Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Business of Me

Once upon a long long time ago somebody asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

"A dancer and a teacher."

Mission Accomplished.

Baby Syd (with Stister and Brother) with dancing and teaching dreams.
What I also knew upon a long long time ago, was that I never wanted to work for any body else. My stister will tell you that I am too damn bossy, and my Auntie told me I'm always acting like somebody's mother. So there you go: I was meant to be the boss since like, forever.

So last year when I started living this whole real world life trying to make a career out of dancing with no place to live and only a grand in my bank account, I was really trying to figure out how to make this heah boss lady thing work. I mean, I had to work for SOMEbody to get the capital to survive... and I do. (Praise God! That job has been on lock down for about a year now.)

So I've entered Phase Two: Working for Me. Little by little, since last December really, I've been piecing it together. I tested the waters with my choreography and performances spring and early summer 2010. Then I stressed myself and my pockets out, resulting in me doing nothing (physical) this summer. Time pushed me back into everything in September, but I still didn't really know what or how I was going to do it.

Cue scene: 11 p.m. Syd on couch attempting to answer emails, schedule rehearsals, figure out how to raise money for upcoming show, find rehearsal space, write down choreography ideas, find that cd with those pictures to send the press lady, listen to voice mail when dancer decides not to come to rehearsal next day because not yet aware of rehearsal location... *tears sobs*

Seriously. I just cried. Trying to be Boss Lady: Artistic Director, Executive Director, Technical Director, Administrative Assistant, Costume Mistress, Publicist, Company Manager, and Development Director all at the same time was too much. Not to mention that office headquarters was my great futon. Desk? Coffee table (which also triples as a dinner table). Staff? Yeah, about that...

It was that cry though that allowed me to take ownership of the situation. It forced me to manifest that oh so quotable Jay Z line: "I'm not a business man/I'm a business, man." The NEXT day (yes that quickly) I acquired an arrangement for office space, and interviews for two interns. Today, I've got an operating administrative staff, an office space, a pro bono lawyer ready to help me choose and establish my business structure, two shows in the next month, a fund raising plan, and oh yeah, the ability to go to bed at 11 pm and dance and/or work out every day. I don't even think I ever used the word entrepreneur in a sentence referring to myself until... last night? But turns out that I am.

Could it be that dreams do come true? And that if you were born a boss, you can indeed be a boss?

Apparently so.

4 comments:

dawnne46 said...

So proud of you. The first step in running your own business is understanding completely what that means (in the detail). Transitioning from the "idea" of it to the "reality" of it. It's not easy and not everyone can do it because you Really have to want it! Making up your mind to do it and accepting all that goes with is the first and most important step. The second is raising enough capital...that's a another blog post. Love you!

AWT said...

yay for the success of my strong beautiful barnard women! soo proud of you.

Diva (in Demand) said...

It's motivating to read how your dream is manifesting itself. It sounds like you're about to embark a very cool journey!

Terra said...

congrats on fulfilling your dreams! and I wish you the best as you go forward.

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