Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lakeita Valon . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lakeita , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I have a I have been able to sustain a living solely through music in some pivotal moments of my life. There many moments and in this present day, where I’ve had a job and pursued music at the same time in order to pay bills and keep a roof over my head; it only made me go harder. I have always been a person who moves with purpose and intent. I don’t believe in wasting people’s time especially my own so when I’m given an opportunity to focus solely on my craft, I dive in head first. I take advantage of every blessing God gave me, to give as much as I can to my artistry while I have the chance. It taught me how to invest into myself and how to continue to grind in order to feed the hunger of wanting to be a successful artist. It definitely is harder as an adult because we have responsibilities to maintain and life gets hard at times but if you have the passion and drive to stay focused, not procrastinate, and properly execute your visions, everything will fall into place as it should. My last piece of advice is to make sure you understand the business and learn everything you need to know about getting booked and paid. If someone calls you right now to book you, are you ready? Could you hold it down by yourself? Or would you have to decline because your success depends on the availability of others? Food for thought.
Lakeita , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have always had a passion for the arts as a child until now. Started off in ballet and singing in the church choir, and was always involved in multiple activities at school. My family raised me to be well rounded academic wise and also extracurricular in order for me to have a healthy balance in life. I feel that this definitely prepared me for who I am today. I am a singer songwriter, a DJ, photographer and videographer, dancer, model, the list goes on. All of those things may same like I’m doing too much, but when you have a vision and you have a hunger for a success so badly, it often feels like you aren’t doing enough. I have a background in sales and marketing and I feel that those combined have prepared me on the business aspect of my career. I love people and I enjoy understanding and getting to know what makes people who they are. The more personal I get with those who are close to me, only helps me understand how to treat them with care and love them properly. Something I would like everyone to know about me if you haven’t already figured it out is that I am genuine, honest, and I am not afraid of being vulnerable anymore. I used to think that being vulnerable or crying in front of people was a weakness, but I realize it was the very thing that was holding me back from my fullest potential in my life and artistry.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when the very emotion that you were trying to convey throughout your artistry is understood. There have been moments when supporters of mine have come up to me and expressed how one of my songs made them feel or how a performance moved them. Often the results are exactly the feeling I wanted them to experience. It’s rewarding when someone sees the passion that I have and can understand that it’s authentic
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
When it comes to social media I’ve never been a big fan of sharing everything online about my personal life. I never had a MySpace and I didn’t get a Facebook until freshman year of college. Around sophomore year of college is when I made an Instagram. I’m saying this because it will help you understand that my reasoning behind making a profile on these platforms was in my adult life when I could fully grasp and understand the concept and how not to abuse it in a negative way. I was already moving towards building myself as a brand one step at a time so that was always my focus and purpose for social media. As I begin to grow so did my followers. I began to notice how influential YouTube was at the time I took advantage of it in order to build an audience. I realized as the quality of content around me started advancing, I knew I had to step it up.I knew that people weren’t settling for the bare minimum or your typical webcam videos anymore. Therefore, I started caring more about the quality vs quantity. Consistency is key but purpose and quality will take you far. As time went on, I eventually came around to creating a series called Mocha Monday’s which is on IGTV and YouTube. It’s a series that basically allows me to give my supporters a closer look into how I create whether it’s DJing, singing, or producing a beat. It grounds me and helps my supporters see the real me and hopefully gain inspiration to keep pushing for what they truly want in life!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lakeitavalon.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/lakeitavalon?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakeitavalonmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lakeitavalon_ml?s=21&t=WLil1KLgulT2zb6YFTGhRA
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/Valon201
Image Credits
Instagram handles @coldhotwings @foto.wil @ciaobellagency @dreamthorp