Vitaly and Lisa on their own. On their own: Lisa and Vitalik conquer the world

There are many myths about making money online. Some people think that such an income cannot be high, while others associate freelancing with network marketing and fraud. But there are other people. Some of them are Vitaly Ichin and Lisa Gracheva. This couple is young entrepreneurs, video bloggers and information businessmen. In just 4.5 years of hard work, the guys managed to rise to the top of the freelance Olympus. Now young travelers have their own multi-thousand channel on YouTube and have a network of well-promoted accounts on Instagram and VK. The guys' story is a powerful motivator for ambitious youth who do not want to spend best years in the office.

St. Petersburg residents Vitaly Ichin, 29, and Lisa Gracheva, 27, are the authors and founders of the travel project “On Your Own.” This young couple has left boring offline jobs, Russian cold and routine far behind. And for 4.5 years now, Russian freelancers have been traveling and traveling around exotic hot countries.

The guys are incredibly positive YouTube bloggers with almost worldwide fame. They do not consider themselves either millionaires or cool businessmen. Young people have visited 34 countries of the world, purchased real estate in Russia, have accounts in large banks, which already contain savings. In the interview, Vitalik and Lisa openly say that interest on deposits is another source of monthly, albeit small, income.

When communicating with subscribers on Periscope, the guys easily share life hacks, give useful tips on the topic of making money online. They talk about their constantly growing income from advertising on VK and Instagram, and they also have affiliate programs, paid video courses, aerial shooting with a quadcopter and many other ways to earn money.

- How it all began? How did you get into freelancing?

Vitaly: In 2011, I returned to St. Petersburg from the army and got a dull job as a security guard at an amusement park. The gray realities of St. Petersburg were not at all pleasing. The work brought in 18 thousand rubles, but I even managed to save it. In my free time, I worked on a group on VK, made beautiful pictures for posts, mastered Photoshop and other editors. After some time, I realized that you can make real money from the group. By that time, working as a security guard, I had saved up about 30 thousand rubles. I took a risk and invested it in promoting the “Diary of Success” group. The project took off. The first 100,000 subscribers were collected in just a month. The first money came from advertising. They could order up to 10 advertising posts from me per day. One post then cost 500-700 rubles.

Vitaly: After some time, the audience of the “Success Diary” group grew to 800,000 subscribers. Advertising prices also increased in proportion to traffic. For one post they easily paid 1000-1500 rubles. It was at this time that I met Lisa. She became my muse and ideological inspirer. Using advertising revenue, we went on vacation to Turkey (Marmaris), and then went to Thailand for the winter.

Lisa: The group now has almost 950,000 subscribers. We exchanged posts in partner groups, thereby expanding our audience. Such mutual PR is one of the main strategies for the development of groups and publics in VK. They bought advertising from us quite often. Vitalik and I thought that it would always be like this.

– Have you ever had any failures? Or is your life a complete rainbow movie?

Vitaly: Of course there were. And more than once. I’ll now tell you about the most powerful thrash that happened to us at the end of 2014. At that time, a crisis came to Russia, and with it the solvency of advertisers—those who ordered commercial posts in our group—fell. That dark day has arrived. We lived in Bali then. Suddenly, the demand for advertising dropped to 1-2 orders per week. The last 15 thousand rubles remained on our cards. Happy days are behind us. There is uncertainty ahead. We didn't even have money to buy tickets to Russia and return home.

Strategic Mistake #2: “We went on a spree and spent ALL our money without thinking about the future.” I didn't think about tomorrow. Lived here and now. Lisa and I had fun traveling. We thought that such a chocolate life would never end. We were wrong. But now we know for sure: you need to think about where you will be in a month and in a year.

– How did you get out of the crisis? What did you do?

Vitaly: On a warm Balinese evening we sat by the sea and talked. We made plans. We dreamed. Speaking of dreams: we never lost heart for a moment...

We heard about a new and still incomprehensible service for Russians - Instagram. This topic interested us greatly. And no wonder. According to Instagram guys, you can charge up to 10,000 rubles for one advertising post in an account promoted to 100 thousand subscribers.

