We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Burris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Taylor , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
My name is Taylor Burris and my partner James Spikes and I are Co-Founders of IRIS Creative Projects Agency and The AI Hub based in the River Market of KCMO. As alumnae of two of the top HBCUs in the world, Morehouse and Spelman College, we have always found it our mission to be a voice, resource, and active support for our communities of color.
At The AI Hub we have 5 elements, photography, sound recording, digital creation, apparel, virtual reality and a co-working space. Although this sounds amazing for young African American business owners, this concept is not new. I realized that there are far too few people of color, especially women of color, having ownership over these types of creative spaces.
There was a historical amount of applied trademarks and newly formed LLCS during the Pandemic. Many of these individuals used various forms of art as profit. As the Pandemic prolonged that desire, drive, and opportunity to live a sustainable life through art was lost. Many were tired of creating at home, others could not afford resources or lacked business ethic and professionalism. Therefore, I knew that the AI Hub needed to open in order to provide those same individuals with the studio space, proper resources and opportunities to reach their artistic and creative goals.
As the CEO and a woman of color I cannot separate the two and strive to see more Black women leaders in Kansas and in Missouri. I no longer want any person to be dismissed of an opportunity based off of a lack of resources, network, knowledge or skin color. With providing a safe space where creativity can thrive and become profitable this can lead to growth of the economy and encourage all generations to dive deeper into pursuing their creative passions.
Taylor , 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?
My name is Taylor Burris and I began in the art and entertainment industry in 2015 as a photographer, production assistant and journalist. After an array of experiences working at COX Media in Atlanta, and writing for various digital and print publications, I was awarded the opportunity to work for the historic Carolinian Newspaper through the National Newspaper Publishers Association in partnership with Chevrolet. This led me to being a magazine lead at a local Atlanta publication where I covered artists such as Mulatto, Spice the Dancehall Queen, Fly Guy DC, Shauna Marie Campbell aka Mama K-Camp, and many more. During this time I decided to dive deeper into the social and political issues that plagued the rising child homeless population in Morocco and resided as a independent journalist through Reporting Morocco. Due to the stressful nature of what I found and my inability to separate my occupation as a journalist and my instinct and feelings as a human, I stepped back from investigative journalism upon returning to America.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude from the top HBCU in the world, Spelman College, I founded Untaylored Solutions LLC. During my tenure at Spelman I met my amazing partner in business and in life, James Spikes III. As our individual businesses grew, I knew we needed to provide more for our clientele that were majority black owned startups and small businesses. In 2020 we merged and formed IRIS Creative Projects Agency, an international digital creative agency. Today James and I proudly celebrate as we prepare to open the doors to our 5 element daughter company, The AI Hub, in hopes to provide a safe space for artists, DIYers and businesses owners to grow in their own pursuits.
I am a proud mother of one and will soon be featured on the entrepreneur competition show, The Blox, by reality show veteran and Kansas native, Wes Bergmann. I have been featured on KCTV5, Voyage ATL, Voyage KC Magazine, Black Educated and Broke podcast, Louisiana Weekly, the Michigan Chronicle and more through NNPA.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In 2019 at the rise of my career in radio and in magazine, the Pandemic hit. Fortunately this was around the time that I branched out and started my first business that primarily serviced clientele with digital assets. After a few months into the Pandemic my partner and I found out that we were expecting our first child. Due to discovering a hole on our daughter’s spine and the rise of COVID in Atlanta we made the tough decision to leave Georgia and start over in occupation, location, and lifestyle in Kansas. My passion to work and provide support to my community was halted due to a stressful pregnancy, but this gave me time to acknowledge that I was not the only person who needed more out of life. The individuals we serviced needed to grow in their creativity, they wanted to know more, wanted to network more, and wanted to have the resources available to them at an affordable rate. At the time I could only write down what I observed. Once my partner and I wrote up a plan, began pitching and setting everything in motion to open our first physical location, my father fell sick. This forced me to be in Virginia for many weeks at a time. His unfortunate passing mentally and emotionally tore me down. But, it also made me reflect that I was getting closer to what God has for me.
At every hurdle more doors were opened, more artists kept approaching me, and I was forced to acknowledge how short life is. Therefore, my partner and I both quit our jobs, found our location, furnished the space, conducted two successful events and we have not looked back since!
Through every obstacle I had to change direction, but in business going with the flow and allowing God to order my steps has made me stronger for myself, my family, and for others who desire to be in my position as a young business owner.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Networking is KEY. The most effective way to build your network is by being vulnerable, being confident in who you are and your abilities, ask the tough questions and be strategic. When I started my first business I grew my clientele solely through word of mouth and I always had 3-4 clients at once. This was only because I was true to my work ethic, consistent and provided quality work. You have to be willing to put in the hard work and do the research for yourself. Use Facebook groups, Instagram hashtags, Eventbrite and find out what is going on in your industry. No matter how big or how small the event or gathering you never know who you will meet so always be ready to put your best foot forward while also being genuine in your intentions.
Another great tip is to just open your mouth and ask. Many are afraid to just send a DM, send an email, or just ask a question out of fear of being rejected, but that’s okay because rejection is a part of life. But, you will always regret not taking up the opportunity to just ask. You never know how far the ask will get you. By just asking I was able to be on movie sets, shadow producers, shadow at television networks, and interned with the Hollywood Reporter at TIFF. Possibilities are endless when you use your voice. This also greatly attributed to how I grew my reputation in terms of networking.
When I transitioned out of this industry, these same people came to me for support in growing their brands, websites, flyers, style scapes, press kits, etc. because they knew my dedication and focus on providing quality work to whomever I worked with no matter the industry. Hence, the reason I never had to market my business when I started, which was an absolute blessing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artincubatorkc.org/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/theaihubkc?igshid=NDRkN2NkYzU=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theaihubkc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-burris-4a346ab4?trk=people-guest_people_search-card
Image Credits
Her Perspective Photography