Welcome to Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation
Oct. 19, 2023

"Podcasting for Business Owners: Saving Time and Growing Your Audience” with Kyla Denanyoh

"Podcasting for Business Owners: Saving Time and Growing Your Audience” with Kyla Denanyoh...

                                     

 

 

"Podcasting for Business Owners: Saving Time and Growing Your Audience” with Kyla Denanyoh

 

Listen on Apple Podcasts Spotify Other Podcast Players

 

 

In this episode Kyla and I, talk about:

 

[00:12:00] Helping people save time and tell their story

[00:19:31] Charging for expertise and time

[00:23:13] Don't negotiate with yourself

[00:35:54] Hiring out to free up time

 

 

 

Transcript

 

 

 

Do you want more out of life? Are you ready to live boldly in pursuit of your dreams?

 

Today’s episode sponsor is Deneen L. Garrett LLC.  Deneen, Founder & CEO, is a Passionate, Innovative, Executioner (P.I.E.) who elevates the voices of women of color and empowers them to Live a Dream Lifestyle™ through podcasting, speaking and coaching.

 

Deneen is a Women’s Motivational Speaker, the Creator & Host of the Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation (formerly An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color) Podcast, which she launched in 2020 and a Dream Lifestyle Coach.

 

Deneen specializes in helping women of color who want more out of life live boldly to create a dream life.

 

Hire Deneen For: Keynotes | Speaking Engagements (In-Person & Virtual) | Workshops | Fireside Chats

 

Signature Talks:  How to Live a Dream Lifestyle™ | The Power in the Pause

 

Hire Deneen to speak at your next event

 

 

 

 

About this episode

Kyla emphasizes the significance of self-care and celebrating small moments of success in maintaining well-being and finding fulfillment in everyday life.

She and I explore the idea that women of color don't have to shoulder all responsibilities and can seek support to take care of themselves. Kyla shares her experience of managing her various responsibilities by outsourcing certain tasks and utilizing resources discussed on her own show. She suggests that women of color can prioritize self-care by delegating tasks and utilizing available resources to lighten their workload. By outsourcing tasks, women of color can free up time and energy to focus on their well-being and personal growth. This is presented as a form of self-care and a way to prevent feeling overwhelmed by trying to do everything alone. The importance of recognizing that women of color have the option to seek support and assistance, and that they don't have to carry the burden of doing it all alone is emphasized.

 

 

Helping people save time

Kyla: So with KD Creative, what I do is I work with small business owners. You already have a brand. You already have customers. You already have an audience. People want to know the origin story. They want to know the background. They want to know why you decided to take the risk to start it. And so what I think is so fascinating about helping people save time and getting their brand out there is that your business is boring to you.”

 

Charging for expertise and time

Kyla: “You just have to get creative and think about it and know your worth, right? And be confident in yourself. This is what we're not taking in consideration. Everything that it took for you to be able to get that thing done in an hour. Yep. So the years of experience, your expertise, you know, your education, maybe hiring coaches, whatever, all the things that it took for you to be able to get that thing done in an hour, we don't take in consideration. And so that's also what she (Rachel Rodgers, We Should All Be Millionaires) helps you to understand that that's what you're charging for in your work.”

 

Don't negotiate with yourself

Kyla:And then the three things that women should do. The first one is don't negotiate with yourself. You know, you want some ice cream and you're like, you know, I've worked hard. I'm just I'm going out to get ice cream. No, just have your little mango fruit popsicle and all day long you think about your ice. All of those little negotiations with yourself cause you to not trust yourself. And so how are you going to get to this big dream life when this whole time you're just like, well, I don't, do I want a dream? What is the dream life? Can I have a dream life? Because you're so used to just negotiating with yourself all day long.”

 

Hiring out to free up time

Kyla: Rachel is huge on hiring people out. Cause like you said, now you're free, you freed up some time. You have someone doing some things that you probably didn't want, that you didn't want to do. Obviously you're paying them to do it and you're investing in somebody, right?”

 

 

 

Memorable Quotes

00:11:15 - "People want to know who you are."

00:23:13 - "Don't negotiate with yourself."

00:38:09 - "You are valuing your own time enough to say, Let me support another person, support another economy."

00:42:23 - "Trust yourself. You've made it this far. You are successful."

 

 

 

 

About Kyla

Kyla Denanyoh is a podcast host, lawyer, and founder of KD Creative. With a decade of experience in project management, Kyla helps small business owners save time and expand brand visibility with podcasting. Skip the boring stuff and launch your podcast at www.skiptheboringstuff.com.