We borrowed 200,000 rubles from relatives and invested in the promotion of two communities on Instagram: books and horoscopes. Promotion took a lot of time - as much as 3 months. All this time we worked almost 20 hours a day and lived in the cheapest room in Bali. We worked according to Moscow time - this was required by the promotion strategy. After 90 days of hard work, our Instagram profiles had 100,000 subscribers each. We started providing paid advertising. And, lo and behold, our hopes were justified - this is a mega-demand segment. Now we have a network of 18 accounts, and our personal popular page on Instagram. The total audience on Instagram from all accounts exceeds 2 million people. When we started, there was little competition, prices were high, and advertising was bought frequently. Now the market is filled with many pages with the same topics, competition has become very high, and, accordingly, advertising earnings have fallen by about 3 times. We feel that days of uncertainty will soon come again. But this time we are ready for such a turn, since there are already outlines for new projects that we are starting to develop now.

Now we have a network of 18 accounts, and our personal popular page on Instagram. The total audience on Instagram from all accounts exceeds 2 million people.

– Guys, tell us about your YouTube channel. How much income do you make from videos?

Lisa: Our video blog “At our own pace” is our whole life. A brainchild that we have just begun to develop at a decent level. This entire project rests on the pure enthusiasm of two people, that is, ourselves. We love making videos and sharing them. Previously, we shot more amateur films while traveling – just for memory. Then we decided to create a channel about travel, and now this is a whole video blog with a three-year history and a huge amount of useful information. Youtube is another very profitable niche, but becoming popular and getting millions of views is very difficult. We are still at the development stage, and the income from the channel is very small - $200-300 per month. We have several cameras, a quadcopter for aerial filming, stabilizers, microphones and other gadgets necessary for filming; we shoot very high-quality videos and spend 80% of our time on video, so we hope that our efforts will be justified and the channel will truly become popular.

Strategic mistake No. 3: you can earn A LOT on YouTube and NOT on Google Adsense. For a long time, we filmed and posted travel videos more for the soul than for earning money. But in reality, the YouTube channel is a goldmine. The audience is more than loyal, you can sell information. Many bloggers earn hundreds of thousands of rubles a month by selling courses through affiliate programs.

– What do you expect from the promotion of the YouTube channel “On Your Own”?

Vitaly: The video blog does not bring in a lot of money yet, but this income can be considered one of the most stable. This is my dream job. You don't owe anyone anything, you shoot for your own pleasure. You are truly free. Friends, there is nothing more valuable than freedom!

We are now actively making money on affiliate programs, and yes - this brings us up to 25% of our total freelance income. We traveled far and wide throughout Thailand, Bali, Indonesia and the Philippines. We visited the Maldives and shot a series of videos for our subscribers. We do not advertise cool hotels and places where millionaires “live”. It's boring. Our videos feature real adventures, countries and cities through the eyes of ordinary tourists. This is why our channel is popular.

– Why do you rent budget hotels and eat at street eateries in every new country? Why don't you choose a more expensive type of tourism?

Vitaly: Who needs all this show off? Our audience is the same freelance guys as ourselves. We have many things in common: a thirst for adventure, a passion for travel, FREEDOM from stereotypes, working “for someone else” and domestic realities. Therefore, when we arrive in a new country, we check into ordinary hotels, show ordinary restaurants and cafes - places where locals and tourists with an average income go. And that's cool! We chose a different path - the path of free life where we want, that is, somewhere warm. Our approximate monthly expenses are $1000 for two, which is quite a bit. And for us it’s better to live somewhere in a budget hotel in Bali than in rainy St. Petersburg.

– Guys, tell us about your plans for the future.

Lisa: Work, work and more work. Development of new accounts on Instagram, increasing the client base - advertising buyers, paid shooting of clips from a quadcopter (we also make money from this), self-realization. We will visit new countries and show videos of the most unusual corners of the planet. Nothing is holding us back. We are free and determined. Our thirst for adventure will never dry up!

Vitaly: My biggest dream, which is also my immediate plan, is to travel around the USA in a cozy trailer. Lisa and I also want to travel all over South America and shoot a bunch of videos for our regular subscribers. The most important thing is that the Internet does not let you down. For example, in Singapore and Thailand there are no problems with this. There are Wi-Fi points on almost every corner. And in the Philippines and Vietnam, the Internet is only via very, very slow 3G. The hardest part is filling the rollers. It’s a shame when you start uploading a video to YouTube, a day passes, the screen says “99% loading”, and then the video crashes, you have to start from scratch.

