Michael Cisarik, MBA ’20, is a part of the Corporate Finance and Investor Relations team at Enterprise Products Partners LP, one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services. He is most recently the founder and artist associated with what he calls “Michael James Art”. Michael launched this new hobby turned business during the COVID pandemic and has since sold over 100 commissioned art works to clients across the US. We spoke with Michael about his time at McCombs and how he utilized his skillset from the program to launch and market his new business.

Please talk about your experience as a student here at McCombs. Why you came here, favorite class/teacher, etc.

Having attended UT for undergrad, the decision to apply to UT once again for my MBA was a no brainer – just from a personality perspective, the energy and drive that the UT MBA program exuded was a perfect fit. One of the key factors that I was looking for was a part-time MBA program that didn’t sacrifice curriculum or exposure just because I was working a full time job (and in UT’s case, not in the “home base” location). What resonated with me about the McCombs MBA is that the same professors that taught the Austin program would be teaching us in Houston – each class session, they would drive down from Austin to ensure that we were obtaining the same “McCombs experience” that the full time students were receiving in Austin. Each professor was of course world renowned and extremely knowledgeable and personable but my favorite classes were probably either Macroeconomics with Dr. Julia Coronado or Marketing Strategy with Dr. Jade DeKinder. I will always remember working at my office, a few weeks after beginning Dr. Coronado’s class, looking up at the TV and seeing her face on CNBC guest speaking on U.S. federal treasury expectations.  Her lectures were always intriguing experiences since she always tied “macro” level policies or theories to her own research.  Especially since I majored in Economics myself in undergrad at UT, this class really resonated with me and added a new layer of depth and understanding – something I could apply to my everyday life. On the other hand, Dr. DeKinder taught me valuable skills and methods to properly launch and market my new art business (of course at the time, I had no idea I would be in the art business!). Her classes were always extremely interactive, usually focused on some of her past student’s success (and challenges) in starting their own businesses.

How did your educational experience change you?

Attending and graduating from McCombs taught me more than just book-based curriculum and theories. The dedication, focus, and commitment it took to work full time alongside class every weekend taught me discipline and furthered my work ethic. I truly didn’t realize how much I could accomplish in a set time frame until having to study or complete assignments every night for 2 years after a long day at work. Many times I would work 6 am to 6 pm and then do homework until 12-1 am. After going through that challenging yet rewarding experience, you become more efficient, more focused, and find yourself troubleshooting day-to-day “shortcuts” to solutions that you normally would not think of – regardless of relation to work or your personal life.

How has your career path evolved since graduating and did it play out the way you expected?

It definitely did not turn out the way I expected. After I graduated, I realized how much I enjoyed our finance classes so when I had the opportunity to move into my company’s finance and investor relations group, I jumped at the opportunity. Shortly after that, our world was shattered when COVID hit and I started painting as a hobby and as a means to furnish the apartment I had recently moved into. After painting for a few weeks, friends had reached out wanting pieces of their own. I quickly realized that people had an interest for art – despite the pandemic and looming recession – and I really wanted to see where it could go. While this obviously was not an “ideal” time to launch a new business, I didn’t want to look back in a few years and feel like I missed out on an opportunity – or worse, wonder what this could have been. Using the skills that I learned in our marketing, analytics, finance, and strategy classes, I could market and position myself and my skillset and monetize it.  After only about a year, I had sold over 100 paintings to clients across the country – from New York, to Chicago, to Los Angeles. Today, I am thrilled that the business keeps attracting new clients, including interest from interior designers and galleries.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

I think I am most proud of taking a risk and seeing if something I found I had a passion for could also be a legitimate business. Having never painted prior to this past year, I definitely was proud of myself for having the confidence to quite literally throw myself head first into this venture that was completely opposite from my prior experience. I think there is still a lot of potential long term, especially based upon both the quick establishment and with it launching during a global pandemic.

How can we follow your progress?

My website, www.MichaelJamesArt.com, is always up to date and includes a comprehensive portfolio of my past work as well as details on processes and pricing. For day-to-day informal communication, my Instagram handle, “@MichaelJames_Art” is where I post events and other news like giveaways so feel free to follow along if you are interested!