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What I learned from being new to negotiation and deal-making?

What I initially wanted to learn from this course was how to negotiate, because I had always thought that the sole purpose of negotiating was getting all the benefits you could possibly get from a business transaction. 

I still have problems with some of the terminology but I think that will improve as I continued to use all the knowledge acquired throughout this month, I want to understand I only had to negotiate with people in the entertainment business but when trying to manage any other type of relationship that requires Setting up my priorities and interests on the table and getting the best deal out of it.

Through the lectures revised and with thoughtful analysis required for this class, I have reached to the conclusion that negotiating is not only knowing how to talk yourself into a deal but is also consider almost any other factor that could make your business even greater than the idea behind it. It is learning how to collaborate with others and how to maintain relationships; is understanding how all the players think, behave and what their goals are and with that reach positions that without them, wouldn’t be possible to reach.

Now I think that negotiation is not just knowing how to hassle, because if that was the case, it would just provide you the knowledge of how A can reach B. Negotiation and deal making implies a process that is not only economical, but creative, social, and innovative. Is learning from others and never stop learning. 

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Mastery Journal Program Reflection Assignment

1.     Mastery

This class gave me the knowledge and insight of what it means to be an expert in my field. It will cover the concept of Mastery and inform me on how other successful individuals in my field had developed this concept to their lives. Were assigned to research a person that we admire from our field; I decided to research Annie Leibovitz, I chose her because she has always been one of my role models, I research the many obstacles that made her get to where she was and I believe the reason why decided to talk about her what because she was always a very controversial photographer and she didn’t let that the criticism about her work stop whatever she wanted to do as an artist. We were also exploring the concept of what a Master is and I found myself very short at moment, because I didn’t believe that I had at that moment the skills and knowledge necessary to consider myself a Master. We explored a book weekly Developing the Leader within You by John C. Maxwell and I find one of the things that I learned from that book was something that I have carried with me throughout these past months and it says “Anything that is excellent or praiseworthy moment by moment on the cutting edge must be constantly fought for”. And I still believe in those words.

2.     Executive Leadership.

 This course covered the concept of leadership and what it is required to work with others effectively. It guided me throughout the process of how to acquire the necessary skills to manage my work environment and be a proactive leader. We were also assigned to research leaders that we admired and had created an impact in us. I decided to talk about José Alberto Mujica, I will be the president of Uruguay from 2010-2014, and what made him the influential leader that he become. I explored his political career, his life philosophy, and his strategies that made him reach the level of leadership and worldwide recognition that he had. He was an inspiring leader because of his credibility, integrity, and because he actively pursued to create positive change in his country and in the world. We were exploring different types of values and José Mujica represented a lot of these, credibility, integrity, a positive changer, amongst others. We were exploring in this month what did it mean to be a leader, and this was one person that opened my eyes of how things can be done differently irregardless of the amount of power, money or celebrity stature that you possess. Even though this leader is not the president anymore he keeps inspiring not only people from his country but in the world; he was a leader that provoke real tangible changes and his resilience revolutionary spirit and lack of self-absorption made him a figure who was and still is worth following.

3.     Project Management

This was possibly one of the hardest months I’ve ever experienced because at this moment I was still doing classes on campus in this class was extremely demanding. We were assigned to do a project that would count with every single element of project management. We were assigned to do a project that have to do with anything in our field; we had to have a Work Breakdown Structure, a risk management plan a cost management plan or a budget a team Performance Improvement Plan, a Quality Management plan and a Team Project agreement. We had to have a clear objective, understand the constraints of our plan, understand what a value proposition was, who were our stakeholders, get a success criteria, an overall understand how to manage a project before starting a company. For this project I decided to do an advertising plan for a music school it would have taken approximately two months to complete and it gave me a clear picture of everything that entails project management, it is not just to come up with a plan it is all about how to come up with a strategy for each member of the team and how to make your budget and your time work effectively for any given project that you’re dealing with. Every week we would have I’m goal that needed to be completed, we need to understand why our value proposition was meaning the gains that go beyond what  we expect from a solution, a success criteria meaning got every single thing that we did had to communicate our mission and vision of the project, and this means that every single member of the staff had to be involved in order to succeed. That month working on a project showed me all the little elements that come into play to communicate an idea.

