Wendy Ayche was 26 years old when she decided to quit her well paying nine-to-five marketing job.

“I was an accountant, then I switched to marketing,” Ayche told The Huffington Post. “Back then no one really knew much about social media so I couldn’t be pitching to brands without data. I ran my own blog where I’d try my own strategies before pitching.”

She began blogging after work as a hobby. On average, she’d post about three times a week, and before long she started partnering with companies to promote their campaigns. “I remember staying up and pulling all nighters to meet clients’ deadlines and going straight to work the next day,” Ayche told the ABC. 

Ayche experimented with fashion blogging, before her relatively small readership asked if she would make a makeup tutorial.

GUYSSSS!!! I have a HUGE announcement coming next week. Get ready for my most exciting news yet!!!

A post shared by Wengie (@misswen) on Jul 12, 2017 at 12:24pm PDT

“After someone asked me how I did my makeup, I did a tutorial post. It took 12 hours having to take and edit each photo step-by-step. It didn’t even make sense because it wasn’t happening in real time. So I decided to use YouTube as a platform to host videos for my blog. It was just to give content to my blog readers, but my YouTube ended up doing a lot better,”Ayche told Huffington Post. 

Ayche turned her living room into a studio, and dedicated all her time outside the office to creating video content.

It wasn’t long before Ayche – or Wengie as she’s now known (her Chinese name is Wen-jie) – hit one million YouTube subscribers.

“I decided that having no sleep and working during all my waking hours was not a solution. So I decided to take the plunge and quit my job. It was the best decision I made,”Ayche says.

POST CONTINUES BELOW: The number one dream job of kids is… YouTuber. 

YouTube offered Ayche freedom and creativity – two things that she felt had been lacking in her traditional career.

But the lack of structure was a shock to begin with. For a short time, Ayche spiralled into depression, struggling with not having a stable income or routine. Once Ayche established a rhythm – her channel skyrocketed. “It makes a huge difference when you fully direct your energy into your creative endeavours,”Ayche told the ABC. 

Today, Wengie is the third most subscribed beauty channel in Australia, edging towards eight and a half million subscribers. She is the most popular Asian beauty blogger in the country. Each video she uploads receives millions of views, with a recent video titled “10 Bets You Will ALWAYS Win! PRANK Your Friends!!” being viewed more than 12 million times and attracting tens of thousands of comments.

Her net worth is estimated to be close to $2 million.

Receive a massive haul which I shared on my vlog ???????? ask instagram fully neglected!! I’m going to try and be better!! Right now video>photos but trying to find a balance ???? what do you guys prefer taking videos or photos???

A post shared by Wengie (@misswen) on Apr 3, 2017 at 7:01am PDT

The content of her videos vary from DIY, life hacks, makeup, hair and fashion tutorials, health tips and storytelling. Ayche’s aim is to provide her audience with the best possible experience, “whether it be entertainment, education or inspiration”.

She also runs the YouTube channel Life of Wengie, which has 1.5 million subscribers, and focuses on family, relationships, friends and advice on being bullied or introverted.

“I don’t think there are many jobs that throw you out of your comfort zone — mentally and emotionally — in the same way that running a YouTube channel does,” Ayche said. “You’re challenged creatively because every week is a brand new week of proving yourself (the online audience is quite fickle and so are Google algorithms).

“I’ve seen channels with a million subscribers disappear as quickly as they started, so none of your audience can be taken for granted.”

Now 31, Ayche’s YouTube presence has never been stronger. She’s also pursuing a music career in China, after recording an album, and releasing an app.