We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marquis Lupton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marquis, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Am I happier as an artist or creative!?!?!? Ha!!! There’s a two-fold answer to this question: 1) Am I happier overall!?!? Yes! There’s times when I’m like I cannot believe this is my life and cannot believe I get paid to do this, and my favorite “This thing started from an idea and now I paid my rent with it”. So yes, there are happy euphoric moments that I believe only can come from that entrepreneurial creative grind. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean life is easier. Which brings me to point #2
2) Life is definitely harder. Climbing that corporate ladder was easy. Go to work, perform task at high level, office politic, go home…rinse wash repeat. In the insurance world that’ll get you a nice salary, but I was unfulfilled (and this was after I stopped my career as a news reporter). So I made a choice from easier and less fulfilled, to harder but more fulfilled…And wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a beautiful struggle that will pay off in ways a corporate job never can, and in many ways already has.

So do I think about going back to a regular job…Sure…From time to time…But then I think about how even though I said I was “done with media” and was working for Independence Blue Cross (making great money)…I still opted to start a production company/wedding videography company, and a online magazine called F.A.C.E. Philly (FACE stood for: Family, Art, Community, Entertainment). It was clear to me that I was a media guy through and through. I even volunteered to do some video work for Blue Cross and other departments inside the company, so after getting laid off it was clear to me that I should lean into my passion…And I haven’t looked back since! It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, and its high stress and anxiety at times….But it’s fulfilling and life-changing.

Marquis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well short story of it: I’m a former news reporter, and felt like I was a part of the problem of the false narratives of black and brown people that was being reported in local news. I said enough was enough, got out, and started my own media company which is now a podcast/news app for black and brown folks.

Long Story: We have a media center and media app (called TCP+). Why? Well because, we live in a world where we’re becoming more digital, and with more content being developed for social media outlets, we want to supply our surrounding area with the tools, technology, and classes to maximize on their content creation and possibly generate money for themselves/brand. The impact we plan to make is to equip these content creators with the technology to create their content on a high level, then distribute that content on our mobile app for the general public to enjoy. Our end goal is to grow our full service podcast and content services, so that both the veteran content creator and novice content creator can compete in a competitive digital content field.

However, we do not want to keep the concept of TCP/Positive Media Academy to ourselves. We want to spread the concept not only around the country, but also around the world. We want to set-up these media/content “academy’s” for veteran and novice content creators to come, use the equipment, learn new skills, network with like minded creators, and have their content broadcasted on our app.

The one thing I’m proudest about at the moment, is having the opportunity to pitch our morning news show to other platforms! the news program is called “TCP In The Morning”, and it covers all the melinated news that you didn’t know existed. We say “news you can use”, as we cover those stories that fall in-between the cracks. We provide a nice mix of entertainment with information, and I’m excited to see which network (either digital or professional picks it up).

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Just last week we made a pivot to include more curated content from around the world, versus concentrating on creating ALL the content ourselves. We found that while creating the content ourselves was a great idea and has helped us grow exponentially, at this moment for connecting with other creators and giving them the opportunity to entertain the community we’ve built, has helped us in ways we could not have imagined. Additionally, this pivot has freed up myself and other team members to expand on other aspects of the business. This pivot has been a win-win…so far.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Pay them! Point blank period. Pay them! Gone of the days of the starving artist and all that. It doesn’t have to be like that, and shouldn’t be like that. Especially in an industry like the entertainment industry that garners billions annually. So, if you support a artist or creative friend, don’t just share a post. But the album, buy the shirt, buy the painting…And then tell 3 other people to do the same….And then tell them to tell 3 other people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thetcpnetwork.com
• Instagram: @tcp_network
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCulturedProfessional
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS35nleAbGIBQpfkpG8TW9g
• Other: TCP+ App on Android and Apple

Image Credits
@FlyGuyTy