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Muse 1.0

Over the last year and a half, I have built something quite amazing (already working on fault #5). I started out with the idea of creating an artist agency based here in Washington, DC, that is, I would represent different creatives (painters, writers, stylists, make-up artists, fashion designers, etc.) for a fee of 15% of their earnings. This is still what I want Muse to be, but I quickly learned that 15% of nothing leaves nothing and most of my clients needed to be "branded" before they could earn anything with their craft. Then they needed PR in order to get their branding out to the public before they could earn anything. This led to Muse becoming a branding and marketing/PR firm. This also led to less clients because, for some strange reason, more people are willing to work with you if you are doing tons of work for free as opposed to them paying you for the work that you are doing...go figure.

Muse 2.0
I found that I really liked branding, it went hand and hand with hubby's business which is Art and graphic design, so I was able to offer branding strategy and the execution of that strategy under one roof. I also found that I did not like PR, at least not in the traditional "pitch for your life" sense. Ok, now Muse is a branding firm and strategic promotion was a component, but we are not a PR firm. Problem solved? Not yet.

Muse Redux
After discovering that branding is what most of my clients needed, I was faced with the unfortunate realization that DC did not offer a wealth of opportunities for creatives to make money doing their craft. Fashion, Art, Music, Film, TV, Theatre--all these things were in short supply and, lest you forget, it is 2009 and fear is sucking up all potential possibilities. This drastically altered my journey because now I was faced with the fact that if I planned to stay here and pursue my dream I would have to become an integral part of bringing/creating the "industry" here.

The Muse Vision
After many hours spent on my deck (what I call "deck time"), I received a vision so clear that it had to come from God. Everything in my life up to this point all made perfect sense and was geared toward my fulfillment of this amazing purpose. It was no accident that I was a lawyer, that I lived here in DC, that I started this journey in 2009, that I named my company Muse--I realized that I AM The Muse and that I was put here to inspire creative entrepreneurs and to protect their rights to their own work and to be a crucial part of this amazing Renaissance taking place in DC. Every person that I had met over the last year was somehow connected to helping make my vision a reality and I was determined not to ignore this enormous responsibility that had been placed on my shoulders.

"The Gift, The Spirit, The Work"- Jay-Z
Needless to say, the realization of such a great and meaningful purpose brought me extreme joy and an equal amount of anxiety. The fact that when I let people in on my discovery, they did not think it was crazy (especially because I was being led by the spirit of Zora Neale Hurston whom I knew very little about, except that I loved "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and that people thought she was crazy during her time) only made the vision more clear and more scary (and awesome!). During the time of my vision, I kept myself "out of my head" by writing everything down. My whole "blueprint" was revealed in these writings and I swear it did not come from the LaNora that I know. I read and reread my story, my cast of characters, my projects and accepted the fact that I was made for this.

Once I came down from that amazing high, I began trying to make this world that existed in my head, now on paper, a reality. My journey of 30 years had resulted in me picking up all the pieces along the way that would be needed in the fulfillment of this vision. Like an intricate puzzle, they were all lain on the table but I quickly realized it was my task to put the puzzle together and this task would not be easy. Many of the main pieces were picture side up and it was clear where in the puzzle they belong, but some pieces needed to be turned over (meaning I had to change something about myself, my network, my strategy) to complete the picture that was so clear on the box (my writings).

This leads me to where I am today. Still motivated, still convinced, still hustling and, thank God, still an entrepreneur...but working to turn over, group, and connect these pieces so that my vision becomes a reality. I am happy to report that, for you puzzle enthusiast, the border is complete and I have all the pieces face up and gathered in the general area they belong in the final puzzle. That is, I have identified my task, I have identified my weaknesses and I have assessed my need to conquer these weaknesses, now I am in the midst of devising and executing the strategy that will lead to completion and mounting for display (my launch!).

-The Muse