Today we’d like to introduce you to Landa Gherrá Morgan.
Landa Gherrá, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My start in business and entrepreneurship actually begins when I was around the age of 11. I was raised in a nice, middle-class section of Oak Cliff with both parents, my two sisters, and my older brother with me being the youngest. I hated the feeling of never having any money in my pocket, and the only way my siblings and I received an allowance was if we brought home good grades from school. A’s and B’s only—anything below was unacceptable and would leave you broke! I was a straight A student and my father would break out the wallet for me when the report card came home. I think he loved the fact that I brought home exceptional grades, but probably resented the fact that he promised me $5.00 per “A” and $3.00 per “B”. That was roughly a cool $40.00 or $50.00 bucks—CASH MONEY—in my little Velcro-clasped red and bright green Ninja Turtle wallet! For a kid, that’s like hitting the lottery every six weeks!
During the summer of my 11th birthday, I went to work for my father in his liquor store that was located right on the edge of Downtown, Dallas. We did not have a lot of money for summer vacations and travel, so my father decided that I would get a summer job—at 11—and have to earn any extra money that I wanted. I was big into video games, action figures, and comic books, and purchasing my own Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games, with the latest Ninja Turtles and Transformers action figures was imperative!
I would climb into the car every weekday morning with my father and watch him open up the store. He’d whip out those shiny keys that opened the protective bars from the main door, and head straight to the back to turn on all of the store’s lights and neon beer displays. Women in skimpy bikinis holding beers and malt liquor in those life-sized store displays and posters seem to stick out so vividly in my mind—even today! My dad would head to the front register with a light brown bag of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies wrapped tightly, and begin breaking the coin casings into the cash register. Licking his fingers to count the paper bills, he made sure that every cent and every dollar was accounted for from the previous day’s transactions while making sure everything was good to begin the new business day. My little mind absorbed everything that my dad was doing with meticulous accuracy and focus.
My job was to keep the store clean and shelves neatly stocked with products. Every morning I would grab a feather duster and gently wipe the night’s dust off the glass liquor bottles. I’d keep the ice barrels stocked full of fresh ice for the single beers, straighten up all the potato chips, candy, and snacks, and tag all the newly received products with price stickers with my trusted pricing sticker gun. That was the fun part! My father would then come behind me, without fail, to make sure that the labels of the bottles were all facing forward and visible for the customers to easily see and choose from. He was a stickler for cleanliness and excellence. Our floors had to be mopped every morning and evening before closing, and the front parking lot had to be free of litter and debris.
Dad gave me my first taste of what “excellence” really looked like. Excellence cares about its presentation, the attention it receives, and the quality of its products and results that it puts forth in all facets. But my main take-away was observing how my father treated his customers and his employees. They LOVED him! He was always so cordial, humorous, and jovial with his customers—a side of him that my siblings and I didn’t always see from him at home. Nevertheless, he was always so kind and helpful to his employees and customers, and they would always come back to our store for repeat and continuous business.
These instilled principles are the foundation of my entrepreneurial mindset today.
I studied chamber music and jazz piano at Dallas’ prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Arts Magnet), and I always had a love for visual art and design. After graduating in 1999, I took what I had learned in high school, along with the principles that my family instilled in me, and jumped into music production, songwriting, performance, and—dare I say—Corporate America. I loved the arts and I loved creating, but remember, I also loved having money in my pocket too! Being a broke, struggling artist just wasn’t an option for me. I didn’t need to be rich while creating, but I did want to be comfortable while creating.
My first few jobs were in team management, store management, and project management, and this is where I truly cut my teeth and developed my skills for the corporate workplace environment. I learned the art of team-building and the vital importance of having great customer service. I would also create hiring and operational manuals for the companies because many did not have them for new employees upon hiring them. Going the extra mile was often noticed by my executives, managers, and CEO’s, and I forged some great relationships with powerful people—all while having no college degrees, certifications, or inside connections. This was all clearly done by the hand of the Lord—moving me along strategically in position like a master chess champion.
Today, I am the owner and founder of Epifany Enterprises, an umbrella company that houses several other companies and entities that I have also started. In 2008, I founded Nfuxion Design Solutions, a premiere digital marketing, graphic design, and website development firm based in Arlington, Texas. In a little over a decade, we have provided exceptional design services for churches and faith-based organizations, small businesses, non-profit organizations, corporate companies, artists, recording artists, and entrepreneurs throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. What began as a logo design and custom Myspace page creation freelance company has grown into a full-service digital and print marketing firm.
Our client list ranges from world-renown megapastor Bishop T.D. Jakes and The Potter’s House, Planetshakers of Australia, The Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, Sapphire Scents of Nigeria, global evangelist Pastor Benny Hinn, former Dallas Cowboys pro Flozell Adams, Stellar Award-winning gospel superstar Jekalyn Carr, and a plethora of notable celebrities, musicians, and dignitaries. We’ve built our company on the principles of excellence, hard work, attention to detail, and clear and concise communication with high standards and expectations. I believe we’re really just getting started and scratching the surface on the great things God has in store for us as a company.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been smooth by no stretch of the imagination. But I don’t believe it is supposed to be. If it were, many more would easily attain success, yet have no appreciation for it when they get it.