 

 

 

Connect with Kyla:

Website: https://www.skiptheboringstuff.com

Email: hello@kyladenanyoh.com

Podcast: https://www.youarealawyer.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/youarea_lawyer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youarealawyer/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@kyladenanyoh

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyla-hemphill/

Pinterest: https://pin.it/31SBZw1

 

Books Mentioned #ad

We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers

Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes

 

 

Other Episodes to Check out

 

 

 

About the Podcast

 

Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation (An Intimate Conversation with Women of Color) is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for Women of Color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and live boldly. 

 

In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream life (style).

  

My Podcast Coaching Journey: 

 

 

 

Deneen is committed to elevating the voices of WOC and empowering them to Live a Dream Lifestyle™ NOW! 

 

Contact Deneen for coaching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transcript

00:10 08:38- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Thank you for joining Women of Color, an intimate conversation, formerly an intimate conversation with women of color. This is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for women of color and LGBTQ plus women of color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and to live boldly. In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream lifestyle. I'm your host, Deneen L. Garrett, and I'm committed to elevating the voices of women of color and empowering them to live a dream lifestyle now. I'm also a women's empowerment speaker and a dream lifestyle coach. So sit back or keep it moving and check out today's episode. Thank you for joining Women of Color, an intimate conversation, formerly an intimate conversation with women of color. This is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for women of color and LGBTQ plus women of color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and to live boldly. In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream lifestyle. I'm your host, Deneen L. Garrett, and I'm committed to elevating the voices of women of color and empowering them to live a dream lifestyle now. I'm also a women's empowerment speaker and a dream lifestyle coach. So sit back or keep it moving and check out today's episode. Thank you for joining Women of Color, an intimate conversation, formerly an intimate conversation with women of color. This is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for women of color and LGBTQ plus women of color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and to live boldly. In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream lifestyle. I'm your host, Deneen L. Garrett, and I'm committed to elevating the voices of women of color and empowering them to live a dream lifestyle now. I'm also a women's empowerment speaker and a dream lifestyle coach. So sit back or keep it moving and check out today's episode. Thank you for joining Women of Color, an intimate conversation, formerly an intimate conversation with women of color. This is a podcast about women empowerment stories and for women of color and LGBTQ plus women of color who want more out of life. This show is for women who have had enough and want change, especially those who have been waiting to choose themselves and to live boldly. In each inspiring episode, hear from women from different backgrounds, countries, and ages who have embarked on personal journeys, sharing their stories of empowerment, overcoming, and their path to living a dream lifestyle. I'm your host, Deneen L. Garrett, and I'm committed to elevating the voices of women of color and empowering them to live a dream lifestyle now. I'm also a women's empowerment speaker and a dream lifestyle coach. So sit back or keep it moving and check out today's episode. This week's guest is Kyla Denayo, a podcast host lawyer, and founder of KD Creative. Kyla, tell us more about you.
08:38 09:25- Kyla Denanyoh: So, hey! Huge thing about me, I'm an Ohioan. I moved back to Ohio last year. I am obsessed with Ohio. It feels so good to be back where I'm from. I'm a lawyer. I went to law school, graduated 2015. I worked tons of corporate jobs. I'm a creative, but all of this to say I'm a storyteller. That is my number one claim to fame. When I was young, I loved storytelling. I love books. I read about three or four books every week, nonfiction and fiction books. Um, I host a podcast. I actually help other people host podcasts. Like that's how much I enjoy storytelling that I will help you get your story out there. So yeah, number one, I'm a storyteller and then everything else, lawyer, mom, Ohioan, all the stuff.

09:25 09:33- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: That all follows. You know what? I just read, I have forgotten that we are both Midwesterners. So is it, is it Cincinnati or is it Cleveland?

09:33 09:38- Kyla Denanyoh: No, I'm actually from Columbus, but then I lived in Cincinnati for like seven years and then we just came back.

09:39 10:52- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Okay. Okay. Yeah. So we're just, we're near, we're neighbors. Yes. My son is actually, um, in Bowling Green at college. Yeah. So we have that connection. So awesome. Awesome. And yeah, as far as the books go, um, you and I, we do have a book that we both adore. Um, we should all be millionaires as we should. So we've talked about that book. We kind of bonded over that book and we were having a conversation earlier about that. Um, I'm on my, Uh, I read it one time and then I started again. And then I stopped at a certain point because that point really requires some work and I'm not mentally there. So it's like, all right, we don't, we don't stop, but I am listening to, um, listening to the podcast. And so the, uh, it's Rachel Rogers is the author and I am listening to her podcast. So starting from her old episodes and, and getting caught up. Yeah, we love her. Yes, we do, we do. So you're using your decade of experience in project management to help small business owners save time and expand brand visibility with podcasting. Give us a high level overview of how you're doing this.

