Today we’d like to introduce you to Aileen Xu.
Hi Aileen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started my first YouTube channel in December 2007. I was in high school at the time, and my first video was a cover on the piano of “Miss Invisible” by Marie Digby. I had always loved music and singing, but I was too shy to share that with my friends or to ever sing in public. YouTube gave me a platform to express my musical self to an anonymous community online, which was really freeing. Within a few months, people in my high school began discovering my videos online, and so I couldn’t hide that side of myself anymore. Admitting my secret hobby and beginning to sing in public helped me come out of my shell and begin building my confidence.
Over the next few years in college at USC, I kept posting music videos on YouTube as a hobby while studying business. I was planning to go into the entertainment industry or marketing and did a lot of internships to try to figure out what career I wanted to go into. It was the summer before senior year where I started to experience a deep existential crisis, ruminating over questions like “Why am I here? What is the point of life? What is my purpose?” After all seven internships that I had tried, none of them felt like something I wanted to pursue. The corporate environment felt so restricting, with little opportunity to create the life that I truly wanted for myself. There had to be a better way.
So, upon graduation, I decided not to find a full-time job like all my peers were doing and instead chose to pursue my passions and curiosities. The difficult part of that journey was going against what my parents wanted and what everyone seemed to be thinking—and also the fact that I had no idea what I was doing. I wanted to create a fulfilling life of creativity and freedom. I didn’t know how, but I knew I had to take a risk and a lesser-known path.
In the next couple of years, I pursued music, acting, hosting, video production, and any creative opportunity I came across. In exploring all the things that interested me, I began to learn more about myself, and new doors opened that I hadn’t imagined were possible for me. I wrote and released an album, produced and acted in a short film set in Taipei, and connected with so many artists and entrepreneurs. I also read a lot of self-help books, as I was desperately trying to figure out how I could create a life I truly love, making a living doing what I love.
In April 2014, after a time of mental breakdowns over things not working out in life, I decided to start a new blog and YouTube channel called Lavendaire. This platform was a space for me to share my journey as I figure out how to create my dream life and all the lessons I’m learning along the way.
Although I hadn’t yet found “success” in the conventional sense, following my heart led me to so many beautiful, fulfilling, and rewarding experiences in life, and I wanted to share that revelation through Lavendaire. That you don’t have to do what others expect you to; you don’t have to do what society tells you to. You will be fine, and you can create an amazing, unpredictable life for yourself.
Inspired by my artistic path, I came up with the tagline “Life is an art. Make it your masterpiece.” for Lavendaire, I shared the idea that we are all artists of life—we have the power to design and shape our life in any way we desire. My first video was titled “How to Stop Caring About What Others Think of You,” one of the main lessons I had to learn after taking the unconventional path.
Lavendaire opened up a world of possibility for me—and it’s funny how a platform I created to explore how to create my dream life, led me to that dream life. Something clicked when I felt the positive impact my content was making in people’s lives. Now, Lavendaire has expanded to over 2.2 million subscribers on YouTube, a podcast, an online shop, and our community of beautiful souls all on this path to becoming their best self and creating their dream life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Where do I begin? The road to making it as a creative & entrepreneur is laid with both internal and external struggles. In the early days of my career, the hardest part was persevering on this path when there was no sign of success. Externally, you’re dealing with judgment from others and people not believing in you, not seeing your worth. Internally, you’re struggling with even believing in yourself and having faith that one day this will work out somehow.
I struggled for two years pursuing music, and then with Lavendaire, I created weekly videos for another three years before I began to see some dollars trickling in. It wasn’t until my fourth year into Lavendaire that I would make a full-time income from it. So my path to success was definitely a slow one that required a lot of patience and perseverance.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Lavendaire empowers people with tools and resources to become their best self and create their dream life. We do this through our content (videos, podcasts, graphics), free resources (guided meditations, audios & worksheets), and our intentional stationery shop.
The Lavendaire YouTube channel has over 2.2 million subscribers with over 170 million views, and our podcast The Lavendaire Lifestyle has over 8 million downloads.
Our online shop is best known for the Artist of Life Workbook, a guided journal to help you create your most intentional and successful year. It’s a tool to help you actually achieve your goals, become the person you want to be, and create the life you want to live. (We’ve sold over 50,000 copies to date.)
I’m most proud of the content we create around the launch of our workbook because it’s when we have the chance to plan a big creative concept beyond our typical content. My favorite videos are our “Life is an art” concept from this year and our “Once Upon a Time” fairytale & cottage-core concept from 2021. I have a lot of fun envisioning the vibe, creating the mood board, writing the script, and selecting the music. It’s my time to shine as a creative director. Also, who else is making creative short films to promote a journal? I haven’t seen anyone else do it like this. It’s likely not the most “effective” way to do it, but I do it because it’s fun and fulfilling, and it also fits our brand of seeing everything through the lens of art.
Lavendaire approaches personal growth from a gentle, compassionate perspective and also presents it in a visually beautiful way. We present softness as strength, which differs from the perspectives of conventional thought leaders who have a strong & aggressive approach (e.g., the mindsets that contributed to hustle culture).
Lavendaire serves as the gentle & compassionate option, for those seeking empowerment to create their dream life through a balanced, enjoyable, and healthy journey.
LINKS:
Artist of Life Workbook – https://lavendaire.com/workbook
“Life is an art” launch video – https://youtu.be/hxqBtuaRWaY?si=pD_MPO7JOlYBHb0t
“Once upon a time” fairytale launch video – https://youtu.be/2DFRrPZimKo?si=5DpRNzPnG4aFgB04
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Links to support:
– Shop: http://shop.lavendaire.com
– youtube.com/lavendaire
– instagram.com/lavendaire
– tiktok.com/@lavendaire
– Podcast: youtube.com/lavendairelifestyle / lavendaire.com/llpodcast
– Website: lavendaire.com
– Discord community: lavendaire.com/community
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/lavendaire
- Youtube: youtube.com/lavendaire
- Other: http://shop.lavendaire.com
Image Credits
Karen Rosalie, Lovisa Photo, Judyth Floresca
