Xyla Foxlin Lab Eviction

[soldar]

A real eviction has to have a sheriff with a big Texas hat, a court order in one hand and a gun in the other hand while deputies mercilessly toss furniture out to the sidewalk.

A poor mother with her baby in her arms crying helplessly is not strictly necessary but is recommended for dramatic effect.

That's what I've learnt from the movies.

[Bud]

End of a  rental is Not eviction. When your car lease ends you do not consider that a carjacking, do you.

[coppice]

End of a  rental is Not eviction. When your car lease ends you do not consider that a carjacking, do you.

If you don't give the car back in a timely manner you've committed a crime.

[soldar]

If you don't give the car back in a timely manner you've committed a crime.

Well, no you haven't. What you've committed is a non sequitur.

[Nominal Animal]

End of a  rental is Not eviction. When your car lease ends you do not consider that a carjacking, do you.

Car is not real estate.  If your landlord refuses to continue the lease when you would like them to, you are indeed being evicted.
If you lived in a rented car, and the landlord refuses to continue the lease, then you indeed would be evicted.

Take it up with the dictionaries if you disagree, but that's the way the word 'evicted' is understood around the world based on the dictionaries' definitions.

[EEVblog]

Well, I think your videos are quite well named, the thumbnails are OK, nothing to be upset about. Better names than:
"TSP #207 - Teardown, Detailed Analysis, Upgrade & Experiments of the..." (runs out of characters that Youtube shows).

Yes, length matters too. Can't be too long, and I already lose "EEVblog #### - " every time. But that's why I picked form the start and that's what people expect.

[EEVblog]

I did find it very interesting to compare how she dealt with the situation, how Fran dealt with hers, what Dave would suggest and has suggested, and how I'd deal with it myself; so this thread did/does have value to me.  (It's not the choices per se, but the reasons for those choices, and what kind of effects those choices might have.)

I don't really see any difference between how Xyla and Fran delt with it. Fran was just way more open about it all, right down to detailing all her finances. In the end both decided to stay in the same location and rent again rather than move and buy. Happy (I guess?) to continue the rental train knowing the cycle will inevitably repeat.

Both of them (and me + other creators, and many on this forum) are in the industry where we need large lab/worshop spaces, and always will, so it makes renting always a really short term proposition.
I've rented twice for my lab space. Once to expand with an extra office space due the shipping business and also an extra full time employee. That lasted two years and was always desinged to be a temporary measure. I even tried to buy that extra 33sqm space, but that's when prices went insane on the park and it was the first office space in the park to go for over $10k/sqm.

Second time was an entire lab move into double the space while I rented out the office I own to help offset the cost. That also lasted the 2 year lease tem and I didn't renew it and decided to cut costs and go back to the lab I own.
In both cases renting was always to be a short term plan and I always had the backup of the office that I own.

I've done videos on detailing these kinds of choices:

[nctnico]

I did find it very interesting to compare how she dealt with the situation, how Fran dealt with hers, what Dave would suggest and has suggested, and how I'd deal with it myself; so this thread did/does have value to me.  (It's not the choices per se, but the reasons for those choices, and what kind of effects those choices might have.)

I don't really see any difference between how Xyla and Fran delt with it. Fran was just way more open about it all, right down to detailing all her finances. In the end both decided to stay in the same location and rent again rather than move and buy. Happy (I guess?) to continue the rental train knowing the cycle will inevitably repeat.

Both of them (and me + other creators, and many on this forum) are in the industry where we need large lab/worshop spaces, and always will, so it makes renting always a really short term proposition.

The problem is to get enough financial means to actually buy a property. You are lucky in that respect by having the chance AND insight to buy your own space. Many people are caught up in being so poor that they are not able to spend the money to make their life cheaper. It is a vicious circle. Or better put, like running in a hamster wheel. Moving like grazy but not going anywhere.

[SiliconWizard]

Yes. Beyond the state of mind, the hard part, if you start with limited means, is to be able to buy. That's what loans should be for, unfortunately, banks tend not to give you those if you don't have solid guarantees these days. So, it's a vicious circle here too. I don't like the abuse of credit, but leveraging credit to get out of the hamster wheel is a good thing.

Having a random idea here, for people that are "content creators" and already resort to "donations" (such as patreon and the like) for part of their income, some similar services but where people would lend money to a content creator instead of simply give it away, to allow them to invest in their activity (equipment, lab space, etc.), with a chance for the contributors to get their money back at some point - either with no interest, or a very small one. Possibly many more people would be willing to contribute this way. Just an idea. I think this kind of stuff already exists, but it seems to be niche at best, maybe would be worth developing it. Crowd loans.

[EEVblog]

The problem is to get enough financial means to actually buy a property. You are lucky in that respect by having the chance AND insight to buy your own space. Many people are caught up in being so poor that they are not able to spend the money to make their life cheaper. It is a vicious circle. Or better put, like running in a hamster wheel. Moving like grazy but not going anywhere.