4.     Business storytelling

This month was one of my favorites, it made me think hard and long on the meaning of branding. Throughout the development of this course I learned how to pitch concepts, ideas, and develop them for my clients. I understood that a brand was different than a logo it has meaning behind it, it requires an understanding of the market that you are working with and by understanding how the market responds to it you can to make it stronger to compete and be profitable. This was the first time that I ever thought of what it would be my personal brand, this class made me think of what can I do besides just working for someone creating something, it made me believe that what I do Half my brand behind it and that’s a powerful tool.

On my research paper, I understood there is a need to differentiate a product from the service and how this may increase the way a brand is perceived with the public. I understood what we need to focus on when researching the market and this is rarely focusing on what people like but what are the trends around the market that we want to hit. I understood the meaning and the importance of an emotional engagement that’s a very effective way to create success for brand. This was the first time as well where I saw that there was opportunity to work for small businesses because it’s a market that is usually underserved; also, how important and how obvious the need for creative branding is because it’s not only focused on creating and aesthetic for a company it is focused on helping small businesses take better decisions to make their vision grow.

 5.     Business Finance

This class has been and, even though I finished this journey, it would continue to be difficult for me to understand on its entirety. On the first week we were hit with the term of liability and how small decimal numbers mean something very important on the market. We were asked to research a powerful company’s financial statement; I chose Time Warner, which is considered the third-largest entertainment company in the world. I explored their liquidity ratios on 2017 and 2016, I realized that even though it’s a big company they still have to cover for up a lot of liabilities so no one is completely exempt from debt. I also explored CBS Corporation and Time Warner’s annual reports. Throughout this research I learned how are revenues no matter how big doesn’t exactly mean that the company is doing well, because they are other factors to account for, so a company’s success is not only measured by how much money into makes it is measured by how much they can pay their debts, how much they can invest, how well can they cover their taxes, how are their employees being remunerated, and where the company needs to be financially to be successful. This was the first time I was introduced to a pro forma sheet and I was an entirely overwhelmed but I understood that building a company also entails knowing how to build a pro forma, this is basically a description of how our company is managed and it’s not only about money, it is about management and how well a company can allocate their finances.

6.     Digital Marketing

On this month, I began thinking on the name of the company that I want to create I described the main objective and marketing plan behind my creative branding agency, and it was the first time that I researched for a name. We learned about social media digital public relations online advertising and how all of these are important and marketing channels, this was the first time as well, that I understood that the way I communicate the best what’s through digital marketing channels. How different a marketing channel is from the marketing strategy and how the later, means everything that encompasses what a brand is trying to communicate rather than the channel where the information is being shared. I understood that they are traditional marketing channels as well, like radio and television, that in this particular day and age would not be considered particularly as effective as social media. I learned about marketing tools like Constant Contact, Drip, eClincher, Mailchimp, amongst others I can significantly impact the way a consumer behaves and the awareness of our brand in the market. I also Learned that as the company progresses, it can focus its efforts on helping specific clients with tailored goals while skipping their clients in form and ready to accept the market trends. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others are the ultimate way of dealing with customers on real-time, because it’s not only a channel that provides us with the option to engage would hi highly targeted customer segment, it also provides the opportunity to create a relationship would our customers. It is very cost-effective and it’s the easiest way for a real customer to communicate with us. I understood the importance of working with niche marketing and use all of our marketing tools to understand the market needs. We were assigned as well to create a timeline for the marketing project, and this gave me an insight on how well prepared we need to be beforehand.

