We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Khara Lord . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Khara below.
Khara , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
I’ve had such a shift in perspective after my sons life diagnosis with autism. Up until then music had always been my number one passion and priority. Both music and my nonprofit for ASD now hold equal value to me. I’ve seen how my music has changed lives ,and simultaneously also seen how Ausome Life has opened doors for families and kids on the spectrum. This nonprofit is changing lives and moving mountains at such a rapid rate, and we’ve only just begun.
I hope to leave behind a legacy where my music and passion for Autism join forces and help foster relationships, build connections and confidence in these children. I hope to be remembered as someone who was authentic,driven and inspiring, someone who loved to see others succeed just as much as she loved seeing herself win. I hope people know that I was genuinely kind, and loved big. That is what I think they will remember me for most, or at least I hope.
Khara , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Khara Lord! I have two amazing children Rhodes (7) and Liv Margot (22 months).
I moved to TN at the start of college where I met my husband, Brennan, who at the time was studying business and also an incredible guitarist and songwriter.
I’ve always been an artist, songwriter and performer. Brennan and I started working together writing for our band, and eventually began dating, got married, and made the big move to Los Angeles. One of our songs, Gold Rays, landed in the office of Ryan Secrest who promoted it and launched it into the millions gaining recognition and massive momentum. It landed a publishing deal for us at Nettwerk Music where we now write for tv/film/commercials and artists. My
other passion is Ausome Life, a vibrant new nonprofit dedicated to celebrating Autism and fostering growth through the power of music, play, and endless fun. Ausome Lofe was inspired from my personal experience with the Autism journey. We found out our son was on the spectrum just a few months after his 2nd birthday. We spent a few years pouring into him, spending countless hours offering him speech , OT, and ABA and always knew that once we made enough headway in his journey we would have enough strength to start our nonprofit to help others not feel so alone in their journey. Ausome Life is here to foster a community and help kids on the spectrum feel seen, appreciated and celebrated in a fun learning atmosphere. We’ve spent time at an equine therapy farm riding horses, grooming, and learning how to take care of the horses. We’ve spent time at The Nashville Food Project focusing on Occupational Therapy inspired games including painting , crafting and playing with the bright colorful parachute for kids to have fun and hopefully spark speech. This last year has been a lot of fun getting to show parents and their kids how learning can be fun, through music and play.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Having personal experience with music and ASD has helped build my relationships and reputation. I find that authenticity and transparency has been the key factor in growth for me, and any buinsess you are starting or career you are growing with. For my nonprofit I’ve hired a professional photographer in the past to take photos during our Ausome Life events, so that people can see what we’ve been up to. I also have help on social media with reels and reaching out to other sites that support ASD to help get word out. I feel like it’s so so important to support other foundations that stand with similar principles as yours. I’ve had countless coffee meetings with people I respect who have been on this journey longer than I, and have been given great advice on how to build a strong reputation and foundation going forward. A few inspiring people have been Lauren Morris founder of Move Inclusive, Pam and Brenda over at The Nashville Dolphins, and Karen Blake founder of Autism ETC and ACT. These women have spearheaded the Special Needs community and have selflessly given their time in guidance and advice.
The same applies for the music industry and my experience there. I’ve had so many talented people on my team pushing me throughout the years, helping me reach my goals and build a strong reputation for success. There is so much to reflect on and be proud of. I have had my music air on the radio, written with the crème de La crème of artists and writers, landed the record deal of my dreams with Republic Records, have had several national campaigns, a Gold record, and have had my music on ads, commercials and in television shows. To think it all started out as
BIG dreams in a little girl is crazy to me. I’ve known I wanted to do music since I was 5, and that has always stayed the same. My love for the melody and lyrics pouring out into a song will forever be special to me.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to learn the lesson of letting go of perfection. There have been so many times in my music career that I have tried too hard for things that didn’t land, and overthought moments that were already just right. Go with your gut. It’s best to embrace imperfection and focus on progress rather than perfection. The most successful song we had was one we initially wrote for an ice cream commercial. It sounds silly but the old me would have tried to perfect it, but on this particular song Brennan and I just wrote it without rules or limitations. We went with our guy laying down melodies and instruments quick, without second guessing . Although it didn’t land in the ice cream commercial, it did end up landing an entire campaign for Wawa and ended up becoming far more successful than the initial pitch. It goes to show always trust your gut, and sometimes overthinking and trying to make everything perfect will sometimes hinder success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsklamusic?igsh=NWt2ZThiM3BkanRy&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/jQA1UG2yyBk?feature=shared
- Other: Nonprofit AUSOME LIFE: https://www.instagram.com/itsausomelife?igsh=MXJmdWU5eTc2djk1bQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Erick Anderson for all photos