Sure, but in both cases here they both said they considered buying a place.
For Xyla it seemed to be a matter of the existing house not being within her price range. So presumably she has the capacity to borrow at least reasonably close to the funds.
So you have to assume if she just moved somewhere cheaper she could buy a suitable place.
I did suggest on her video that she crowd source finding a new place to buy. Publish your requirements and let the community search for you. Most will be losers, but you might find one real gem of a suggestion.
Lousi Rossmann did this, and I found a place for him which he did a video tour of it. Wasn't the right one, but he did the hard yards.

For Fran's case one of the problems is not only being self employed and getting a loan, but also that the banks would not consider her Patreon as income. So according to the bank she had no income.
So if that's the case for Fran, I'm not sure how Xyla is able to do it. Maybe she has a partner with income as well, and maybe the state makes a difference too. Fran is also much older and hasn't had a regular job for a very long time, so that likely factored into the equation.
I'm not convinced that Fran exhausted every avenue for buying a place, but we've been through that before. And she has other reason for staying where she is.

Fran is unfortunately now stuck with a barely survivable Patreon income, so is very much stuck on the hampster wheel, unless drastic changes are made.
Xyla is still young, has or will have a partner, and is presumably free to move if she choses, so she's definitely not on the hampster wheel. But IMO she needs to start thinking long term.

In my case, my "insight" was more basic math (but also partly philosophy and long term thinking). At the time it was either pay $195,000 to buy an office, or rent one at $15k/year. The interest rate at the time (IIRC, around 7%, which is higher than now) was still cheaper than renting, or at least on par. So it seemed a no-brainer, but I had no idea that Youtube would be continue to be successful, and that commercial property prices would explode, as there had been no previous history of that happening in Sydney. So it was a gamble, but I knew it had way more potential upside and limited financial downside.

And I'm currently thinking even longer term again, and am putting things in place now for that.

[EEVblog]

Having a random idea here, for people that are "content creators" and already resort to "donations" (such as patreon and the like) for part of their income, some similar services but where people would lend money to a content creator instead of simply give it away, to allow them to invest in their activity (equipment, lab space, etc.), with a chance for the contributors to get their money back at some point - either with no interest, or a very small one. Possibly many more people would be willing to contribute this way. Just an idea. I think this kind of stuff already exists, but it seems to be niche at best, maybe would be worth developing it. Crowd loans.

I think this may have been discussed before in regards to Fran. Maybe she even mentioned it at some point?
Something like StartEngine that gives equity share perhaps, but that gets legally really messy real fast. You'd have to set up a corporation dedicated to it, all the legals docs behind the funding, and the convince people to be equity holders, but to also hope they don't try and control you. i.e. "I'm a shareholder, make XYZ video" etc.
Not impossible, but I can imagine very messy.
I'm not sure any creator has attempted that before?

I've always been of the opinion that it's likley Fran has an avenue to restructure as a corporation of non-profit and then get a loan that way. But I don't know the local laws.

[IanB]

Having a random idea here, for people that are "content creators" and already resort to "donations" (such as patreon and the like) for part of their income, some similar services but where people would lend money to a content creator instead of simply give it away, to allow them to invest in their activity (equipment, lab space, etc.), with a chance for the contributors to get their money back at some point - either with no interest, or a very small one. Possibly many more people would be willing to contribute this way. Just an idea. I think this kind of stuff already exists, but it seems to be niche at best, maybe would be worth developing it. Crowd loans.

I think being a "content creator" is to be in the entertainment business, and there is a very limited space for success in the entertainment world. Unless you happen to luck out and be an Emma Watson or a Daniel Radcliffe, then income is going to be uncertain and irregular.

My experience of YouTube channels is that they don't hold my interest forever. After a few months watching one channel my interest wanes and I look for other new channels to watch. Therefore I think being a YouTube content creator is best treated as a side hustle rather than a main job.

[EEVblog]

I think being a "content creator" is to be in the entertainment business, and there is a very limited space for success in the entertainment world. Unless you happen to luck out and be an Emma Watson or a Daniel Radcliffe, then income is going to be uncertain and irregular.

There is a famous theory "1000 True Fans", where the idea is that you only need 1000 "true fans" who will subscribe/consume/buy anything you produce and you can live forever on that provided you put in the work.

https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/the-hollow-core-of-kevin-kellys-thousand#:~:text=All%20you%20need%20to%20do,direct%20relationship%E2%80%9D%20with%20your%20fans.

