This 'Boring' YouTube Channel Makes $250,000 a Year

[00:03] promise we're talking about YouTube. What happened there? 18 million views. tutorial or what was it? >> Our whole thing started after teaching about strawberries and we ended up starting a trend that went viral on

[00:18] social media about strawberries in a jar, which hit 18 million on Instagram. Amy has built her YouTube channel around helping families reduce food waste and save money on groceries. And she's turned this into a real business. We're

[00:32] talking multiple six figures at this point, a best-selling book, various revenue streams, and it has over 350,000 views, and you just posted this a year Welcome to the Think Media podcast, the number one show bringing you unfiltered

[00:46] channel. I'm Nathan Eswine, one of the YouTube coaches here at Think Media. And today I'm joined with Amy Cross from the Cross Legacy. And Amy, welcome. How are be here today. >> And I think we should start right here,

[01:02] things about your channel. So, your most popular video at this point is called popular video at this point is called How to Keep Your Cucumbers Fresh for Weeks. And it has over 350,000 views, and you just posted this a year

[01:16] ago. I love it because it sounds almost ridiculously specific. If someone's listening like, "Did he just say cucumbers? Yes, I did. You can go to Amy's channel and see this for yourself, but this clearly resonated and solved a

[01:28] problem for people." Take me into this. Did you know this video would do well? And how did you come up with that? >> Well, I came up with it because I do it. So, we only go grocery shopping once every month and we have fresh produce

[01:41] the whole entire time. So, I love teaching zero waste produce tips, but our our whole thing started after teaching about strawberries and we ended up starting a trend that went viral on social media about strawberries in a

[01:56] jar. And so then I started going through the other produce items and answering specific questions like we're talked to taught to do. And so I was teaching about cucumbers, which ended up getting picked up and has a lot of views right

[02:10] now. Not as many as strawberries, which hit 18 million on Instagram. >> Wow. Okay, so we got cucumbers. We're talking about strawberries. Yes, I promise we're talking about YouTube. That's why I love this place. Okay, tell

[02:23] quick. What happened there? 18 million views. What did you post? Was this like little bit of the backstory because I think it's really important is during the pandemic, I was on some Facebook groups and there were so many scared

[02:38] were saying like, "Oh, I don't want to go to the grocery store but once every 2 the house." And you know what happens if the store shelves are empty? And then "Well, you know, I don't know what to feed my toddler because blueberries only

[02:52] last for 4 days in the refrigerator." And I'm like, "Wait a minute. What are 8 weeks. It's like the blueberries in my fridge are a month old. That blew up on Facebook that day. And so the owner of that page is Jordan page and she

[03:07] know some skills here that people don't know and they need. And so she asked if she could share my Instagram and share if I would share the strawberries in a jar trick. And so anyways, I realized really quickly I didn't want to share my

[03:21] kids. And so I made a brand new Instagram that day with strawberries in a jar that she ended up sharing with a couple pictures of the inside of my fridge that are absolutely beautiful. And um and that's what it always looks

[03:33] like. And that strawberries in a jar post kind of started everything. And 12 absolutely changed our lives. >> Okay. So this is just blowing my mind one, I think you and I should have a second conversation entirely about how

[03:48] going to share your channel with my wife. This is awesome. Thank you. But to get back on track here with YouTube stuff. Okay. So, we had an explosive thing. And you started on Instagram and then when did you come over to YouTube?

[04:02] Like how did you make that transition? >> So, we started the blog to put up the instructions up on a website. Like I didn't know anything on how to do any of this. I took a course over Fourth of July weekend back in 2021 to do that.

[04:17] >> That's right. the same weekend I started Instagram. And then October 8th through 10th is when this went crazy. And it we went from 3,000 followers the night went from 3,000 followers the night before to 65,000 followers in 24 hours.

[04:30] And so then I was also in the media around the world. They were picking it up and writing newspaper articles about me. Like it was it was really crazy during that time. I it was such an awesome experience. But during that time

[04:44] house in over a year. We live in Washington. We were like one of the strictest lockdown kind of places. >> And so things were just starting to open up where you could like go and meet some friends. And there was a mom's group in

[04:57] our area that wanted to get together for the first time. And so a couple days before I went viral. So, you know, God had a plan in all of this. >> He scheduled me to meet with these moms. And I'm really an introvert. I'm like, I

[05:11] very much. >> And so we did this live event. um with know any of them. It was just in somebody's kitchen. And we filmed that video um vertically and we were doing Instagram lives at the time cuz that's

[05:26] how I kind of started learning how to talk to the camera and not being so shy. >> And so we filmed that video and then it ended up being like eight videos after that that were all vertical that were on Instagram because I mean I just got

[05:41] 65,000 new followers in a couple days. And so we took those first videos that are vertical that they were live events and we just copied them and we put them on to YouTube. So, some of those videos

[05:54] and people are commenting on them. They're like, "Oh, if the people in the people don't know if it wasn't for that day, none of this would have happened. Like, I would have not had comfortable

