046 – From Freelance to a Flock with Johanna Fritz

Johanna Fritz

Johanna has been a freelance illustrator for more than ten years and works together with publishers, manufacturers, and advertising agencies.

She is currently represented by the agency Wundergarden.

Her target market is children and those who like fun characters and happy colors.

Johanna is already known in her industry for being active and engaging on all kinds of Social Media Channels. Based on this experience and exposure, she started a second business called Fritzi Flock. It is all about growing illustrators’ businesses to the next level. This includes coaching, workshops, interviews and a lot more.

Motivational Quote

 

GBU-Candle-046JF

 

Business Inspiration and Development

The light bulb moment [4:17]

First paid project – Weekly cartoon [6:14]

Forming Fritzi Flock and The Doodle Challenge [9:02]

Getting Started in Freelancing

How to get your first clients [14:02]

Getting known by publishers [15:52]

Business Building Insight

Listen to your flock [12:28] and [20:05]

Nurturing her customers [18:58]

How Johanna manages her day [21:32]

Success Trait

Johanna is a hustler and looks forward to getting up every morning knowning she can illustrate and coach.

Productivity/Lifestyle Tool

Asana – With tasks, projects, conversations and dashboards, Asana enables teams to move work from start to finish.

Recommended BookFree Audio Book

How to Style Your Brand: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Distinctive Brand Identity by Fiona Humberstone

Contact Links

By Johanna Fritz Website

Fritzi Flock Website

By Johanna Fritz Facebook

Fritzi Flock Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Instagram

Snapchat – @byjohannafritz

Periscope – KJohannaFritz

If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you. Thanks! Sue
Transcript
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Gift biz unwrapped episode 46.

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I just love my work so much that it doesn't even

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feel like work.

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Hi, this is John Lee,

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Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

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and you're listening to gifted biz unwrapped,

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and now it's time to light it up.

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Welcome to gift biz,

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unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop

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and grow your business.

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And now here's your host Sumona height.

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I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

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Whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or

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just getting started,

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you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your

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business. And today I am so happy to have Yohanna frit

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joining us all the way from Germany.

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Johana has been a freelance illustrator for more than 10 years

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and works together with publishers manufacturers and advertising agencies.

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She's currently represented by the agency,

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wonder garden.

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Her target market is children and those who like fun characters

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and happy colors as she has already been known in her

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industry for being active and engaging on all kinds of social

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media channels.

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She's recently started a second business called Fritzy flop.

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It's all about growing illustrator's businesses to the next level.

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This includes coaching workshops,

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interviews, and a whole lot more welcome to the show Yohanna.

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Hey, there it is so good to have you.

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And I think it's nighttime there and your little ones have

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just gone to bed and the opportunity to talk to us.

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Exactly. Thank you so much for having me too Love having

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you. Would you like to add anything else to that intro

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before we get started?

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You also mentioned my kids,

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so yeah.

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I have a husband and two kids,

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which are like one to three right now,

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and that's actually,

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it You're able to do business out of your house just

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on the way your business operates.

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Right. So that's really helpful while you have young kids at

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home too.

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Yeah, that is totally true.

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Wouldn't change it.

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Yeah, no,

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that's really valuable.

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That's part of the great thing about being in business for

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yourself. So true.

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As our listeners know,

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we like to align this conversation around the life of a

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motivational candle,

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the light shines on you while you share your stories and

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your experiences.

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So Yohanna,

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are you ready to light it up?

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I am ready.

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All Right.

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Let us envision what a candle will look like.

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And for you being with all the art and everything,

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I can't wait to hear about the color of your candle

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and the motivational quote.

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Oh yeah,

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definitely. I can't just like choose one color.

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Of course.

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So I guess my Canada would be like mint pink and

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yellow, which is sort of my corporate identity colors for my

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illustration business.

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And my quote would actually be smile to the world and

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the world smiles back.

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This quote means like set up a lot to me because

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I'm not sure how you call it in English,

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but it's like a,

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it wasn't wall art,

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which was in my parents' house next to the TV.

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And so whenever I watch TV as a kid,

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I was also looking at this embroidery and it was just

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like some sort of mindsetting like every day I saw this

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and I think maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm

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smiling all the time.

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It's such true when you smile at people to my back.

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Like when you go like grumpy through your whole life and

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it's just like,

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what'd you give it comes back to you sort of that

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thing. I think you're right.