10:52 12:48- Kyla Denanyoh: Okay, so high level, your customers want to hear from you. Okay, this has changed since 2020, everybody in the house, right? YouTube blew up, vlogging blew up again, because everyone was like, well, how are you living? Well, how are you living? Like, even now, I'm talking to you, I'm like, okay, look at her with her Afro hair in the crown. Where'd you get that from? Who made that for you, right? People want to know who you are. Back in the day, it used to be, well, I buy this kind of cereal because that's the cereal I like. Now, if you find out the CEO has some scandal, well, I'm moving on to a different cereal. That's how people are right now. Yeah. And so your customers want to hear from you. So with KD Creative, what I do is I work with small business owners. You already have a brand. You already have customers. You already have an audience. Let's say you're selling mechanical pencils. We use your pencils. We love your pencils. We find out your son used to chew his old pencil and you created this. Everybody should know about these pencils, right? People want to know the origin story. They want to know the background. They want to know why you decided to take the risk to start it. People want to know. And so what I think is so fascinating about helping people save time and getting their brand out there is that your business is boring to you. Oh, I do this every day. Well, I don't know that, right? I want to know why your wall is that color green? Is it seafoam? Is it split pea? Like, I want to know. And so you tell me this whole story about how your grandma loved green and that I'm like, wow, I will continue to buy from Deneen. I love her story. So that's why I created it. That's why it's for business owners, because you get so used to the day-to-day running your business that you're like, oh, that stuff is regular. And it's not, people want to know about it. And so you can work with me. I can launch your podcast and we can expand your brand visibility. It already existed, but now you have a whole new audience through podcasting.

12:49 13:38- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Yeah, you know what, I love that. I love how you, you're very excited about the storytelling and then like, like how you want to get into people's business. I'm about to get into your business in a minute, but before we go there, I'm the artist of the opera. Okay. That's my art back there. Love it. As a matter of fact, this wall behind me is a wall. So you have art for me, you have art for my son and you have art from other friends and family. That's this particular. wall, and I am a collector. I collect black art, and so my dining room is my dining room art gallery. And then I have this other wall. I have art from my travel. So yes, I'm big into art, so I love it. I love that. Thank you. So you are active on YouTube. What is your channel about?

13:38 15:14- Kyla Denanyoh: So I actually have two channels. I have the You Are A Lawyer podcast, which is a spinoff of my podcast that I started three years ago. So I record with lawyers, but we talk about everything but your current job. How did you get there? Why did you choose law? Why did you leave law to open a food truck, consulting business, all this stuff, right? Because I'm obsessed with people's origin stories. I want to know why you made that decision in that second, and would I make that same decision, or will your story help me make a different decision? Right? Like, I love the story. I love it. So I have the You Are a Lawyer podcast YouTube channel, but then I also have my personal channel, JustKylaDenanya on YouTube. And it is all about storytelling. I do book reviews every single Monday. I also do some videos about podcasting and how you can get into podcasting. But overall, for the last almost two years, it'll be two years in March 2024, I have been reading books and talking about them online. I love books. Right. And so what I love about YouTube is that it's a mini time capsule of what's going on right now. So I'll read, we should all be millionaires. And I'm like, this was impactful to me because I never thought about having a dream life. I never thought about this. Let's say I read it next year. And I'm like, wow, I got this other lesson from the story, right? Like the videos will always be relevant because it's about what was important to me at the time I recorded it. And so that's why I love YouTube and I love sharing books with other people. If I can inspire you to pick up a book and learn somebody else's story, that's what I want to do with the Tyler Denayo YouTube channel.

15:14 15:48- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: That's awesome. And you know what, I just pulled my hair off the way because my shirt, my brand is to live a dream lifestyle. And that's also what kind of connected us because you brought up the book because I was talking about that. I'm a dream lifestyle coach. And so we were, you know, and you, you know, remembered in a book how she does talk about, well, think about, you know, your dream lifestyle and, you know, what does that look like and how you want it to be. And also I just, you know, remembered that she, her background is in law as well. It is. Yeah. And she's not practicing law and you're not either. Correct. Correct.