[06:06] talking in front of a camera, like all of the things." And so, we haven't taken those videos down, but they were never meant to be like our true YouTube video, views on them. >> Yeah. So that was kind of the end of

[06:21] October through January where I didn't do any horizontal videos. And then January 2022 is when we finally did our first like horizontal video on YouTube. >> Okay. So before we get into the horizontal video, because I'd love to

[06:36] break down, you know, how you're coming up with ideas and how you've learned to create in the like long form format on YouTube coming from vertical, right, on social media platforms. But I I want to parachute into this is a crazy moment

[06:49] because here's the thing Amy as a coach I hear all the time the big objective is how can I how can I grow as fast as possible is honestly what's at the core for a lot of people and I get that most of the time coach as coaches here at

[07:03] think me have to be like great goal love the enthusiasm the reality is it it takes a long time for a lot of people so you did what a lot of people would like to have happen to them I just want to ask like what did you do how did you

[07:15] feel like did you get paralyzed? Like what enabled you to keep posting? Because to go from a few thousand to tens of thousands overnight is something a lot of people want, but do they really? Like how did you all react in

[07:28] our heart that we wanted to make a generational change. And so even the name of our our everything is the cross legacy. That's our family motto because our last name is Cross and we've wanted to make this family change. And so being

[07:43] able to speak to young moms, Instagram was mostly young moms and that is really my heart. I just turned 50. Like I'm not a young mom anymore. So but that has always been my heart like talking to mom's groups and other young

[07:58] connection that I was making with the young moms on Instagram. And it seemed like that's really where the algorithm had me. Um because I was talking to for like the bubble to burst. You know how people like follow a video or

[08:13] subscribe and then, oh, maybe they won't like the next content that gets put out. And so I kept waiting to lose followers and we didn't. We just kept adding, of at that 100,000 mark on Instagram when we really started focusing on

[08:28] when we really started focusing on YouTube. And it took me a full year to monetize on YouTube. So I mean it was persistence and it you can't really get people to switch from short form to long form or switch platforms and so it it

[08:42] took a lot and you know I was kind of at some points like ready to give up a little bit like is this worth it? We're doing so well over here and um it was like we have stuck with it. We have never missed a content creating goal

[08:55] been amazing. >> Wow. Okay. Just so many cheers. This is fascinating to hear. And I also it that's such an honest answer to be like hand when you just jump up tens of thousands it's like okay well here's our

[09:11] moment how long can we sustain it and for it to just kind of keep going it's just like cheers to you all for keep going for continuing to push through. I'd love to hear about long form video now making the transition from social

[09:24] a different way to create content, right? Long form video. >> As we dive into your creation process, I'd love to start with what's your guys doing now on your YouTube channel? >> We are kind of crushing it right now.

[09:38] Um, we decided we have for the last year we have decided to do three videos every we have decided to do three videos every week and so we have put up 12 videos every single month since January 2025 >> and that's long form.

[09:52] >> Wow. Okay. >> So, I have a team. It's not just me, but I'm the one behind the camera. But um you know we've already always since the beginning of this we at first we just had friends that were helping us because

[10:06] we knew that the most important thing that I could do was be able to answer questions to other moms. Like that's the thing that nobody else can do it. Only Amy can do it. And so you know being able to push out editing and all the

[10:19] other things to other people that can do that and me really concentrate on the things that God has a calling on my heart to do. That's a level of clarity, Amy, that I fight for people to get to as soon as possible. It sounds like you

[10:32] beginning you were like as soon, okay, as soon as possible, we're going to outsource things. Was that some mindset you had going into creating or did you >> Yeah, it it just we went viral so quickly on Instagram. I was spending

[10:45] questions like >> Okay. So, it was like >> answer questions like Yeah, it was just so crazy. And so, I ended up having a friend in my neighborhood. She started like helping me put up some more

[10:57] another mom, you know? And then I had another mom that was on our team for a money. Like things are really tight right now. Is there anything I can possibly do? And you know, she ended up being my right hand for like 2 years and

[11:11] I've had a follower, you know, say, "Oh, I know a little bit more about websites than you do. I'm not an expert. You know, maybe I can help you." and just building this team around me of just people that have people that see our

[11:24] mission. Like it's more than a number. It's about truly helping families be able to afford groceries. Our grocery budget is $135 per person. So, it's just two of us here at the house. We're only spending $270 a month on groceries and

[11:40] >> Yeah. So, uh let's all go subscribe to the Cross Legacy and lower our food budgets. I love it. >> But what I'm teaching is even lower than what people on food stamps is getting. Like there's there's really, you know,

[11:54] your house and be able to make easy meals. And um so, you know, really to be >> relieve some of that stress on people's shoulders. You know, 89% of my followers

[12:06] are women, you know, so moms um you know, whoever's trying to buy the of that stress is, you know, who's following me. And if we can touch one life a day, we've done it right. >> I love this, Amy, because I know it's