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And it sounds like throughout your childhood,

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as you were looking at that wall hanging there and it

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really was ingrained to you,

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something tells me that you just like that by nature though.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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From the start while hanging or not give biz listeners Johana.

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And I had the opportunity to meet a few months back

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in San Francisco.

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We were both in the audience of Sue B Zimmerman creative

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live course.

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And I had already known about Yohanna,

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but was so excited that she was flying all the way

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over to be with us.

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And you are one happy,

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fun, loving gal Yohanna.

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Thanks. Okay.

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So let's go back to the beginning of your professional career.

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How did you get started and move into the business of

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freelancing? Well,

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to go a little farther back,

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like I was studying American history,

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Japanese and French at a university in Berlin.

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And I did that,

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like for two years I was so unhappy with it.

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It was just not my thing.

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Then I was like on a train and I saw an

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ad and it was looking at this ad and it was

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written down that communication design at this and this university.

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And I was like,

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Oh my gosh,

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this is it.

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It was like bang,

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a light bulb got on.

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And I was like,

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okay, I totally have to try that.

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And so I went there and showed them my portfolio.

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They liked it.

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And they accepted me to study their communication design.

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That's sort of the beginning.

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And from then on,

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it just got on and on.

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And I started to like,

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in my last year of studies,

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I started to send out my portfolios to publishers and was

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so happy that they liked it today.

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I don't know why,

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because I don't know when I look back today,

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like 11 years ago or so it's like sort of awful

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to be,

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Oh my gosh,

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I have no idea why they wanted me to do those

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picture books,

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but I was happy that was the beginning.

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And then I just kept going,

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kept going,

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send stuff out and yeah,

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today I'm pretty happy that clients are coming to me and

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I don't have to reach out that much anymore.

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Absolutely. So were you always into art?

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Like even as a young child?

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Yeah. Yeah.

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I have so many illustrations from me when I was,

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I dunno,

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far on six and seven and eight.

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My mom kept them all,

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so I still have them with me.

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And so then you were hired by this company,

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right? To start doing illustrations.

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And then at what point did you go off on your

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own then?

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From the beginning,

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like while I was studying in my third year.

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So the whole study,

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what like three years and in my third year,

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I already started to send out my illustration to publishers and

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agencies. And from that point on,

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I was freelancing.

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Gotcha. And talk to us a little bit about one of

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your favorite projects back then,

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just to give a feel to everybody about how the business

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works Back then.

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Well, that my,

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my very,

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very first client was actually a TV magazine who hired me

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to do a weekly cartoon.

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That was my,

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really my absolute beginning.

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And actually the main character of this cartoon was a bird

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Appropriate enough.

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Right. It is So funny.

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Seriously. I almost forgot about the thing.

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And lately on one of my Periscopes I was showing my

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viewers, my I'm doing like annual portfolio books just for myself.

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And I give them to my dad every Christmas.

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So he gets a sense of what I'm actually doing the

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whole year.

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And I saw this cartoon in there and I was like,

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Oh my gosh,

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I started with a bird.

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I have a bird as a local right now,

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the Fritzy flog as a bird.

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And yeah.

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So there's birds everywhere.

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You're gravitating to our feathered friends for some,

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Oh my gosh.

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I could Choose an animal.

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It would be a cat.

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So, Oh,

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well that's Oh,

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Oh, Oh,

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Oh gosh.

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All right.

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So let's talk a little bit now also about Fritzy flack.

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How did that evolve and what's happening with that?

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Yeah, last year it started to evolve when I was,

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I'm really like on set up every social media channel that

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is out there and they started to ask me questions about

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why I'm using it,

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how it can be helpful for illustrators.

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And I'm like,

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Oh my gosh.

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Okay. So that seems to be an interest in there.

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And even our professional association of illustrators in Germany,

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they asked me to write an article about social media for

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industry, for the newsletter.

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So I thought,

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okay, there must be something.

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And then I went to creative live,

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as it just said,

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and met Susan Merman,

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we sat at the talking and created this whole footsie flock.

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And yeah,

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it's very well accepted.

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So Fritzy flock is a group.

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This Fritzy flack are now followers of yours who are capturing

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information because you just know so much about how to use

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the social media channels and other things in the illustration business

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overall. Correct?

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Yeah. And not just social media,

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like they are also asking me like question about how to

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find a style questions about the branding or what portfolio would

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be the best fit for contacting children's illustrators and all kinds

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of stuff.

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Yeah. All right.

