With Black Friday and Cyber Monday fast approaching, if you're a maker, you're thinking of ways to get the most eyes on your product.  Listing your products on Amazon is definitely the way to do that - but that also exposes you to the risk of theft and piracy.  

To help you protect your hard work and your coins, I've put together a brief episode to help you understand the various problems you could face, how to work with Amazon to solve any issues, and how to do the ONE thing that permits Amazon to give you the highest level of protection.  

Listen to the full episode to learn how!

*****SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

If you need help better understanding how you can monetize your creative work while maintaining control, we can help with that.  CLICK HERE to set up a time to speak with us.

You've built an amazing business that someone wants to buy.  Congratulations - that's an amazing accomplishment!

You're probably thinking, I'd never sell my baby - but slow down.  

In this episode, I talk about some of the reasons why you may want to consider selling your company and five things you should consider when someone approaches you about buying your business.  

Some of those things include getting a lawyer, determining what role you want to play, figuring out what you want, and more.

Listen to the full episode to make sure you know exactly what to do when that day comes.  

*****SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

If you need help better understanding how you can monetize your creative work while maintaining control, we can help with that.  CLICK HERE to set up a time to speak with us.

Licensing agreements are one of the most important legal documents for creatives and the improper use of a license could amount infringement and can be pretty costly.  They work both ways; to help creatives maintain control over their work, and to help consumers understand the permitted use of your creative work.

In this episode, I talk about what creatives need to consider when creating a licensing agreement for their work and what consumers need to pay attention too when purchasing work that is licensed.

As a consumer of licensed products, you want to consider the following:

• locate and READ the license
• determine if it's for commercial or personal use
• How many times are you permitted to use the licensed work?
• Can you use in a product that you’re giving away?  Or selling?

As a creator of licensed products, you want to consider the following:

• You license agreement MUST BE CLEAR!
• What kind of license do you want to give?
• What parameters do you want to put on the use?
• How will you monitor and enforce those parameters
• Will you create extended v.  limited use license?  What will be the difference in cost?

Check out the full episode to learn more about how to use and understand licensing agreements.

*****SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

If you need help better understanding how you can monetize your creative work while maintaining control, we can help with that.  CLICK HERE to set up a time to speak with us.  

When it comes to sharing and monetizing your creativity, there are a few things you should know.  First off, there are a few ways to monetize where you still retain control over your original work.  And second, you can leave yourself some wiggle room to regain control of your work down the line.  

In this episode, I discuss four different ways in which you can do that:  

• work for hire;
• licensing;
• assignment; and
• selling your work.  

Listen to the full episode to find out how to adequately negotiate a fair price for your creative work based on what you're giving up.  

*******SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

If you need help better understanding how you can monetize your creative work while maintaining control, we can help with that.  CLICK HERE to set up a time to speak with us.  

Forming your legal entity is a first great step to limit your liability.  But too many single-member LLCs (SM LLCs) don't have an operating agreement - what's the point, it's just you, you know how to operate your business.

In this episode, I explain why it's important for every LLC, including SM LLCs to have an operating agreement.  

*******SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

We want you to be ahead of the curve, by creating a name that you can actually own and leverage as an asset in your business.  You can sign up for that course by going to creativegeniuslaw.com/trademarkclass

Side hustling is great for a few reasons; it gives you a taste of what it’s like to start and grow a business, it helps you figure out if your idea is marketable, and is a great outlet to fuel your passion.

But, is it legal?  It depends. 

In this episode, I discuss some things to consider when starting and carrying on your side hustle while still employed.  Some things to consider:

• Can your employer fire you for having a side hustle?
• Can your employer claim ownership to your side hustle?
• Is your side hustle related to or competitive with your current job?
• Should you tell your boss about your side hustle? and 
• What obligations do you have under a contract or non-compete?

Listen to the full episode to get tips to make sure you protect your side hustle from a claim from your employer.