My biggest dream, which is also my immediate plan, is to travel around the USA in a cozy trailer. Lisa and I also want to travel all over South America and shoot a bunch of videos for our regular subscribers.

– Which place on earth seems to you the best?

232,000 Subscribers
19,330,200 views on the channel
Category: Miscellaneous
Location: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

About the channel

Travel on your own around the world! It's bright YouTube channel about independent travel with Vitalik and Lisa. An endless journey has been living within us for a very long time. As one of our subscribers said: “When you first come to your channel, you stay there forever.” On our Travel channel you will find Thailand, Vietnam, the island of Bali, rush across the USA, look at the Philippines, Sri Lanka will conquer your heart, Europe, the Maldives will capture your soul, Singapore and Marina Bay Sands, Koh Samui, Koh Chang, Boracay and much more!

Working conditions

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Advertising options on the blog svoimxodom.ru:
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Exclusive: 1,436.70
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Statistics for the last 10 videos

Views on video: 85,601
Comments on video: 362
Likes on video: 3,146
Average video length: 20:31
EPI: 1.23

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On this page we wrote the history of the origins of the project “At our own pace”, each on our own. You will be able to briefly get to know us and find out how our life was BEFORE the trip, how we met and how we began to discover the world together!

“I was born and raised in one of the most beautiful Russian cities - my beloved St. Petersburg. Before 2011, the words remote work, travel and islands were familiar to me only by hearsay. I saw the sea only a few times in Crimea, and I was only passing through several cities in Russia.

“I spent all my childhood and student years in the small town of Kirovsk. Not far from St. Petersburg. Kindergarten, school, technical school... Nothing unusual. The St. Petersburg Technical College of Railway Transport was supposed to make me a specialist in Automated Systems Management (ACS), but in the 3rd year somehow everything didn’t work out.

Elizaveta Gracheva

Vitaly Ichin

We will be very glad if you respond write a story about yourself, even if small.

We are preparing a big project to make money on the Internet. And we hope that your story will help not only us in creating a project, but also you to find or create your own remote work, thanks to which you can freely travel around the world and not be tied to a specific place. We all have cool interests and hobbies. But by and large they do not generate income and the opportunity to travel. We want to fix this!

If you liked this material, please leave a comment at the bottom. Click on the button from vkontakte, facebook, twitter, classmates, etc. (located below) and share with your friends so that other people know about it. We will be very grateful to you!

If you have any questions for us personally or about the project as a whole, ask them in the comments. We will not leave any issue unattended. Add yourself as a friend on social networks, subscribe to our channel on your own and be happy!

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Hero of the interview

The first trip was to Thailand In five years we have visited in 39 countries Favorite place on the world map - Bali island, Indonesia We miss you on the road Internet

Arrivo: I admit, I got hooked on your YouTube channel - a week passed by watching videos. Do you review them yourself? You know, some actors say: “I never watch my films.”

Lisa and Vitalik: Sometimes we like to sit down in the evening and watch a series or two. But I don’t have time to watch all the videos, there’s too much accumulated. The funny thing is, when someone leaves a comment under an old video, you come to reply and get stuck on your own videos (smile).

In my opinion, traveling is similar to acting. If you take them too seriously, the trip will be uneventful. Do you agree?

If you take everything seriously when traveling, then there will be no pleasure from the trip. You need to be able to completely change your mind and not pay attention to many things (garbage, for example).

Well, after returning from another trip, you are already a completely different person.

You start each video with the phrase “Hey everyone, guys!” You smile. And you just radiate happiness. Is this also acting on camera or are you the same behind the scenes?

We try not to record videos in a bad mood, this is immediately conveyed to the viewer. Also, there is no negativity in our videos - there is enough of it in life as it is. And if we talk about something bad, then with optimism. We help people recharge, not sit at home and not be sad.

In life we are just as lively, cheerful and love to communicate, shoot videos - we get pleasure from it!

Who is your boss? If Vitalik both films and edits videos, what is Lisa doing that is useful?

