Episode 12 - Building a Community with Heart : Lala Lacson

Fantastic. Anyway, we're here for season two. Thank you so much for joining us. Um, I think it's time that we have Lala come on and tell us a little bit about what's going on. Lala, if you're ready, give me a wave, get yourself ready, get your audio ready, and welcome Lala to the show. Thank you so much indeed.

Hooray! Hi everyone! Hi! Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to you guys. Of course, thank you Mark, Lisa, and Neil for inviting me over to Creative Amplifiers. So happy to have you here. And thank you. It's early, early, early for you. Um, yes. Um, now it's 544. Yes. Almost five. So not, not really too early. AM folks.

AM, AM, AM. [: 00:01:00

Yeah, it's fantastic. So I just, just to start off, when did you first discover your passion for crafting, and how did that shape your YouTube channel and building your community with that? All right. So I actually have been very crafty, even as a young child. And I think I started with scrapbooking. So my dad would like tease me, What?

nd so moving forward, when I [: 00:02:00

To be for me to be able to keep it going no matter what happens. It's like even if I close my eyes I'm not feeling well or something. I will be able to do it. So consistency for me I know was going to be part of my journey. And so that's why Crafting. Crafting was supposed to be just part, because it's mommy guiding, right?

So it was just supposed to be part of the things that I'm going to be doing. But it turned out that I think it was the crafting that, um, where, you know, my passion really showed. And I've been always excited and I don't even need to prepare that much because it like comes in, you know, naturally for me.

for you to teach and explain [: 00:03:00

Um, as I mentioned, you have many videos now that you've created over, over the years. So, um, tell us a little bit about how you sort of find the inspiration and which ones are in your shows and which ones aren't. Okay. So, okay. So first and foremost, um, the ton of videos I created, a lot of them are actually the shorts.

That's why it went up to more than a thousand, I think more than half of it are shorts. Okay. But then half are probably, yes, definitely live streams, very little, edited video because that's one thing that has kept me from becoming a content creator earlier on is that before YouTube was mostly edited videos, right?

ew live streams. It was only [: 00:04:00

. So, and then it was only in: 2021

Because this was really the initial, I mean, the original intent for the channel. It's Mommy Guide Inc. My daughter coined this word because I love helping people, right? So, and then I became a solo mom, and I also wanted to include that as well as, you know, my passion for sharing the gospel. So it's like, coaches were like, Lala, it's like you're everywhere.

You need to do something about this, right? So I was doing this and that. So, but then, For me, I know it might not be the optimum way of starting a channel, but you know, when you're very, very small, what is there to like, you know, really be scared about there's really, I have nothing. So I was like, really in the beginning, what resonated with me, I did it.

to invite people. people. So [: 00:06:00

And I realized that, Ooh, crafting is giving me tons of watch hours, right? So in the beginning, right, you needed to watch hours. Although, you know, we know that, you know, reaching those, you know, uh, the YPP, uh, Partnership program is actually just, you know, those metrics are just for vanity. Now we know that it's not really that important, right?

But then it was still a goal that I wanted to hit. And doing the crafty stuff actually really helped pretty fast. I got through those metrics in about seven or eight months. And that was awesome because I would go live for four to five hours and people, our friends would say, Lala, you're crazy. Nobody goes live 45 minutes.

'm so talkative. I get like, [: 00:07:00

And we should say from all of us that were in crater camp last year, um, And then Lala gave us all some cards that, um, that we were able to use and thank God. It was such an amazing gift and we were so grateful for that and appreciate you doing that. But I think, I think the enthusiasm and everything that you do just comes across so beautifully as we've just, you know, we just experienced in such a short amount of time.