[12:20] conversation talking about a cucumber video. And that's what it could sound underneath already just a few minutes in our time together is you have content that's actually really solving problems. You know what I mean? And you have more

[12:35] than that, a very clear mission that's on your heart that you guys are carrying that's bringing other people to you. Um, and you have a team now and everything. listening to Amy right now and you're thinking, "I know something that could

[12:50] help people, but I just don't know how to turn it into a real money-making thing." This is exactly why we put together our free YouTube strategy up-to-date information about what kinds of channels are growing, what mistakes

[13:04] start building revenue on YouTube, even So, if you want to stop guessing and get a clear plan, go to thinkmasterclass.com. We'll link that right down below. But

[13:16] again, that's thinkmasterclass.com. All right, back to Amy. Would you mind if we shift gears? I'd like to talk about your content creation process. obviously that's you having a team. Could you walk us through what a typical

[13:31] research day is like for you? Or do you handle that that that part of the process? Like, how do you choose what video ideas to do? That's funny. A a figure out what I'm going to do for videos normally means I'm playing a game

[13:45] on on my phone because that's like the only way my ADHD brain can like concentrate. But um we have since the beginning of January 2025, every two weeks we've put out this meal series video. And so it shows the meals that

[13:59] I'm making with those ingredients that I'm bringing home because people are like, "Oh, but what are you actually making?" And so as we've kind of progressed through this now, we had 25 of those videos in 2025 and then we

[14:11] started a new series for 2026. The same concept. I'm actually like talking a little bit more about life outside of the kitchen, too. Like still trying to, know, all those kind of things, but you know, talk about fun things like, oh, it

[14:26] was actually sunny while I was making dinner, you know, or you know, those >> Life stuff. >> Yeah, just little life stuff in there. Um but people can see also I have um a chronic illness called reflective

[14:38] sympathetic distrophe. So I can have like good and bad days and I have to plan for them. I have to make sure that you know I have meals ready or easy things that we can do cuz I can have a bad day or a bad week and especially

[14:50] during the winter time. But so those two videos people don't really know but those we are building for our next book. So, it really is showing like 2 years of

[15:03] process of these are the only the ingredients we have in our house and these are, you know, the 700 meals I made with those, you know, and so that has been our focus on really making sure that we have all of that content to end

[15:18] out in newsletters, you know, so all of those meals that we're actually eating, you know, every night for dinner. And then we show our grocery haul every month where I spend less than $270 at the grocery store. And I also love

[15:32] showing videos of, oh, it's been, well, today it's been 34 days since I've went to the grocery store and this is what we're eating. So, a lot of those kind of videos, too, where a lot of content creators, especially after my

[15:44] strawberries in a jar went viral, they show a lot of different washing researched and you know I know what I'm doing and I've done it for 20 years plus you know and but there's not a lot of

[15:56] people saying oh this is what it still looks like 3 to four weeks later and I'm eating it you know so >> powerful yeah absolutely wow okay so you clearly have at this point you have content pillars dialed in it sounds like

[16:10] going on h >> have you found a pretty big benefit from doing from creating videos in a series format is this kind something you've come across this idea? >> Yeah, this series this series is really

[16:25] to hold me accountable honestly like >> to make sure that I'm really showing what we're using. And a lot of times I'm not cooking with recipes. So it's like, oh, I did this and I threw a little bit of that in and this is why I used this

[16:37] or if I had wrote that down on a piece of paper, I might not have understood why I put cottage cheese in something instead of Greek yogurt. you know, it's the fridge and that's what I used and, you know, so teaching those kind of

[16:50] skills that it doesn't have to be a, you know, set meal plan, a set recipe. You can have ingredients and make healthy meals for your family. >> Okay, man. So, how when you think about um how's your process look like right

[17:02] now? I know at some point you were obviously doing this thinking of titles. Titles. Thumbnails are the big thing that I know stump a lot of people when it comes to shifting over to YouTube and now making long form video and oh, I got

[17:14] a title. What I'm noticing about a lot of your popular videos is they're they're very head-on. And if we talked about the cucumber video, but how to keep your cucumbers fresh for weeks, it almost sounds it just sounds so simple.

[17:28] obviously it's going to appeal to the right person. You have several more of these kinds of videos. Strawberry hack. How to make your berries last weeks in the fridge. The best way to wash fruits and vegetables. I could go on and on.