7.     Negotiation and Deal Making

During this month I understood the meaning of a bargaining position meaning what we want during the negotiation, what are the underlying interest that the other party and ourselves may have and how can we use these two our advantage. We discuss what an mutual benefit is and how these need to be connected with the underlying interest from both parties. Moreover, the understanding how neutral criteria, and this is actual data, statistics, understanding of industry standards, can influence and actually give one of the bargaining sides leverage over the conversation. We were asked to analyze simple contract in the beginning, to understand that they are contract provisions that we need to observe in order to make a deal with a talent, a company, or when trying to get representation in the industry. We were introduced with things that we need to analyze before getting a contract liked terms of agreement, manager’s commission, sunset clauses, and how it is important to always have a Plan B. we’re also introduce with the concept of alternative dispute resolution and how it is used in the entertainment industry. To put it simply, when dealing with the problem that pertains creative and innovative ideas or companies, it is important to have creative solutions as well. I understood the meaning of mediation and how in some instances we would require settling an arrangement between two conflicting parties while keeping the relationship if it is possible. I quickly realize that there are many forms of ADR, and sometimes mediation is not the most effective way to deal we disagreement.

8.     Artist Management

This was a conflicting and interesting class for me, because I’ve never seen myself managing anybody, but I quickly understood this is an important skill to have if you truly want work in the entertainment industry. I believe there is more to Artist manager and just supervising and administering a person’s career. For my understanding the artist manager has to know from how to negotiate a contract for his client, how to give the best unbiased advice looking for the client’s well-being, knowledge of promotion, and media relations. Parole is involvement and for all the times and looking after an artist, it is obvious why this hard work needs to be well compensated, and the artist manager opens the doors for artists, deals with the daily logistical nuisances of an artist’s life, and supervises that the artist gets a fair deal in every business exchange. I believe no way all of these skills can apply to any type of business. This was the first time as well that I learned about how to promote a product from the perspective of an artist manager. The basic understanding of the target market every Artist needs to compel and how this is important because if a person identifies itself with an artist it most likely lead up to the person buying its merchandise.

9.     Legal Issues In Sports

To speak quite frankly, this was my least favorite class. I have absolutely no idea about anything sports related. So when we were presented with names and brands I had absolutely no idea if this was a sport or a product, but I also understood that you don’t need to know everything about a sport to be able to represent its clients. This was the first time that we were introduced two what a business model canvas is, and how this can apply to any project that we’re working in. I further understood what a value proposition is,  what type of relationship our customer segments expect, how important are the channels that we use to communicate with them and what key resources our value proposition requires. Even though it was about sports, I understood the importance of licensing and trademark registration, it can always be an issue irregardless of the trade, what a breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets in breach of duty of loyalty are, and how prevalent these are in the entertainment world. I understood that the same liabilities that the sports world faces can be faced by any type of industry dealing with entertainers and storytellers.

10.  Advanced Entertainment Law

This class introduced us to the importance of always protecting our trademarks, our brand, and the liabilities that we need to face as a creative agency. Also, understanding about problems to consider like those involving content marketing with marketers and freelancers. If a creative company involves freelancers with a variety of tasks or with specific projects, it can be good until certain extent, but they can also create content marketing legal issues when things are not done properly. It is also important to consider that contractor and freelancers, own the rights to the work created for any client, this is why it is crucial to get licensing rights to the work that they produce and determine what type of protection is required. How utilizing someone else’s artwork, and this includes music, photography, software, articles, etc, with marketing purposes can come with serious legal problems for a company.

11.  Publishing

I’m just month we were required to create sample query letter for an agent this was something that I have never thought of before but if in the future I will like to create a show, content for a company or maybe pitch an idea for a documentary these are the types of channels that we need to go through in order to get our idea across. I created a television treatment for a travel show mixed with a reality show, I had to research everything that is required to create something like this, and I was impressed with the numbers I got from that. I understood that with any project that involves a creative idea there’s a lot of research behind. This was the first month but I actually put down into words what my business strategy was even if it was just for a project, it required a lot of research and a lot of thought behind it. We were asked to create a mission statement, and executive summary for our project, I company description, manufacturing and distribution for our show, and marketing and promotion strategies. This opened my eyes of the amount of research an investment that is behind a project for television, print or for streaming media.

