Storr is a peer to peer digital marketplace that encourages users to sell and buy products directly to in-app friends and followers, as well as on social media. People are seeking ways to indulge their entrepreneurial spirit while creating uncomplicated revenue streams as simply as possible.

Be it Avon ladies, car boot sales or flogging your old stuff on eBay, the peer-to-peer sales model has been around for a long time. Tupperware has been encouraging women to sell its plastic kitchenware – and build economic power – since the ‘50s, while Cabi, the biggest directer seller of womenswear in the US, has over 3,500 employees.

P2P resale platforms such as Depop have boomed in recent years, but do brands have anything to fear from these digital communities? Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Catherine Armstrong Soule, an assistant professor Western Washington University, to discover how social selling impacts brand perceptions and loyalty.

It’s a strange time to be a ‘self-made’ human. On the one hand, even the most mundane pastimes have been monetised. Whether they’re scrubbing floors or shaking cocktails, people are cashing in on massive audiences and leaving no niche unexplored. On the other hand, larger-than-life entrepreneurs, from Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes to Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland, continue to command attention for their flagrant refusal to play by the rules in the name of personal ambition. While exceptional talent and honest trade may have taken a backseat in the age of social selling, do people still believe hard work gets you far? As it turns out, the self-made mythos is as powerful as ever despite societal upheaval testing its limits. Contending with dysfunctional working conditions and a volatile economy, many people continue to see entrepreneurship – and the ruthless ambition that underpins it – as a magic ticket to freedom and fulfilment. And the dream holds strong even when the odds are stacked against it as inflation and environmental threats add layers of unpredictability to everyday life – in the US, 63% of freelancers consider themselves to be financially unstable. That may well be because popular culture is still awash with success stories, from legacy influencers to ‘bootstrap’ billionaires, while the lines between business and pleasure, personal and professional have been all but blurred out. While some people may resist peak ‘personal brand’, the most mainstream of consumers are honing their passions and persona for marketability. Selling out is no longer a source of embarrassment, it’s just what makes the world go round.