​Ripple effect - a spreading, pervasive, and usually unintentional effect or influence. - Merriam- Webster Dictionary ​

​I remember everything about that moment clearly, because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “It looks like you have everything you need, you just have to go for it.”
What? I have everything? I don’t need to do anymore research? No more email conversations with my accountant or using my lunch break to read (literally everything) about owning a small business? I should be excited… but I’m not.

​A month ago I was feeling really down on myself about my Instagram followers (or lack there of) and I wanted to do something to change that. What I found not only changed my attitude, but my entire mindset on the world of social media and I picked up some tips that helped me get what I really wanted.

I participated in Ria from Craftsposure’s free webinar and this is what I learned.
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(Updated 8/29/2017)
Aww this one was fun to read over! I remember how much time I spent cultivating these drawings and also a relationship with my cousin. I just came back from visiting her and her children and she's still one of the most uplifting people I know! It's always good to have family in your corner.

Having support from your friends and family can be more than just emotionally uplifting it can be financially helpful as well. Family and friends are an artists biggest support system. Our mothers show off our work to friends, our friends support us on social media, and occasionally our relatives are interested in commissioning a piece or they know someone who does.

In my case, my cousin was looking for artists and designers to come up with merchandise for her company True Conversations. ​

(Updated 8/29/2017) 
Reading back my own advice definitely makes me feel better about why I'm continuing to write these blogs. I really have something to offer this community because out of all of these 10 pieces of advice I've taken... drum roll... all 10 of the. They really were a great stepping point (especially the part about having a close group of supporters and people in the industry. And don't worry if you don't know anybody personally, Instagram connected me to a ton of people who were more than willing to answer my questions.)

So if you’re here then chances are you’ve read part 1 of this series and you’ve decided that you’re ready to put forth all the hard work it takes to own your own business. Cool, me too… now what?

Well, now you have to understand some basic business concepts, get your finances together, and construct a team. (which might be easier than you think) Here are the last 5 pieces of advice I learned from my small business intro class.
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​(Updated 8/28/2017)
I am beyond grateful to my past self that I put myself out of my comfort zone and went to this class. It was the jumping point to now owning my own business! *Squeel

​Last Wednesday, I decided to take one of my only nights off and head to the University of Hartford's Entrepreneurial Center. They were offering a three hour class on how to start your own business. It was beyond what I could’ve hoped for.
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​(Updated 8/28/2017)
Since this post I have since switched to Weebly.com (A backwards switch for most but it allowed me to customize without coding and focus on my portfolio instead of constantly redesigning my site!)

When I first started my business journey I created a blog on blogger.com I had looked into different blog formats including WordPress but blogger had the most customization and it was easier for me to learn (seeing as I was a beginner) This blog was successful for everything I needed it to do at the time, but then I started illustrating. I didn't want to have my illustrations shared only in blog format. I needed a portfolio of some kind, and I also wanted to be able to provide a link back to somewhere you could find everything about me. So, I decided to create my own website and that prompted the question...
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