15:48 18:24- Kyla Denanyoh: Yeah. So another story for you. Yes. So I'm running my podcast and I took six months. My husband's like, spend six months, try to make money from it, become a content creator full time. Let's see what happens. Six months turns into nine months. And I'm like, okay, well, somebody has got to pay the mortgage. What are we going to do? So I connected with a podcast coach and she's like, you're charging too low. Okay. So my first client, I was like, oh, I'll do $140 for 12 episodes. You know, the person didn't even record or turn anything into me. I was too cheap. They didn't believe they were going to get anything out of it. And they were, I'm like, Hey, where's your content? Hey, where's your content? I don't have time. I don't have time. Nevermind. Just keep the money. Okay. So then the next client, I was like $250 for two episodes. And my coach is like too cheap, too cheap, too cheap. So I was uncomfortable with just saying, I want $8,000. I just didn't know where that number came from. I just was like, I'm just uncomfortable with that. I have a legal background. You need to have research and analytics. I can't just grab a number. And so I went to the library and started looking at books on confidence. And I literally found the book called, We Should All Be Millionaires. Because I think the tagline is like, it's something about how to know your worth and improve yourself. And I think that was why they recommended it to me. So I'm reading the book and you know, she's like, well, you can go out and look at other people's pricing, or you can think about what you want out of life, or you can make a list of your skills and all of this. And it got me to be like, $1,500 a client and then 900 a month. And let's just see. And I had three clients in a week because they were like, oh, I'm gonna get my money's worth with that $1,500. Or, oh, I don't have it right now. Give me a week to find it. And then they give me all their content in a day. And I was like, I wasn't charging enough for them to even be encouraged to even do the work. So that was how I found the book. And like, it's changed everything since then, because there's one part in the book where she's like, after you have a client, then you need to increase your prices. Clearly someone can pay that $100 increase your prices. Um, so I was like, wow, I'm so happy that I found the book all because I was skeptical. Like, can I just charge that? I mean, I would love to charge $8,000, but also. I probably would have had some imposter syndrome, like, can I, can I do it? So I had to start with 15, but the 15 works. Um, so yeah.

18:24 19:37- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Yeah, absolutely. And you know what, what I took away from that book too, was that she's definitely about, and she teaches growth mindset. Right. And kind of like what you've already talked about, she's like, think about, you know, again, how do you how do you want your life to be? How much does it cost for you to maintain that? OK, now figure out how to make that money. And there are so many different ways to make money that we don't even consider. Right. And so that is definitely something that I've taken away from that book, that there are many ways to make money. You just have to get creative and think about it and know your worth, right? And be confident in yourself. Because the thing, too, is when we're like, I remember something before reading, like, you know, you're thinking about, oh, well, how much would you charge for something? And you're just thinking about, oh, well, that's going to take me an hour. OK, here's the thing. This is what we're not taking in consideration. Everything that it took for you to be able to get that thing done in an hour. Yep. So the years of experience, your expertise, you know, your education, maybe hiring coaches, whatever, all the things that it took for you to be able to get that thing done in an hour, we don't take in consideration. And so that's also what she helps you to understand that that's what you're charging for in your work. Yeah.

19:39 20:23- Kyla Denanyoh: It's that, and then it's also what, even the hour, even if that's a little amount of time, what you're giving up for that hour, right? I'm not being with my child. I'm not just relaxing. I'm not recording with you because I got to go do whatever for an hour. All of that stuff is taken into account. And also there's a point where, and we're probably talking about the same thing, just different aspects. She talks about why hourly pricing doesn't work. You've got to charge per project because again, Hey, I'm going to edit your 45 minute video. It's going to take me 90 minutes. Well, okay. I think 90 minutes is worth 250, but you just saved two weeks worth of time. Yeah. Oh, you're paying me for the fact that you saved two weeks worth of time. Like that's what, that's what you're getting paid for.

20:24 20:49- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Yes. And so what the part, so what she is, uh, Kyla is emphasizing here is that, you know, charge based off of a project and whatnot, or even let's say, okay, this is what my rate is for a month. And this is what you're going to get for that month, that type of thing, as opposed to maybe hourly. And if you do hourly, go big. There's a deal. It's not my business that it only took you 10 minutes to do that thing that you're charging me an hour for.

20:50 21:06- Kyla Denanyoh: That ain't my business. And listen, I'm talking, worked at a law firm, billing 325 an hour go big. Okay. Clients will pay it and they will be like, you saved us from this. It would have cost us this much if we didn't hire you. Absolutely. 325 an hour.

21:06 21:17- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Absolutely. And that's where it goes when you know yourself, know your worth and what you bring to the table when you're confident in that, then, okay. So you either going to pay it or you're not. Cause guess what? Somebody will.

21:17 22:21- Kyla Denanyoh: Somebody will. And that, Oh, that's a whole lesson right there because it's hard. I mean, when you're starting a business, you want to make money. So, oh, I think 125 I just want to make money without realizing can I wait another two months and make $1,500 right now? I just want money. Yeah, but you do get to a point and it did come from reading those books. I had a whole the month of March 2023 was called the confidence series. I was reading book after book after book about confidence because I didn't know and I was like, I've been confident in the legal arena. I was confident as a podcaster. I don't know myself as a business owner. Who am I? So I'm reading books called, what was it? Unaccidental, like entrepreneurship or something. It's all these books with like these really brazen names. Be the strongest woman that walks in a room. Because I was like, how do I learn from them? How can I become that person? How can I get all of that stuff? And then I was like, wow, I just turned into a business owner.