12.  Business Plan Development I

Under first month we were required to research in depth how art company would be classified, in this case, my company is a creative company dedicated to creative branding, social media marketing, and multimedia design. Even though we are offering a service and not a product this type of company requires the same type of things that a company selling a product requires. We were asked to arrive for industry analysis of our brand, and it was interesting how a lot of companies are focused on branding but how their market is always different. I realized that the niche that you were working with is as important as the idea behind the company. If the target audience is not interested or is not served, the mission will not be fulfilled. This was an overwhelming amount of research, from operations, Technology and management to the importance of technology hey I company to make it successful. I have to think about like needs to be invested and what tools we need to create a company before it’s even born, because without a clear idea of how much and what it will entail, there is no way of knowing what we are getting into. A company is more than an idea, it needs to have a solid foundation, and I believe this type of research, as extensive as it was, help us paint a clear picture.

13.  Business Plan Development II

This class was especially significant for me because I am in the transition if getting a new job, a lot of the tools that I’ve learned on the past months, actually helped me during my interview. I have been working on television and broadcasting for a while, and the tools that I learn from my research, actually helped me to pitch ideas in my job and to process myself more knowledgeable in the new company that I applied for. My biggest problem was not the research itself but finding information about a company similar to the one that I want to create, because even though there are a lot of branding companies not all of these companies target the market that I want to target. I learned through my research that there is a segment of the population in Florida that really needs a branding company and requires marketing consulting, but most of the options offered out there are extremely expensive. Since we are not selling a product but a service it was difficult for me to understand how to put a price on the branding or a consulting service. I understood that the market actually invests 50% of their capital into marketing, especially here in Florida, which is a state known for people to retire. I also learned at least a third of those people who retire will want to start a new business and that’s when my company comes into play. I have learned so much but I have also acquired an overwhelming set of information that I still need to fully understand in order to pitch an idea like this whenever I am ready to pitch it.

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Business Development Mastery Journal

My original goal for this course was to understand in a better way what I needed legally and financially for my business. I needed to understand if there were other requirements that I wasn’t aware of that I needed to pay attention to, and if there were mistakes done by other business owner from which I could learn and review.

By the end of this course I not only researched so much and got an in-depth look of how a business like the one I am trying to launch entails, but I discovered tools to not only compare my business with the competition, but that can make my business avoid mistakes and get better results.

I got an understanding of how business works nowadays and what are the best ways of marketing that do not involve traditional marketing channels. I was also intrigued, for lack of a better word, of the target audience that I should be addressing, for the entirety of this course I thought I should be targeting people my age because of the geographic location and average income, but I was entirely wrong and that made me change my perspective of how I should board this venture.

I have never thought about counting for extra expenses other than rent, furniture, equipment, software and utilities to start a company, which initially made me sure that what I needed to invest in this company was around $50,000; I got surprised when I knew that there are many other expenses and requirements for a business that I never considered before like General Liability Insurance, Benefits, Taxes, Marketing and Branding (even when my company is a Branding and Marketing company, those need to be accounted for); I also never stopped to think and research on how much should I charge for a service like Branding. Branding encompasses more than just Graphic Design, it involves brand identity, brand architecture, creative consulting, market research, trend research, etc. Many things that if I hadn’t researched, wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what to charge for a service so little explored but so required.

I am intending to take all this research and apply for the business I have been envisioning, working and saving for so long. I have to take into consideration many other things I am sure, but I am incredibly satisfied with the knowledge acquired and I plan to make it a reality.

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Mastery Journal

Mastery journal.

My goal for this course was to understand how to not only get any of my creative projects published, but also, to learn who and what do I need to contact to make this possible. I not only learned all this, but I also learned that not all the creative content that I make can be distributed, published and represented through the same people and distributors, everything we create or an artist creates has a different way of distribution and in the right hands and through the proper channels you can make them be successful.

I also learned that any idea can not only become a book, but it can also be turned into a video game, film, and many other things, and all of this content has its different settings and channels to reach people. Even if the idea is the same, the variations are so many that you can work with it in many different ways and that itself makes this immensely creative.