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So some of our listeners Johana may be quilters or jewelry

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makers or people who are in different industries,

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but could do something similar,

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like what you've done in terms of building a community around

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themselves. Can you give some advice or how did you start

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capturing people's attention?

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And your answer might be in the social media channels,

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but like how did that evolve so that you had a

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community? Because one thing I do know about you is you

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have a very loyal and also very attentive community.

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I mean,

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they're really tuned into what you're doing.

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Yeah. It actually started even before we're thinking about doing something

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with social media or whatever,

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for the straight as it started.

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When I announced on Periscope that I'm going to do a

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daily doodle on my Instagram account.

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And if anyone wants to draw with me,

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I would be happy.

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So like,

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I don't draw alone for myself.

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So it's just like more fun with the community.

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And people started to draw with me and the community is

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growing and growing and growing,

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and they are still drawing with me.

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Like we started last year,

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July two 15,

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it lasts until this July.

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And that was like sort of the beginning of building the

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community and those who are following the doodle challenge and watch

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me doodle on Periscope.

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For example,

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they started to ask me questions about this whole social media

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thing. And then how about being an illustrator?

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And so I already had this community when I started the

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footsie flog.

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So it was not like totally out of the blue.

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So you were drawing on Periscope,

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but then if people wanted to draw with you,

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where did they put their drawing?

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We have a private Facebook group for the doodle challenge and

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they put them on Instagram and we have like one hashtag,

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which is kind of long because it's 365 doodles with Johanna.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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And everybody texted with a hashtag and I'm like,

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it's we find each other.

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And there's really like a lot engagement and it's really a

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really nice community and really cheering us up each other.

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And yeah.

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So your doodle challenge,

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you would have a certain topic or something.

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And so you would drive the challenge in terms of what

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the topic was,

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then everyone could draw and then put their doodles up either

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in the private page or on the hashtag,

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right? Yeah,

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exactly. Exactly.

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Like I think about monthly topic list and then they start

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doodling. And did you see your numbers start rising right away?

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Yeah, totally.

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Like with a doodle challenge,

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it was going crazy.

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I never expected that,

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you know,

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like I didn't do this with purpose when I was on

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Periscope, it was just like,

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okay. Do the with me.

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And then they started to do the,

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with me and so many started and yeah,

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my numbers were really growing like crazy.

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That's so fun.

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And so give pills,

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listeners, think about this for your business.

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Is there something that you could do because this is just

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such a lighthearted fun event,

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but it's grounded in her craft,

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you know,

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which is the illustration of course.

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And so the people that she's attracting are exactly the people

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that she would want to work with in this new business

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that she's gravitated to.

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So brainstorm a little bit.

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What could that be for your business,

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where you could capture a community like that?

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You're starting to make me think about some things here,

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so that the hashtag again is what,

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so if we wanted to take a look at it,

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we could Yeah.

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Three 65 and then doodles with Yohanna.

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That's maybe interesting,

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like I put the Yohanna fruits at the end because sometimes

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you have like 365 to,

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to challenge or something.

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They are on Instagram,

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but I wanted to,

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one of the people to know where the source is,

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if you just have the hashtag,

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which is we had 65 doodle challenge,

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nobody knows who actually started this challenge,

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which is why I edit the name at the end.

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Smart. Yeah.

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That's a good little tip to give us for sure.

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Yeah. And then were you at any point also trying to

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capture them over into an email list of any sort I

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did with my bio Hannah fruit's account on Instagram?

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Like I started to change because they asked me again,

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like you still have to listen to the people.

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Like they asked me if they could have my doodles as

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coloring pages.

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So I started to do coloring pages and put them in

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my newsletter.

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Like I turned the doodles into coloring pages,

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put them into my newsletter and told,

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announced it on Instagram.

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Like, okay,

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if you sign up to my newsletter,

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you get a free coloring page.

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And I'm in the process of doing a whole coloring book

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and they all got onto a list.

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That's another point.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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Gift biz listeners.

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We've talked about this in other episodes that having people on

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social media platforms of yours is fabulous because you're getting viewership.

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But if a platform like that ends up going down for

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some reason and Facebook,

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as we know,

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changes every other day,

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practically you have no way to recapture anyone who's been following

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you. So a really wise thing to do is at some

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point, bring them over to your email list because that you

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own and that you can control and Yohanna.

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I just love the way you've done it because it's in

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such a lighthearted fun way.