So yeah, thank you so much. Really, really do appreciate it. And I'm happy that you guys like it and I hope you used it. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. So we're always interested in terms of we love hearing about the passions and the things that everyone are doing. But of course, we're all sort of Ecamm users and coming to it from sort of different places and everything.

o how did you first discover [: 00:08:00

Test it out with me. Because it has to be like, if it's dummy proof. I need to be able to, if I cannot navigate through that, then it's not W proof. I don't even, I didn't even know how to post on Facebook. I have like literally, you know, the most non tech person you would ever have met. And so when I was going through during that, you know, time where we were all locked at home, I said, I want to do this, but I don't know how to edit video.

that was first and foremost, [: 00:09:00

I went into the pro immediately because I wanted everything that I was seeing that Luria was doing. I said, I want that. Right. And they said, if you are in a Mac and then it's going to be pretty easy. So it wasn't that easy simply because, you know, again, dummy proof, everything has to be really, you know, but I actually went in the first time I went in and went live.

in mic. And a very bad green [: 00:10:00

So it's just a ring light in front, right? But still I was able to go live because that is how easy cam was at that time. Right. I just struggled with that a bit because for crafters, we have a face cam and we have an overhead cam. And at that time, Ecam can only bring in five cameras maximum. So that was one of the requests I really wanted was more people in the stream, please.

Zoom. But then the audio. Oh [: 00:11:00

I did all the, they said to download this, buy this thing so I can put in the audio in the Zoom. I did it all. But in the end, you know, the people in Zoom couldn't hear my guests. Only me. I had so many tech issues you would not believe. And you would see all of those in my channel. I didn't delete any of them.

You know, all the, the good, the bad, the ugly there, right? So you could really see, you know, my journey, but through it all, I persevered and Ecam just kept on getting better and better and better. And for every update that they have, okay. I wanted to use it and I wanted to do it. And that's when, you know, Victor, okay.

ur community are so talented [: 00:12:00

Um, they don't know how to, you know, set up a camera or what camera to use or how to do this and that. So, and we've been showing that together with Victor. Okay. Every month for, through our collaboration. And of course, there's other people who have helped me along the way, of course, live streaming pros. I, you know, one of the things, uh, Lisa, Mark, and Neil, that I realized is if you really want to learn properly, right.

Of course, there's so many things on the internet. to be part of a community, a class. And that's what I did. I really wanted to learn, you know, the proper way of doing this. So I joined Live Streaming Pro's community. And that's where eventually I met so many of the friends that, you know, we have right now.

is always there for me when [: 00:13:00

Yes, I know that people watching some people are used to using all of the all these features. Some people may well be new into sort of getting to getting to know it. So, um, What are some of the key features that are really important to you sort of mentioned your overhead cam and that sort of thing. So talk us a little bit about how that works for you and how you sort of been able to do that and sort of any any tips that are going to sort of help people, um, to kind of sort of take that next step in in an easy sort of way.

All right. So before, when I, when I started with E cam, first and foremost, you cannot do like multiple live streaming. Okay. So, but I wanted to do it on Facebook, on YouTube and all of these things, right? So, um, before they had an integration with Restream. So before I was with Restream. And then all of a sudden, now it's like fully integrated onto Zoom.

I mean, [: 00:14:00

And then, okay, so me, okay, with another guest. So something like this and sometimes the four of us, something like this. And sometimes even something like this. So I, I love, you know, going to many, many scenes. Right. So, and doing this on E cam. Was absolutely easy because it's, it's like, I put this in, I bring this in, right?

act I am not. It's just that [: 00:15:00

No judgment. They will not. Oh, why don't you? That's so easy. Why don't you know? No matter what time of the day, I'm from the Philippines, right? I am not, you know, uh, it's a different time zone altogether. But whenever I post something there, I ask a question, you know, just sometimes immediately, sometimes takes a while because people might be sleeping, right?

, uh, they wanted to also do [: 00:16:00

So I said, okay, I'll try. I've never done it for anybody. And so I had so many questions. So I went into the e cam community and people were like, Oh, this is how you do it. You connect their audio to your broadcaster probe. And you know, guys, it was a success. And I have, again, I would never have been able to do that.

