Drakeel's Bio | Marion's Bio | Curlie's Bio

If someone would have told me when I was a child that I would lose three jobs before the age of thirty and then become an entrepreneur, I would have said, "You're crazy."

At nine years old, I wanted to co-anchor The Today Show with Bryant Gumbel. So, I did everything to make that a reality while growing-up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I graduated with honors from Solon High School and Ohio University. I got internships and even secured a TV news reporting job in Florida just a few weeks before college graduation-never stopping to think that there would be several bumps along the way. Bumps that included being fired as a TV reporter in Indiana after management changed. Losing another TV reporting gig in Washington, DC after the ratings went south. The straw that broke the camel's back-the cable station I was working for in the Nation's Capitol shutdown after filing for bankruptcy.

"Why is this happening to me," I constantly asked. I had defined myself by my professional life for so long that I felt lost. Thank God for supportive family and friends. They helped me realize I'm more than my jobs. I just had to find out what my true passions were. So, I got a life.

I took-up scrapbooking, researched my genealogy and became a gourmet cook. I took Salsa dance lessons, bible classes and tutored kids in elementary school. I even dabbled in acting. I didn't have any dreams of becoming the next big Hollywood star. I just went on some auditions, thinking they may lead to voiceover work that would help pay the bills. After just a few auditions, Steven Spielberg cast me as a reporter in the sci-fi movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise. YEAH, I NEARLY FAINTED. I had my own trailer, got one-on-one direction from the most famous director in the world, worked on the set with Cruise, got a few shots in the movie and a credit at the end of the film. GOD IS GOOD.

Even though my movie experience was amazing, I didn't get the acting bug. I still floundered a bit while trying to figure out what to do with my life. It was during that time that I worked for a mortgage company to pay the bills. I started out as the secretary who knew nothing about office etiquette. Hell, I broke the fax machine after being on the job for a week. What did I know about "9 to 5" office jobs? I had covered news stories most of my life. I finally got the hang of things. I eventually became the office manager and gained invaluable experience I needed to venture out on my own. So, after about a year-and-a-half on the job, I quit and started Drakeel Enterprises, LLC. For the first time in my life, I walked away from a job-not knowing what to expect-but armed with the confidence and faith that God's master plan for me is greater than any I could ever conceive.

Drakeel Burns lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.