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And I'm going to want one of those coloring books when

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they come out,

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you'll have to let me know I'll buy it.

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You'll just tell me where to go.

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And I'm getting one for sure.

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Let's go on now and just talk.

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We've been talking lightheartedly about all these great things that have

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been happening and how your business has evolved.

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But as we know,

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not everything always is a smooth road.

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You've had to have some bumps along the way,

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or maybe some air current in that flock of yours.

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Can you give us a time when you've been a little

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bit challenged with something and how you've overcome that?

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Especially like in the beginning,

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when you're becoming illustrated,

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you totally have to get clients on board and it's not

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like it wasn't like that.

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You're always working on some projects for clients.

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So you sort of,

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when there's like one or two months when you're not working

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with a client,

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you're like,

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okay, will that be another one soon?

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Because I'm sort of running out of money.

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And so that's the biggest challenge I think is,

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especially in the beginning,

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What did you do when you had time?

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And there were no more jobs coming in.

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What did you In the beginning?

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I guess I was like a little freaking out,

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but I thought I've got relaxed.

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You know,

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like if you have a little money on the bank account

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and do a totally okay with women getting,

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not getting some money from clients,

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I totally recommend first thing to send a portfolio out to

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publishers and whoever you want to work with.

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And then as soon as I,

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it was every time,

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the same thing,

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as soon as I started to work on a personal project,

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someone called me and wanted me to work with them.

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Like seriously,

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that was just like,

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okay, I start with a personal project and someone called and

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also even if they don't call it process,

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the project is always the best to do,

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because you can send this personal project out to publish this

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again. And usually the work that you're doing for personal projects

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are always the best works.

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That's what worked for me the best,

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Really good point.

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Yeah. Your personal projects are something probably you may be even

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more passionate about the job that you're doing.

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And so by nature,

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you're going to be more creative and trying new things,

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whatever it might be.

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Exactly. Exactly.

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So, yeah.

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Yeah. Do you have any Other advice for people who might

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be listening,

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who are in the freelance space and are just starting out

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in terms of how to initially get in touch with publishers

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or tricks in terms of the best ways of communicating with

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them? Anything like that?

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Yeah. Well,

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what I did just like after I finished studying,

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I went to Frankfurt book fair and I'm sure there are

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several book fairs in the U S as well to contact

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publishers. And they also had like an hour where they look

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at your portfolio,

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you can go there with your portfolio and they critique it.

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So the first time when I went there and I heard

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all the critically bumped and was like,

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okay, maybe I shouldn't become an illustrator,

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but after a week I turned the critique into something better.

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And the next time I went there,

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they were totally fine with my portfolio and I got to

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hire full time jobs.

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So I think walking book fairs is very good contacting publishers

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through LinkedIn.

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For example,

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I really stock many publishers and agencies in Germany.

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It's called boxing today.

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It would be LinkedIn,

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I guess One thing that you said that I really want

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to underscore here is that you brought your portfolio in,

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you showed your work and that puts you in a very

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vulnerable place because this is your individual,

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you know,

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you've put your heart and soul into this stuff and you

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get some feedback,

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but you just didn't stop and say,

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Oh my gosh,

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for whatever reason,

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you know,

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they're critiquing it.

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There are things they didn't like or whatever you took that

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feedback and made it better.

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And then went back,

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had a successful second presentation and look where it's led you

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to, You know,

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like those one hour,

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when they look at their portfolio,

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they are like,

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I don't know,

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20, 30 illustrators waiting in a line to get an editor

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to look at your portfolio.

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And you're totally like,

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Oh my gosh,

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there's so many illustrators and all of them want to work

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with this publisher.

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I will never make it.

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So one of my advice would also be to try to

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contact the editor of the publisher four or five months before

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the book fan tried to get a real appointment.

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So that it's just like one-on-one.

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And so you don't have to wait in this line because

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it's really pressing to stand in this line.

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Yeah. Probably intimidating because there's just so many people To show

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their portfolios,

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you know,

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and to see those portfolios until like,

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Oh my gosh,

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okay. I just go away.

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It's a good thing.

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You didn't say that.

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And I would imagine they're always looking for new talent,

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you know,

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new styles,

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new talent.

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So, So it's really a nice place for everyone.

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Like there's enough room for everyone of us.

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It's seriously like that.

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There you go.

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And you know what someone has to be picked.

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So it might as well be you.

Speaker:

Yeah, exactly.

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So what types of things do you do now?