Okay, if not with Ecamm, because all the functionalities that I need. is there, right? So I'm not, I don't do the just talking head. I like, I want to like, sometimes I have to show two gadgets. So one over there, one over here. And sometimes I move around like when I do my craft room tour or when I do my cleanup.

was not something that, you [: 00:17:00

So he cam is not just a platform. It's a community. It's a family. It's something that I cannot put into words the best thing is, you know, experience it, join it. And one of the people in the, in the chat, Caroline, recently became part of the Ecamm fan. Thank you so much. Uh, Caroline, welcome. Welcome. And she's actually going to camp, so please, uh, do take care of my dear Fred Caroline in camp.

then reiterating and getting [: 00:18:00

So hats off to you. Thank you. It was, it was fun. It was really more fun than hard. More fun than art. Amazing. Well, no one's actually put any questions in the chat, but I think we should just take this moment just to sort of, to share the love because there are so many people who would just, who know you from, from the fam, like you're saying, have actually sort of gone through in so many, so many different parts of what you've been doing.

It really is such a, like I said, a warm, a warm thing. And you mentioned before, you sort of helped Marcus out on his show as well. What is it you sort of do in order to, to support Marcus too? All right. So Marcus and I actually, we started with, uh, live streaming pros with Lida live every day in August. So we were all newbies.

ee months already with ECAM, [: 00:19:00

And I would go live. I didn't even, you know, look at the chat. I thought that people would just watch us and that's it. I didn't know that you needed to engage. And those things I learned in LIDA and I met Marcus, uh, through LIDA and we, became really, really good friends because For those who don't know, we, Marcus, we, we have a name for him.

It's like, does he ever sleep? The person who doesn't sleep. Cause no matter where you are in the world, Dalida, when we, uh, joined, we were about 600 participants from all over the world. So imagine people going live 24 seven. from everywhere. And Marcus would be there in the chat. True enough, when I was going live, he would be in the chat and he was always there supporting me.

nnel. And when he started, I [: 00:20:00

something that, okay, maybe [: 00:21:00

So if you can go for that. So eventually I became part of, um, Marcus's team. So I'm, uh, his moderator and I'm also moderating for Roy tech troublemaker for, or his live team. And every time I need guests, you know, I want, you know, non crafty friends to come along, especially during my vlogmas, Marcus and Roy.

re these stories I mean, you [: 00:22:00

It was the three of us that just wanted to hang out with a bit of purpose. That was kind of the first point. And then we were like, well, if we want to hang out, maybe some other people might want to hang out too. And if we can share what they're doing and, and sort of give everyone a little bit of insight into how they do it.

And sort of Ecamm being at the backbone of all of that, then, and that's, that's really why we're here. And I think it's why we have such a good time and why everyone is so supportive. And, uh, yeah, it is so incredibly amazing. Oh, brilliant. Lisa, why don't you sort of take us through into the next little section?

avenues you can go down from [: 00:23:00

Um, I'm absolutely sure that the crafting will definitely still be there, but I do want to transition into the other things that, you know, I intentionally really planned, uh, for, for my creative content creator journey. And that was really to help first and foremost, solo moms. Okay. Traverse through the difficulties of being a solo parent.

And at the same time, Um, those women who are in business, right? So the thing that I need to, you know, decide now is to do I keep that in the same channel or do I create another one for it? So for now, it's still here. Everything is here, right? So, uh, but moving forward, I think I'll probably have them, you know, somehow separated.

And of course, um, [: 00:24:00

I am passionate about it. But what I really want to do is to bring out, you know, the best in the others who have not even tried sharing what they knew and they know because they're very shy or they feel they, they're not good enough or they're not creative enough. So that is the intent. So future would be classes.

uh, getaway, which was this [: 00:25:00

So I plan to do more of those as well in the future. There you go. That's that is fantastic. And I guess this is a good, you know, segue into for those women out there, those mommies out there who are curious, they're thinking about, should I start a YouTube channel? Should I try to be a content creator?

rs. They don't have this and [: 00:26:00

It's not about that, my friends, because at this point, you know, even with a phone, you can start. So it's really just start. You, whether you're so good at this, right, you've been doing this a long time or a newbie, there will always be an issue, right? There will always be, because there are many things that we cannot control, right?

