There’s a very specific type of confidence in the air lately.
It’s not earned. It’s not trained. It’s not even accidentally experienced.
It’s… YouTube confidence.
You know the kind. Someone watches three videos—two on 1.25x speed, one while half-scrolling their phone—and suddenly they’ve unlocked a calling. They make something just good enough for their grandma, their spouse, their coworker, or their emotionally obligated best friend to say, “oh my gosh, that’s amazing.”
And just like that—boom. They’re booked. They’re branded. They’re explaining things to people who have been doing this since flip phones were a personality.
And listen—I love a good DIY moment. I do. Try things. Learn things. Make ugly things. Make slightly less ugly things.
But there’s a difference between: “I’m learning this” and “I am now an expert, please pay me.”
Somewhere along the way, we skipped the middle part. You know… the entire phase where you’re objectively not good yet. The part where your work is… how do I put this… deeply humbling. The part where you don’t immediately slap a logo on it announce yourself to the public like you just dropped a masterclass.
Not everything needs to be monetized immediately, and not every hobby needs a logo, just as not every compliment is a business plan.
And respectfully—your biggest cheerleaders are not your customers. They’re your emotional support system. They love you. They would hype a burnt casserole. They would absolutely commission your macaroni art if it meant boosting your confidence.
But they are not the ones pulling out a credit card when stakes, standards, and actual money are involved.
Meanwhile, actual professionals are out here investing years—years—into their craft. Paying for tools. Paying for training. Paying for mistakes. Learning what works, what doesn’t, and what will absolutely come back to haunt them if they cut corners.
And they’re competing with someone who watched a 12-minute tutorial and said, “Yeah, I’ve seen enough.”
It’s not gatekeeping to say experience matters—sorry if that ruins the “I watched two tutorials” narrative. It’s not negativity to say skill takes time—shocking, I know. And it’s definitely not jealousy to notice the difference—sometimes it’s just… functional vision.
And here’s the part nobody wants to say out loud: confidence without competence is just audacity with a Wi-Fi connection.
By all means—learn, try, build, create. Post your progress. Be proud of it. But maybe… just maybe… linger in the “figuring it out” phase for longer than a weekend before announcing your grand opening to the public like you’ve been summoned by destiny.
Because CONFIDENCE is loud.
But COMPETENCE is what people are actually paying for.
About Sarah Says Things
Sarah Says Things is a weekly column from Sarah DeMaranville that leans into real life with sharp humor, honest observations, and just enough edge to say what everyone else is thinking—but not saying out loud. From Midwest quirks to modern nonsense, it’s equal parts relatable, irreverent, and unapologetically blunt.