We recently connected with Kimani Haley and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kimani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I’ve always loved to read and write. I remember winning a writing contest in third grade for writing a story from the perspective of a pencil. I remember editing my friends’ boyfriends’ love letters. No one asked me to do it; it was just something that I did! I always enjoyed my English classes in grade school, too. I enjoyed the exercises in Language Arts textbooks when we worked on sentence structure, parts of speech, etc. Writing was just my thing.

When I matriculated to Ohio University, I thought I was going to be a Dentist, but science and math weren’t my areas of strength. Somehow, I decided to major in English Education; I was going to be an English teacher for middle and high schoolers. (I should add that my mother is a retired elementary school teacher who still substitute teaches and tutors children in her spare time.) I graduated from Ohio University in 2001 and began teaching Reading & Language Arts to 7th graders at Columbus Africentric Early College in the Columbus City Schools district.

Twenty-plus years later, I am teaching English to 10th- and 12th-graders in the same school district at different school. I still love teaching, and I still love my students. However, a shift has occurred, and I see myself still working in the area of reading and writing but on a different level. I decided to expand my gifts/skills of writing beyond teaching the students in my school district to helping people outside of school.

I have many professional friends who are always asking me to proofread or edit for them. I’ve proofread so many documents for friends and colleagues that I realized I should be proofreading and editing as a service because so many people need it. Teaching has changed from what it was when I began. I really enjoy writing and reading and teaching writing and reading without having to teach to a standardized test. In the real world, people still need help with sentence structure, content, grammar, etc., so what better way to continue doing what I love to do while still making a living while doing it?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been a Secondary English teacher in Columbus City Schools in Ohio since 2001. I love reading and writing, and I love making writing better! I love assisting and teaching people to understand the (very confusing) English language, as well as producing quality documents. I have extensive experience in and knowledge of the writing process, types of writing, MLA format and writing conventions (capitalization, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and spelling).

I graduated from Northland High School in 1997. I, then, matriculated to Ohio University in Athens, where I obtained a degree in Secondary Education – Integrated Reading & Language Arts (grades 7 – 12) in 2001. In 2006, I received my Master’s degree in Education Administration and completed my Principal Licensure in 2013. In 2016, I became a breast cancer survivor. Currently, I am still a classroom teacher, which I thoroughly enjoy! I have been married to my loving husband for 16 years, and I have one son, one daughter, two bonus daughters, plus hundreds of students, whom I also claim as my own!

I can edit anything: ads, articles, blogs, books, cover letters, essays, resumes, websites, etc. If it can be written, I can edit and/or proofread it. Writing can be frustrating, intimidating, tedious, etc., but with me, it’s not. I love to read and write. I love to help make people’s writing better. I understand formal and informal English very well and am able to speak and write both with ease.

My business is unique because of the reach and relationship that I have in the community. I have a unique approach and exceptional quality. I am able to make clients, from all walks of life, feel comfortable enough to express their experiences, feelings, thoughts, and knowledge in their writing. KNotED by Kimani is built on the foundation of personalized attention and a deep understanding of my clients’ needs.

I’m very proud to have taken the necessary steps to finally start my own business. I was afraid, but I did it anyway. I’m glad that I took a chance on myself. It feels good to be doing something different from what I’ve been doing all of these years. I’ve felt stagnant for so long, although I love teaching. I needed something more, and this is it!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Being a high school English teacher for over 20 years definitely helped build my reputation. Being an editor for friends, who are in school and/or business owners, has also helped build my reputation as an experienced and trusted editor. I’ve been editing ever since high school, maybe even middle school.

Maintaining relationships with former students and continuing to be someone in whom they trust is also another contributing factor in my reputation when it comes to marketing to my audience. My family, friends, colleagues and former students use my services, and they tell their family, friends and colleagues about my services. Word of mouth has been instrumental!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In my adult life, I’ve been very by-the-book and disciplined. I graduated from high school, went to college, graduated, got a job immediately after graduation as a 22-year-old, went back to school, graduated with my Master’s degree, had a baby, got married, maintained employment, took care of retirement and investment options, etc. I never stepped outside of the box and tried something different. I was always taught to be responsible and to always have my ducks aligned in a row, which is good to be and do. However, I wasn’t totally happy. I felt as if I should be doing something else, not necessarily something different but something else.

I absolutely love teaching, I love my students; anybody will tell you that. I can happily retire as a teacher because I literally look forward to going to work to teach and see my kids. Then, some things happened last school year at work that made me see that I needed to shift. It wasn’t even that I needed to quit my job, but I needed to shift my focus. Not only do I love teaching my students, but I also love teaching, reading, writing and editing the English language; I do it subconsciously.

I don’t know if it was a re-awakening, a re-birth or what, but I decided that I needed to finally put what I’d been saying I was going to do into motion. Because I was always editing people’s writing or grading papers, it only made sense for me to do it as a side business. I had actually thought about starting my business three or more years before I actually started it. I knew that as much as there were minor students who need my help with writing, there were/are just as many adults, businesses, etc., who need my help with their writing.

In January 2023, I decided to become a notary, which I became in April of 2023. Next, I formed my LLC: KNotED by Kimani. After that, I created my website, and business has been flowing ever since!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knoted-by-kimani.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knotedbykimani1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knotedbykimani/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimani-haley-268976278/
• Other: https://hihello.me/p/4318a495-026d-4338-88de-3fb54bf5f45b

Image Credits
Photographer – Jasmine Robinson of SS Photography – https://www.facebook.com/ssphotography614