Protecting Your Business and Creative Rights with Cheval

“When we're younger, and we're hungry for these opportunities, there's always this tendency to feel like you have to compromise more, or that you need to let somebody else define your value or your worth.” On this episode of Entreprenista, we welcome back the talented Cheval, who was one of our very first guests on the podcast. When we initially connected with Cheval, she was selling bridal dresses as a head designer with her name being used for the collections. As a designer, she brought over 10 bridal product lines to market and dressed noteworthy female icons like Dove Cameron, Chrissy Teigen, and Carrie Underwood. Except, living this dream came with a lofty price when she signed away the right for her name to be trademarked, without first properly consulting legal counsel. After seeking to renegotiate this one-sided contract, her former employers served her with a lawsuit in federal court that forced her out of the trade she loved and prohibited her from using her own name in any business, commerce, or public social media page. Now, life has changed, business has changed, and Cheval has certainly evolved through, what she calls, her reckless optimism and turned it into a responsible optimism. In today’s episode, she shares how that original contract is still currently being enforced and interpreted in ways that she never could’ve imagined. She discusses how she began picking up the pieces to move forward and allow her lesson learned to be of value to someone else. Learn about how this experience inspired the founding of her non-profit called A Girl You Might Know, which aims to foster a community and network that provides a safe and encouraging environment for artists to create without being subjected to unfair terms. And hear how she now finds herself in the shoemaking business, her secrets to resilience, why we should all honor our mistakes, and so much more!   We talked about:  Resilience and reinvention  Overcoming setbacks and finding comfort in community both online and in everyday life Protecting yourself through education and awareness  Case law and Understanding the contracts we sign  The founding process of nonprofit organizations and foundations  Clarifying the mission and character-building moments  Creative experimentation in product development  The mechanics of warehousing    Pop-ups and receiving valuable feedback  Approaching business and life with an abundance mindset   Members of our Entreprenista League get access to live Office Hours with top founders that have been on our show! Join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!        Connect with Cheval:  Instagram  She Is Cheval  A Girl You Might Know Foundation  Are you ready to make meaningful business connections that lead to real business results?  Join our Entreprenista League community of women founders! You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded Entreprenistas who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our website and social channels, and MORE! Whether you’re looking to scale your existing business and want to make the right connections, or you’re thinking about finally taking the leap to launch your business, we’re here to give you access to a community of women who will celebrate and support you every step of the way.    Join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!    Become An Entreprenista!  Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Entreprenista Podcast - the most fun business meeting for women founders and leaders. . If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.