We were lucky to catch up with Keymia Sharpe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Keymia, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I love when clients have the “a-ha” moment on the correlation between my name and my business name.

Keymia = Key2MIA

My godmother named me, but my mom named my business. When I was considering creating the solution to common questions that arose from friends/family visiting Miami, I decided that I wanted to create custom experiences and allow them to “live like a local” when they came. In fact, Like A Local was the original name I had in mind. It wasn’t until my mom said that I would be the “key to Miami” that it all clicked! That conversation was the spark needed to ignite my business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Keymia (pronounced key-my-uh), originally from NC, but I’ve resided in South Florida for over a decade. I got into this industry after leaving the world of advertising and going through a rocky 2018. I wanted to solve three basic needs of commonly asked questions I was asked by family and friends when they came to visit:

What to eat
Where to stay
What to do

I am able to solve those needs through personalized tours and custom itineraries to take my clients “beyond the beach” to experience Miami like a local. I call what I do “curated tourism” because no one experience for my guests is ever really the same. I do my best to personalize each tour, itinerary and (now) virtual experience for each and every traveler. I also provide custom playlists with my itineraries to serve as their “soundtrack to Miami” during their time here.

When it comes to this business, I’m most proud of getting started. Many might have thought I was crazy to leave the known to go into the unknown, but I had faith that God would provide. The clients started rolling in and, even with a pandemic, I’ve been able to stay present.

For potential clients, customers, know that with Key2MIA, you have a new best friend in the 305. I want to ensure each guest walks away with memories created for their senses, leaving a lasting and loving impression to make them want to come back to Miami just to recapture that experience.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy, especially with a startup budget, has been allowing sites like Airbnb to serve as a marketing platform for my business. Everyone knows that name, but everyone doesn’t know my name. Allowing these sites to serve as backlinks and booking platforms has been a tremendous help. Another thing has been reviews. When people read reviews, it helps build trust and allows others to feel comfortable booking with you. Make sure that you get reviews and testimonials from your customers.

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 had to unlearn was that I’d always be “where someone left me”. Words hold power and those words were uttered by my ex when he flipped my life upside down. Those words stuck with me for some time and caused me to doubt myself. Even when I saw progression with my business, those words made me feel like I’d fail…the happiness was only temporary. I had to learn that the same people you think will pour life into you, can also speak “death” over you and only YOU have the power to decide that outcome. I had to unlearn giving away my power. God’s word never said that the weapon wouldn’t form against you, but it definitely said that the weapon wouldn’t prosper. Once I remembered that I decided to stand on those words instead of the words of those rooting for me to fail, I saw things so differently.

Don’t ever let anyone obtain power over you and cause you to feel powerless or less than. I hope this serves as the wake up for someone to take their power back and walk in what’s rightfully theirs.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Key2MIA.com
• Instagram: @key2mia
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Key2MIA
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCwFwBcMWijswQJtpTvxBdjQ
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/key2mia-pembroke-pines-2

Image Credits
Christina Peña Londyn Mendez