own Channel](https://youtube.com/watch?v=eZo9fCw_8_k) ## Summary In this interview, Valentin talks with Ivan, a 22-year-old from Novotroitsk who moved to Thailand and found an unconventional way to earn money online. After taking a YouTube course, Ivan initially tried to build his own channels but pivoted to offering video editing and production services to other YouTubers. Within months, he was earning around $1,500 per month, and over a longer period, he accumulated over $12,000 by combining editing, AI tools, and proactive client outreach. ### Key Points - **Unusual income from teaching** [00:01] — Ivan discovered a unique way to earn money by leveraging skills from a YouTube course, despite not having his own successful channel. - **Ivan's background** [01:07] — Ivan is 22, from Novotroitsk, Orenburg region. He had prior experience with copywriting and other courses, but felt a strong trust in Valentin's training. - **Quitting job and taking risk** [02:44] — Ivan quit his job, used his savings as a cushion, and fully dedicated himself to YouTube and training, despite the uncertainty. - **First time abroad in Thailand** [03:14] — Ivan moved to Thailand, his first time abroad, and continued his journey there. - **Pivot to editing** [03:42] — When his own channel didn't work out, Ivan decided to try editing, leveraging the skills he had gained from creating content. - **Trying multiple niches** [04:50] — Ivan experimented with five or six different niches, including children's content, fitness, psychology, philosophy, and healthy lifestyle. - **Financial pressure** [05:19] — After 3-4 months without income, Ivan's savings were running out, pushing him to find clients. - **Valentin's recommendation** [06:02] — Valentin recommended Ivan to a client despite not collaborating directly, highlighting the importance of context and trust. - **Earning $2,500 in two months** [06:31] — Ivan earned around $2,500 from all clients over two months, which was more than $1,000 per month. - **Portfolio and basic editing** [07:37] — Ivan created a portfolio with basic editing work, such as news videos about celebrity deaths, using simple slideshows and text overlays. - **Finding sub-niches and AI** [08:17] — Ivan found a sub-niche through AI generation, made free subscriptions, and expanded his portfolio with commercials and logos. - **Full production services** [09:53] — Ivan offers full production: idea, material, editing, voice-over, and cover, charging $60 per video, making one per day. - **Work schedule and income** [11:01] — Ivan works about 5 hours a day, earning approximately $1,800 per month from 30 videos. - **Proposal to a blogger** [11:15] — Ivan approached a blogger in Pattaya with a proposal to be his producer, offering four videos, two AI commercials, and a bot. - **Pricing strategy** [12:09] — Ivan started with lower prices and gradually increased them based on time spent and market feedback, eventually offering a check for $800. - **Applying training knowledge** [12:34] — Ivan used negotiation and management skills from the training to close a deal with a client, showing the value of the course beyond editing. - **Six months to unpack skills** [13:15] — It took Ivan about six months to fully apply the skills from the training, from spring to December. - **Expanding consciousness** [14:08] — Ivan realized he could offer services beyond his specialization, like bots, which expanded his possibilities and confidence. - **Dream of online earnings** [14:59] — Ivan had dreamed of earning online since 2023, and finally achieved it in 2025 through persistence and multiple attempts. - **Courses provide tools, not plans** [15:26] — Ivan learned that courses offer tools and insider information, but no one provides a step-by-step plan; you must do the work yourself. - **Advice for others** [16:09] — Ivan advises dedicating more time to making attempts, not spreading yourself too thin, and understanding that persistence is key. - **Current channel status** [16:50] — Ivan has paused several channels, including an English channel with 2,000 subscribers and a Russian one with 1,000, due to work commitments. - **Psychology channel progress** [17:16] — Ivan gained 400 subscribers and 1,500 hours on a psychology channel, halfway to monetization, but paused it to focus on paid work. - **Income stability** [18:14] — Ivan's income is now more stable at $1,500 per month from two clients, including a new real estate client with a 3-month contract. - **Total earnings** [19:49] — Ivan's total earnings from all clients reached around $12,000, with a table showing 589,000 rubles and additional income. - **Future goals** [20:18] — Ivan aims to reach $3,000 per month and eventually $10,000 by building a team of three people and managing multiple clients. ### Conclusion Ivan's story demonstrates that success on YouTube doesn't require a personal channel; by leveraging editing and production skills, proactive outreach, and continuous learning, he built a sustainable income while living in Thailand. His journey highlights the importance of persistence, adaptability, and applying training