[17:41] What have you learned about titles and thumbnails that resonate with the >> Well, it seems like our videos do well kind of having the same look to the and want to click on it. You know, oh, it's Amy standing in her kitchen. That's

[17:55] it's Amy standing in her kitchen. That's what I do. And so anyways, but lately utilizing chat GPT a little bit more. We have Vid IQ, we have the Think Media chat plug-in thing. And so being able to like, I have this idea and I'm going to

[18:12] What do you think's going to speak to my audience? And, you know, letting chat help a little bit with the SEO and the description, that kind of stuff. But it's always my idea, my recipe, what I'm trying to come across. and then just

[18:26] thing. >> Do its thing. And I It's true. At this 100,000 subscribers, which congrats. I'm sure that'll happen in the next couple months here. Um, and at this point, yeah, YouTube kind of knows what to do

[18:38] to put your videos in front of. Doesn't mean you can slack on the titles and thumbnails, but at least this point for things are pretty dialed in. Like you know what you're going to put out there. Um, what do you how's your um equipment

[18:52] okay when you start filming long form video I mean is did you stick with your Instagram or did you buy a camera like what was your equipment journey like as a creator >> so we still haven't invested that much

[19:06] money into it and we're four years in the first year up until we monetized the first money we spent when we got monetized was on a camera and it was monetized was on a camera and it was just a $500 Sony camera um and then yeah

[19:19] that's all we did we we did it on phones and I had two friends that were here and their phones and we would just do it on our phones. And so we still do almost we're over by the stove and it's just easier and you know like cutting and

[19:36] having cameras is just hard sometimes. >> Okay. >> But um yeah, so and then I have a DJI um what's that called? The >> the pocket the DJI Pocket

[19:48] >> the pocket the DJI Pocket >> I have a DJI what is that? Omus I don't that again. Do you use that for like blog content or or anything? >> Yeah. So, when the team's here, so we actually have content days that we film.

[20:02] And I just recently moved. So, it used to be always on a Monday, we would have content days. We would film all the content for the week. And so, that's what we have done the last three years. So, when my helper is here, she doesn't

[20:15] like me to say your name. When my helper is here, um she's the one that deals with the white camera. I have a DJI that whenever I'm filming like selfie kind of videos or talking videos, then I will use that one because I can I can manage

[20:29] that one better. But like literally, I think total maybe $1,200 in four years. >> Way all in on your setup. And that's still the case. Like, how long have you years now. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Since January 2022. So,

[20:45] and then the next year is when we bought >> 2024, I think is when we got the DJI >> and that was just to move it. So, this is kind of fun. I don't think you know this, but um now we live 4 hours away

[20:58] from where we used to live. And so, I still have the same camera helper that comes and she flies over to me now. And so, we do 12 videos in 3 to 4 days. And

[21:11] so it is long 12-hour days for three three to four days depending on what >> But um yeah, she flies over right now cuz the pass is bad, but when the she'll start driving over again. But it's about the same for a 30-day out

[21:26] ticket as it is to pay mileage for her to come. So it just works out. Yeah, it works out. But again, like we set this all up from the very beginning wanting this to build a brand that will change our lives forever. or not even our

[21:39] lives, but our grandkids and our great-grandkids someday to have a life changed because of the cross legacy. >> Wow. Okay. So, in mad respect, that's a whole other level. Talk about batch filming is like a threeday shoot. Like,

[21:53] I I just know that's that's not easy. That takes a lot of organization and energy. My goodness, to be able to do that. Um, I I'm so curious like as you're doing your batch filming, could you give us tips for maybe someone who's

[22:07] say you're at the black belt level of batch filming content. So, I think a lot of people have heard this phrase, batch your content. Film more than one video advice, but I also think a lot of people get stuck and overthink it. Have you

[22:22] always batch filmed content? And maybe better yet, what's some advice for the white belt out there who's like, "Okay, this week I'm going to try to film more than one video at a time. Tips, feedback, advice, what you got?"

[22:34] >> So, since the very beginning, Mondays were content days. So, like it was a content on Mondays. Just like having that set schedule. My husband actually started the channel a couple months ago, a couple months before we moved. I want

[22:48] to say it was about June. He did about five videos and we realized this is a lot harder than it looks. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, um anyways, but you know, setting this up as like it's your main

[23:01] priority, you know, your main work priority for us. Um you know, family's >> But, um >> then as you know, we transferred over here to Eastern Washington to figure out those systems that we needed to make

[23:15] sure that this was still working for us. I knew I wasn't going to want to film 12 videos by myself. Like, that was not going to happen. And, eyelashes on to make it look good in the camera, you know, like

[23:28] >> come on. Yeah. >> You know, it's we have makeup days or no makeup days, you know, and try to use utilize, you know, those days as much as possible. But, you know, we are we have been able to make some big decisions for

[23:43] our family and work around things. Our grandma lived with us for her last chapter of her life and I got to help her through hospice and you know just being able to be like a 24 caregiver tour and the people on my team were so

[23:57] great. They would come and sit with her in her bedroom and chat with her and you know watch you know a show or whatever while we were filming in the other room off you know and on and make sure her needs were met. And then now being able

[24:11] to move here closer to family. You know, it's just it's just our lives are possibilities of what are happening because of YouTube. And you know, my goal, my big goal is we just turned 50. My husband turned 50 in August. I just

[24:25] turned 50 in January. I want to retire him in the next 5 years by the time he's 55. >> Oh, I love that. Oh my goodness. You're pulling at my heartstrings, Amy. I might have to pause the interview for a

[24:38] second. It's just so meaningful. This is what I love about this stuff is there's and I we're about to start talking about like, hey, your business infrastructure, bestselling book. I want to talk about a TED talk and all that's really cool and

