Over 185,000 people count on Angela Lanter to share her top beauty how-tos and hacks YouTube, but five years ago, the vlogger behind Hello Gorgeous was on their side of the screen. Before starting her blog and channel, Angela had a comfy career in the insurance industry — but when her husband, actor Matt Lanter, scored a starring role on the TV show Star Crossed, she decided the time had come to finally take a chance on her dreams.

After the newly-married couple moved to New Orleans for the show, Angela quit her job and began blogging full-time. Now based in Los Angeles, the new mama has amassed nearly half a million followers across social media and (surprise!) she's also our surprise co-host for this weekend's third-ever Mama Market.

Here, the Fashion Mamas LA member shares her career journey from fraud investigator to beauty and lifestyle influencer, the most important lessons she's learned from starting her YouTube channel, how her shoot scheduled has changed since having her daughter, and her top advice for aspiring vloggers — read it all below.

A post shared by Angela Lanter (@angelalanter) on Apr 12, 2018 at 7:13pm PDT

What's the name and age of your little one?

MacKenlee Faire, she’s 4 months old.

Tell us a little bit about your career journey: How did you get to where you are today?

I’ve always had a passion for beauty and fashion. I worked as a fraud investigator when I first launched Hello Gorgeous, but my husband was set to star in a TV show that filmed in New Orleans three weeks after our wedding, so we decided that I would quit my job. Once in NOLA, I decided to start blogging seriously and also launched my YouTube channel. That was almost six years ago now. I love that I get to follow my dreams every day.

As a YouTube viewer, what hesitations did you have about starting your own channel? What's your advice for others who want to do the same?

My biggest hurdle to overcome was stage fright, I was so uncomfortable. It took a long time for me to be myself in front of the camera. My biggest piece of advice would be to invest in good quality production. The YouTube world is so over saturated, but good quality videos always stand out.

A post shared by Angela Lanter (@angelalanter) on Nov 26, 2017 at 7:22pm PST

As far as shooting your videos, what have been some of the biggest lessons that you've learned since you started?

Good quality production goes a long way.

Now that you're a new mama, how has your video shooting/content creating schedule changed?

It’s harder to find the time to work with a little one, so we plan to shoot while she’s sleeping or when we have a babysitter available. I’ve definitely slowed down with work since having her, I don’t want to miss out on my time with my baby, so I’m being picky about which content I want to produce.

What were some of the key things you did to build your following? What are your top tips for aspiring YouTubers who want to build a loyal audience?

I always stayed true to myself and my brand. I always say that there are millions of other people out there and only one you. Be authentic, be organic, be YOU.