knowledge in creative ways. ## Transcript unusual way to earn money by teaching. Left work. Many others will give up. I tried five or six different niches. Was completely without income. It turned out to be 2,500 dollars. First of all, this is a very cool result. I offered him a check for 800 bucks. You applied the information on thinking, and on negotiations from training, and on editing. make money on the Internet. There is tools. When purchasing a course, you need to know that you will have to do it yourself. currently searching for themselves [in music], doesn’t know what they’ll do, and is considering in general, guys, hello to everyone on this broadcast, in this call, who is watching our conversation. Today Ivan is with me. This is a student from one of the last streams. He lives in Thailand. Today we'll explore a rather unusual way to earn money from training [music], but one that helped Ivan feel good about himself with the help of YouTube after completing the product. And I couldn’t help but suggest that we call him. That's why, Vanya, tell me about yourself in general, how are you doing, how are you doing, what's new with you , how old are you, how did you get into this story. This is what we will base our Yes, guys, hi everyone. My name is Ivan, I am 22 years old. I am from the Orenburg region, from the small town of Novotroitsk. Came to Valya for training. I had a lot of experience before this, where I went through training. I studied copywriting and [music] courses via Telegram. It turned out that when I saw Valentin, I immediately felt trust, I woke up, and we had common values. [music] communication. Where did you see me for the first time? By the way, I quickly followed one blogger, in short, I followed him for a long time , and then somehow I saw you. Yes. And literally, I don’t know, [music] 2-3 days and that’s it Well, well, well. Well, in short, it was such a brutal thing. That is, he couldn’t pay. That is, we tried to pay our manager for three days. saying: “Come on, let me pay.” We looked for all sorts of different ways. We tried a lot of banks. Here. And in the end, on the third day, in short, everything was paid for. I took the training, [music] started to pass. What did you feel then? Well, when you first came, it seemed like you had invested quite a bit of money, but it was unclear when it would pay off, what to do now, what was going on inside, what a feeling it was inside, it was just awful, because before your course I bought another course on a completely different topic. I myself am just a trainer and took a course in a completely different specialty, nutrition. In short, I do n’t understand why I did it. It was after this moment that I saw your channel and I changed my mind about this. Yeah. I don't really think so, I want to do it, but it was already too late , yeah. In short, I got double billed, and yes, in the end I chose YouTube. I had a cushion, I took a risk, in short, I quit my job, completely devoted myself to training and made channels. Well, in the end I Yes, let's get to that too. Channels, channels, channels, yes, they are OK. I know you live in Thailand now. When you came to study, were you already living there or did you move over time? No, this is my first time abroad. lived in Thailand. Yes. And [music] you have a very interesting story, because the guys there, I think many know, that our students mostly make YouTube channels without a face, without a voice, with a face, with a voice. And [music], as well as the fitness trainer, we launched the channel. We even have a speaker for training who has gained 4 million subscribers from it . Ugul stigo, for example, didn't work out in a poor niche either. It would seem like an unpleasant situation, many others would give up, but Vanya says, "Damn, it's cool. Try editing. Since you created the content, you've already mastered some level of editing." Valentin, " How can you even develop in editing? By the way, we tried it back then and worked with me. Tell me in more detail how you came to editing and it?" It came mostly from YouTube. That is, when I actually moved to Thailand, well, like I did in Russia, I did the usual editing, that is, I filmed videos of my training, that is, how I train children something, yes, well, something already had to be posted on social networks, [music] to attract, that is, clients. This is essentially how it all began. Then in Thailand the same thing continued, also filming. Then I took training on YouTube. I have friends here in Thailand. One of them is working on the 3D. He has his own school, also training. Yes. The second one is engaged in filming, [music] also editing, in short. So, in the end, Yes, I also reached out. Well, of course, my editing is not as professional as theirs. And the software is also simpler. But in the end, I have skills that I have already used in different niches, I mean, I tried, I don’t know, five or six different niches, I mean, this is the children’s niche, and I filmed myself training, [music] and psychology, philosophy, and I did something about health , about a healthy lifestyle, that’s also content. Well, as