Meet Erica (ET) Taylor

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erica (ET) Taylor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with ET below.

Hi ET, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Looking back now, I can tell that there are a few things that I usually experience when there’s a big decision that I have to make. One…there’s always overwhelming feelings that I’m dealing with and I’m usually feeling scared about making that decision or having to take the risk. Though I’m grateful for the options in front of me, I’m uncertain about which path to take. Two…when it comes to the logical side of things, I start weighing out my options: the pros and cons, my likes and dislikes, researching, talking with friends and family. This part comes in handy because it allows me to gain clarity of my decisions and the reasons that I’m making them. But then I’m like…Shit…I still have to be the one to make the decision and to make the decision that I feel is best for me. Three…once my decision is made, it’s usually followed by a commitment that I’m driven to keep or achieve. I use that new commitment that I made to push me forward in taking the risk and seeing where things go from there.

There have been several big risks that I’ve taken in my life thus far and I can save those stories for another time. But the biggest risk that I’ve taken as of recently was the decision to turn down fully-funded offers from two PhD programs to instead become a business owner and start my own media production company. I know it seems crazy, especially since I finally got the Yes that I was looking for. Both programs seemed to align with what I wanted to study at the time, so to get the offers and to decline them, felt like the most gut-wrenching decision to make. And my mother….she thought that I was insane. Knowing that my decision would disappoint her, made it even harder for me to turn down the offers.

But I went through my process, as I mentioned above, to help me in making my decision and I cried while having to do it. But my commitment to launch my own company and begin my creative journey superseded all thoughts in possibly becoming Dr. Taylor. The decision was made in 2022 and it is now 2024. Sometimes, I still doubt if I made the right move. My journey since then has felt like the toughest season of strength & conditioning. However, I am proud to say that my company, Rebel Moon Creative, LLC turns two this year.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Most of my work for the past two years of Rebel Moon Creative, has been event videography and I’ve leaned into event photography more as of recently. It’s also been a time of experimenting with new creative projects and client work, such as product photography, a short film project, and producing videos for school bonds. In 2022, I started a video series on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter called Good News Alief that spotlights people doing great things in my hometown community of Alief, located in Southwest Houston.

This season, I’m taking time to learn more about the business side of being a creative. I’m very happy to say that I got accepted into the SURE Program at the University of Houston for the 2024 spring program. It’s a 10-week program that provides entrepreneurs opportunities to learn foundational business skills to help advance their company. I’m also using this season to learn more about my camera and ways to become a better videographer and photographer.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Whew! My commitment would be my number one thing that has kept me focused along my journey thus far. Some days, I really want to tap out and other days there are moments that bring me a lot of joy and reassurance. Second, would be the support of my friends and family – especially my friends that I’ve known before my creative journey and my friends that I’ve met along the way. All have played a part in supporting me in ways that I could not have imagined. I’ve learned who can best support me and with what as everyone adds something different with unique perspectives and expertise. Lastly, I learned that beginning a bold journey or taking a big risk does not mean that you have the path ahead of you all figured out. It means that you have the courage to proceed forward.

That’s all for now, until my next big move.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
Instead of one book, I’ll include three: 1) Will by Will Smith. This is the best audio production of a book that I’ve listened to. A quote from him that resonated with me the most is: “The universe is not logical, it’s magical.” On this particular topic, Will talked about how things worked out for him in ways that didn’t make sense, but were absolutely pivotal in his journey. 2) Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Tawaab. This book really helped me in understanding how to stand up and speak up for myself personally and for myself in business. 3) The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene, particularly the chapter 13: Advance with a Sense of Purpose. Greene shares the story and another side of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that I had not heard before. Reading about how Dr. King discovered his purpose before he was known as Dr. King, was and still is, such an inspiring story to me. I still return to the book to read chapter 13.

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Image Credits
Self-timers, Sandy Dee (International Mobile Film Festival)

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