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And I don't know,

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you can choose what you want to talk about,

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whether you want to talk about the freelance and or Fritzy

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flack, but what kind of things do you do now to

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capture more people in get new jobs,

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you know,

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so that you can carry on with your business and,

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you know,

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and bring in the money.

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I'm really happy with my illustration business and I don't have

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to send out like seriously,

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people are coming to me and I have like,

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I'm booked fully booked,

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like half a year in advance.

Speaker:

So like right now I'm working on five children's books,

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which is totally crazy.

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But with the Fritzy flag,

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I'm doing mini workshops on Periscope.

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For example,

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I did one about finding your style.

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I did one about how to become a personal brand because

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it's really important for us to guide us to not just

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draw nice pictures,

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but also to stand out from the mask to be a

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brand. So that's something I'm doing.

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And I just listened to what the birds in the Fritzy

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flock Facebook group tell me,

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and they are about what their struggles are.

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And that's how I find the topics from my Periscopes,

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for example.

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Yeah. And I'm also providing some value through a PDFs,

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which I'm sending with my newsletter and I'm right now,

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I also webcam in the background on my website,

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all kinds of stuff.

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You have a lot going on there.

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So you're using Periscope to widen the net and capture more

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people in,

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in terms of the audience so that they get to see

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what you're doing.

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And if they resonate with your style,

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then you're driving them over to your newsletter.

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Yeah. And to the Fritzy flock.

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And as I'm also doing coaching,

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you know,

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I think it's really important for people to see me and

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to, to see how I teach and to see my presence,

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like get a feeling for how my personality is,

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if it's a fit for them.

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And it's just nicer than just seeing a picture because you

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can't really figure out the personality by a picture,

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Right. So on the customer service end,

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and let's just stick with the Fritzy flat for the time

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being, what are you doing to continue nurturing that flock and

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so that they keep coming back.

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So they continue to find value,

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et cetera.

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Biggest part is to listen to them,

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asking them what their struggles are and to respond to that

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struggles, like giving them feedback in the group.

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Some people also send me a Facebook chat or an Instagram

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DM and just like answer.

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I always reply to everything they asked me.

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I think it's really important to communicate a lot with them

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and not just like,

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okay, well,

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they are there.

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And I'm just try to find new people.

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You also have to be there for those who already are

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in the flock that they get a lot of value because

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they may tell others about the flock.

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So you're making sure that you don't pull this group together

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and then just give them,

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you're always looking for feedback from them.

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And then also responding to them if they direct message you.

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Exactly. Yeah.

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Like yesterday on our two days ago,

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someone asked me if I could do a scope about color

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profiles, which you need for,

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if you work for Pablet with publishers.

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And the next day I did a scope about color profiles.

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So, and I,

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and I,

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she answered me.

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She, she told me that like,

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yeah, that was really helpful.

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And thank you.

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And so she was really happy about it and all the

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others in the flock,

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they liked it as well.

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Just like when they ask you to just do it.

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Yeah. Pretty big following at this point.

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Do you set a certain time in your day when you

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go and capture all,

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you know,

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like, you'd go ahead and look at the Facebook page and

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see what everyone's saying.

Speaker:

And then also see the direct messages,

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or do you intersperse throughout your day time to do that?

Speaker:

Or how does it fit within your structure?

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Yeah, that is Willie.

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Oh, gosh,

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time management.

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When the kids are out of the house,

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I always start my day with Facebook and Instagram and respond

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to everything that has come there for the night because of

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the different time zones.

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As a lot of it,

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I don't know many,

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many messages in there which I want to respond to and

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read. Then I usually,

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if I have the time,

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I usually start drawing for my clients.

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And then I try to focus on the illustrations that I'm

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doing then,

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and even turn off the sound.

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So I don't look at the Facebook notifications because otherwise I

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would also always look into the Facebook group and I always

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need like five to 10 minutes,

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like a pause between the next illustration.

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So that's a time when I go back to the Facebook

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group and answer some more questions.

Speaker:

And then I go back to illustration to do another spread

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and yeah,

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Very efficient because you are giving yourself a break,

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you're switching up your tasks a little bit.

Speaker:

And I really like what you're saying about turning off the

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notifications with the sound,

Speaker:

because they don't get distracted because,

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Oh my gosh,

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if you did that,

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you'd never get anything done.

Speaker:

Yeah. And when,

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as this town,

Speaker:

I feel like,

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okay, I have to answer right now.

