In 2017, Smitha Deepak found herself at a crossroads. After building a successful career in Corporate America and running an organic children’s clothing company, her work in the French fashion industry came to an abrupt halt.

“I was traveling to work by train and just passed out,” Smitha recalls. “That was when I decided that I was going to move on and do something by myself.”

With expertise in technology and experience as a TV reporter, Smitha possessed the technical skills for content creation but searched for her creative direction.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” she admits. “Because I had some media experience and love the camera, and I’ve always done makeup in stealth… I felt like this was my last chance. It’s now or never.”

Finding Her Creative Direction

Smitha’s path into content creation sparked when she discovered a video by Dutch makeup artist Nikkie de Jager (NikkieTutorials). 

“One of her videos popped up… it was called ‘The Power of MAKEUP!’, where she showed one side of her face with makeup and the other without it,” Smitha remembers. “My jaw dropped that something like that could be done. Some people are passionate about makeup, making it big online, so they have an amazing online presence.”

This inspiration prompted Smitha to merge her longtime passion for makeup with her analytical mindset. She launched her business venture with a deliberate $0 investment to test her capabilities. 

“I’m so proud to say that when I started this journey, I created a business account for myself with $0 in there on purpose to see how far I can go with this journey,” she shares. “And I’m at a point now where I can invest in other creators to make them grow in the field.”

An Analytical Mindset Approach to Beauty

Smitha’s distinctive contribution to the beauty community stems from her methodical teaching style. 

“I’m a tutorialist,” she explains. “I like to break down the most complicated steps to simplify it as much as possible. Even the makeup I just created on my eyes, I drew lines and showed how to color within the lines and come up with an entire look.”

Her engineering background influences her teaching methodology: “I have a way of teaching even the complicated stuff like cut creases where I show how you can use what you have on your eyes as a stencil and create it beautifully without having to freehand draw anything,” she explains. “I try to break it down and make everybody understand. I try to teach my husband and kids to see if they will understand, even before I post anything, to see how far I can go with it.”

This dedication to simplification defines her content. “My passion is trying to simplify complicated things as much as possible so everybody can understand,” Smitha shares. “Like they say, if you post something online, even a kindergartner should be able to understand it.”

Her method resonates particularly with newcomers to makeup “who didn’t know anything about makeup.” “I’m so proud to say that my subscribers come back to me and tell me that they knew nothing about makeup, but many people running businesses in this sector are now learning from me.”

Creating Viral Success

Smitha’s first major success emerged from her approach to Bollywood-inspired makeup tutorials. 

“There was this Bollywood movie released in India, and I remember many people asking me to create that look,” she says. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to go into that because I was passionate about breaking down complicated things into simpler stuff. And then there was this light bulb moment – maybe people want to look like movie actors and just don’t know how to create those looks.”

Her breakthrough came from simplifying complex celebrity makeup looks. “After the first Bollywood-style look I created, I ended up looking like the actress,” she recalls. “That was the super viral breakthrough moment for me in my career. That was my first video that exceeded a million views when I was getting a few hundred.”

Building a Content Creation Business

From day one, Smitha approached content creation with clear objectives. “I knew that with content creation, you had to be extremely focused, put your head down,” she explains. “It’s a lonely kind of journey. You’re between four walls, just talking to yourself and the camera and constantly recording every single day. So you should be willing to work with yourself and rarely talk with brands or your partners and agents on the phone.”

She established a specific target: publish two YouTube videos weekly for a year to evaluate progress. “I remember telling myself not to worry about the numbers and constantly post videos for a year to see where it takes me,” Smitha recalls. “By the time I hit the one-year mark, I think I had gotten a thousand followers. I felt that was it. I started earning $20 a month from YouTube. And I felt like, ‘If this is the beginning, there’s no end to it.’”

Content creation presents challenges beyond video production. “I think the unknown is the biggest challenge,” Smitha shares. “The unknown from the algorithms. I didn’t know there was something that even existed as an algorithm that changes every few months. So something that does well today may not do well tomorrow.”

Her audience engagement follows a structured schedule. “My audience knows very well that after I post any piece of content, I devote an hour to them,” she explains. “I sit and chat with them, answer questions, and reply to private messages.”

Managing Multiple Platforms

While YouTube remains her primary focus, Smitha has adapted to short-form video content. 

“Coming back to the point where you start is what you become. You can either be a YouTuber, an Instagrammer, or a TikToker,” she explains. “It’s a challenge to focus on all three of them all the time, but I found a way.”

Creating long-form content demands significant time investment: “Honestly, creating a YouTube video takes me about four hours, editing takes me another eight hours, and then the finishing touches, the background SEO, and everything takes me another couple of hours. So you’re looking at a whole day per video.” 

In comparison, she notes the efficiency of short-form content: “One day, I decided to cut off all the distractions and just focus on creating short-form videos. I ended up creating 31 videos for TikTok.”

Looking to the Future

Smitha envisions a broader impact beyond content creation. “I never wanted just to create content and leave it at that,” she states. “I feel comfortable saying I want to leave a legacy in the field. I want to create masterclasses throughout the world. That has always been my dream.”

For aspiring creators, Smitha highlights mental preparation. “It’s 99% mindset, and 1% is your physical work,” she asserts. “The motivation has to come from within, not from the outside, not by looking at other creators and what they’re doing online. I don’t even watch other creators anymore.”

“Nobody’s going to be there to handhold you. Nobody’s going to be there to give you company. You have to sit and record it, whether outdoors, by yourself, or indoors, between four walls without going crazy,” she shares. 

“Don’t get carried away by what’s happening online or what others are doing because that can negatively affect anybody’s growth. They don’t understand that everybody has started from the grassroots level and grown there, and you can do it too, with the right mindset.”