Throughout the readings I understood that a publisher, a developer, an agent and a content creator, they all work differently and they are meant to be approached differently. Your idea is also as good as the way you pitch it and if you have a great idea, but a poor way of explaining it, it is going to fall into deaf ears, so in order to get any sort of work published, you need to have a clear understanding and knowledge of your audience but also the people and enterprises that are going to transform this into a profitable business. Every single creative outlet works the same way, you can’t create anything and expect it to be distributed and accomplish success without covering all your bases and this means that you have to accept the possibility that you need reliable people that know how the market works in order to be successful, and knowing that those tools are available for those who look for them, was one of the greatest realizations I had in this course.

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Learning Milestone

I did not have any expectations when I initially started this course, I wasn’t sure of what I was going to learn and what knowledge was going to acquire from something so different from what my trade is, but I do leave with a good insight of the things I have to understand before starting any sort of business. I wouldn’t know many of the legal inquires that I would have to go through before my business is even born and all the forms and processes that need to be accomplished, to call my business and its assets existent and mine.

I believe that I now have a basic understanding of where to look when I have a legal question about the business that I am starting and I am no longer thinking of it blindly, but I have added a new tool to make its foundation stronger.

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Legal Issues in Sports

This has definitely been a very trying and difficult month for me. First of all, because these topics are totally outside of my area of expertise. Sports is not a topic that I am interested in, but I can see why it would be important to understand how it has become such an important aspect in the American lifestyle. It brings people together and it has a socio-economic importance as well. Understanding all the aspects that involve a sports event, team, and personalities, regardless of the sport being played, is something that I had never considered important or valuable until now. 

Understanding that any business comes with liabilities, with legal limitations and evaluating how the correct use of the law, can make a business succeed is something is something that goes beyond people, trade, language and geographical location. At the end of this course, even with the very limited understanding and interest I have in sports, I have understood why it is important to focus on the legal aspects and business aspect of this. Because it can be profitable for my career in the future.

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Product & Artist Management Mastery Journal

When I started this class I was almost positive that it will be a class on “How to sell irrelevant things to people and at the highest price” type of class, what I ended up learning goes beyond that. The sole idea of starting a business is very appealing to much of us doing a Master’s on Business but we rarely sit down and think that in order for this business to be successful, you have to understand two things perfectly: Your Audience and Your product. If I was an internet sensation, with a million followers or billions of views per publication, and wanted to release a product, my popularity will NOT guarantee the success of my product. I think this is the very core of great advertising. It doesn’t matter how great your product is, how big the influencer selling it has become or how cheap it is, if it doesn’t speak to the audience, if the product doesn’t make them relate to it, if you’re advertising it to the wrong crowd, it won’t be successful.

This has been one of the biggest (underrated) pieces of information that I had acquire from this class. Knowing my audience, how they behave, how they shop, how much they spend and why, is the biggest tool you can have in order to invest your time, money, sweat and tears into a business venture. 

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Digital Marketing, lessons learned.

What     was your original goal for this course?

I wanted to learn how to use the knowledge acquired during this course not only to make my future business more profitable but also to reach as many people as I can with my services. I wanted to learn how to use digital tools to create more presence for my business.

How     was this goal met by the course?

I believe now, that I have a broader understanding of what it takes to communicate an idea for any type of business venture. It not only depends on how well traced your idea is, it also depends on the means and channels you use to make it reach to the correct people, and I believe those are tools that are often looked over.

What     did you learn from this course?

I learned that every step taken towards the growth of a business has to have a meaning. In order to make your business profitable, every single channel of communication, word, plan, budget planning, and social media account utilized by us, has to be a determined goal, otherwise, the idea loses its purpose.

How     will you apply the material learned either personally or professionally?

I understand that there might be a lot of businesses similar to the one I am trying to create, but what they don’t have is me, and the vision I have for this business. Having total control over a personal business idea, takes the personal and emotional investment in it even more important when it comes to setting the foundations for it. What I have learned is that a business goal can be transformed into something unique when the right tools are being used, when it relates to the individual, and it not necessarily implies a huge amount of financial investment if the right tools and assets are made the smart way; knowing the vast amount of digital tools that exist nowadays have taken the stress out of having to depend entirely on others to make a project possible.