[24:50] fun and there's a place for that. But I also just this is why I love this thing. exactly what you're talking about, the impact you can have and then the ripple effect that that has obviously on the people that you're creating content for,

[25:04] life and the people that are closest to you and having a team that you can pour just you're preaching to the choir. I love it. I absolutely love it. Um I I would love to shift into you've made this thing a business. Like this is a

[25:18] multi6figure business for you at this point. What do you mind sharing like what what what you guys did last year like revenue-wise and then I'd love to kind of break down where that comes from like how much is YouTube, how much is

[25:30] >> Are you answering me? Ask me another question or was that it? >> Okay. I'm sorry. So, um, in 2025 was our best year we've ever had that like honestly some of

[25:43] those years prior like we were paying the team with a prayer and a hope that everything was going to work out and we really built this as a business and, you know, started with smaller products. So, we started with like an ebook first and

[25:57] that kind of helped, you know, solve some of our income issues. But this year with the book sales, we have hit $250,000 $250,000 in 2025 on sales and income that has

[26:10] came in. We call them the three pillars. So, it's YouTube, it's book sales, and So, then we still have our Amazon affiliates and, you know, clubs and stuff on top of that, but $250,000. Like, we're hitting at least $20,000 in

[26:26] >> Oh my goodness. just I mean massive shout out to you all and big congrats from our whole team and I'm sure anyone who's listening right now. That's crazy. Best year yet coming from multiple uh revenue streams. Let's talk about the

[26:39] book because how what was the process like to get that thing started? Um and how big of a role does that play in that 250? So, the book started out, the first

[26:52] version of the book ended up being an ebook that I put on Amazon before I even knew how to do Shopify and all those kind of things. And so, and that was just 25 produce items, me teaching the tips so people could download it. And we

[27:06] I took a bunch of different YouTube classes or watching a bunch of YouTube classes or watching a bunch of YouTube videos on other authors and I learned to be very strategic on titling that and what categories it goes into. So, I

[27:19] ended up being a number one bestseller on Amazon for over a year because of that book because it was under fruit gardening. Like, there was no other books coming out under fruit gardening. If I would have put it under cooking,

[27:31] bestseller. But now, I can always have that I've had a TED talk and I'm a number one bestseller after my title forever because of this ebook. And the forever because of this ebook. And the ebook on Amazon only makes me $2. So

[27:45] they we realized really quickly we wanted to like not encourage it on Amazon and we built it into our website and then I get the whole $9 off of it or sale.

[27:58] >> There we go. Okay. So wow. So this book though the ripple effect from the book what's that been like? Is this has this has this helped open doors alongside as a content creator even on social media but and on YouTube as well. But

[28:11] number one bestseller. Genius advice by the way. You can rewind to listen to that. Right. What category are you publishing under also like what is that? What are the doors of that opened up? How did the TED

[28:24] some other cool things that you've gotten to do because of this? second because so that ebook was just the first of it. And so that ended up through two more seasons. So, we did summer produce items and fall produce

[28:40] items. And it was actually the day that my grandma passed away. Um, we were driving the four hours to get over here to our kids and I got a phone call from a publisher and they wanted to publish the book. And so, I just thought it was

[28:56] going through this whole process to make a physical book. And, you know, we worked on it for a couple months. and just I kind of was in the spot that day in the car like I've been taking care of grandma now now what am I going to do

[29:10] like I have been taking care of her for more than two years and now what am I going to do and so you know being able to work on the book and we kind of already had the blueprint for it because the the main book that we have is the

[29:22] zero produce guide goes through 75 produce items a toz and there then there's recipes and tips and all those kind of things but it ended up that publisher was going under over the course of the

[29:36] months and they kept trying to push out a product that I didn't like and so I ended up being able to get out of that contract and then self-publishing. So we are able Yeah, we are able to self-publish this book through Lulu

[29:51] Publishers, which is an American publisher. And so I can order two to 500 house and then I sell them on my website. And these books I sell for $56.

[30:04] >> Yo. Okay. >> So, I'm paying 20 to $25 depending on how many I buy at a time. You get, you know, a discount as you buy more. But then we're making 20 to $25 on each book.

[30:17] >> Every book. Okay. Could you explain a couple things for someone who doesn't have you what have you learned about that? Why do you like that? So, with self-publishing, then I'm the one that, you know, hired the editors to go over

[30:31] out the money, you know, every month to make sure that the books are getting delivered here to the house. We still have them on Amazon, and I still send them through Amazon. Um, but they're they're all from me from my house. But,

[30:46] um, being able to do this, we were able to start getting money instantly. And so publisher, they wanted to wait, we they wanted to wait until April. And then it would have been the following

[31:00] April, which is next month. It would be next month that I would have got my next month that I would have got my first revenue check. So in that process, we have moved closer to our family. We've remodeled our house. Like we've

[31:12] made big life changes because this book is getting sold every single day. obviously well it's in the name self-publishing just means you're mean there's no I guess there's no advance that's happening you're doing

[31:25] everything up front which means you get the money up front some helpful resources that you found for doing that if you don't mind sharing that that company again or >> the company that I use is called Lulu

[31:38] Publishing and so and then I I have a website and then I send them through >> okay >> my website and Shopify by Lulu Publishing all through that. But I mean, it's been like $200,000 worth of sales

[31:52] >> The book. >> Well, okay. So, it's a heavy hitter in >> And so, um, overall the income streams you were asking about YouTube is about $3,000 a month. Um, it's kind of funny.

