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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.
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