Lisa does the rest (smile). Lisa is the brains of the team; the entire organizational part rests on her: from the route to finances. Lisa communicates with viewers, answers questions, provides consultations and much, much more. Sometimes it seems that Lisa works more than Vitalik (smile). Lisa also inspires and gives a kick in the ass when needed.

I can’t help but ask: what does it mean to move on your own? Where did you come from, where are you now and where are you heading?

A year ago, we chose countries based on only three principles: warm, cheap, we haven’t been there. Now that we have visited most of Asia, half of the criteria have disappeared. Drawing up the concept for the winter of 2016-2017 looked something like this: Vitalik made a list of countries for the next six months in the evening, and in order not to jump off the planned route, he did it in the form of tours. We invite you join us on a journey!*

*The interview was recorded in the winter of 2017

The country is not that important. We have been to the same places several times - Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines. Impressions are always different.

Traveling on your own means the way you want, not the way you were told. This is a journey that does not hold or tie.

It is now January 2017, we are in the Philippines and we are on a 21-day trip to the islands, and literally in half a month we are going to explore the paradise island of Mauritius. No one knows where the journey will lead next, only time will tell.

Our editor once remarked that travelers are intertwined with each other. For example, you are giving an interview and Vitalik gets his hair cut by a traveling barber . Do you feel like part of the party? Which travelers do you communicate with?

We know and communicate with almost all travelers. Some of them we have never met, but the Internet allows us to practically “live with them.” You know everything that is going on with them, and it feels like you know the person personally (smile). True, the number of travelers is growing, we don’t have time to keep track of everyone.

We are always pleased to communicate with like-minded people. These are such unique, interesting and sociable people, each with their own story, but we have one thing in common - travel! And to be a part of this is very cool and cool!

I wanted to hug you... You have blogs on all platforms, the most popular are YouTube and Instagram. I conclude: a beginner blogger should come here. Where did you start? Are you satisfied with what you have achieved in five years?

Not really. The topic of travel is the least popular and profitable of all, sadly. We don't leave it just because we like it. The whole project is based on enthusiasm. Yes, of course, if you think that five years ago we had nothing, and now we are more or less recognizable in this area, then we should probably be proud of this. But [in other topics] people promote channels to a million subscribers in a year. It becomes a little sad and disappointing that you chose to travel.

Previously, we simply shot short videos (3-5 minutes each) for home video to save memories. Then we went to Thailand for the winter, and then messages started pouring in from friends and acquaintances with questions about how and what, where to rent a bike, how does it even feel like leaving? And we decided to voice the video, film instructions for traveling to certain places. This is how the first “On your own” videos about the island of Koh Chang and Samui appeared. Entire hour-long films that people use as a guide for beginners when traveling to the islands.

Well, now we have changed the format to life. Every year it becomes more and more interesting.

What's going on on YouTube right now? There is a video where small children open Kinder Surprises; the father films it on camera. Each video has 20 million views!

YouTube in Russia has just begun to develop, and rapidly. This is a topic for a separate interview. We are involved in this area, we know a lot and can tell you, but not on the topic “How to promote your channel” (smile). Let's say one thing - every content has its own audience.

Instagram - what are the trends there now? As far as I understand, you either like him or not. What do you do to be popular there?

Instagram constantly, daily, needs to be “fed, comb and look after him." Post posts, communicate with the audience, answer questions, organize competitions and be as helpful, kind and bringing something good as possible.

In addition to all this, we invest money in advertising. Without advertising it is very difficult to promote anything - this applies not only to Instagram, but also to others social networks. We focus on it only because there is a lot of activity there. People are interested in the “At Your Own Move” project, and we are interested in sharing information.

When you travel, you are constantly calculating things and - it seems - thinking about money all the time. Is it so?

Yes, unfortunately, we are not millionaires, the work is not constant, and the earnings are always different and floating. Every day we think about how we can earn more money, what we can do and what we can do. (smile).

We don’t count every penny, but we don’t live large either.

Comment from one of your subscribers: “Hand on heart, they don’t know how to travel on a budget. But they’re cool themselves.” I agree with the second part. What about the first one?

Hand on heart, we are one of the most budget-friendly and thoughtful travelers. More than one hundred people have already traveled along our routes in Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Philippines, and a lot of money has been saved.

