Carpe the Cash

This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Not with Richard – we already have a beautiful relationship – but, with my baby sis Camille. I never “got” Camille when she was growing up. I could make most of my other siblings howl with laughter, but not Camille. She’d just sit in her little jumpy seat and study me with her solemn brown eyes. As a toddler, she was very fond of following our mother around. How boring! I was six years old when she came along. I had school and other adventures to pursue.

By the time Camille became a teenager, I was an adult with a husband and house to tend. We entered each other’s lives for short periods over the years, but with Camille’s military service related relocations, her many years of education, her career, and her own husband and child rearing responsibilities, we never had time to explore our adult relationship. I have, however, heard over the years that I’m “just like Camille” – and it never sounded like this was a good thing.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Camille is smart and funny and cute; and she’s also deeply interested in becoming an arts agent. I have long been a patron of the arts, and have toyed with the idea of expanding my small publishing company to include promoting other arts media. Now that we live in a cradle of creativity, it seems like the perfect time to make that move.

I’ve been in business for myself several times and have managed businesses for others. One thing about which ‘m absolutely positive is that it’s not smart to have a business with one person wearing too many hats. If you’ve ever seen a plate spinner, you know what happens if the entertainer takes a misstep – all the plates fall and break into a bazillion pieces. Richard is my perfect domestic partner and household business partner. I don’t want him to wear too many hats, even though he does have a super large skull housing his super active brain. Besides, he has his own interests including production of a favorite family toy.

Camille’s fortunate enough to work a four-day week, and her daughter is grown and in college. Both her husband and her mom-in-law are extremely talented painters. Camille loves to travel, possessing the same Gypsy blood that courses through my veins. She also has an inquiring mind, an MBA and an adoring domestic partner in her husband David.

I’ve always believed in employee/management partnerships. Bill Gates built his empire on this same concept. Who better than the people whose talents and value systems I’ve drawn to me on a personal level to pair their talents with mine in a business venture?

I’ve started small, with Richard and Jack. I’ve been approached by several other budding writers to represent them. I have a wide range of visual artists that I’d love to represent. With energizer bunnies like Camille and my journalist/editor friend Susan in my corner, it’s time for us to move boldly forward and Carpe the Cash.