In our new blog series, we chat with Creators who have taken the leap from side hustle to full time. Learn what inspired them to become thortful Creators in the first place, when they knew they were ready to go full-time, plus more.
First up is one of our customer faves, Brogan Thomas, who has recently left her job as a primary school teacher to live a life on her terms.
What led you to become a thortful Creator?
I came across the thortful app when looking for a quirky, relatable birthday card for my cousin and spent over an hour looking at the different designs. A week after placing my first order, I received a marketing email stating that thortful was on the hunt for more independent creators. I signed up and uploaded five designs back in 2017. Fast-forward to today, I’m proud to say I have a collection of 250 designs available to purchase on thortful.
What motivates you to keep creating cards for thortful?
My motivation comes from my daughter, without a doubt. As a single mother, working full-time can be extremely hard work. Being able to spend so much extra time with her makes it worthwhile for me. Keeping my collection of designs up-to-date and adding new cards is what keeps me spending more and more time with her and I’m extremely grateful to thortful for making this possible for me.
What has been your thortful highlight so far?
There have been a few highlights on my thortful journey so far; however, the one that sticks out for me is appearing on the 2021 Valentine’s Day TV advert. At the time, I was a primary school teacher and all my students used to love seeing me pop up on their screens! I’ve been lucky enough to feature on newsletters and social media posts too which I’m always so grateful for.
I also received a message from a fellow creator recently saying my success was their inspiration, which meant a lot to me – probably more than they realised!
At what point did you know you were ready to take the leap as a full-time Creator?
Watching my sales increase became a bit of an addiction! I would check daily to see how different designs were doing. When I realised sales were continuing to grow, I started to feel that maybe it was time to take the plunge. It was a very scary decision for me and even after making it, I still had doubts as to whether I’d made the right choice. However, I can honestly say that almost six months down the line, I am so happy and immensely proud of myself for taking the leap.
What advice would you give to other Creators with aspirations of going full-time?
The best advice I could give is to trust your instincts and believe in your own ability. I’ve always struggled with self-doubt, so taking this step was a huge decision for me but one which I’m so glad I made. I try to allocate a set amount of time per week and dedicate that purely to my designs. I feel that routine is key when you’re self-employed as it’s very easy to slip into an “I’ll do it tomorrow” mentality.
You can follow Brogan’s journey over on Instagram @broganthomasdesigns and TikTok @brogan.thomas.
We’ll be back next month with another Creator who has gone from side hustle to full time. If you have done the same and would like to be featured, please leave a comment below.
