The Santa Monica stage was surrounded by nearly 100 journalists, each with laptops, recorders and cameras, waiting for one special speaker to walk up the stage. Then, she appeared. Dressed in an elegant black-laced mini skirt and softly walking up the step with her five-inch heels, beauty guru and online sensation Michelle Phan emerged.

Can you earn millions of dollars just by posting videos of you putting on makeup on YouTube? To some, this is just nonsense, but to Michelle Phan, this proved to be the platform of her success and a beginning of an entirely new career.

Concluding Social Media Week programming, YouTube’s first beauty guru and millionaire, Michelle Phan, sat down with "Entertainment Weekly" and talked briefly about her newly launched cosmetics line, em, and her career in social media.

Now, for those of you who do not know who Michelle Phan is, here are a couple of facts to get you on track. 

1.     She began her career on YouTube as a beauty guru in 2006; however, as of now, she is a full time makeup artist, businesswoman, and spokesperson for Lancôme. (The things you get from YouTube!)

2.     Her videos have been seen almost 600 million times, and she has over a million subscribers to her YouTube channel.  

3.     She has a net worth of $3 million

(Statistics from http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/richest-designers/michelle-phan-net-worth/) 

For Michelle, being on YouTube is not just a hobby anymore; it is a real job. As she elaborated in her interview, “If a beauty guru is sponsored, you can take the nontraditional route, which is now social media, and build on it. You are in control of everything. You are in control with your image; you can create your own videos. It is very DIY and a lot of management. But with a lot of hard work, determination, and constantly posting quality content will get you somewhere.”

Michelle has well utilized the Internet and social media to shape who she is and what she does. To get inspiration for new styles and creations, she has to constantly constantly checks the news, the Internet (Twitter, Tumblr, etc.), and basically gets in touch with the pop culture, or lest she becomes disconnected with what is relevant. Today, with the tools we have around us, especially the Internet, you can share your story, and can even build a brand. Michelle says her heart and structure remains the same despite of the impact of social media and eight years of her newfound career. She is a dreamer, has been and will always be one, she says. However, ever since the advent of social media, the quality of her videos, the camera, the editing system, and the lighting were the only things that have changed for her. 

So what's next for Michelle? She didn't delve too deep into that question; however, she did mention trying new platforms. Perhaps a skincare line or hair product line is on the way? Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see.

Lastly, Michelle's advice for aspiring beauty gurus: if you are hungry to try new things, put yourself in the community if you want to grow. This piece of advice can actually be used in any demographic. Simply put, if you have a dream, then go for it!

Check out links for Michelle Fawn on social media here:

Michelle’s Website: http://michellephan.com

Michelle’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichellePhan

Michelle’s Instagram: @michellefawn

Reach Staff Reporter Amy Tseng by email here.