“In the beginning, I missed out on a lot because I didn’t know what my value was”
You may recognize her as the Bliss Bean, or the organizational guru. Beatričé Naujalyté is a 22-year-old Lithuanian, raised in the United States, who has built up an outstanding online presence. Currently studying in her second year of the Bachelor in Communications and Digital Media, Beatričé manages a Youtube channel with almost 300k subscribers and almost 17M views. She is passionate about productivity, organization, and self-improvement; topics that manifest in her social media platforms and are the reason for her success.
Why did you decide to start a Youtube channel?
When I was in middle school, in my Language Arts class, we had to start a blog to share our writing assignments. It didn’t only stop there, I started going beyond what was asked for by writing posts about crafts and cooking for extra credit. Ever since then, I have needed some sort of content creation in my life because it is very fulfilling for me. About 4 years later, in high school, I was taking a videography class and making documentary videos for an internship, and that’s when I realized my love for making videos and blogging. A few weeks after that, I uploaded my first video, and I never looked back.
How has this been a learning experience throughout the years?
YouTube has given me a lot of self-confidence. Honestly, when I started I didn’t really believe that I could find any form of success with it. It was around 2 years later, in March 2020, that it really started to grow and that was insane to me. Ever since then, I started doing sponsorships, working with an agency, etc. It really showed me that I could actually succeed and make something that a lot of people cared about.
Another thing that it has taught me is how important it is to find something that you are actually interested in. In my first year as a content creator, I only gained about 50 subscribers despite making videos every 1-2 weeks. Looking back at it, I wonder how I didn’t give up. The reason is that I really enjoyed it, I couldn’t imagine not doing it.
What did people around you think when you started Youtube? How has this changed as you grew?
In the beginning, I hid it. I did not tell people about it. I had a weird relationship with my online presence throughout the years. My friends knew about my middle school blog and were very supportive, but I didn’t like the attention. So then when I started the Bliss Bean, I kept it super secret. Afterward, my mindset changed, I told myself that I need to be proud of what I am doing. Thus, I slowly started letting people know about it, and by the end of high school, everyone was aware.
What has the growth you have experienced with your social media career been like?
This all started getting bigger and harder to manage in March 2020, when one of my videos got a lot of views and I consequently gained more subscribers. I wasn’t prepared for this sudden change, but I tried to figure it out by myself. I started looking online at how to negotiate with brands, and I thought I got the hang of it. That being said, when I talked to other YouTubers, they would all tell me that for the amount of views I was getting, I was charging very little money. This was extremely shocking to me. In the beginning, I missed out on a lot because I didn’t know what my value was. A year later, I decided to join an agency that has been very helpful because they take care of contracts and ensure good deals. This saves me so much time and energy because now I can focus more on creating the content.
Did you ever think you would have this amount of success?
No, I had accepted that these things happen to other people but not to me; I thought I would never get an audience. Then, once it started growing, it didn’t really make sense to me. A lot of people ask me how it feels to have so many people watching me, but I honestly don’t really feel it because I am not standing in front of them. It is just a number on the screen, so it is very easy to forget that so many eyes are on you. Sometimes I have to remind myself of it in terms of not oversharing on the internet and keeping some details private for safety reasons.
How did you construct the scope of your channel?
When I started blogging, I created content about crafting, later about food, then I moved towards more generic content such as ‘how-to’ and organization. I realized that I really enjoyed this last type of content, so I naturally gravitated toward that. When I transitioned to YouTube I also saw how that resonated with the audience quite well.
Have you ever considered shifting your content style?
This is something that I have thought about so much. When I was in my gap years, my approach to the Bliss Bean was more informative and teaching style. Whereas now that I started university, my daily life has changed so much, I am realizing that I have a lot to learn, which made me want to shift my YouTube style from instructional to figuring things out alongside my audience and sharing my highs and lows. That is why I have done more vlogs. When you are teaching people it may feel like you are looking down on them, which I want to stay away from. Generally, I am trying to follow what is interesting for me at the moment.
Why did you decide to study Communications and why did you decide to study in Spain?
Because of my international background, when I was looking into universities, I was very open to the idea of studying abroad. I ended up applying to colleges in the U.S. and Europe and I made my decision based on the fact that I wanted to push myself and not stay within my boundaries.
I always knew that I wanted to study Communications. Since middle school, without planning it, all of my interests and passions led to this. I really loved creating, in a very broad sense of the word. When I was looking into college, I saw that the Communications and Digital Media program at IE encompassed everything that I was interested in doing; it just felt right.
How do you manage social media, university, and extracurriculars?
Sometimes it gets to be too much. What I realized is that I have different seasons in my life. For example, in the second semester of the first year, my life revolved around academics. This semester is the complete opposite of that. Academically, the course is super light, which has allowed me to spend more time with the Music Club [being their Communications Director], I have been getting back into making YouTube videos, and focusing more on my friendships. But in essence, I have to pick and choose which is most important to me at the moment. Another thing that helps me is the saying: ‘set the bar low to meet it more consistently’. As a perfectionist, it is hard to accept that not everything has to be done at 100%, but I am able to fit more of my passions into my week that way.
Which positive opportunities have sprouted thanks to YouTube?
I’m incredibly grateful that I am able to make money from something that I love, and that I got lucky with the algorithm. I have also made a few online friends, I have gotten to work on some really cool projects, and it has proven to be an advantage professionally. Even before my YouTube channel got big, it helped me secure an internship. Wanting to go into Communications, having this in my curriculum became so valuable.
What are some cool projects that you have developed?
During my gap years, I started a podcast because I liked making comprehensive content. This made me excited about the prospect of talking about certain topics in depth casually. I also got to meet a lot of cool people because I did a lot of interviews. In addition, a publisher reached out to me asking if I wanted to write a book, which was such a cool experience. I had to take all the work that I had previously done and consolidate it into one resource book: ‘Plan and Organize Your Life’. It is very exciting to say that I’m a published author, it doesn’t feel real but it is out there.
What is the downside of having a social media presence?
There can sometimes be the feeling of burnout, or of being trapped in a hamster wheel by producing the same content over and over. In some instances, it feels like you are performing for the algorithm. That is why for me it is important to not have YouTube as the main focus of my life. Whenever there’s a certain moment when YouTube is making me feel bad, I focus on my other activities. It can really get to you if you don’t have other things that fulfill you and help you balance it out.
What is your experience with being recognized?
This year has been a slightly weird experience for me. This is due to the fact that last year I made a few videos about my IE experience, and since the class of 2026 had been searching for information and content, they had my videos pop up on their feeds. Hence, I have been approached by so many people asking me if I am the girl who made a video about IE. I feel proud that they recognize me, but at the same time it is bizarre because you meet someone that you know nothing about, but in contrast, they already know so much about you. It is a crazy imbalance.
How do you see your future?
I don’t want to pursue YouTube full-time forever after University because it is a lonely job and everything depends so much on how your content is performing, which is not great for your mental health. I still want to maintain it as a side project, though. I like working with people and I see myself working through collaboration. Currently, I envision myself working as the producer of a podcast.
Getting to know Beatričé has been an interesting discussion as it opens the curtains into the life of an influencer. She is someone who uses her platform in a positive manner, focused on building a community and promoting self-improvement. Finally, she wanted to “encourage other people to do creative projects, even if they don’t get much attention or popularity. If you are able to build a body of work, it becomes a great advantage”.