[32:06] Mary. >> Yeah. like almost two years ago and she messed up my algorithm. All of a sudden, I had all these older followers on my my channel and which was

[32:21] fine, you know, all the things. But I had always thought that I wanted to talk to younger moms and then all of a sudden, you know, I get all these women that are even a decade or a generation older than me on my channel, but I found

[32:34] that they watch longer videos than 30 year olds, so they will sit and watch it on TV all day, you know? So, >> you don't complain about the watch hours, you know, or hitting that older

[32:46] longer videos. They don't doom scroll, you know. you know. >> So, yeah. So, anyways, YouTube right now is hitting around $3,000 a month. It's not huge. Um, even though we're putting

[32:58] out all this content, but again, we're trying to change one life a day. You know, reach one new person a day. And if we can help them have the courage to if it's fresh produce, so they know that they're not throwing away. The average

[33:12] >> Wow. >> And so we have zero food waste, you know, and to be able to really show that and teach that and, you know, give their homes, you know, even during this scary time. Like there's scary things in

[33:27] the world happening and we all know now what it's like to have empty shelves at those things our great-grandparents had warned us about like we've been through, you know, and to be able to really help families have food security is just it's

[33:42] >> it's awesome. And I think it's so cool to think about um the various formats that you get to carry this mission through. There's obviously YouTube, but before that it was Instagram even, right? And then a book, like an actual a

[33:57] physical thing that can sit on someone's kitchen counter, I'm sure just means the world to you, right? Like Yeah. Like that's I just love that there's so many different ways that you are downloading what you know in your mission and

[34:09] things. Maybe it's a video, maybe it's a book, maybe it's a blog post, and that's just really inspiring. What have you found about the kind of like the cycle of everything? I've often found that, okay, you make a YouTube video that

[34:22] but the comments you get on it, and I know that you'd obviously be very people, replying to people, I'm sure emails you've gotten, any kind of feedback you get from these various outlets. What's your process for kind of

[34:34] that forward into the next piece of content, be it a book, a blog post, or a video. I think this is a cycle that I do see creators slip out of, which is not listening to where their audience is now. What's your process for staying

[34:49] connected? >> We um even just yesterday we put up the meals video that goes up every two weeks and I had made English muffins in it and teach us how to make English muffins. They're $6 at the store and you made

[35:02] them from a cup of flour, you know. And so, um we decided we're filming that on Friday. like, you know, we literally just put that video up yesterday and it's going to be up on the channel within 10 days, you know, and so really

[35:17] being able to hear those pain points. On my birthday, I did a big grocery um giveaway and we reached families that had sent in stories and there were so stopped buying meat, they didn't know how to buy meat, like it was too

[35:30] expensive, you know, like those kind of things. So now we're building content, you know, right now on how to stretch out that ground beef and, you know, how to be able to afford it or how to be able to buy bacon and, you know, still

[35:42] get those things that you still want for your family. And so really always being really flexible of knowing what's going on like and being able to change the content if we need to change the content to be, you know, what's really in the

[35:56] moment, what people need, you know, what they're scared about, you know, kind of thing. And then with me talking about produce so much it's really seasonal. So I love being able to talk about like you need to use up your potatoes like they

[36:08] Patrick's Day so that's why they're eyeing but you know like use those up and then next fall when they're fresh again then you can bring them back into your house kind of thing. And so it's those kind of things like people don't

[36:22] realize that, you know, apples are only grown one time a year and they're stored but if I got it from the grocery store, you know, it's fresh. Well, it's been in you know, it's fresh. Well, it's been in the warehouse since September, you know.

[36:36] >> So, it's just kind of those those things of being able to really hear what people's pain points are and being able to build content around that. And even though we are only filming once a month, like it's still coming out really

[36:49] quickly for things. And and sometimes I just stop everything and I do a talking head video to like answer a question that that comes up. you next is like, will you even pivot and adapt an upload schedule based on

[37:03] this now. >> Yeah. And and sometimes like, oh, I went and took all this B-roll between the dollar store and Grocery Outlet and I this was a better choice and that was a better choice. And then we like kind of

[37:18] sat back on it and we were like, no, that might make somebody feel like I'm to get the groceries at the dollar store, you know? And so instead of it, you know, we've really tried to work on what people are going to feel when they,

[37:32] I'm sending, you know, because we want to give them hope all the time, to give them hope all the time, >> man. Okay. Um, so you're very, what I'm it. It's a part of your week. You're always connected. You're listening. You

[37:45] guys are responding so much so that you will just readjust things. I love that. That's actually really cool to hear it. I personally read every single comment that comes in through YouTube and Instagram. So, you know, Instagram sends

[37:58] and all those kind of things, but I still sit down and I read every single comment. And YouTube, I answer every single comment that I see. And sometimes YouTube blocks it and you can't see it, but I mean, I can spend four hours a day

[38:11] answering questions, but they are all answered before I go to sleep, like here? And when I ask you this question, this is not a challenge. I'm not uh like the sake of who's listening right now.

