Spill the Ink Podcast Show

🎙️ WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION?

When I made the decision to start training, I faced criticism.

I was talked about. I was kicked out of groups. And some of that criticism came from people I had trained with.

But that experience taught me something important:

You have to know the difference between authority, advice, and opinion.

Your state can tell you what licenses, permits, health requirements, or other regulations you must follow.

Platforms can establish rules for what you can do on their platforms.

But another artist’s opinion about whether you should take the next step in your career is not the same thing as a legal requirement.

Advice can be valuable.
Experience can be valuable.
Someone looking out for you can be valuable.

But the decision is still yours.

Because you’re the one investing the money.
You’re the one building the business.
You’re the one taking the risk.
And you’re the one who has to live with the outcome.

Sometimes the decision that feels scary today becomes the decision you’re grateful you made years from now.

Other people may not understand your vision because they don’t have to live your vision.

Listen. Learn. Do your research. Follow the laws and requirements that actually apply to you.

Then make your decision.

And when someone chooses differently than you would have chosen for them, you can give advice while still respecting that it is their life, their business, and ultimately their decision.

🎙️ Spill the Ink
Every Point Leaves a Mark.
Truth. Growth. Community. Inked.

Should Brand Ambassadors Get Paid?

Not every ambassadorship comes with a paycheck—but every ambassadorship should offer a clear exchange of value.

* An affiliate earns through tracked sales or referrals.
* A paid contractor completes specific deliverables for an agreed fee.
* An employee works within an employment relationship.
* A brand ambassador may receive money, commission, products, discounts, education, access, or strategic visibility.
* A partnership requires clearly defined responsibilities and benefits on both sides.

Before accepting any title, ask:

What is expected from me?
What am I receiving?
How will my name and content be used?
Does this support my long-term goal?

Don’t reject a valuable opportunity simply because it isn’t cash—but don’t accept a title that gives the company everything and gives you nothing.

What matters most to you: payment, commission, product benefits, or visibility?

Communication is more than talking—it is making sure everyone involved receives the same message.

Never assume an issue is resolved because one person says, “It’s fine.” Bring every party into the same conversation, clarify the facts, and allow their responses to show you whether the partnership should continue.

3 Communication Reminders:

* Confirm—don’t assume. Have you ever been told everything was fine, only to discover it wasn’t?
* Bring everyone into one conversation. Have you ever watched a message change as it passed from person to person?
* Pay attention to consistency. Has someone acted one way with you and communicated something completely different elsewhere?

Which one have you experienced?

A quick note from me the host. I wanted to thank everybody for your patience. This whole week has been a hectic week for me so just wanted to give you guys a quick update.

In business—especially within male-dominated industries—there is far more to understand than talent, technique, and marketing. You must also recognize manipulation, smear campaigns, manufactured narratives, gatekeeping, and the ways influence and professional relationships can be weaponized against someone.

I have spoken with many people whose stories are incredibly similar. Different names, different industries—the same pattern. One influential person controls the narrative, others repeat it without verification, and people who know the truth remain silent because speaking up might cost them access, friendships, clients, or opportunities.

These conversations must happen because accountability does not stop with the person who created the lie. It also belongs to those who knowingly repeated it, enabled it, benefited from it, or protected it with their silence.

Silence is not always neutral. When you know someone is being deliberately harmed and choose to protect the behavior, your silence becomes part of what allows that harm to continue.

That is what we will discuss on Spill The Ink Show—the realities people whisper about privately but are often too afraid to confront publicly.

Before paying someone to make you visible everywhere, learn how to become known somewhere.

If you’re a new SMP artist, PMU artist, or business owner without the budget for a marketing company, start with your local market.

Build relationships with nearby salons, barbershops, clinics, community organizations, and other small businesses. Focus on earning local reviews, referrals, before-and-after content, and real customer trust.

Many local business associations also provide free or affordable resources for new entrepreneurs, including mentorship, networking, business guidance, workshops, and promotional opportunities.

That is how I started winning early in my SMP journey.

I learned how to sell my service locally before trying to reach people everywhere else.

Your local market gives you something advertising alone cannot buy: proof.

Once you can attract, serve, and retain customers in your own community, you’ll have stronger results, better content, and a clearer message when you’re ready to expand.

Start local. Build trust. Create proof. Then grow.

For for more helpful advice and upcoming website that can help new artists grow in their business.

Speak up—even when access feels attached to your silence.

If a professional relationship feels unsafe, unethical, or no longer aligned with your business, you have the right to address it.

Speaking up does not always mean making a public announcement. It can mean documenting your concerns, asking direct questions, setting boundaries, or quietly ending the relationship.

Yes, you may lose access to certain groups, cliques, platforms, or opportunities—but your business must come first.

No opportunity is worth remaining in a relationship where you feel controlled, disregarded, or pressured to stay silent.

And I promise you: losing access to one room is not the end of your future.

Sometimes cutting ties is exactly what creates the space for better partnerships, healthier opportunities, and greater growth.

You may lose the room—but you do not lose your knowledge, your business, or your ability to build another door.