*******SPONSOR******

The Inksecure podcast is sponsored by Creative Genius Law.  At CGL we provide creatives and entrepreneurs with the highest quality representation at all stages of their business.   

If you’re in the process of starting a new business or launching a new product, we encourage you to sign up for our FREE masterclass, Select and Protect: How to Select a Brand Name That You Can Legally Own as a Trademark.

We want you to be ahead of the curve, by creating a name that you can actually own and leverage as an asset in your business.  You can sign up for that course by going to creativegeniuslaw.com/trademarkclass

Hey hey!

I've been gone for a minute and it was totally unplanned.  

In this episode, I talk about the reason for my absence, why it took me so long to come back and how taking that break helped me realized that kind of business I'm in and the legacy I want to build.  

I'm brutally honest about my shortcomings, being hard on myself, unnecessary stress and MAJOR changes coming to the podcast.

I'd love to hear your feedback and it's great to be back!

When Kunbi was planning her wedding – she didn’t find too many blogs with brides that looked like her. So she created Aisle Perfect as a personal journal to manage her overwhelm of planning her wedding.

Today, Aisle Perfect is a wedding blog dedicated to providing romantic inspiration to the discerning bride.  As a go-to wedding planning source for brides covers everything from wedding tips, bridal fashion and much more.   As a matter of fact, Kunbi has also launched Aisle Perfect Living - a more personal account of her life after the wedding.

In addition to running Aisle Perfect, Kunbi is a business immigration attorney with a passion for start-ups. 

In this episode, Kunbi and I talk about why she started her blog, how it quickly caught on when she decided to monetize her content, and some of the challenges and day to do of managing an inspiration blog. 

Lastly, Kunbi and I discuss Kunbi’s and her husband’s struggle with infertility – a subject that has affected so many families.  She talks about how difficult it was to talk about it with her African family, how she discovered so many women suffer in silence and how sharing her story can encourage other women.

**Thanks to special guest Rana Campbell,  host of the Dreams in Drive podcast for filling in for me after losing my voice.  Make sure to check out her inspirational podcast.  

Today's guest, Kendra Barnes, is an economist by day and a real estate investor on the side.  Once Kendra started on that path, it became addicting and she's now acquired over 4 real investment properties.  

Real estate is still one of the most stable types of investment and a smart way to accumulate wealth and pass it down to the next generation.  

In a world where entrepreneurship is sexy - we're encouraged to pour everything into building a business - by way of business coaches, graphic designers, copyrighters, 5-figure masterminds and some even encourage to forsake real estate at the expense of building a business.

In this episode, Kendra and I discuss how she got into real estate, some of the mistakes she's made, some of the common misconception about how easy it is to acquire real estate investment property, and what Kendra is doing to spread the word.  

Kendra has been featured in Black Enterprise and Forbes.  

To find out more about this episode, visit www.artsteele.co/ep59-kendrabarnes

Brown Girls Love Power!  Such a powerful (and true) statement.  That's the headline of today's guest, Christina Brown, Power Day event.  

Christina Brown is a style blogger and digital media expert and the founder of fast-growing style; beauty destination LoveBrownSugar.com, mommy destination BabyBrownSugar.com and digital empowerment community BrownGirlsLove. 

In this episode, Christina and I talk about how she started her blog and moved from being a blogger to being an influencer, landing huge campaigns like Dove (and we talk about her reaction to their scandal), why she celebrates Brown women, and how she manages being a single mom of two small children.

Christina has been heralded as a “30 Under 30 Style Maven” by HelloBeautiful.com, a “Black Blogger To Watch” by TheRoot.com, a “Top 40 Style Blogger” by Essence Magazine, a Black Enterprise Magazine “Blogger Month” Honoree, a Wharton Magazine “Social Media Watch List” Honoree and she most recently became the first black influencer to become an international ambassador for Dove, featured in a worldwide TV ad and print advertisements.

To find out more information about this episode, visit www.artsteele.co/ep58-christinabrown.