22:22 22:46- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: That's awesome. That is, yeah, look at you. That is so wonderful. So this podcast is about, uh, empowering women of color and elevating their voices. So thinking about how you got to where you are now, um, and the books that you read. So during your confidence period or any other period, what three actions can women of color take to tap into their power and voice? And what one book would you recommend?

22:46 24:36- Kyla Denanyoh: Ooh, what one book let's start with that one. The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. And let me tell you, Deneen did not tip me off to get me prepared. I love that book. If my office was more organized, I would show it to you. I love that book. I read it at least once a year. It is phenomenal. And then the three things that women should do. The first one is don't negotiate with yourself. The second one is trust your voice. And then the third one is create a dream life. It's a little all kind of work together. You know, you want some ice cream and you're like, you know, I've worked hard. I'm just I'm going out to get ice cream. No, just have your little mango fruit popsicle and all day long you think about your ice. Mm-hmm. All of those little negotiations with yourself cause you to not trust yourself. Well, did I really want it or did I really want the mango or did I just want to eat? If you're not going into debt or hurting someone to get the ice cream, why don't you just get it? You know what I mean? And you don't have to buy a tub. Stop negotiating with yourself. If you want to run a business and you're terrified, I get it, but somebody else has done it and you can talk to them. If you want to start a podcast and you're terrified, Denine has done it. Listen to all her content and figure out like, All of those things were just like, oh, I changed my mind, but you are negotiating with yourself. And then that causes you to be like, well, did I really want it or did I not? Now you don't trust yourself. And so how are you going to get to this big dream life when this whole time you're just like, well, I don't, do I want a dream? What is the dream life? Can I have a dream life? Because you're so used to just negotiating with yourself all day long. So.

24:36 25:09- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: I love that. I have never heard that. I absolutely love that perspective. And thank you for expounding on that. Because I'm like, OK, now give me an example of that. What does that look like? So you know, often as Black women and other women of color, we do a lot or even too much. We don't always prioritize self and self-care. We don't get that ice cream when we want it. I just recently took a pause in the way of a two-month social media break. Talk to us about the importance of taking time for ourselves and the power in the pause.

25:09 27:47- Kyla Denanyoh: Power in the pause. I love that. So I would say the importance of taking time to yourself is just to connect with yourself, just to figure out how you are feeling. And when I said that right then an image popped in my mind of meditating, but it doesn't even have to be that big. Right. So I am a big reader. We've been talking about books this whole time, but I mean, like my husband enjoys TV. My three-year-old enjoys TV. They'll be in the room watching TV. I'm in the other room reading a book. That is time to myself. I am doing what I want to do. I'm zoned into my book, and I'm having that me time, right? It doesn't always have to be waiting three months and going to the spa. It can be something little. So for me, those things are really important to me to take that time. Trust my spouse. He's got it for an hour. Go read your book, right? It's an hour. He can only handle an hour? No. He has her all the time. For those times when I'm like, you know, maybe I've been listening to an audio book and I really want to finish it or I don't want to pause at that section. And I'm like, I'm gonna do it right now. Taking those times, right? Not just waiting until like she's asleep or it's the weekend or whatever. Those kinds of things to me are self-care. Carving out this time to record. You know, there's a million things you can do with 40 minutes. And I'm like, I'm gonna spend some time and talk to Janine. Hey. Um, so I think with the power of the pause, I think that's important because I do all the things I do. I do a lot. I do a lot of things, but the power of the pause is important because it helps me realize isn't really valuable or is it not valuable? Right? And I think because we want to do all the stuff because we want to be busy because we have multiple hats. We're wearing you got to figure out which balls are glass that you're throwing in the air and which balls are rubber, right? I'm juggling stuff. I got a podcast. I got a YouTube channel. I got a business. I got a recording as a guest. I'm doing this. I'm doing that. Okay. Um, I don't see my husband for a week. That's a glass ball. That's going to shatter, right? Maybe I can't record with the name for 40 minutes. We got to make it 20. That's a rubber ball. And so you just got to figure out, you got to pause. You got to say, okay, which one of these They're all important, but which one will have a really big impact, which one is going to shatter, which one is going to bounce, which one can you rearrange? And that happens for me when I do take that time and have the power of the pause and just kind of sit back and say, you want to do them all. You probably can't do them all, but there's going to be effects to doing that. So which ones can you prioritize and what has to be done now?

