Seven years ago, I received an email from Etsy saying that they were removing all my Scrabble-related products as they received a notice of trademark infringement from Hasbro. They removed 62 of my listings. I was beyond upset. In my naïveté, I felt I was wronged. I wasn't making anything unpleasant nor was I duplicating the scrabble pieces to sell. I was only using it to make cheerful art. Many of those were my best sellers and without it, I wasn't able to attract the same traffic to my Etsy store. In the end, I had to close my shop.
This led me to three decisions:
(1) That I would never rely on one platform as my only source of income,
(2) If I was going to have a career as an artist, I need to learn how play the game right and;
(3) I have to how to create my own opportunities and not wait for it to come to me.
It took me awhile to discover surface design, but once I opened that door, I never looked back. Today, I'm actually grateful that this happen because now I have multiple streams of income.
Most importantly, I invested in knowledge and have never regretted my choice to keep learning. When I know more, the more control I have over the situation, and the better the choices I make.
Three years ago, I signed up for Stacie Bloomfield's Leverage Your Art and it blew my mind. Stacie not only taught me how to squeeze every potential from my art; she also taught me how to negotiate my way through a contract so it would work in my favour which meant the opportunity to make more money! I begin to work smarter, not harder.
Making a living through art is totally possible. But my vision, is not just to make a living, I want to build a creative empire. And who else better to look to than Stacie Bloomfield? My gut tells me that if you want to do something, learn it from someone who's already doing it.
full disclosure: I'm a proud partner for 'leverage your art'. I have faith in stacie Bloomfield and her course because i have personally witness it transform not just my path, but, others as well.
Within a year of finishing the course, i've seen leverage graduates make leaps and bounds in their creative careers. i believe that amazing things can happen when we put knowledge to work. doors open, magic takes place, dreams become reality. fortune favours the bold.
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