a result, I then simply started looking for clients, because for what, 3-4 months, well, I already left my job, I was completely without income. Here. You were already starting to press really hard, the pillow was running out and yeah, well, that's it. Either you go to Russia or you do something. decided? Yes, yes, I was looking, yes, I started looking for clients in different chats, everywhere. Well, at first I found small checks, then you and I started working together. Well, we tried it, I submitted applications a couple of times, basically, I responded to a vacancy, yes, and then you shared your contact information, yes. As a result, Vanya and I decided not to collaborate together. But as soon as approached me and said they needed an editor for such-and-such a niche, I immediately said, "Vanya, we have one," I contacted him, introduced him, and told him about the results, because the context is very important, that your level of editing, no offense intended going to do professional editing, yes, that is, you're doing it at an average level for someone who needs that level, for someone who does n't need anything else. And tell me about the last, let's take 2 months, how much did you get, [music] so to so to speak, if we take the total amount, somewhere around 2,500 clients, if you count. Well wow, this is turning out really cool. If over $1,000 a month you're making [music] now. I myself didn’t expect it to happen like this at all. And, in short, I was somehow surprised by the situation that you, well, well, the fact that you and I did n’t really work out, you then recommended me, right? And I... Yes, I was shocked . I just happened to be on the beach at that moment . You write something like, I have friends there who are like this and that. I was like, "Damn, this is amazing. It was a really great day." Then I was really, really thought that since we didn’t work with you on my project, why should I recommend you? And here I remember you, I need to ban you. In general, I was very grateful, yes. And the content there is exactly the same as what you are just the right level. Firstly, this is a very cool result, At first you made a YouTube channel, it didn’t work out and you could have given up, to try again, picked up some knowledge from your studies and tweaked it. Very cool. I that it’s not just YouTube and its network of channels, monetization, and so on, but also that there are various interesting paths here. Here. Fine. kind of videos you create and how much you get paid for them? It turns out I created a portfolio for myself. Well, there are very few jobs here. No, not all. Yes. these are more basic. Yes. news video, yes. [music] This is news about celebrity deaths. Yes. Well, a basic slideshow. The pictures change, the friend is replaced. In general, this is the essence of editing. It's very much, well, a basic level, without any, strong dynamics. [music] Yeah. Well, and there are some text excerpts here, yes. That Robot background voiceover, yes. Then I found a kind of sub-niche precisely through ageneration. That is, I made myself free subscriptions through Well, that is, I was looking for different moments. I also made commercials, tried to advertise that too , well, expand my portfolio, in general . I just made all sorts of things, like logos. Well, roughly speaking, I was just having fun. OK. This is what I did. Well, that's nonsense. Now it can be done much better. I made another one like this. I made another one like this. this advertising one. Yes. Cool. Bliss. Then, that’s exactly what I This is a neural network. Holy [ __ ], that's awesome. Cool. Yes. Here's another one. Bliss. Bliss. I've already done this about, well, a personal brand. Yes. Here is an advertisement for oil also through neural networks. Okay , income now, is that what you already have, a portfolio, right? Well, for example, on the gaming channel. made progress in editing, because the quality is already at a higher level than what you started doing. And how much, for example, do Basically, I'm doing a full production. I don’t know if I can be called a producer in this regard, or maybe I’m half. Do you propose ideas or do you create them? Yes, that is, I search for themes in full, well, the idea itself, I search for all the material, I do the editing, I write, which in some way is channel’s strategy, I do it, I do the voice-over. In short, it's all on [music] is post videos and don’t write tags there. Here. like that? It turns out to be 60 bucks for one video. This [music] is a complete creation from the idea to the final result. Bliss. Bliss. And how much approximately is A and plus I’m still making the cover. or on top? Yes, this cover is included. And how many videos like this do you make per month on average ? And how long do you work I'm making one video a day now, it works out. Me month [music] 30 it turns out to be 1.800. Yes. Cool. Cool. comes out to about five hours. You work 5 hours a day, which means you earn about Yes. Cool. Here. And by the way, I also found a client, there Here. And by the way, I also found a client, there was such a moment too. I saw