Ques. Please give me a brief introduction about yourself.I'm Ujjwal Sharma, born and brought up in Kharagpur, West Bengal, where I did my schooling till 12th standard. I came to Delhi for my higher studies to get my undergraduate degree. At Delhi University, I pursued commerce, i.e., B.Com (Hons.) to be specific. During my college days, I did various internships and cleared CA Foundation and CA Intermediate alongside. After graduation, I got placed as a Business Analyst at Paytm.
I had my YouTube channel before coming to college, and I used to create a different type of content for my YouTube. But after college, I started taking my channel more seriously and posted more often about college-related information and time management. Back then, it was the COVID period too, so it was easier to post regularly. Right now, I'm working at Deloitte.
Ques. So what inspired you to start being regular with your YouTube channel? Did you notice any gap in entertainment or information out there which motivated you to fill that gap?During the last two years of my school, I had made up my mind to complete my graduation from SRCC (Shri Ram College of Commerce). I tried to get information regarding the admission process and the college, but I couldn’t find any content anywhere, which made me feel the need to give my juniors what I could not have, i.e., guidance. So I decided to take up my YouTube channel more seriously and post about SRCC and other college-related information. Also, having a friend who was already a big YouTuber made it easier because he helped me become a content creator.
Ques. What type of content do you post? What's the niche of your content and target audience?The content I post is mainly about two things: strategy and guidance. I basically help people out in making strategies because there are people out there who do not know how to start from scratch and make it to their goals. So I guide them throughout their journey. If we talk about recent times, freshers are still confused regarding the CUET process. So, I share strategies on CUET as well as CA because commerce students generally go for CA, as it is a popular career. I also make vlogs to help people learn more about the Big 4s, as they're highly desired.
Ques. Can you elaborate more about your vlogs on the Big 4s?Well, I've recently started vlogging. It's not just related to the Big 4s but also about my life overall. For example, I made a vlog recently where I was invited to a seminar by “Physics Wallah” to give a speech. I am yet to give my CA Final exam; I'm working at Deloitte and continuing content creation on my YouTube channel alongside. I am also giving multiple certification exams. So, I do vlogging just to guide and give a glimpse of my day-to-day life and my way of managing time so that people can learn and strategize their schedule as well.
Ques. Can you briefly talk about how you're managing all these things together?I believe it's all about prioritising the tasks. I work at Deloitte, so suppose I've been given a task that I have to complete in five hours. I'll try to finish it in four hours without trying to decrease the quality of the work. Then for my YouTube channel, I don't create all the content in one go. I divide all the steps into parts, like today I'll be researching the content, and then tomorrow I'll be shooting the video for the same.
Then about learning new skills, I've managed to take my time out for it by reducing the use of social media in my life because social media, though it can be useful at times, is a waste of time if not used wisely. My average screen time for social media is 15-20 minutes daily. So whenever I'm free, or I'm travelling, or just 30 minutes before bed, I look into this app that I've installed on my mobile, which helps me learn new skills.
For my studies, I stick to studying for 4 hours every day. I try to be consistent, but sometimes I finish up my work early. I give the remaining time to myself instead of going for extra work. Like I would do stretching or go for a walk just to calm my mind. I schedule my days and prioritise my tasks. So that's how I manage my time.
Ques. What tools or equipment do you use to produce your videos?I have been using my mobile phone only for content creation. Initially, I used a Redmi K20, after which I switched to an iPhone 14. I plan on switching to an iPhone 16 Pro soon. For voice recording, I use a Boya BY-M1 mic, which costs around 700-800 rupees; I do not remember the exact price. Initially, I used to edit my videos through an application called ‘VN,’ and for thumbnails, I used to use ‘Canva,’ but now my team takes care of these tasks.
Ques. Can you tell me more about your team and when this was formed?Managing to do editing and make thumbnails is a little tough with all the other things alongside, as there's not much time that I have every day. So, in order to reduce some of my workload, I have hired a few people for help who work under me and are paid based on their skills. I hired a full-time editor 7-8 months back and then hired a thumbnail editor only 4 months back. There's also another person working for me as a manager. Currently, I have only these people working with me.
Ques. How do you maintain your subscribers and fan following?I believe what makes me different from others is the originality of my content. I do proper research before posting anything on my channel. I try to make the content with a consumer mindset rather than a producer mindset because a connection is important. If I don't put myself in their place, how will they relate to the content I post? Then there's no point in creating the content. The viewers need proper guidance through the content, so I try to give them correct information and not lead them blindly, which I think is what makes my subscribers loyal to me.
Ques. How do you keep yourself motivated to consistently post and conduct research for content?There are quite a few times when I feel demotivated, but I would say the biggest things that keep me always going are my subscribers and their words. If I feel like there's nothing left, I go to the comment section of my YouTube videos, or Instagram, or LinkedIn, and people are actually so supportive and have so much faith in me that it just pushes me to do better. So that helps me a lot.
Other than this, I would say that I'm a very competitive person. I want to give my best and do the best I can so that I am not left out and ensure that I am ahead of people. I believe consistency is very important, no matter how I feel. So this feeling keeps me going too.