I was going to be a guest in one of the local networks. I will do a craft, uh, you know, demo for them. Boom. The community had a blackout. That was not within my control, right? So there's so many things beyond our control. So do not think about it. You know, Don't worry if you're not good at it still. Nobody, you know, uh, comes out good at anything.

u have. So start with those, [: 00:27:00

So you, you, you, you can, you know, pivot. There's so many of us, our friends who have done this, they started with this and now are doing something else. That's absolutely fine. Because really in the beginning, we don't really know if this is going to be the path for us. But no matter where you start, there will always be learning, whether it be in tech, in content creation, mindset.

we have those when we're not [: 00:28:00

Just start. And Ecamm would be a great, you know, way to start because if you're not so techie, everything is there. So you will look as if you're, you're very smart and all because Ecamm really provides a lot of the things that you as a, you know, beginner creator would probably want to do so. So there you go.

That's so good. And there's so many little life lesson. Yeah, life lesson nuggets woven in there, which is, is great. I think for me as well, it's that sense of you just always think that the people watching are all just he can people, which might be the case here, because that's where the channel came from.

finding you because of your [: 00:29:00

I think sometimes when you're sort of you're the one always in that he can world exactly I you know I did all the things you know in terms of I had bad audio. I was robotic. Sometimes I have no video. Sometimes I had no audio. Sometimes I would end the live stream. I would end late. I would start late.

You know, name it. You know, I, I forgot to mute myself. All the things the past three and a half years, I did it all. And I learned from them, but that doesn't mean that I do not make any more mistakes. I still do. And that's, you know, just part of it, this part of life, right? The hiccups when you go live stream, it's there, but it's not just now, friends, I now do edited videos as well.

urse, because there's Ecamm, [: 00:30:00

And that's true as well. And I know some people are really, um, sort of using the playlists, aren't they sometimes because everyone's already on your channel and doing whatever, but you can separate out the different types of content and people are coming in. They're not always necessarily watching everything you do anyway, but they kind of go in and out of those things.

too. So yeah, it'd be an interesting to see how that kind of works through as well. And Roy's saying, yeah, you'll get even less sleep if you end up with twice as many, twice as many things as you're going to. And we do have a question. Um, and this was Caroline, wasn't it? I think so. Lola, what's the most important thing I should focus on at my first camp?

Caroline, just have fun. [: 00:31:00

I cannot do this. I cannot do that. Ask away, my friend. I know Caroline has so many questions about Ecamm and how she can actually use Ecamm for her, you know, crafty. She is My Crafty Adventures on YouTube, and she really wants to. You know, do so many things and ECAM I know is, you know, one of the answers for her to do so, so just have fun, Caroline, you're in good hands, you know, the, the classes or the different, you know, camp activities are just, uh, you know, you will, it's not like theory, you will have a hands on.

Right. Experience in [: 00:32:00

of making that all work. So [: 00:33:00

But then we needed to start. So it's really gonna be fun, guys. It's gonna be fun. So if you are not in Creator Camp 2 this time around, don't worry, there's the third one next year for sure. Hopefully, I'm sure. Well, Lala, this has been absolutely incredible. I can't believe we've been able to sort of get through so much amazing content, so many amazing kind of bits of wisdom and been able to follow your journey as well.

And certainly from my takeaway, that just that authenticity of just being able to say, just do it, do the best you can. Every day is a different day. Even when you think you know what you're doing, something's going to happen and just do it anyway. And you're supported by the people in your community who just want to be part of your world, whatever you're doing, and certainly part of your world, Lala.

So thank you so much, [: 00:34:00