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Entertainment Business Finance

At the beginning of this course, I was expecting to learn how a business worked in a “numerical” sense; how a successful company passed from A to B to C and became “relevant”. But what I ended up learning was so much different than what I expected. I realized how important it is to understand to manage oneself before trying to manage a business, and how after the managing part is done, the  level of organization and understanding of personal finances can take you to understand how to operate the ones in a business.  It is all of our desire in this course to establish ourselves as business owners and successful entrepreneurs, but what I took from this class is that it has a lot to do with knowing exactly what do you want from a business, how to provide something that is demanded and how to use your resources effectively to actually make your dream into something profitable.  I understood that if I want to enter a new business with the sole purpose of making, I will have to understand what other expenses are required to happen before the profit is clearly palpable.

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Business Storytelling

I was very excited about this class, initially because I wanted to get a sense of direction when it came to my business and to my business proposal. But one of the things that stuck with me and that made me realize that I have been looking at the whole thing the wrong way, was that I have to first determine who am I as a brand, as someone that is going to market and introduce myself in the market and to others. That took a lot of self reflection and ultimately, it guided me to create a proposal that has made me happy. I also learned about the importance of not only making your brand “unique”, “creative” and “original”, but how to make it personal, to convey all these things. Because no brand and no person is equal to others. One of the things we learned, that I found very useful, is how to create a Value Proposition for our brand that we can present to our clients, meaning that anything that you’re offering has to have in mind, first and foremost, the necessities that your potential clients may have and that the need of success that you, as an entrepreneur, have can ultimately stir you away of presenting a well-structured business plan, because your goals are not going to be clear. I had to do a lot of research on who my competition is and how other creatives in my field deal with problems when it comes to starting a business. Overall, I thought this class was very enlightening and it my ideas clearer. 

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Mastery Journal Project Management

I really had a hard time to put all my attention into this class. To be honest, the level of information regarding Project Management is just too much for a couple of weeks. I did, however, learn how the different types of personalities in each person that forms part of a team can make the difference in the effectiveness and success of any project. Also, we learned about the different Project Management Methodologies, how we can apply each one depending on the type of project we are working on.  Project management is all about people, and how to deal with them. It is about how to be effective at dealing with personalities and time constraints, how to deal with conflicts and how to bring a successful solution. Lastly, we learned how to maintain and assure the quality during the process of our projects, regardless of what it is, and I learned that it all can be manageable, it is just a matter of understanding how Plan, Lead, Organize and Monitor. 

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Leadership Styles

I have always believed that in order to be a true master, one must conquer itself before starting to lead others.  This is what I have taken from Maxwell in his book Developing the leader within you, I believe my leadership style is inclined to be like his, more than Greene’s. He speaks about how a leader is someone who has the potential to acquire followers as well, but it doesn’t just stop there. One of the characteristics I believe a true leader should have, and that I am aspiring to accomplish, is the ability to be a positive change for those around me. I have been an active multimedia designer for a couple of years, but my main area of interest has always been working with non-profit organizations and overall, projects that help create a positive change and that are somewhat transcendental. Maxwell speaks about this, saying “The leaders in any organization must be the environmental change agents”.

The design and entertainment fields are always in constant transition and is also full of people who influence others by the millions, and not always on a positive way. If you have the power to communicate and spread any type of message like that, it is responsibility that should be used in the best way possible. Maxwell talks about how a true leader, regardless of the field that he or she works in, must be consistent in the what they believe and how they live their lives. This is the principle of Integrity, the ability to be a role model for others. This is what I want to achieve, I want to develop into someone than can help others grow and people working around me can trust. I believe that is highly attainable but as Maxwell states in his book, is the result of not just self-discipline but honesty.

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My goals during my Master at Full Sail University

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I did this photo some years ago, it’s called “The dreamer”. In my country, a lot of people do not have enough resources to live in big houses, but always find a way to endure it, and be happy with what they have. When we were little, a lot of my friends lived in small apartments with rooftops like this. We used to play with bedsheets that their mothers hung there to dry out and pretended we were superheroes. What I love of my country is that we always made a good thing out of the bad.

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Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/areli-almonte/

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Working on several ideas for personal logos

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