Speaker:

I have to respond.

Speaker:

I don't know.

Speaker:

It's just like,

Speaker:

you have to fool yourself a little bit in the afternoon

Speaker:

when my kids are back at home,

Speaker:

I try to leave my smartphone downstairs when I'm with them

Speaker:

in the kids room also.

Speaker:

So I don't always go to my smartphone and look,

Speaker:

if there are any new messages or whatever,

Speaker:

cause I know I would,

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if I had the smartphone just like next to me.

Speaker:

Right. For sure.

Speaker:

Yeah. Okay.

Speaker:

Yohanna, we're going to roll.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

Now into our reflection section.

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This is a look at you.

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And what has made you successful along the way?

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What natural trait do you feel you have just as a

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person, just you Johana that has helped you to be successful?

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I think I'm a real hustler.

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I just love my work.

Speaker:

So my work so much doesn't even feel like just can't

Speaker:

live without illustration and I can't live without being on social

Speaker:

media. So I think that's a thing which keeps me running

Speaker:

and which is also like what gets me out of bed

Speaker:

in the morning?

Speaker:

Like yeah.

Speaker:

Just probation talking to people and getting paid for it at

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the same time.

Speaker:

Yeah. He paid for it.

Speaker:

That's the best part of it.

Speaker:

Yes, of course.

Speaker:

Yeah. So Honestly you have the type of lifestyle that I

Speaker:

think a lot of our listeners are striving for.

Speaker:

You know,

Speaker:

they're looking for something that they just naturally absolutely love that

Speaker:

they could then turn into a business.

Speaker:

So the things you're sharing with us are fabulous.

Speaker:

You know,

Speaker:

that's exactly what I want to do with a Fritzy flock.

Speaker:

Like there are so many illustrates,

Speaker:

all those want to become an illustrator and that just has

Speaker:

some fear or,

Speaker:

or like to quit their day job that I have right

Speaker:

now or just to,

Speaker:

to be,

Speaker:

to become a freelancer.

Speaker:

So, and I don't know,

Speaker:

that's, that's the thing that I want them to help them

Speaker:

with, like to,

Speaker:

to have this lifestyle,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

like to do what you really love to do and make

Speaker:

money with it.

Speaker:

And you're the perfect person because you see so many people

Speaker:

here now on the online space who are trying to teach

Speaker:

people things,

Speaker:

but they haven't done it themselves.

Speaker:

So here you are living breathing,

Speaker:

and you're still doing it in conjunction with teaching other people

Speaker:

how to do,

Speaker:

Which is crazy.

Speaker:

It's Crazy,

Speaker:

but it's spectacular.

Speaker:

What tool do you use regularly to keep productive or to

Speaker:

help create balance in your life with your busy life of

Speaker:

little children,

Speaker:

husband and working out of the house?

Speaker:

Yeah. So programs I'm always using Evernote.

Speaker:

I'm always using my Dropbox.

Speaker:

I'm always using IFT T T other three teams.

Speaker:

Yes. And of course my smartphone,

Speaker:

like I have all those programs on my desktop and on

Speaker:

my smartphone and then just like a simple notebook and a

Speaker:

calendar, which is just above my desk because I sort of

Speaker:

need to see the deadlines for illustrations and the coaching sessions,

Speaker:

like the dates for the coaching sessions.

Speaker:

I have to have that in front of my face the

Speaker:

whole day.

Speaker:

So I won't miss anything.

Speaker:

Oh. And I'm using,

Speaker:

Assana actually also with my virtual assistant.

Speaker:

Tell us a little bit about Assana.

Speaker:

This might be something that our listeners aren't as familiar with.

Speaker:

Yeah. I started it because I had my assistant and she's

Speaker:

actually from Columbia.

Speaker:

So we would have,

Speaker:

and I found a via Periscope,

Speaker:

which is fun.

Speaker:

Yeah. That's crazy.

Speaker:

That Is,

Speaker:

gosh. Yeah.

Speaker:

Hold on that story.

Speaker:

We started a Santa because we started to email a lot

Speaker:

and emails got lost and I had to search for,

Speaker:

when did she read what?

Speaker:

And you know,

Speaker:

like we were,

Speaker:

we have some different projects.

Speaker:

We are working on like my newsletter and the blog.

Speaker:

And I have my own projects also in there.

Speaker:

So it was kind of going a little crazy and I

Speaker:

had an overview about what's going on anymore.

