What is your story?

We all have a story to tell of the first ever business set up. Some set up in garages, others crashed at friends places. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve jobs and the list goes on. Well you can add my name to the list along with several creators such as Stonemountain64 to start from somewhere. Stonemountain64 lived in his moms basement for over 4 years before he got his big break.

Myself I did not start from a basement or in someones house like some of these others, but have transitioned my office space in front of me to utilize my space. The early days of streaming i have kept myself to a 9 x9 portion of the room instead of using all of the room. I went from 1 22" monitor (tv) to a 22" monitor and a 55" monitor then fours years later I now have 4 27" monitors to help interact with chat plus monitor streams. In the early days of streaming the words I stressed the most was investing in the future and work with what you have.

My story begins like a lot of first time content creators out there, Before these laptops existed I had started from the xbox and used the app on my regular laptop. The pictures above is where my streaming career was going to take off. One of the best advice I can offer is use what you have, the other pieces will soon fall into place. I wanted to be a major player in the content/streaming industry, so I had to move from the console to a PC which alot of my followersand supporters end up doing that to. In order to do that I needed a gaming pc that would not only be good for travel, but also be fast with gaming and stream play. I decided to go with an Alieware Area 51 gaming laptop from dell, however I did not stop there as I needed a good webcam, mic and green screen to complete the basic streaming set up for around $5,000 total. The microphone is a Blue Yei, while the camera is a logi 1080p.

I now have purchased my very first investment that would last me a long time, now just because I purchased some basic items, The stream needed to be well done, so I looked at different software that you can download from OBS Studio, Streamlabs obs, Xsplit before I settled with Streamlabs obs. Streamlabs obs later rebranded as Streamlabs ultra with a monthly subscription you would get a website, merch store, different themes. Again I am thinking an investment on my newfound business venture.

I now have everything to begin the streaming journey, but how do I get followers to stay and be engaged. Word of mouth is still the best way to tell people in your family, work, people you come in contact, The plus about facebook was all the people I knew so I had a reach. The content iteself ended up being pretty darn funny. Here is a quote from my fomer camp director, Gary Cropp, " Everytime I see you, you are driving off a bridge in that truck". My streams where different, because it is never about finishing the task, but entertaining those who are in the chat. My own moderators would be mad at me because I have been paying to the chat instead of letting them handing chat. I love talking to my chat, because it kept me engaging through out the whole stream.

Over time my office/streaming room began to take shape, I had this old office chair that squeled during the stream. During the stream I would have to stop and put some DW-40 on the chair to make it stop squealing, chat loved that as well. I happened to be working and shopping at our local non-profit organization where they sell stuff, The one thing that caught my eye was an xbox 360 racing wheel. Lets just say, It beats playing American Truck Simulator on the keyboard. The only thing wrong with the Steering Wheel was the brakes and accelator where in reverse order. This made for some entertaintment where I was able to find my niche

The days of playing any driivng game on a keyboard and mouse are finally over, now Bigtexgaming took off during the haydays of Facebook gaming, We had tremendous growth and my community took care of me. Anything I wanted they made sure that I could work on the content side of things. I have developed lifelong friendships with my community throughout streaming. Big things were coming, sponsors were noticing me, I had developed a supporting community, my community actually helped me build my gaming PC. Below are pictures from where I purchased a basic gaming PC for $600.00 then eventually built one that is now worth $4,000 dollars. I had gone from gaming on the laptop to my own build that will now take the world by storm. This is what I like to call the heartbeat of Bigtexgaming.

Over time I would either recieve items through sponsorship or purchase more items and rearrange my office into what it is now.

Lets talk about branding, since Bigtexgaming gaming has taken shape my friends, family, local and online community have began to notice me. I have several of my members offer to help improve the design of the logo for in games and to out on merchandise. Branding is very important. Branding must be clean and to the point. I have a history of all my logos, that we will have to do another day. No matter what your business is, BRANDS are important, because they define who you are. The best advice I can give to you is, "be better than the other people" and only you can do you. Your brand matters because it is not just a channel you are creating. Think about all the influencers that you watched, they all started somewhere and to create a brand name that eye popping others will want to buy your brand and support you.

Next you want to be able to tell your audience, What type of content are you gearing for? 18 plus or familily friendly. I have stayed on the family friendly side, no matter what game i am playing. Here is a brief testimony from someone who was watching me in another state.

"I have really enjoyed your content, because my kids and I could watch you and not worry about the bad language, you are positive influence on our family" Annonymous

Even though it took me years to get where I am on social media as a content creator, don't give up on your dreams. Take days, weeks, or months off if you need it. This can mentally draining and we all need a mental day. Please let your medical professional know that you are entering in this journey and keep them updated on the journey. You are not in this alone, The struggles are real: Isoloation, discouragement, trust, draining, competion. I have been there and have continued to struggle myself. When I am out with family, I try to keep focus on family unless they ask about the content creating side.

I do not have it all together, nor make big bucks, save money for that particular item you want to purchase, get out there now to start promoting and build your community-one person at a time. Find other streamers to collaborate together. I am so thankful for my community