a blogger on YouTube , he came to Pattaya. A guy opened a motorhome here for himself. In short, I made him a kind of proposal that I would be his producer. I suggested making him four videos, then making two more commercials through AI and making him a bot. Here. [clears throat] Anyway, I also tried my hand at creating a Telegram bot. bot. Cool. Well, you see, you have this try yourself in different things, you are not afraid to try harder, to reach out to someone. How do you think you acquired this skill? Because, well, objectively, not every person has this. And someone might be afraid to make an offer to someone, someone might be afraid to name the price of $60 for a video. How did you come to this conclusion? I actually started out small. I was also always afraid to name the price. I was thinking, damn, is this a lot or a little. When orders started coming in, I realized how much time was going to be spent. I was counting my time. And somehow he first named a lower price, then just gradually increased it a little, looking for some limits where he could increase it, where he could decrease it. With this client, the one . Yeah. and I offered him a check for 800 bucks. He agreed, [music] we all collaborated with him . Well, and somehow on top of that, last month. Yes. Yes. I didn't expect this at all. That is, I came to him, we talked to him personally, and he saw, so to speak, the fire in my eyes. I simply told him everything with enthusiasm about how to promote his channel. That's exactly it, well, with the help of your training. There was also a section about management, very cool. And for a very long serious. That is, [music] being a producer or creating some kind of personal brand. So I just understand that either they produce you, two things. And if you know how to produce, you So, essentially, you applied the information on thinking, and on negotiations from training, and on editing, and just took it into your own hands, of course, not in the first month, that is, when you were training, it was spring, now we have December, So, essentially, you needed six months to unpack these skills, but who came back then for training and other income, and your eyes are shining differently and your smile is different, so it's super cool, and I'm super pleased to see it. Well, I’m will be colossal changes and there will be something else to say, maybe we’ll film some additional interview [music] and so on. But I'm sure that yes, you will continue to watch us to adopt this from Vanya , because it has a lot of influence. Not the quality of installation, not some level of experience, but rather how willing you are to just write to a random person about a rental mod that has person about a rental mod that has [music] Why not? here on your own skills that you already have. This moment really opened my eyes in terms of [music] possibilities. So what can you actually do? It’s just that before this order, I saw somewhere on the Internet, I don’t remember from whom, this idea that I should make refused. Yes, so that it would be shameful to refuse. Here. Yes, yes, yes. Well, I thought about it and thought, I’ll offer both , and a bot on top. So I tried again, made a bot, and everything worked out. Here the client was satisfied. Cool, cool, cool. And you were moments, they greatly expand consciousness. You've never sold before. There are services there that are essentially not your specialization. You've never sold for that kind of money. You took this and did it, and you are like this, but you can do this over there. And of course it expands. And in many ways, path. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an editor, a producer or anyone else. I've been dreaming about this for a very long time , to earn something from the Internet. And it was only possible to do this in 2025. I started thinking about online earnings back in 23, I think. earnings and no, no, no, no. I thought it was a lead, you could say. [music] Yes, I sold everything. What happened? I saved up some more and moved. I thought I would do copywriting. I bought a course on copywriting, but I still haven't completed it. Here. And after all the training I bought, I understand that there is no plan. That is, there are tools, and you either just use them or you don’t. That is, far from Yes, yes, yes. There is simply some information close to insider information, but no one will provide any diagram. That is, there are good tools that work and can be used. Here. But when purchasing a course, you need to know that you yourself must do it Well, yeah, because Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because , I’ll buy it. I already had thoughts there. [music] I'll start end I came to Thailand. Well, I didn't end up taking up copywriting , but in any case, I would have taken some lessons there and gained experience. who is currently searching for themselves, [music] doesn’t know, just like you, moving, say, to Thailand, doesn’t know what they’ll do, and is advice would you give? Devote more time to this. [music] It also depends on the situation, but in any case, just make more and more attempts, because