[38:26] What made you decide to keep doing that versus passing that off to a team YouTube advice and YouTube strategies like, "Well, Amy, you should um you someone on your team, and you should really be brainstorming. You should

[38:38] really be writing the next book. You should really like what has you keeping going to respond even if it takes hours." Every day. Every day. that that's just the calling of my heart to really make sure that

[38:51] be an influencer. I want to make a difference in people's lives. And I do want to say something about those expert comments though. Like that is kind of one of the reasons why I stop posting videos inside like the group and then

[39:06] you know to get expert opinions because people forget to go back to the group be like, "Oh, you should have your teleprompter moved or this or that." I just have a lazy eye. I don't even have a teleprompter if you follow me.

[39:19] >> You don't even have that. >> Yeah. Just a reminder to other content creators that you don't need to make a negative comment on somebody's video, about their thumbnail, anything. Like, send them an email, go back and go to

[39:31] the group, whatever. Like, if somebody is really trying to speak to their audience, that's what kind of questions and comments you want in your feed that you know, encourage other people cuz Yeah. If I get, oh, you were looking

[39:43] somewhere. It's just I'm tired. my eye doesn't want to do what I wanted to do. >> Yeah. You know, or those kind of things, you know, it's just it's just funny. But

[39:55] sometimes those those other content creators can kind of put a damper on >> and I've kind of realized like, you know, or I get emails like, "Oh, your book is priced too high." Well, our book is priced so we make 15% on it, you

[40:09] know, so like that's not too high. But the fact that we are printing a full color book in the United States like it's a huge thing and we're a small business that's supporting families and you know,

[40:22] >> and so I've kind of learned those just to take it with a grain of salt like Costco and it's never going to have, you know, crazy printing numbers, you know, at one time. you know, we're we're printing 500 at a time and they line the

[40:37] printing 500 at a time and they line the hallways of my house, you know, >> Yeah. >> Very cool. Well, I love hearing that. Um I I'm curious about the TED talk. How did that opportunity come about and what

[40:51] was that like to go from being in a video, writing a book, but then being you? >> That was crazy. Like that was a 13minute >> That was crazy. Like that was a 13minute memorized speech. like memorized like 13

[41:06] minutes like it had to be perfect. It took months and months but somebody on my team at that time we submitted one TED talk application. So some people they will do cuz there's TEDexes all over the country they will you know

[41:20] submit two or 300 and do it every season kind we submit one and a copy of the video of what we were doing and that we we ended up with a TED talk. So it was exactly a year after we went viral is

[41:35] another big push and that was our big push to get the first ebook out too because I was going to be in the news with the TED talk and stuff and so that that we did during that time that actually didn't help or I wish I didn't

[41:51] spend money on. I kind of would like to talk about it if you wouldn't mind. So a strong foundation with multiple sources of income, which I'm really glad now that we have because like the website and AI and SEO like has changed

[42:06] not making as much money, you know, with AI >> as you were, you know, kind of thing. But we invested a lot of time and a lot of money into making a course. >> And we realized after we made it that

[42:20] people don't want to spend money on a course when they can't afford groceries. And so it was actually like everybody's like, "Oh, you have to have a course. You have to have a course." It kind of flopped for us. Like I've barely broken

[42:32] even on it. We still have it up on some of our older videos. We still get, you while, but I haven't talked about it in two years because >> it's like something that just didn't work. It, you know, didn't work. But we

[42:45] were able to take all of those lessons in the course. And then I was able to make I was able to make another course with that that I teach at food banks. And so like God set this all up that I didn't make money on it, but I still was

[43:00] changing the lives. And so, you know, those kind of things are so important. But, you know, not always is it, you know, you need to build a course or you need to do this. You know, being able to have one thing that you can sell in

[43:12] every video is amazing. you know, and I really encourage that whether it's ebook >> to be able to kind of push those cells and not be so reliant on the algorithm. >> I think I so appreciate you sharing that. And how meaningful is that, huh? I

[43:28] I've seen it over and over again, Amy. Like this I call it leftovers, you know, here that you made for X purpose you thought was going to do y thing. Didn't

[43:40] do that to use your words like flop. that didn't really do anything. But then to see how you can repurpose and remold and regift that, redistribute it in some of us underestimate the ability to repurpose things. Just because it didn't

[43:55] make it work over here. So that's just cool to hear. What a meaningful story. But I also think you're freeing people from feeling like they have to do what and coaching people to do, which is you got to make a course and you got to make

[44:09] membership and you got to do X Y and Z and X order. And so hearing you just you said again? You're like, if you have a video that reached one person, you had like one offer or one thing in there, like that's a win.

