00:00Don't let, you know, the feelings of, oh, I'm not good enough, hold you back, because you never know.
00:04Ali Chebo is the founder of Chebo's Burgers in Sydney, famous for its American-style smash burgers.
00:13Perfect, look at that.
00:16You hit it with some American cheese, and there's the burger of the day.
00:20I just love them, the flavor, and it's so simple, but you can also go fancy.
00:24Chebo first started posting burger videos on TikTok.
00:28Then, during lockdown, he flipped burgers in his family driveway, with queues wrapping around the block.
00:35It wasn't long before his food truck business became a restaurant.
00:39Florist Bon Wong took a similar leap.
00:42It's really nice seeing how important flowers are to so many people for so many different occasions.
00:48Both Ali and Bon finished uni, Ali in accounting, Bon in neuroscience,
00:53but found their careers on social media like TikTok during the pandemic.
00:59According to new research, 27% of regional Australians are engaging in creative arts beyond their main job.
01:07This new form of social media side hustle can not only generate income, but build a community or help them learn new skills.
01:16When it comes to experimenting and seeing what other styles I could actually try and explore, I've really gained that from TikTok.
01:27If your content is good enough and there's an appeal for it, there's no telling to how many people you can reach, especially with the way the algorithm works.
01:36The pair recently shared their stories at a TAFE event, encouraging others to take a chance.
01:42I really wanted to stress on the idea of just doing it.
01:47I personally felt that I was held back for a lot of things because I was too scared and I was waiting for the right time.
01:53Done is better than perfect.
01:55And so if you're posting a video every single day, then while you are getting content out that people can see, that work is also working on yourself.
02:04By doing the reps, you're not only, you know, working outwardly to grow your audience, you're also working on your own skills.
02:09And a lot of it was off YouTube, so I'd look up different ways that they make it in America, learn all these different things.
02:15And I kind of adapt different elements from their styles and make them into my own.
02:21And so a lot of practice as well.
02:23While most of us scroll for fun, Gen Z are increasingly using social media, like TikTok, as a career coach.
02:32You've got such a real and transparent lens into the career that you might not have had otherwise.
02:39If there is someone you can shadow for a day in a trade that you're into, if you're able to ask them questions and really pick their brain on what it's like, there's no real alternative besides really, you know, having it to crack.
02:51Having that online presence, it made me feel a lot better, and it made me feel a lot better seeing how many other people are also on the same journey of signing up the business.
03:01Using TikTok to, you know, just create content, showcase the skills.
03:08So
03:11You
03:14You
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