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Thread— Setting the record straight: there is a Twitter myth that I was a starving artist who hit it big with brushes. I worked full time for 7.5 years as a web designer, then Jr. designer, then designer, while *very* slowly building a list of freelance clients at night. 1/ ...
2/ - So, I worked 8-9 hours at these jobs, then came home and worked until midnight on freelance jobs, or promos (mostly promos, esp. the first three years, building and editing my portfolio). I saved $ by living cheap. At the 7-yr mark, I finally had $ in the bank, thanks to ...
3/ - ... my salary raises and increasing freelance gigs, and I had just gotten married and my wife had a salary, so I took the leap to full freelance. A month later, my wife got laid off. So, I kicked into high gear.
4/- I started with drawing regularly for local agencies and the smallest free news weeklies around the country, then moved up to regional magazines and industry trade magazines, and then moved up to national publications/ publishers. This process took an additional three years.
5/ - so, it was roughly at the 10 year mark, since I set out to become an illustrator, that I was making really good money, and growing my business year after year with higher profile jobs, and then finally able to support our first and then second child. But as kids grow...
6/ - ... they get a lot more expensive! My freelance work was keeping me up all day and all night, and still I wasn’t making enough to really cover everything. I started the brush business because I needed someway to make passive income. Necessity is the mother of invention...
7/ - so, in 2013, as I saw that the brushes were becoming popular, I took a risk and started turning down freelance work to focus on building the best brushes possible, marketing them in as many channels as possible, and trying to get the attention of people at Adobe...
8/ - and 4 1/2 years later, I was in a position to set myself up for a proper acquisition. So, there was no overnight anything involved. This was an 18-year journey, that was definitely filled with good luck & timing, but also many hours of planning, grinding, & calculated risks.