[44:23] >> Yeah. That's I love the simplicity of that. And if you're listening, maybe if we just talked about like your whole story is just so cool. explosion at the beginning, strawberries, you know, on the on the YouTube and building a team

[44:38] and the ripple effect of all the success from not just monetarily what your book is doing, multi6 figure year, TED talk, everything, but to the person who's you say to them when they're thinking through a first layer of monetization

[44:55] that's outside of YouTube? What would you encourage them to start thinking about? or maybe what direction would you point them about how to figure out which thing to go build? >> So, I wished I didn't spend so much time

[45:08] at the beginning on our website, like making a blog. Like, at the time, people has to be a blog. You have to do a blog." Like, that's how you make money is a blog. And it's way over my head. I don't want to learn all of those terms.

[45:23] I did it for the first six months and then somebody else came in and now we have had to put a big chunk of change into um re redoing the website. So right

[45:36] now it's currently it's getting redone by a professional you know and they're fixing all the mistakes that you know we had done in the past which will help our mon monetization of that even reach even further you know but even all those

[45:50] mistakes that we made I wished I just wish for that we didn't invest so much time and effort and money into the website and I would have focused on YouTube sooner so because we didn't really focus on YouTube you know until

[46:04] know, still Instagram, all the things, building this, you know, as a business. things that I wished I would have been able to hire a professional sooner and just do it right, you know, set that groundwork. Um, right. I don't remember

[46:20] was. >> Yeah. Like what's the what's the first thing to >> And then Okay, now I remember. And then so life-changing if you have something to sell like even like a $ five dollar

[46:35] recipe or my husband as he's trying to get back into making his YouTube of things happening at this house. We bought an 80year-old house so he had

[46:48] bought an 80year-old house so he had other priorities to deal with. like he would make like woodworking plans or something and you can sell those on Etsy super easy even to get like a $2, you know, plan for something is super easy.

[47:02] Working on Canva and making out, you know, whatever you're whatever you're an expert in. So, I really believe, you know, whatever that is on the calling on your heart is what you should be talking about and you know what what you want

[47:14] the news to call you and ask you about what what do you want to be a speaker on stage about? not trying to be somebody else but being you know whatever whatever your path whatever your journey has been you know for us is how God has

[47:27] led us through struggling times um where we couldn't afford food and you know that's that journey that struggle that we had went on you know 20 years ago is why I'm teaching people today that we can have food security in our house and

[47:42] honestly I don't need to be on a grocery budget right now like we are making a pretty decent income and I am spending less than $270 a month on groceries and showing exactly what we're making because I know that there is another

[47:55] family out there that can't spend, you know, a lot on groceries. And if I can keep showing every single time, this is what I'm making. This is what I'm doing. You know, we're going grocery shopping this afternoon and we haven't went

[48:08] grocery shopping for 34 days. >> Wow. Amy, thank you so much for just keeping it real. This was actually a very able to talk to someone like you who's honestly at a level of success that a

[48:23] just to hear how real you've been, your sincerity, and most importantly, your mission, your heart for people is just all over the place. And so, man, I just am cheering you on. All of us here are. Uh, and I'd love it if you share. Could

[48:37] you could you tell us where we could go find you to learn how to keep our food longer and reduce waste and get that $135 budget per person? Where can we

[48:49] >> So, the main two platforms I'm on are YouTube and Instagram, but everywhere, even.com, were the cross legacy, which is our family motto. And my book is called The Zerow Waste Produce Guide. If you buy it from my website and not from

[49:04] you buy it from my website and not from Amazon, there is a 15% discount code. Think media 15? >> What? Just for us? No way. Could you say that? >> Go to the crossleacy.com

[49:20] and buy the book, The Zerowasta Produce Guide, and you have a coupon code think media 15 for 15% off. >> Man, that was such a powerful conversation with Amy Cross. And one line that really stuck out to me was

[49:33] this idea. What do you want the news to call you about? What do you want to be invited to speak on? Because Amy's story is such a powerful reminder. When you people, you never know what opportunities can come from it. A loyal

[49:47] audience, real business, best-selling book, even things like media features in interview, actually, Amy has been featured 54 times in the last year in the news all over the globe. And if you want help turning your knowledge, your

[50:03] expertise, your story into a real YouTube strategy that could pay you, you got to check out our free masterclass at thinkmasterclass.com. Inside this free YouTube strategy class, you're going to get the most up-to-date

[50:16] information about not just what to post, but how to grow and how to build chasing views. So again, you can check that out at thinkmasterclass.com. We'll link it right down below. And hey, if you got value out of today, like,

[50:29] rate, share, review, wherever you watch or listen. This is the Think Media Podcast. I'm Nathan Eswine and I can't wait to connect with you in a future