The Cliff’s Notes version of Thousand True Fans goes something like this:
Thanks to the Internet, there has never been a better time to be a creator/writer/musician/artist.
All you need to do is find and cultivate a thousand true fans. A “true fan” is someone who will spend $100/year supporting your work (That’s like $8.25/month). With a thousand of them, you would be making $100K per year doing what you love!
This is premised on developing a “direct relationship” with your fans. They pay you directly, with no music labels, publishers, studios, retailers, etc taking a cut. The web means we don’t need these old intermediaries anymore.
And these fans can find you without those old institutional intermediaries, thanks to the “Long Tail” effect (as defined by another major WIRED figure, Chris Anderson).
So you don’t have to aim for a million fans in order to succeed. It isn’t stardom-or-bust. That’s too high of a bar to aim for. A thousand true fans won’t make you rich and famous, but it’s a realistic way to make a living doing what you love.

It's absolutely true. Or true enough that you can pretty much bank on it.

[Smokey]

Having a random idea here, for people that are "content creators" and already resort to "donations" (such as patreon and the like) for part of their income, some similar services but where people would lend money to a content creator instead of simply give it away, to allow them to invest in their activity (equipment, lab space, etc.), with a chance for the contributors to get their money back at some point - either with no interest, or a very small one. Possibly many more people would be willing to contribute this way. Just an idea. I think this kind of stuff already exists, but it seems to be niche at best, maybe would be worth developing it. Crowd loans.

I think being a "content creator" is to be in the entertainment business, and there is a very limited space for success in the entertainment world. Unless you happen to luck out and be an Emma Watson or a Daniel Radcliffe, then income is going to be uncertain and irregular.

My experience of YouTube channels is that they don't hold my interest forever. After a few months watching one channel my interest wanes and I look for other new channels to watch. Therefore I think being a YouTube content creator is best treated as a side hustle rather than a main job.

... Sort of like when people complain they can't make a comfortable living just being a grubhub driver.... I don't think that was ever the idea...

[EEVblog]

Therefore I think being a YouTube content creator is best treated as a side hustle rather than a main job.

10's of thousands (maybe 100's of thousands?) of full time Youtubers might disagree.
Mr Beast just posted that Youtube paid out $80B in adsense revenue to creators in the last three years.
https://twitter.com/MrBeast/status/1755059255760343191

I calculated that I got 0.000199261% of that, and I'm the 78,414th ranked channel in the world in views.
Views are fairly consistent to a first approximation, with people leaving being replaced by new viewers.

I get your point, and I say that myself, but you can make it work. I've been a full time Youtuber for 13 years come April.

[IanB]

Therefore I think being a YouTube content creator is best treated as a side hustle rather than a main job.

Not to mention that YouTube can demonetize a channel, or delete a channel at any time, and if it happens there is very little anyone can do about it.

I calculated that I got 0.000199261% of that

This is why any individual is more or less meaningless in the context of YouTube's overall business. If they happen to shut down a channel by mistake, it is no loss to them as long as they are keeping advertisers happy.

[SiliconWizard]

Therefore I think being a YouTube content creator is best treated as a side hustle rather than a main job.

10's of thousands (maybe 100's of thousands?) of full time Youtubers might disagree.

Indeed. Sure it's always wise not to rely fully on a single platform and have other sources of income, but indeed thousands of people worldwide (maybe that's even millions now) are making it a full-time job.
I find it odd that some would seem not to even realize that in 2024.

Actually, many have found their way to entrepreneurship this way. I think this is a good thing. Like everything else, don't rest on your laurels though, because that is a sure way of eventually failing. And that's true whether you are full-time "Youtuber" or a full-time anything else.

[rsjsouza]

 l'd venture to say that the full time youtuber making a living solely on the platform's adsense is a rarity when compared to the whole crowd. The vast majority that I see have other revenue streams such as promotion partnerships, merch, exclusive content via Patreon, promotion of products, etc.

The path to success is littered with the corpses of channels that succumbed to such moving target of rules and regulations of the platform.

[EEVblog]

Forgot that I did a video explaining how I lost around $400k by renting instead of buying.

[EEVblog]

Her new workshop looks great:



Unforutnately it's just another rental.

[Smokey]

In or around Burbank based on her new PO box.

[SiliconWizard]

Hey, but she will own nothing and be happy.

[EEVblog]

Hey, but she will own nothing and be happy.

I see what you did there 

The interesting thing is she said she "could live in a trailer outside her shop for all she cared". That opens up additional purchase opportunities IMO. Like a "mixed use" "live-work" industrial space something like what Fran has had in the past.
Gotta be cheaper than buying a house with a garage?
I don't know if that is a thing in LA though? Fran has said they are going the way of the dodo in Philly.

edit: a quite search shows it's not really a thing in the greater LA area. Seems similar toSydney in that you have residential suburbs and then industrial parks. And even then you are looking at $1M+
This place kicks arse, just don't ask the price:
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/284-288-N-Vinedo-Ave-Pasadena-CA/29705608/

[EEVblog]

In or around Burbank based on her new PO box.

Burbank seems like Sydney prices:

[SiliconWizard]

Not cheap.