27:48 28:07- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: I love your perspective. I really do. This is so fun. So shifting gears a little bit, I honor my late sister, author and poet, Soul True, by asking about Dreams Deferred, which is the title of one of her books. Please share a Dreams Deferred moment. Ooh.

28:07 28:52- Kyla Denanyoh: I have a couple. Dreams Deferred. I have a current Dreams Deferred. Okay. So a current dream deferred is I want to write a book. Okay. And you will. And I will, and I'm terrified of it, but this is why I'm so funny. I go to live book signings and like author signings to hear their stories, to be like, they're just like me. Right. And I love it when they're like, Oh my God, it's so challenging because first you got to even write it to try to pitch. And I'm like, you're right. Okay. This fear is not fake. Right. It's not false. You're right. This is a big deal. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Right. Cause I'm not one of those like rah, rah, like it's the lawyer in me. I'll just talk myself out of it.

28:54 29:04- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Can you say do not negotiate with yourself? Okay. I just want to make sure I heard that now we can play the tape.

29:04 29:46- Kyla Denanyoh: I know. And it's recorded. That's, that's the whole, I know. So that, that is a current dream deferred, um, a past dream deferred. I wanted to go to law school for five years before I actually went. Okay. So I was 25, 28 years old when I went to law school because I had the inkling when I was a little kid, I used to wear my dad's robe around the house and pretend I was a judge and do all this stuff. And then I was like, I went to college and it was fine, but I was ready to work. I was like, okay, give me a job. And then I got a promotion. Then I got another job and I was working and I kept thinking about law school and I was negotiating with myself for five years. And then I finally went, so yeah, past and current. Dreams Deferred.

29:46 29:53- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Okay. And you know what, since you're right there and you brought it back up, why are you not practicing law?

29:53 32:28- Kyla Denanyoh: Oh, why am I not? So I did it for five years. I had a, I had a great time. I'm talking, um, and there's a little mini Dream Deferred in there. So I don't, I only know one lawyer and they actually were like an insurance defense lawyer. And there are 400 different kinds of practicing law, different things you can do when you practice. Yeah. So I was not adequately prepared when I went to law school, but I get to law school. I love it. I'm editor in chief. I'm writing, I'm reading, I'm doing all the things. I can't wait to be an attorney. I don't pass the bar. Okay. Well now who am I? I'm a person who went to law school. Well, that's boring. Right? And so, okay. Life keeps going. You need a job. I get a job. I'm a legal secretary. I still want to be around it. Legal secretary. Oh, you do such a great job. You know, how did you know how to do all of this? Oh, you know, when I was editor in chief at law school. Why are you a legal secretary? Did you graduate? Yeah. So you're a lawyer. No, no, no. I just went to law school. You are a lawyer. And so my podcast is actually called you are a lawyer. It was a mantra to myself. You are a lawyer. You went to law school, you're a lawyer, whether you're practicing or not. So I took their little, you know, acorn seed of confidence in me. And I ended up becoming a paralegal. I ended up switching to a different department and I ran an entire department of paralegals that I would hire, train, nurture, do all this stuff with in this law firm. And everybody is like, I love such a rock star. Oh my goodness. She's amazing. They're like, yeah, she's a lawyer. She knows us. She knows how we work. She knows how we think. And I was hiding in the basement as a secretary. And then I was like, okay, but that was, I was a huge dream deferred. I didn't know what I would do as an attorney, but I just knew you went to law school and became an attorney. And I actually never did. And so I have to say that because I'm not ashamed of it now. When I graduated, it would have been a whole nother conversation, but now I'm actually not ashamed of it, but I actually never was practicing. I was in a law firm. I was, you know, kicking butt, taking names, working the 75 hours a week, had the business cards and the power suits to prove it. And I was like, I met all these really cool lawyers and decided to start talking to them, which was the acorn seed to plant my podcast, which then got me into hosting shows for other people after podcasting for three years. So. It all kind of stacked and built on top of itself.

32:28 33:16- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: And it is. I mean, you said you wanted to be a lawyer and you are so I know you've done that. And I just wanted to point out because you said it, but I'm writing. You were writing those things. So going back to your book, I'm just saying, all these things prepared you is there. It's just, you know, it's about, uh, just executing when you're ready. Cause when you're ready, you're going to do it. So you're just right now talking it out and kind of talking yourself into it, which is kind of leaning, leading us into number three. So this is the third action that you mentioned. And like I said, it's my, um, it's my, uh, brand and it's what I'm focused on. which is empowering women of color to live a dream lifestyle. What is the dream lifestyle to you? And how do you live a dream life?

