Graham Stephan — Turning 20-Cent Coffee and Financial Stories Into a YouTube Business

Graham Stephan did not want to waste money on coffee, so he made his own at home for 20 cents a cup. In 2020, he earned more than $2 million from YouTube advertising. The story of a real estate agent who scrutinized home prices, credit cards, and living costs became content sought out by millions.

Making Money With Photos and Building Real Estate Experience

The first way Stephan made money also involved taking photos and putting them online. While in school, he photographed and edited saltwater fish and coral for a company, then posted the images on its website. He was paid $1 per photo and could earn more than $100 after just a few hours of work. His love of aquariums and photography became a way to earn pocket money.

When he started working as a real estate agent in 2008, he also used photos. He photographed rental listings handled by other agents, posted ads on Craigslist, and showed the homes to people who got in touch. When a deal closed, he split the commission. Starting with finding tenants, he gradually took on home sales as well.

The uncertainty of when commissions would arrive turned him into a fiercely disciplined saver. Because he could not know when the next deal would close, he saved as much as possible whenever money came in. Starting in 2011, he used his savings to buy inexpensive homes, fix them up, and rent them out. By brokering homes, buying and repairing them himself, and finding tenants, he accumulated stories he would later share in videos.

The Stories His Friends Wouldn't Listen to, Told in Front of a Camera

The stories he wanted to tell on YouTube were things his friends had never shown much interest in: which credit card was advantageous, how to save money, and how to invest in real estate. He thought that if he talked to a camera, there would be people somewhere on the internet who would listen. But before starting, he hesitated for a long time, worried about who would watch him.

His first filming was just before Christmas 2016. At a quiet open house where few visitors were browsing, he filmed his experience starting out in real estate. At the time, he did not expect many people to watch, so his speech was heavily mixed with profanity. Later, he revealed that he had made the video private because there was too much profanity.

Once he posted the video, he found making it fun. During the day he showed houses, and after finishing work he made YouTube videos from the evening until one or two in the morning. He did not know how to edit, so he looked up iMovie tutorials on YouTube to learn. He recalled that he regretted having to go to bed because he wanted to make another video the next day.

From 7 Cents on the First Day to $170,000 a Year

After turning on ad monetization in January 2017, the first day brought in 7 cents. When daily income began to exceed $1, he was thrilled even by the small amounts. He was earning much more from real estate brokerage, but getting paid to make videos about topics he loved was special. His YouTube ad revenue for the first year was about $27,000.

In 2018, his video introducing the J.P. Morgan Reserve credit card spread widely. The video, in which he excitedly explained the card he had received, drew huge numbers of people, and views on his other videos rose along with it. That year, ad revenue climbed to about $170,000. What had been an after-work hobby began earning considerable money alongside his main job.

Deciding to Spend More Time on YouTube

In 2019, Stephan changed how he spent his time. Previously he spent 80% on real estate and 20% on YouTube, but now he decided to spend 80% on YouTube and 20% on real estate. He thought it was an opportunity that would not come again, and as he devoted more time to videos, he also prepared a second channel and educational products.

That year, the experience of buying a Tesla Model 3 also became a hit topic. He posted a video calculating the vehicle price and tax benefits and explaining the monthly cost burden, and within days it surpassed 1 million views. He then revealed how much advertising revenue he had earned from that video, and the follow-up video was also viewed more than 1 million times. The story of buying the car and the money he made by telling that story drew people’s attention one after another.

In the revenue disclosure video, he even showed the YouTube analytics screen. Over the 30-day period from March 25 to April 23, 2019, about 10.3 million views generated about $103,740 in advertising revenue. His channel attracted viewers interested in finance and investing, and advertisers paid to show them ads. Stephan described it with the phrase, “When you talk about money, money gets made.”

On The Graham Stephan Show, launched in 2019, he covered people’s spending habits. He watched cost-of-living videos others had posted, added his opinions on their spending, and answered subscriber questions. The sight of him, who had explained investing and finance on his main channel, going through someone’s monthly rent, food costs, and shopping expenses one by one also became popular.

A Team Forms for Videos Made in a Garage

In the videos he sat comfortably and talked, but making one episode usually took 8 to 10 hours. He researched the topic, structured the content, finished filming and editing, and even made the title and thumbnail himself. The filming location was a converted garage at his home. In early 2020, he was still editing videos with the free iMovie he had used when he first taught himself.

As COVID-19 spread in 2020, advertising revenue fell for a while. He posted videos explaining the economic situation and the government’s stimulus measures. As people who were spending more time at home showed greater interest in their own money and economic situation, the channel’s revenue rose again. It was a time when the financial issues he usually talked about became people’s immediate, pressing questions.

Running the growing channel alone became increasingly overwhelming. He was handling video production as well as sponsorship inquiries and emails, and in 2020 he hired a full-time editor named Jack. He handed editing for the second channel to Jack and spent more time creating content himself. Around this time, he also launched a new podcast channel, The Iced Coffee Hour.

The schedule he described in March 2021 filled his entire week. Main-channel videos went up on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while second-channel videos went up on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On Sunday, a one- to two-hour podcast was waiting.

Turning Experience into Courses, and 20-Cent Coffee into a Product

Beyond advertising, he also created products teaching what he had done himself. YouTube Creator Academy covered how to grow a channel, while Real Estate Agent Academy covered how to start a real estate brokerage business and increase clients. His experience brokering homes and what he learned running YouTube each became courses, and sponsorship and affiliate income were added to that.

In March 2021, he announced that he would soon launch a new coffee company. The man who had saved money by making coffee at home was now setting out to make his own coffee and sell it to viewers. The 20-cent coffee that appeared repeatedly on a channel that talked about credit cards and home prices was becoming a new business.