Now we travel with a team, and each participant saves up to 70% of real prices (wink). Of course, we are growing, and so is the level of travel. We can afford a more expensive hotel, but within reason. We always focus on the average viewer, so that he can follow our route and repeat it all.

Videos on the channel are released late. Now the US and India alternate. And it turns out to be contrasting. Are you doing this on purpose? Which of these trips would you happily repeat?

We do it on purpose because the audience is divided into two camps: some are waiting for the USA, others are waiting for India. Moreover, the demand in the USA is small and there are few views, while India has interested everyone with its flavor.

Definitely, we would return to the USA to travel, but due to the fact that these videos are not available on the channel, there are no immediate plans for the USA yet.

Which dysfunctional (dangerous) country will you go to “for viewing” next time?

Let it be a secret, but we think that it will be one of the countries in South America.

The downside is press tours: a five-star hotel in Turkey, a cruise on the Baltic Sea or advertising wine in Italy. Besides free food and entertainment, what do these trips give you? It's terribly boring.

There are only two or three such trips a year. On the contrary, we love them. Firstly, this is an opportunity to touch something more than we usually allow ourselves. Feel what it’s like to live on a grand scale in order to understand what to strive for. Secondly, such trips are radically different from traveling on your own. For us, such travel is an unusual format.

Everything that is unusual arouses interest.

You probably pay the most attention to food in the video. They admitted that they love Burger King. Both are in excellent shape. How?

We move a lot and lead an active lifestyle. I would like to devote more time to this: going to the gym, eating right - when traveling this is incredibly difficult due to the crazy travel schedule.

Another point that doesn’t fit in my head is magnets. You buy them in every city, in foreign currency, at great speed... What does your refrigerator look like?

Long ago we moved from the refrigerator to the wall (smile). We bought a huge magnetic board covering the entire wall and hung it in the kitchen. There is a map of the world pasted on the board and this is where all the magnets are attached.

This is an inspiration board; when you look at it, you realize how healthy you live.

In all this whirlwind of events, how often are you at home? How do you feel when you return to your hometown: St. Petersburg - is it more pleasing or annoying?

We love our city very much! We are happy to return home! Petersburg is parents and friends. Tasty food. Fresh air (as opposed to stuffy Asia). But we don’t come back often; we usually go away for a long time - from six months or more. Once we didn’t return for two years, now we try to come at least for the summer.

The last two questions are separate. Vitalik, it seemed to me that this was your phrase: “You can travel around the world in search of sunsets, but the most beautiful is inside. Then all the sunsets in the world evoke warm feelings.” If Lisa asks, will you watch the dawn with her? We'll have to get up early.

Of course yes (smiles). Not often, but sometimes Lisa and I get up at 4-5 in the morning and go somewhere on a bike to a beautiful view point to watch the sunrise. Ideally, take some hot coffee or chocolate with you.

Quote and question to Lisa: “At that time I was fond of puzzles, assembled canvases with 9000 pieces, participated in championships and once won a trip to Barcelona. But I didn’t even have a passport!” How does your life puzzle with Vitalik work out?

Vitalik is like a piece that has four different sides and each needs to be attached in its own way (smiles four times). In a relationship, it is important to find an approach and listen to each other.

So we fit together perfectly, like two halves, sometimes even on opposite sides.

307,000 Subscribers
52,903,856 views on the channel
Category: Miscellaneous
Location: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

About the channel

Working conditions

YouTube channel | 40 + thousand subscribers (our new channel)
  Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBOCc9WU8ILvk8brsH7ey5w

2) Integration
  40 thousand rubles - product/service

3) Exclusive (only travel-related products/services)
  50 thousand rubles - a completely filmed video to order or barter terms (hotels/excursions/trips/plane tickets)
100 thousand rubles - a separate filmed video review of your product/service

VKontakte 70+ thousand subscribers | fast for 24 hours 
Link: https://vk.com/svoimxodom 
Cost: 10,000 rubles

Advertising options on the blog svoimxodom.ru:
- article with a link to your resource 1000r
- article-review of your product/service 3000 RUR
- banner on the main page in the sidebar (pay per click or 3000r/month)

Price, EUR

Exclusive: 1,436.70
Integration: 574.68
Mention: 287.34
Pre-roll/Post-roll: 287.34

Statistics for the last 10 videos

Last 6 videos

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