33:16 34:01- Kyla Denanyoh: Ooh, a dream lifestyle to me is a lifestyle where I can take a vacation one week to three months and not think like nothing about the cost, not think about the logistics. And I'm not talking like, okay, you hire a travel agent. I'm talking like, you want to go to Greece for four months? because you got the money there because you have your business that you know intact because all of it is there and you could just be like so i'm guessing flexibility is a dream lifestyle for me to be able to just pick up and go and do because i am operations logistic minded and for me to be like oh we got it whatever it is we got it that would be a dream lifestyle for me absolutely Um, and the second question was, what am I doing to get it?

34:01 34:15- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Or, um, you can say what you're doing to get it, um, and how you're living it. So if you, if you feel you're already living that dream life, or if you feel like I'm emotional, I'm preparing to get the car, but you want to answer.

34:15 35:37- Kyla Denanyoh: Yep. So I'm definitely emotion to get it. I'm I'm 100% emotion to get it. One of the key factors that are, that is helping me to get a dream lifestyle is I took a part-time job. Okay. I was running my podcast and having fun and my nine months were up and my husband's like, what are you going to do? And I mean, I was still learning about how to monetize my talents. Right. And so it was fun to get a podcast sponsor, but you get $5,000 once. And then you're like, okay, but the next season is coming. Right. And so that part was really hard. And I was like, okay, so what are we going to do? You're going to get a part-time job. you'll get it at a place that you enjoy. And then now I have money to pay my virtual assistant, which allows me to go from one client to five clients because it doesn't all require my time. you know, I'm taking that little check. It's as if it never even comes in because I've taken that, you know, thousand dollars a week job and turned it into $7,000 clients because I actually have the time now. I get a little break from my own businesses when I go and do that little job. And then I'm refreshed to come back and say, well, what are my people talking about? Um, so that is how I am getting closer to my dream life. I don't know if you can see it. I know we're recording and we might use the video, but I have a millionaire necklace.

35:37 37:24- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Oh, nice claim. Yes. Claim it. You went, okay. You know what? And here's the deal. See Rachel needs to go ahead and give us some type of affiliate link. Cause like we are riding her jock on this particular call, right? Rocking your millionaire necklace. But another thing that she does talk about, she is big on contracting out. She's big on You know hiring people to do those things that you don't want to do whether you can or not it's not even about whether you can or cannot it's about what you want and don't want to do. And she's big on you know hire it out, because it does free up I have posted something on linkedin a little while ago about how the cluttering is self care. Right. And just about the act of going ahead and getting rid of things that no longer serve you. Because sometimes it's not only is it physically in a way, it's also mentally draining sometimes. Like, oh my God, all this stuff in the closet. And for me, I went through my closets and I got rid of things that were too big. I'm like, okay, This size no longer serves me so you got to go, you got to go like oh i'll review this size like i'm not wearing this size anymore like don't if it has that l I don't want it. You know, I was just getting rid of, but it and it serves so many different purposes, because again it's making space right it's making space for new things. Um, and it's also, it's also for me is physical representation of the journey I'm on. So there's health and wellness. So like, okay, look, you're no, you're, you know, you've lost weight and, and so many different things that it is for us. And so absolutely. Rachel is huge on hiring people out. Cause like you said, now you're free, you freed up some time. You have someone doing some things that you probably didn't want, that you didn't want to do. Obviously you're paying them to do it and you're investing in somebody, right?

37:24 38:46- Kyla Denanyoh: You're investing in someone, supporting another economy. The way I think about it, I'm like, I'm a micro economy, let's see. Because honestly, so I really enjoy editing audio and I do now. I've been doing it for three years and I'm sure that's part of it, but I really did enjoy it. And I'm like, I can't give up that piece. Kyla, it takes you three hours. She can get it done in an hour. And it doesn't hurt anyone. And guess what? The story was still told, right? I had to look at the big picture. The big picture is, was this goal met? Yes. Was this success met? Yes. Do you have to do it all? Because that's the other thing about being an entrepreneur. I created this. I can't give it away. You're not giving it away. You are valuing your own time enough to say, Let me support another person, support another economy. And now I actually have more time to have calls with people, to coach them, to get their podcasts out there. Because I had to get honest with my, with what my mission was. Okay, so you're going to edit for people because they don't want to edit? No, I want more stories. So how do you get more stories without the drama? If you get them to skip all the boring stuff, which is my website, skiptheboringstuff.com and they just get to be the talent and record, you can have all the stories out there and they don't have to worry about the work.