As an artist and music producer, I struggled with confidence and my identity as an artist. Being a quiet, long-haired, eccentric musician from Dallas—let alone OAK CLIFF—was extremely tough. I grew up on old school R&B, rock, and 80’s pop music, so my ears embraced a wide spectrum of recording artists and musical styles. I often emulated the artistry and styles of artists such as Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Morris Day, Babyface, Mint Condition, and others, so being “different” in a world full of conformity and gangster rap “thug love” was tough. My attempts to work with many artists from the area was usually unfruitful and went incomplete, thus I developed a frustration with working with artists from Dallas. I had music stolen, tracks I had produced for artists were never properly released, and I often received the run-around from artists and music executives often promising big things, but delivering little to nothing.
So early on as an artist and musician, I had a lot of anger and trust issues with people because of these failed endeavors that I would pour my heart in to.
In the early stages of building my businesses, those anger, frustration, and trust issues would bleed into my business dealings and business relationships. I felt like I was always the one giving 100%, even sometimes more gung-ho about an individual’s or company’s vision than they were about their own endeavors. But as I’ve gotten old, gotten closer to God, and learned to take the meat from the bones in every situation, those rough roads aren’t as rough and bumpy for me today as they once were. I haven’t totally crossed the finish line in that area, but I’m still running the race at my assigned pace.
Nfuxion Design Solutions – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Nfuxion Design Solutions originally started out as “Logo Logics” where we specialized in only logo creation and custom Myspace page design. In 2010, Logo Logics morphed into Nfuxion where I wanted to provide “all services to all people”. Today, we specialize in providing exceptional and professional digital and print marketing solutions and services to businesses, companies, and individuals of all sizes and for all industries.
I believe Nfuxion is mostly known for its amazing graphic design and website design services. We strive to be the best and you truly see it in our work and execution. However, great work usually takes a little more time. There’s a difference in the time it takes to build a Rolls Royce from a Chevy Malibu. At Nfuxion, we like to think of ourselves as the “Rolls Royce” of digital marketing and design. Along with this, you truly see it in our interaction with our customers and clients. We also strive to stay ahead of the trends—usually creating our own—so that our clients not only have the best experience but have the type of experience where their only choice to receive the best quality is Nfuxion.
What makes us so proud is that we built this company from virtually nothing. I started out designing logos in Microsoft WordPerfect—a skimpier version of MS Word—because I could not afford the Microsoft Office Suite for my computer. From there, it progressed to using free 30-day trial periods of Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver. When we got to the point where we could finally purchase the full, paid versions of the software and applications, it was like we had hit the jackpot!
Today, we pay close attention to our clients’ needs and we try to pull out the best in our clients and their vision. Every business is different, but often we see businesses with the same typical look, feel font treatments, and branding. Unlike many other graphic designs, web developers, or marketing agencies, we don’t force our design style on our clients. We’re versatile, talented, and flexible enough to where we’re not so rigid with how “we think it should done”, but we actually listen to our clients and implement what is best and beneficial to their vision and brand. These are just some of the many attributes of Nfuxion that sets us apart from the overly saturated industry of graphic design, digital marketing, and branding. We’re different—but then again—by nature, I always have been!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
One of the proudest moments for Nfuxion was getting the chance to sponsor the Brenda Ellis Children’s Home in Kenya, Africa and being blessed to do it by my pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes at church. We had the esteemed opportunity to travel to Kenya in 2018 and spend several days just being big brothers and sisters to the orphans. Our company created the orphanage’s logo, branding, and built its website and social media platforms in a matter of days just so its founder, Lady Brenda Ellis, could roll it out to potential donors. We got a chance to design and print the t-shirts for the children—over 150 kids with staff, and it just all came together beautifully. There were some challenges logistically, but we were victorious. That experience in Africa with those children and those cultures changed my life forever, and it changed—not only how we do business—but WHY we do business today. We’ll be heading back to Kenya to visit the orphanage in March/April 2020 and I’m so LIT about the opportunity!
As a musician and artist, one of my proudest moments was taking the stage in London, UK at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Lounge with smooth jazz saxophonist Vandell Andrew. I was the musical director and keyboardist for Vandell’s band for several years, and it was absolutely amazing to play his music to great crowds overseas for the first time. We also attended the Soul Train Awards in Las Vegas as Vandell was nominated for a Soul Train award in 2014! Performing and playing is awesome anywhere you have the opportunity to do it, and I am extremely blessed and proud to be able to do it here and in other parts of the world.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3901 Arlington Highlands Blvd. Suite #200
Arlington, TX 76018 - Website: www.nfuxion.com
- Phone: 1-833-NFUXION (638-9466)
- Email: info@nfuxion.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/nfuxiondesign
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/nfuxion
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/nfuxion
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nfuxion-design-solutions-arlington
- Other: http://linkedin.com/company/nfuxion-design-solutions
Image Credit:
Kauwuane Burton at Kauwuane Burton Studios
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