LaGina Harris
The Us Space
Founder, CEO
HCC Business Plan Competition, 2021 Graduate
Brief Business Description - The Us Space creates intentional innovative spaces for women of color, women-led businesses, & women-centric organizations to thrive. Our five pillars guide what we do at The Us Space: prosperity, programming, productivity, professionalism, and partnerships. We are the lightning rod for our Collective members to have increased opportunities to find what they need, are seen, supported, and others can find our goods and services. We serve as a positive, affirming, and uplifting haven where one’s ideas can flourish safely.
https://theusspace.com/
Tell us how you were inspired to become an entrepreneur?
I am a 4th generation entrepreneur, with family owning grocery stores, a nursing home, and a barbeque restaurant, and at one point, my dad owned a radio station. My Mom served 18 years active duty in the United States Air Force moving up the ranks as a black female officer to Major before she retired. Then she taught as the Senior JROTC Instructor another 22 years in uniform at Lakeview High school in San Angelo Texas. My Dad was not only an entrepreneur but our primary care provider which gave my siblings and myself a unique household environment at the time. My parents always instilled in us God, Family, & Education.
What a family! So what did you do growing up that led you to open The Us Space?
I was a high school and collegiate athlete while earning a BS in Health & Physical Education with a concentration in adolescent psychology. Then, I got Masters in Higher Education: Student Affairs while I also worked at Huston-Tillotson University in Admissions & Recruitment and as the Coordinator of First Year Experience.
Over time, I was pulled away from my degreed profession and pursued full-time in my already thriving service industry career. Shortly after my dad passed in 2018, I worked at the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce as Director of Memberships and Special Projects. That drew me to focus more on business and started me on the path of starting my first business! I was already a visual artist as well as a podcaster. By the end of that year I filed my business, LaRae Infinity, as a Sole proprietorship. LaRae Infinity strives to challenge the social norm and support growth for women and the communities they are working in through art, consulting, and media.
In 2019, I moved to Houston and immersed myself into connecting with community here and the people here while I began exploring the Houston entrepreneurial eco-system. I finally wrote down all of the ideas I had around what is now known as "The Us Space." I researched, analyzed and got quantitative and qualitative data to understand my target audience and how I would implement my business plan in the most intentional, impactful and scalable way. In early 2021, I applied for and got accepted into the HCC Business Plan Competition.
How did the HCC Business Plan Competition help you?
One of the mentors put it on my radar. The advising and training was what drew me to it. The advisors that were assigned to me were what I needed at the time. Coach Leah and Kate Glasser asked tough questions that made me understand that I didn't just have passion in what I was doing, but I started to understand how to verbalize The Us Space (TUS) to every audience. My words started forming a clear and exacting narrative to TUS. I didn’t win prize money in the HCC Business Plan Competition, but I came out with a stronger refined business voice and understanding of how to move forward in business.
What happened after the Competition?
The Us Space formed a partnership with The Cannon to create the first iteration of physical space for our growing collective. I did my due diligence, networked to create real relationships and then asked for a partnership because I needed it to understand more about building this community out more and my community already needed physical space as we had been meeting virtually and then at a coffee shop for almost 9 months.
What’s next for The Us Space?
Since HCC, we have also formed a partnership with Village Insights for our online platform where TUS Collective can interact and entrepreneur focused organizations like Lift Collective are facilitating their inaugural cohort.
Our partnership with the Cannon is full of value and is so unique. As we look to the future, I always turn to the business plan, and our mission to be intentional & innovative when creating space; they are my sounding board. In the next phase of The Us Space we are looking to open locations in communities of color or communities led by people of color like the Third Ward, the Fifth Ward and in Alief. While we operate in collaboration with the Cannon; we are also developing proof of concept as to why we need our own space in strategic areas.
Our vision is to be fully embedded in communities of color, leveraging support from the city, other community organizations and local leadership, to draw in and further support business success, create quality jobs, and activate underutilized spaces.
HCC thanks LaGina. We are fortunate that her military travels, family upbringing, goals and faith brought her to Houston, and look forward to hearing more as her journey with The Us Space unfolds.
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