ILLEGAL – that’s what. And trust me, it’s way worse than being uncool.

You know how I’m always preaching the importance of investing in yourself and your business? Well, I don’t just say that as a sales tactic – I actually practice what I preach.

I invest in myself and my business by working with a business coach and I am part of a high level mastermind group alongside other successful women who are rocking it in the business world. We all have a ton in common, mostly positive connection type stuff, but there is another thing we have in common and it’s not so wonderful. In fact, it just downright stinks…

We have all had our hard work knocked off or copied in an illegal way.

I see this happening way too much. I’m not sure if it has always been this widespread or if the big rise in social media marketing has just made it more ‘in your face’ and obvious. It may seem harmless but believe me, it’s serious business. I personally know of a few people who have been assessed hefty fines (in the thousands) that by law, they’ve had to pay. Ouch!

So what’s the big deal? It is copyright infringement and it is indeed illegal.

So what constitutes copyright infringement? I found this quote…

“Copyright on the web seems to be a difficult concept for some people to understand. But it’s really simple: If you did not write or create the article, graphic, or data that you found, then you need permission from the owner before you can copy it. Remember, when you use someone’s graphic, HTML, or text without permission, you are stealing, and they can take action against you.” ~ Jennifer Kyrnin AboutTech.com (see the full copyright article here)

I think we can all agree that it’s just plain wrong to steal. But, when you take something (words, a graphic, a handout, a picture, etc) that someone has created and pass it off as if you’d created it, that is stealing. The person you’re swiping it from likely worked hard on creating it and / or spent a lot of money to have it created on their behalf and using it without their permission is a violation of their copyright.

It’s become so out of hand that I’ve now hired legal counsel to address some offenders who have taken liberties with my work. It’s something that I take very seriously and to not defend the action would be to leave the door open for even more copycats to come through – something that is potentially damaging to my business.

Here’s a basic guideline for acceptable use…

1. Give credit where credit is due. In my case, I simply ask if anyone wants to share something from my teachings, website or Facebook page, please give me credit for it by attaching my info to it (i.e. – TheEstheticianMentor.com). If you’d like to use something and aren’t sure how to give proper credit, email support@theestheticianmentor.com and my team will assist you.

You can learn more about plagiarism here.

Look, the bottom line is no one will ever become super successful stealing from others. We all have a gift – a unique message to share with the world – tap into this and watch how your world will start to feel like a magical place.