We recently connected with Keya McClain and have shared our conversation below.

Keya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Each investment in my business has been purposeful and useful to the growth and understanding of my entrepreneurial journey. I have certainly spent money on things that I felt would be helpful to my business. Conversely, I have invested money, time and energy that wasn’t recovered. Ideally, I would like to say that there were no bad investments and won’t be anymore. Although that is not my story, I will not deny that the lessons haven’t always been warm and fuzzy feelings. After some time, I learned that each investment, rather deemed best or worst have been a page in my handbook about what worked and what didn’t work. I can tell you that I’ve flourished in all the investments either by gaining wisdom, intuitiveness and guidance or gaining new relationships, lessons and trust in myself. Most of my investments have been through my intuitiveness, a coach/mentor or sheer risk taking. I have had to pivot a few times and will continue to do so as I understand the paradigm shifts and I’m open to the evolving necessary to serve at my highest capacity. The pivots keep me open minded and humble. I have a clear understanding that by remaining open and not fully attaching to anything I am able to continue taking those risks and gaining the wisdom. Sacrifice is a requirement to my investments. Sometimes there are immediate results or results at a later date. I set intentions, create a plan and tackle the job. My investments vary from time to time and can be a range from having lunch with a potential partnership to paying for a service I feel would add value to my business. In order to reap the benefits of the work invested you must practice patience and maintain perseverance. I miss the big vacations or other wants in order to make the big investments in myself. That is a sacrifice many don’t understand or support, but it is my vision and dream to foster and fund. In the past year, I made some costly investments for several events that I believed would reap the reward of my investment. In both instances, I believed at the time that I was making a beneficial decision for my business. As an entrepreneur you are typically taking risks without knowing the outcome. As mentioned earlier, there is always a lesson gleaming on the other side of the risk. From the start of my business until now I increase my risk taking and the fear shrinks the longer I do this. I am aware of what happens when my investment doesn’t pay off because I have already experienced those emotions. As difficult as it may get at times, I realize my purpose is bigger than the lessons that come with the bad financial investments or bad investments of time. As a writer and poet, I use the stories to motivate and empower others that currently or will encounter similar challenges.

The fear of risk-taking could result in good or bad investments, however, the resistance to the fear could bring about a great outcome for you. I suggest to anyone that contemplates making investments for their business to have a method and plan for executing that investment. It is also a great idea to be open to things not always working out the way we want them to and being open to shifting.

I’ve made some investments in a few projects that were costly and I learned that I must trust my intuition about people and business deals that don’t feel right at the onset. One of my recent investments to participate in someone else’s event did not go well. What I learned from that was to not do business dealings with people just because I like them. Liking people is not a prerequisite of doing business with someone only. It is important to properly vet people that you are investing with to accurately interview them. I am totally responsible for myself and my decisions and it is more important to learn and become more self-aware of business decisions. My last piece of advice is to always get it in writing. A contract should be in place for any business relationship and you cannot trust the word contract,

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?

I am a poet, author, speaker, healing poet coach and podcast host. I have been writing since I was a child, however, I didn’t share my poetry until 2008. I have published 8 books, 6 of those self-published through Amazon. I started performing as a poet as a result of enrolling my son in a writing workshop. It was beneficial for us both because he gained confidence and I have been able to work in my passion for nearly 15 years. My focus is interestingly two-fold because I started my focus on writing poetry that is storytelling about my healing journey. I am also a cigar smoker and have merged those two passions to encourage others to heal through poetry and writing.

My podcast is called The Healing Poetic Expression Podcast and it aligns with my three part poetic series. Topics vary from forgiveness to self-love. There are many things to unpack as we journey through our individual healing. I encourage my clients to write and journal using poetry prompts to maneuver through their own personal storytelling.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In November 2020 my grandmother passed away. In December 2020 I got engaged. In February 2021 my fiance and I both got sick with Covid. He passed away within a week and it was devastating. I quickly started grief counseling and began my healing journey. Six months later I published my 8th book and started a new relationship. I rebranded my coaching business and blossomed in a few areas in my business. I understand that society has an idea of how long we should process things and you must do what is best for you which is healthy, healing and comforting peace. I believe that focusing on the negative or the bad things in life is a choice I refuse to adopt.

My resilience is a by-product of being a young mom that pushed through to complete three college degrees. A woman that is confident in my abilities. A woman that has dealt with multiple challenges and overcome the struggles of life’s disappointments and challenges. My mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins were amazing examples of navigating through life obstacles, which encouraged me to do so.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The freedom and flexibility to be a creative is rewarding for me. I enjoy being openly creative in some of my favorite spots. My bedroom floor or a park in the grass. It allows me to process and purge my thoughts and feelings. I am grateful for this gift and do not take it for granted. It allows me the freedom to write without judgment of myself and a true understanding of how important it is to process my feelings and thoughts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://keyascoaching.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keyamcclainthepoet/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keya.mcclain76/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keya-mcclain-55b71887/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYqngSd8wSE_Wype6tODCxg/featured

Image Credits
https://www.picturememk.com/ (Picture Me MK)