We were lucky to catch up with Caley Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Caley, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business, Music with a Message?

One morning, I woke up thinking about how I was bullied in middle school, and I suddenly realized that I didn’t want kids to go through that hardship alone. Being bullied destroyed my self-confidence & led me down a path of depression and anxiety. I realized that I didn’t want anyone else to go through that, so I began taking action by speaking and performing in schools. I had already been creating empowering pop music for some time, so combining my original pop music with sharing my own story of being bullied felt like perfect harmony.

Taking action quickly helped build my business before imposter syndrome could get in my way. I didn’t start perfectly, and I made changes as it evolved. Then I developed my “WOW” principles to building one’s self-confidence and added those 3 steps to my school assembly program. When I was growing up, people often told me to “just be confident!” “Love yourself!” I would constantly ask “HOW?!” I was yearning for the path to how to build my self-esteem. I’ve created that path for students. With Music with a Message, kids will no longer have to survive bullying alone.

Now Music with a Message has grown considerably over its first year, empowering over 1600 students ages 18 mths to 18 years in NY, LA, N Carolina, and Kansas City! We’re on the way to Colorado, Texas, and back to NY next!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! I’m Caley Rose. I am very proud to say that I’m a Billboard-charting singer & songwriter as well as the creator of Music with a Message, which brings confidence tools into schools to help prevent bullying. We’ve been featured on NPR, FOX, and were awarded an Inspiration Grant!

I created Music with a Message, because I myself was bullied, and I don’t want kids to struggle with self-esteem in the way I did. Learning self-confidence is the most important skill to learn when kids are young, because how they feel about themselves affects their thoughts, self-image, academic, and social success. Our thoughts are with us every moment of every day!

I’ve loved hearing educators say that Music with a Message is like a Taylor Swift pop music concert that empowers students & teaches them Social Emotional Learning skills. Music is the best way to help kids learn these concepts, because catchy songs stay in our heads for years to come and get through to their subconscious. It also makes this subject matter super fun, because it’s delivered in a pop music concert!

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Near death moment: Jumping off a cliff in New Zealand. This leap inspired me to take a metaphorical leap into music full-time. I had been scared to make an investment in songwriting class at the Songwriting School of Los Angeles, and this near-death feeling helped me to realize my own mortality and finally really go for my dream-life.

Not that everyone needs to jump off a cliff to get here. (If you’re going to do so, do so with a harness and a reputable company!) But really, realizing that I only have one life helped me to take a risk (committing to getting an education in something I loved felt so scary at the time! The investment wasn’t even that big, and I’ve invested in myself way more since then, luckily!) You and your dreams are worth it. What you have to offer the WORLD is worth it. If you’re here to help people, then go after it with gusto. The world needs you to!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’ve made every mistake in the book when it comes to social media, so learn from my mistakes! Let me tell you what has WORKED! (Hint, it’s not following and unfollowing!)

1) Going live on social media platforms has taught me so much and helped me build my following. I learned about going live from my friend and entrepreneurial coach, Jen Gottlieb. I saw how it helped her so much and how she started imperfectly and kept going. It has built her following into the 400’s of thousands!

2) Let yourself make mistakes: I’m not going to lie, it’s a WEIRD feeling. Letting yourself make mistakes and be a beginner in that way is part of the process. Luckily, we are so in a day and age where people crave authenticity. Going live aids that authentic connection with our audience/fans so much more than any curated post!

3) Going live has helped me become an even better public speaker, because I’m constantly practicing. I’ve noticed that I speak with less “ums” and “likes” now every time I speak live onstage in front of an audience! Practicing makes perfect, especially with live speaking!

4) It’s helped me become an even better singer and songwriter, because I get to practice “live” before I go LIVE. Going live on my phone always feels a little less nerve-wracking than going live on stage, so it’s a cool intermediary step that I get to take advantage of!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://caleyrose.com/music-with-a-message
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caleyrose/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaleyRose/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caleyrose/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/caleyrose
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/caleyrose

Image Credits
Wildwood Photography, Tarah Jansen Simply Wavy, Javon Charleston Doonbug Presents, Dana Bergwall