We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayce Howard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kayce thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Life can be pretty structured; you go to school, work a 9-5, start a career, possibly a family, and live a decent life. If you choose to go by the “American Dream,” life can be pretty laid out for you. Life can be so mysterious, so having a sense of certainty can be comforting. Taking a risk can seem scary when thinking about getting out of your comfort zone and stepping into the unknown. Honestly, I get it because I’m a very realistic person and haven’t been much of a risk taker because I like to work on a detailed plan from A to Z.
As I’ve grown in my thinking and expanded my network, I also learned so many things, but one thing that is the same across the board when it comes to achieving success is, Nothing ever changes until you get into the unknown. Being in the unknown and taking risks allows you to learn as you go. Not everything will be planned out, and that’s okay as I continue to grow in my endeavors and learn more as a business women to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I never want to live life with the question, what if? I once heard Steve Harvey say, ” You never learn from your wins, only your failures.” I never take anything as a loss, only a lesson. The most success I’ve obtained came from taking the risk to reach out to people, speaking up at the table, and putting myself in a position to win.
Kayce, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was born and raised in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, affectionately known as “Kc B.” I’m a community activist, Rotarian, mentor, and evolving entrepreneur. As the second youngest child of Apostle Amos and Dr. Yolanda Howard, I was always taught to love and honor God. I stepped into my family’s multi-million dollar business at eighteen. Through this, I began working alongside my parents while blazing my path.
I am very involved in my community; I’m a Smyrna Rotarian, on a 501(c)3 nonprofit board, and sit on the Friends of Smyrna Library board. I work with social workers to provide items to children in the ATLAS program in the Rutherford County school system. I also have been recognized as the youngest Paul Harris fellow in the Smyrna Rotary Club and the first to get it within a year. I’m a young woman who loves God and my community. I’m also committed to fulfilling God’s assignment on my life by creating insightful social media content, receiving awards for my commitment to community service, mentoring, speaking at events, and much more.
I’ve worked as an executive assistant in my family business for four years. I’ve been able to scale the company as a seven-figure business through my experience working alongside my parents, hours of training, and investments in mentorship programs. I have learned the ins and outs of running a multi-million dollar business. I’m excited to start my coaching program, assisting people in getting a strategy that sells offers that Energize & Transform Client’s lives—getting them to that Next-Level Income Ceiling. Encouraging business owners to know their value AND Increase Sales confidently. Removing negative emotions & limiting beliefs that keep them stressed & stuck.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
2.Offer a clear vision. People can only do what they understand, a lack of questions means you have a clear understanding of the assignment. Make sure people are clear on what you expect of them.
3. Encourage team collaboration. Teamwork makes dream work.
4.Delegate with care. Understand persons capacities and create a space for people to feel comfortable with telling you what they can do in what amount of time. Have an understanding of the timeline and delegate what can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
6.Provide instructive feedback and recognition. Be okay with instructing the team on what they could’ve done better, this is how they grow. Make sure you make more deposits than you do withdrawals. You should recognize your team on the W’s and not focus on the L’s as much. Depositing more words of encouragement into the team builds their confidence to produce .
7.Understand you learn nothing from winning, embrace the learning curves, nothing is a failure.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that fast money isn’t good money. We’ve been conditioned to believe that quick money isn’t good because it has to be a catch or that it doesn’t work that way because we’re “supposed” to work hard for years and get paid little for our hard work. I’ve had to unlearn that and embrace the idea of using my creativity to make more money in a short time. We deserve to create the lives we desire for ourselves and our families early. I realized I needed to tap into my purpose earlier because I know people are counting on me to change their lives. You don’t have to wait 5 yrs but now to start. You need to execute faster than you understand, everything doesn’t have to be put together for you to begin. Start putting the puzzle together today and add the pieces as the picture becomes clearer to you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kaycehoward.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekaycehoward/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayce-howard-3a23681ba/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVo1hpqGw2ysW9KOwahqA-w
Image Credits
@jao__photography japhetodigie.com