Ques. Have your fans ever spotted you in public?Actually, it does happen a lot. If I'm in a public place or travelling by metro, many people recognize me and greet me. Even in my company, people recognize me. The director of my company emailed me, saying his son watches my content. Recently, I went to my college after two years, so people were shaking my hand, greeting me, and hugging me. Some even gave me chocolates. That was really sweet because they were just so excited. They consider me a YouTuber, though, which I personally don't, because I'm just helping people. But yes, people do recognize me.
Ques. Have you received any other recognition from YouTube?There are a few events that I did get invited to, but I'm not a party person, so I never really attend those. There are FanFests that happen as well, but you have to register yourself as a creator there, which I never did, so I never attended those either. I got my “Silver Play Button” from YouTube. I have been invited to seminars by “Grooming Education Academy” and “Physics Wallah.” I didn't really plan on attending them because I felt like I still have so much more to achieve before I get on an actual stage, but they requested a lot, so I decided to attend those events.
Ques. How did you feel when you got the Silver Play Button from YouTube?Getting a silver play button is a dream for everyone. When I started creating content, I did not really think I could do it, but it was a wish or desire, you can say, to get one.
Then I surpassed 100k subscribers. There's no blurriness of the moment in my mind. I remember it all really clearly: how I got a call from the delivery guy who told me he was outside my home to deliver the Silver Play Button, and I just left everything and ran outside to get it. I experienced immense happiness when I saw my name on it. I was smiling and was really happy. I was contemplating whether I should make an unboxing video, but I didn’t because I felt like it was my moment, and I wanted to keep it private. But nevertheless, I was very happy.
Ques. Do you plan on continuing your content creation on YouTube in the future as well?Yes, definitely. There might be some changes in my content. There might be some new content that I want to try and see how the audience responds. But of course, I'll continue creating content. I plan on switching more to different platforms once all my present responsibilities get over and I have the bandwidth to get into other social media platforms.
Ques. You mentioned you've been creating content since the end of your school time. So how do you think your skills as a content creator have evolved from then to now?Initially, I was making music and remixes of many English songs, which are free copyrighted songs, after which I switched to vlogging. Then COVID happened, so I started to strategize my content. According to the circumstances, I changed my content. My content has changed and evolved a lot. I tried roasting as well; though it did work, I didn't like it because the comments weren't that friendly. I also made short skits, and then I started to make strategies. And this is also working. So, yeah, I’ve evolved a lot.
Ques. Can you share more about your CA journey?There's a very astonishing story that I want to share about my CA Foundation. There were a few mishaps and some personal reasons because of which I could not study for the exam. I was not ready at all. So one week before giving my exam, I told my sister that I was not up to the mark to even clear that exam and that I'd decided not to appear for it altogether. But she told me that I just had to pass the exam and not get a rank or anything. So, because my sister really wanted me to give it a try, I did. And surprisingly, I passed the exam even though I studied for a maximum of two weeks.
I gave my attempt for CA Intermediate group-wise. There are two groups for the CA Intermediate exam. It was a moment of pride because I cleared my CA Intermediate without coaching. It was all self-study and YouTube. Then, after clearing my CA Intermediate exam, I also got an offer for placement. I had a choice of either going for placement or my articleship, and I chose my placement.
Ques. Can you tell me a bit about the internships you've done? As a person, which internship changed you the most?Internships were not that useful to me because it was COVID time, and all the work was pretty much online, so I wasn't able to connect on a personal level or on a scale that might help me in my future. But Wise Finserv, as a company, helped me grow. I used to invest in stocks from class 11, initially from my mom's account, and then when I turned 18, I switched to my own DEMAT account. Wise Finserv is a company that actually teaches people about wise investing. So I did a lot of analysis and research, which actually shaped my investing journey. I believe that if I hadn't done that internship, my portfolio wouldn't be so great. It helped me on a personal level to some extent. Online internships are not very useful to anyone, I believe, because they just don't help you connect with others on a personal level, so my online internships were not that useful.
Ques. How did you get your placement in Deloitte?When I was working at Paytm, I decided to get back to my CA journey, so I contacted a friend of mine who was at SRCC too and also in “Wings of Fire,” which is a community where CA students are united and post content like quotes and thoughts, though I was not a part of the community. There was a message forwarded there that said there was a vacancy in Deloitte, and I was looking for an opportunity too. He referred me for the job, and I posted my CV for the same. I remember during that time they received 40 CVs, but I was fortunate that I got selected among all.
HIGHLIGHTS:
YouTube Silver Play Button Recipient
Content creator with 139k+ subscribers
Senior Associate at Deloitte
Business Analyst at Paytm
Wealth Management Analyst at Wise Finserv
Ranked 38 as a Top Educator under category of CA Foundation by Unacademy
Ranked 45 in CA Intermediate
Samsung Campus Ambassador
Creative and Technical Head of The Youth Parliament, SRCC
Organised a Crowd Fund which directly impacted 3300+ people
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