Speaker:

So I started this Assana thing and you can like have

Speaker:

projects and you can like,

Speaker:

for example,

Speaker:

my blog,

Speaker:

that's her project sort of her project,

Speaker:

what she is doing and all those students books,

Speaker:

and maybe this,

Speaker:

we had 65 doodle challenges,

Speaker:

my project,

Speaker:

but she's doing some part of it as well.

Speaker:

And whenever she has done something for,

Speaker:

let's say this,

Speaker:

we had 65 doodle challenges.

Speaker:

She's also am doing the topics right now for the challenges.

Speaker:

I see that.

Speaker:

And she puts the files in there,

Speaker:

like the PDF and the Photoshop file and the word document.

Speaker:

And I have everything in one place I don't have to

Speaker:

search for her emails and her files.

Speaker:

It's just easier.

Speaker:

Yeah. Wonderful explanation.

Speaker:

And really every single tool that you're using all is toward

Speaker:

productivity. Just like we were talking about,

Speaker:

because it's amazing how much time you can waste.

Speaker:

Like you're saying,

Speaker:

trying to find through that email or where did I put

Speaker:

this note?

Speaker:

So all of these things that you're doing are fabulous time

Speaker:

savers and stress relievers because you know where everything is.

Speaker:

Yeah. And it's also easy to,

Speaker:

like, for example,

Speaker:

when I post my Instagram pictures,

Speaker:

I always put a little watermark and some icons on there

Speaker:

and I create those on my desktop and put them into

Speaker:

the Dropbox.

Speaker:

And when I'm on with my smartphone and in Instagram,

Speaker:

I want to post them to Instagram.

Speaker:

I just put them with the app,

Speaker:

which is,

Speaker:

which is called Pix art.

Speaker:

And I can download my icons that I created on the

Speaker:

desktop from my Dropbox just right into the app.

Speaker:

Oh, perfect.

Speaker:

So it's just like,

Speaker:

it's so much easier.

Speaker:

Yeah. It sounds like it.

Speaker:

What book Johana have you read lately that you think our

Speaker:

listeners will find value in?

Speaker:

I have like three business books right here on my table,

Speaker:

just like next to me.

Speaker:

But I thought everybody is talking about business books.

Speaker:

Just like,

Speaker:

you know,

Speaker:

like how to get them up.

Speaker:

I don't know how to make this and that money and

Speaker:

that sort of time.

Speaker:

And I thought I share some creative books because all our

Speaker:

listeners are from the creative space and a book that I

Speaker:

really, really like is called how to style your brand by

Speaker:

Fiona Humberstone.

Speaker:

It is a really,

Speaker:

really good book concerning your visual corporate identity.

Speaker:

Oh, that sounds wonderful.

Speaker:

And about colors.

Speaker:

It is an amazing book.

Speaker:

I think the half of the footsie flag already bought it

Speaker:

since we started the conversation about building a brand,

Speaker:

it is a really,

Speaker:

really good book.

Speaker:

It's all about color,

Speaker:

which sort of color type you are to explore which colors

Speaker:

you should actually use for your corporate identity.

Speaker:

It's about finding the right funds,

Speaker:

your logo,

Speaker:

and it's all about creating a whole corporate identity sheet for

Speaker:

your brand.

Speaker:

It's really good.

Speaker:

Oh, you've piqued my curiosity for sure.

Speaker:

I'm gonna have to go check it out.

Speaker:

As soon as we're done here,

Speaker:

we'll give biz listeners just as you're listening to the podcast

Speaker:

today, you can also listen to audio books with ease.

Speaker:

I've teamed up with audible for you to get an audio

Speaker:

book. Just like the one that Johann is talking about for

Speaker:

free. Although with Yohanas you might want to get a hard

Speaker:

copy because it sounds like there's some good illustrations in there,

Speaker:

but if you're interested in a free book,

Speaker:

all you need to do is go to gift biz,

Speaker:

book.com and make a selection.

Speaker:

All right.

Speaker:

We are now entering into my favorite part of the interview.

Speaker:

Yohanna. It's my dare to dream question.

Speaker:

I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

Speaker:

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

Speaker:

This is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable Heights.

Speaker:

You would wish to obtain,

Speaker:

please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

Speaker:

What is inside your box?

Speaker:

Well, thank you for the gift.

Speaker:

My goal is,

Speaker:

as I already mentioned,

Speaker:

sort of to help other illustrators to fulfill that dream and

Speaker:

to make good money with it,

Speaker:

to make a living with what the lab to do.