38:46 39:33- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Listen, I just, so I'm in a process of hiring someone as well. And so he was pitching to do, to work on YouTube, et cetera, et cetera. Well, I'm like, well, I'm not really focused on YouTube right now. And unless you can tell me what the ROI is going to be, you know, or see it sooner rather than later, then I don't necessarily want to invest in that. However, it would really be beneficial for you to do X, Y, Z for me instead. Right. And so he's like, absolutely, we can look at that. So to your point, you know, like in talent. So I'm like, I just want to show up. You know what I'm saying? I want, that's it. I just want to show up and be the talent. This is exactly what I told him. I want you to say, okay, Danine, you have this speaking opportunity, da, da, da, da, da, on this day, da, da, da. Okay.

39:33 39:34- Kyla Denanyoh: Yeah.

39:34 39:43- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: That's it. I don't want to have to reach out to them, you know, cause he gave me a list. I'm like, I want to do all of that. No, you do that. And I just show up.

39:44 40:44- Kyla Denanyoh: And you can find that I've started to call myself a podcast strategist and that actually has helped because people you know what a strategy is. Yeah, because for a while I was calling myself a podcast editor just because people were like editor. I know what that is, but I'm a manager. I'm a strategist. I'm all of it. Like I'm pitching you as a guest. I'm pitching guests to come on to your show. We're getting you signed up for speaking calls, but we talk about what is it that your brand wants? Yeah, one of my clients is a dermatologist and she's like, I want more speaking opportunities. I'm like, Girl, a podcast is public speaking every week, right? And so then clients contact her and they're like, Oh, we loved your story. Would you expound on it in this way? And I mean, like, yeah, so you have to figure out what the goal is. And then that's where like the strategy comes in. So it's a little bit more than just the editing. If you really do want to just show up and I, we hadn't planned this part either, but I do tell them that you can go to my website and see, I say, you're the talent. Will Smith is not editing his own movies. He shows up and records, goes have some water and goes on like.

40:45 41:36- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Right. I know. I know. And you know, and I have to say this, so those that are listening, if you are looking for someone to help you with your podcast strategy, Kyla definitely would be able to help you. She helped me already before we even got on this call. So, you know, I was talking to her about my show notes, which I talk about in my solo episode as well. Like, okay, that's the hold up on me publishing my guest episodes, these show notes. And so she has already told me about a tool to use. So y'all, I'll be able to help. We did all of it. We did all the things that we talked about, all the things. So yes, again, if you're looking for that, then Kyla definitely can help you with that. Because again, she has her background. I mean, she's passionate about it. And she comes with years of experience, project management, et cetera, which she can bring into this. So Kyla.

41:37 41:59- Kyla Denanyoh: Yeah, sorry, but and I have the same 24 hours as you. Yeah, I love how are you doing all this because I'm outsourcing it and I use the same tools that we talked about on my show. I had an episode that went up today. I'm still rolling out the content and I don't have to do it all. So yeah, there's options for you and women black women women of color.

41:59 42:19- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: We don't have to do it all to stop to stop. That's how you take care of yourself. That's that's taking care of self that self care, all the things. So I have so enjoyed this call, girl. I am so glad that we were able to connect. Before we wrap, what would you like to leave the audience with?

42:19 42:54- Kyla Denanyoh: So I would like to just say Trust yourself. You've made it this far. You are successful. You decided you were going to listen to the episode. You listened to it. You decided you're going to spend a couple minutes. You made it right. Like take a moment. Look at all the successful things you did. You got up. You may have went to work. You put gas in your car. You fed yourself. You may have fed someone else. Like you have to celebrate all those little moments. And it's not a small thing to say this morning. Cause I didn't have to write. You didn't have to. So I would say trust yourself and celebrate all those little moments.

42:54 43:04- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Love it. Absolutely love it. Kyla Dananyo, thank you so much for lending your voice on Women of Color in Intimate Conversation and enjoy the rest of your day.

43:04 43:14- Kyla Denanyoh: Thank you. Welcome.

43:14 44:05- Deneen L. Garrett, Creator & Host: Thank you for listening to today's episode of Women of Color in Intimate Conversation. Let me know your thoughts. Send me an email at Denene at DeneneLGarrett.com or tweet about it at DeneneLGarrett. My goal is to impact the lives of millions of women of color and in order to do so I need to reach them and that's where you come in. Please subscribe if you haven't already done so and share the episodes. And again let me hear from you. I'm your host Deneen L. Garrett. I'm also a Women's Empowerment Speaker and a Dream Lifestyle Coach. Check out my website DeneenLGarrett.com and until next time have a fabulous week.

Kyla DenanyohProfile Photo

Kyla Denanyoh

Founder and Podcast Coach

Kyla Denanyoh is a podcast host, lawyer, and founder of KD Creative. With a decade of experience in project management, Kyla helps small business owners save time and expand brand visibility with podcasting. Skip the boring stuff and launch your podcast at www.skiptheboringstuff.com.