I have made many attempts. I took a complete risk, [music] quit my job there for 4, 5 months, worked only on YouTube, went through training, tried different niches. The most important thing is not to spread yourself too thin, that is, understand this now, because I have a lot of channels paused. Even in the children's niche, which I recently started, I have 2,000 subscribers on my English channel, but it's purely Shors, and on the Russian channel there are 1,000 subscribers, but there are 1,000 hours missing, that is, before monetization. And that's it, [music] yes, and all of that has now been paused. Here. Because, well, [music] appeared, work appeared, orders. Right now, right now, I’m trying, I’m trying, yes, yes. Well, in any case, I won’t, well, I definitely won’t forget YouTube. I also want to resume the psychology channel now. That is, I gained 400 subscribers there, I introduced it for 3 months, released about 50 videos there, and 1,500 hours were accumulated there. Cool. That is, you are halfway to monetization even at the beginning of your Well, in the end, it all just gradually fell into disuse. There were no motivation disappeared, and I needed to earn money. I found myself in a very tough spot where, roughly speaking, I was thrown right to the bottom. You got out of it in time, right? Thank you very much for our conversation. Thank you for coming to this interview so we could go over what Yes, thank you very much too. In general, I am simply incredibly grateful to you for what you provided, for your product, for our meeting. It was generally nice to talk. So I am incredibly grateful to you for everything. In short, I just arrived home and changed my clothes. So, I just bought a , so I'm a bit late, in short. Holy [ __ ]. Congratulations. He rushed and rushed on his bike to the call. Are you still in Thailand? Yes. Yes, in Thailand, in the same apartment. Well, now we are working with clients, with YouTube. For now I also have a break, channels. Yes. Tell me what changed between you and me when we last spoke on the phone, how much did you . Enough time has passed now. You also live in Thailand . What has changed in your work, in terms of your approach to work, your income, and so on? Another client was added, but one of them was also paused because of their, well, problems, malfunctions. Here. But overall, my income is more stable now, it’s $1,500. Right now there are two clients. I just signed up a new real estate client. In general, we signed a contract with him for 3 months. Here's $1,000 every month. And the second client, by the way, is also new. We are working with him. He has a YouTube channel about news. clients in general? Right here in Thailand, that You just move, it turns out, in Thailand, you go somewhere, do something, OK. In total, if you take all your ? From the moment you had our interview, we we corresponded with each other, when I was in the States, you said 1.8, if we take the total amount, it turned out to be somewhere around 2,500 dollars, doing this from all clients, Well wow, this is turning out really cool. If we take 2 months, that's about a little now. Well, well, and I added four more somewhere. That's another four since March, right? Well, wait, I have a table here, I’m keeping it. A, that is, income, expenses simply for one’s own interests. Here it is 589,000 rubles. But that's not all, because now I'm real estate client. OK. Well, in short, it comes to 1.12, yes, that's what Well, yes, that's how it turns out. And your average income now is 1,500 dollars . Yes. Yes. this is from two clients, yes. If, let's say, a guy no longer be able to cope if you did it on your own? No, delegate. How satisfied are you now with these 1500 that you have? There is more hunting. Here. And overall there are more goals. That is, to reach an income of at least 3,000, so that it is stable. I don't know if it's hard or normal to use bolters in Thailand. I would n't say it's hard, but it's not exactly free either, you know. In general, I am completely enough for everything. I cover all my basic needs, plus I pay in installments. Well, just in general, so you understand, you can live peacefully here, rent a one-room apartment, rent a bike, so that you have enough 60-70,000 rubles for your visa. Clear. Well, let's say you're going to get three rubles feel? How much would it be otherwise for you, let's say? I'll just be twice as comfortable, I don't know, and I'll be able to delegate more. Well, that is, I will already have a kind of capital that I can initially invest, for example, to pay editors. ? Naturally. Well, my goal is, of course, ten, yes, but the next step is to reach three. I right in understanding? There is 100%, naturally. Well, that's because it's kind of super clear to you how to make a ten, just by taking about three people into a team. Well, well, yes. three people on the team and several clients, yes, there are four or five. At the same time, you can reduce the guarantees and at the same time, you don’t have to put everything into this project to keep your word, because you can do this without losing efficiency.