It’s incredibly special to see Black excellence, let alone excellence, that’s a Black-owned family business. Meet the Burgess family, which includes Robert Burgess Sr., his wife, Cynthia, and their three children: Robert Jr., Candice, and Jared.
Originally from Atlanta, Robert Sr. founded his family-owned company, Midas Well Entertainment, in 2019. The company has taken the beloved characters from the pages of its hit book, “The Legend of Little Glow,” and expanded its universe with a unique array of merchandise and animations.
With everyone’s talents combined, Midas Well Entertainment has all its bases covered – from TV to movies, from books to games and music, and from concept to market. Each family member has their finger on the pulse of a creative avenue Midas Well Entertainment will pursue.
Family Ties: The Creation of ‘Glowberry Bears’
Written by R.C. McKenzie, the story follows Little Glow, an adventurous bear who does not know what his special power is, and his friends teaming up to stop the Snorts from stealing the light of Glowberry Island.
The book’s key themes are belief in oneself, teamwork, and perseverance. The upcoming webisodes aim to expand on the world of Glowberry Island and teach kids important life lessons.
The book entertains, educates, and teaches children valuable life lessons through engaging storytelling and vibrant animations.
Robert Sr. said the idea behind Glowberry Bears came from his background in toy development. He was working on a project when the artist at the time drew a picture of a tree with “beautiful berries” on it.
“I saw the berries on the tree and said to myself, ‘the berries look like they’re glowing,’ I’ve always been intrigued by the North Pole, so from there, we produced Glowberry Bears,” he said.
Robert Sr said it took a while outside his family to find the right team to work with them on the project.
“That’s another thing about building a business and finding the right fit for our already working machine, so it took a while, but we found them, and they’ve been so great,” he said.
The Glowberry Bears initiative is a collaborative effort that underscores the importance of family, creativity, and moral development. It is a perfect tool for parents seeking enriching content for their children.
Robert Sr said he brought in their three children during a conversation with his wife, Cynthia. He says the decision to incorporate his family into the business was made organically.
“We all have these creative ideas, we love working together, and we stay clowning each other all the time,” he said. “Even by this conversation, you can tell that we love picking on each other, we always work on things together anyway, and we love traveling together.”
Additionally, Cynthia brings knowledge on moving products to market and marketing. Robert Jr. studied Film and Video and is a talented screenwriter. Candace is a singer/songwriter and has a background in Project Management. Jared is the ultimate gamer and is also a talented writer.
Candice says she and her brothers decided to pitch in the family business because they all wear different yet similar “hats.”
“We believed in the vision and support where we need to, so everyone was like, ‘let’s just pitch in,’ and we all wear different hats, but at the same time, the same hats. Sometimes I’m the creative one; other times it’s my mom, or my dad, or my brothers,” Candice said.
Cynthia said the entire process is a team effort, and they all help each other out with various aspects of the business.
“Candice is the project manager, so we’ll go and say, ‘Okay, I will do the research, and you do the research,’ and Candice will say, ‘we need to do this, this, and that,’ like with the animated music video, the kids wrote it and came up with the concept and everything,” Cynthia said.
“I think it’s important to have that representation as a Black family together because it’s genuine, authentic,” Candice said. “We’re not like, ‘Okay, the camera’s on, let’s act brand new,’ this is really us on and off camera. We need each other when we work together.”
Robert Jr said they all work “well together and balance each other out.”
“We’re highly creative,” he said. “I think we also have crazy ideas, and we balance each other out to where we can play all aspects as need be.”
Jared really enjoys working with everyone in the family, creating crazy ideas with his siblings, and learning that patience is key.
“Patience was something I’ve had to learn since starting, but I thoroughly enjoy our process and how close and silly we are, even in business. It doesn’t make it feel like work,” he said.
Robert Sr said it was important to include his wife and kids in the business because it’s a blessing when you work with the people you love and care about and can travel together.
“It’s so much fun, and it makes it work when everyone has those creative inputs and marketing abilities. It’s everything we need to function, and we’re blessed,” he said.
Cynthia recalls that when the kids were younger, she and Robert Sr were doing projects together and separately.
“Robert Sr was in real estate, and we would do different projects, and as the kids got older, we thought, let’s just do this together because we really enjoy each other’s company and get along while doing it,” she said.
Robert Sr says it was important to incorporate his family into the business because he’s building a legacy.
“My wife and I wanted to leave something for our kids and build something for them, but also, at the same time, we wanted to touch the world positively,” he said. “Whatever we do, we want it to be positive.”
Regarding separating family time from business, the Burgess says they have set meetings where it’s strictly business and then family time. Still, Cynthia says they sometimes must reel Robert Sr in because he’ll try to “ease the business in.”
“Sometimes it does run over to family time, but we shut it down, and we tell Robert we’ll talk about it at the business meeting time; we’re chilling out right now talking about the Falcons losing,” Cynthia said.
Beyond
Robert Sr. said he kept the idea of Glowberry Bears, and seeing where it’s at now and where it is heading is “ mind-blowing.”
“We have a clothing line, we have the book and more coming soon, we have animations, great things are happening, it just took a little time,” he said.
The Burgess family confirms that more books are in the works and will be coming soon. Recently, the family launched the Glowberry Jam, an adorable and catchy kids’ music video featuring each iconic bear in the vibrant world of Glowberry Bears.
When kids and parents read the book, Robert Sr said he hopes they realize sometimes they can say, ‘Okay, I’m not sure about something, and that’s okay. I can be a little scared, but I’ll figure it out because that’s what happens.’”
“I want them to be so inspired; it shares the same sentiment of the books we had growing up and falling in love with the story,” Cynthia said. “Our kids are impressionable, so we want to give them positive, aspirational little nuggets to teach, entertain and believe in.”
Burgess said the Glowberry Bears incorporate family values into the story, spreading love and light.
“The world may be cold, but we want to make this world of Glowberry Bears into positive life lessons teaching them about morals. You must be patient with one another and be kind,” Cynthia said.
“The first book is a lot about believing in yourself, but also appreciating what other people offer, like coming together,” Robert Sr said. “You need people around you at the end of the day because when you have good people around you, they’ll uplift you, and you uplift them.”
As for advice for other family businesses, The Burgess family said it’s rewarding, but they must do the research.
“It’s the most rewarding thing you can do, but you must do your research and be willing to sacrifice, whether that be time or money because it’s not easy,” they said. “You’re going to have challenges, and it’s going to take time, but once it hits, it feels incredible.”
Glowberry Bears isn’t just a story; it’s a glowing beacon of creativity and family values illuminating hearts and homes.
To buy the Glowberry Bears: The Legend of Little Glow or for more information, visit https://glowberryisland.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoowhhm5ASmh3G5tNfBAYsYvvHRsO5EsQOVcUTkituvsTNF_u2XG. The book is also available on Amazon.
