Risk is a topic that comes up a lot in our conversations with entrepreneurs and creatives, but a related topic is investments. Investments come in many forms – investing your time, money, heart and soul, etc. So, with that broad definition of investment in mind, we asked rising stars in the community to tell us the stories of the best or worst investments they’ve made.
Shareese Boseman
The best investment I’ve made in my career as a makeup artist has been taking in-person classes with other artists—some well-known celebrity artists and others who are talented and respected locally in the 757 VA area. These experiences have allowed me to grow not only as a creative but also as a professional. Read more>>
Amir Noor
The best investment I ever made in my business came as a result of the worst one: spending a decade in a compensation model that didn’t align with my values.
For many years, I worked under the traditional broker-dealer model, where you’re paid commissions for selling financial products like life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, etc. It’s the dominant model in my industry, and for a long time, it was the only one I knew. I built client relationships, gave thoughtful advice, but ultimately, my income was tied to whether or not a client bought a product. That tension wore on me. Read more>>
Teddy Brown
The best investment I have made is in myself. I have spent a considerable amount of my life and money to help achieve success with the gifts I have. There are a lot of professionals in the world, but few are passionate about what they do. Anyone can be thrown into something like sports or music as a child and fall out of that thing. Then, later on, there is no joy left to be had as a professional or even a hobbyist. Music, as much as acting, requires an extreme amount of pre-planning so that the execution is flawless and fluid. It needs to be impromptu and not rigid. You must whole heartedly love what you do to invest all of your mind, body and soul to truly hone a craft like an expert sculptor. Read more>>