Speaker:

And I think that's the best thing that can happen.

Speaker:

Yeah. For them to be able to create that dream life

Speaker:

that you already have.

Speaker:

Yeah. Well,

Speaker:

I need more vacations and more sleep and Something tells me

Speaker:

that you're on the way to that just by how you're

Speaker:

setting up the business and the things that you've shared with

Speaker:

us here.

Speaker:

Yeah. And more sleep when the kids get older.

Speaker:

Yeah. Well,

Speaker:

that'll be a few years.

Speaker:

I'm sorry to say,

Speaker:

I think,

Speaker:

but you don't want to miss this time for anything,

Speaker:

which is why it's so great that you have the business

Speaker:

out of the house actually.

Speaker:

Yeah. That is so true.

Speaker:

Yeah. So if our listeners wanted to see a little bit

Speaker:

more of what you're doing,

Speaker:

or we may have some freelance dreamers out there in the

Speaker:

audience, how can they get in touch with you or learn

Speaker:

more about Fritzy flack overall?

Speaker:

So my illustration business,

Speaker:

I'm everywhere at,

Speaker:

by Yohanna flits on social media.

Speaker:

My website is old spot biohazard.

Speaker:

That's D E and footsie flag is on Instagram,

Speaker:

Fritzy dot flock.

Speaker:

And also if you search in Facebook for free to flock,

Speaker:

there's a page and a group.

Speaker:

And we would love to have you fly with us.

Speaker:

I love that.

Speaker:

I love the way you've branded this with the flag,

Speaker:

the birds and your wording.

Speaker:

It's beautiful.

Speaker:

Perfect. All right.

Speaker:

Give biz listeners.

Speaker:

And you guys know too,

Speaker:

that you can jump on over to the show notes page

Speaker:

at gift biz unwrapped,

Speaker:

and there will be all of Yohanna's contact information and everything

Speaker:

that you need to know as well as additional recordings of

Speaker:

this interview.

Speaker:

Also, you guys,

Speaker:

I'm always looking for new guests for the podcast.

Speaker:

So if you have a great story that you would like

Speaker:

to share,

Speaker:

or perhaps you have a friend who's built a business with

Speaker:

an exciting product and a really fun story,

Speaker:

I'd love to know about it.

Speaker:

And the way to let me know is to jump over

Speaker:

to my Instagram account.

Speaker:

So that would be at gift biz gal on Instagram comment

Speaker:

on any of the pictures and share with me the person's

Speaker:

information. In other words,

Speaker:

their Instagram account of someone you'd like me to take a

Speaker:

look at for the show.

Speaker:

Okay. So again,

Speaker:

just jump over to Instagram at gift biz,

Speaker:

Gail comment on a photo and give me the Instagram handle

Speaker:

of whoever's info.

Speaker:

You'd like me to check out.

Speaker:

Thank you,

Speaker:

Johan. I really appreciate your taking the time.

Speaker:

And I know the challenge is getting the kids to bed

Speaker:

and being able to do this with our time difference And

Speaker:

English. Well,

Speaker:

No one would know that you feel less than comfortable with

Speaker:

your English because it's turned out perfectly today.

Speaker:

No fabulous.

Speaker:

You've given us so much great information and really a great

Speaker:

peek into a freelancer's life and opportunities that exist.

Speaker:

So I really,

Speaker:

really appreciate all your insight,

Speaker:

all your help,

Speaker:

your suggestions,

Speaker:

advice, and may your candle Yohanna always burn bright.

Speaker:

Thank you so much for having me learn how to work

Speaker:

smarter while developing and growing your business.

Speaker:

Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business

Speaker:

in life.

Speaker:

It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com

Speaker:

slash tools.

Speaker:

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the

Speaker:

next episode.

Speaker:

Today's show is sponsored by the ribbon print company,

Speaker:

looking for a new income source for your gift business.

Speaker:

Customization is more popular now than ever grant your products with

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your logo or print a happy birthday,

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And second check out the ribbon print company.com

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for more information,

Speaker:

after you listened to the show,

Speaker:

if you like what you're hearing,

Speaker:

make sure to jump over and subscribe to the show on

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iTunes. That way you'll automatically get the newest episodes when they

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go live.

Speaker:

And thank you to those who have already left by subscribing

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rating and reviewing help to increase the visibility.

Speaker:

It's a great way to pay it forward,

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