Conversations with Kaylee Flores

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kaylee Flores.

Hi Kaylee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.

I think I’ve always known music and entrepreneurship were my passion. I was a toddler when I began playing piano and a teenager when my best friend and I started our first legally recognized business. What was clearly more than a hobby has ended up being my full-time job, and looking back over the years, it was a perfect combination of the many consistent little decisions and a couple of big ones that got me where I am today.

The thousands of hours spent practicing piano, songwriting, sending emails to book shows, traveling to play shows, posting my services on online groups, and connecting with clients were all led by daily decisions I made over the course of years. The most impactful Big Decisions were getting my Bachelor’s in Recording Industry Management with a concentration in Commercial Songwriting and a minor in Entrepreneurship and leaving my stable job in 2022 to start my own business, Go Big Sounds, a one-stop shop for creative professionals, with just two months of expenses saved and no further back up plan.

It’s immensely cathartic to remember when I started identifying as a singer-songwriter and what my life looked like in terms of fans, performances, and identity compared to now. I first started performing open-mic nights as a young teenager, even busking in Downtown Nashville, and I sold CDs of original songs to classmates, teachers, and family to raise funds to record my music. Ten years later, I now have an album recorded that I’m currently producing, music and music videos released, an international audience, and regular paid performances, and I have performed around the country from Tennessee to Atlanta to Los Angeles’s The Viper Room.

In terms of my business, Go Big Sounds, when I first started in 2022, I was paying all of my living expenses except bills and rent with a credit card. Slowly but surely, I eventually got enough piano students and clients to become less and less dependent on my credit card until the last few months when I was able to fully support myself with my business.

All without a website, strictly through online advertisements and referrals! I am hopeful and confident that my business will continue to grow, especially once I launch my website, so I can comfortably and quickly pay off the debt I took on to get it started.

Over the last two years, I have constantly been monitoring my finances, and which of my services have made me the most profit, and from there, I have been analyzing what I need to invest more time and effort in order to maximize profits. Consistency and being realistic about where my business should be financially in its first two years really has been key in making sure my business continues to grow.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Absolutely not. I have had dozens, if not hundreds, of conversations with loved ones, asking if I’m making the biggest mistake of my life by pursuing a music career and quitting my stable job to start my own business. It actually sounds crazy written out like that.

The journey has been anything but smooth, but it has been well worth it. I still struggle often, though, with keeping a positive and healthy mindset surrounding what I’m choosing to do with my life. It is easy to doubt that I chose the right path, especially when I have a bad experience at a venue, or things don’t move as quickly as I hope they would with new gigs or clients.

Navigating the balance between self-employment and day jobs has also been challenging. After the first two years of running my business full-time, a previous place of employment offered me a leadership position, an offer that was hard to refuse. When they reached out, my last relationship had just ended, and I was looking for a new home.

Though my business had just begun to fully support me, I knew the self-employed income would not allow me to qualify for the kind of home I was interested in. So I ended up returning to that job and seeing it as a way to fund my music career, business, and pay off some of the debt I took on at the start of my business. It was a hard adjustment, but I am making the most of it, and so far, my business has only continued to grow.

It has also been difficult having to adapt to how much of my life is spent on my phone and computer. As a sole proprietor, I receive an extremely high volume of messages, emails, and calls on nearly a daily basis. As a musician, it is practically a requirement to have a strong social media presence, which results in more messages and comments to engage with.

This isn’t to say I wish people would stop reaching out. I love connecting with people, and I love that they feel connected to me and my content. However, I often feel disconnected from the people right in front of me because my mind is preoccupied with all the people who are awaiting important responses from me.

This leads to probably the biggest challenge I’ve struggled with thus far, which is learning when to stop working as a business owner. When so much of my job can be done from my phone, my mind tends to be “on the clock” 24/7. I bring my laptop with me everywhere I go, including my day job (where I’m writing this right now) and vacation (nothing inspires me to organize downloads and documents into folders more than a long car ride or being on a plane).

To be able to work whenever and wherever I choose is one of the main reasons I wanted to own my own business, especially one that operates mostly virtually. I didn’t anticipate a new problem, being unable to draw the line on when to stop working. However, I really enjoy being able to work and continue to make money while I’m on vacation when, in the past, vacation meant a loss of money, which would lead to stress when I’m supposed to be relaxing.

I suppose every work situation has its own unique set of challenges, and I’m fortunate that my challenges are ultimately entirely within my control.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?

I’m an alternative rock solo artist, and I perform under my own name, Kaylee Flores. I’m based in Middle Tennessee and I regularly perform my self-produced music around the United States.

My specialty has always been piano, and I’m known as a pianist and songwriter of music that stands out for its unique blend of poetic eloquence and blunt honesty, allowing me to explore complex emotions and themes of self-discovery in a way that resonates deeply with listeners. As a musician and entertainer, I think I’m also known for my unwavering willingness to speak my truth, whether through my lyrics or in general as a person.

I’m extremely proud of releasing my album’s debut single in both English and Spanish, You and I Do and Entre Tú y Yo, but I am most proud of my determination and perseverance as a musician. It is an easy career to give up on before it even begins, and I certainly don’t blame people who do. The income is inconsistent, all the start-up costs are high, the industry is full of scammers, and no amount of talent guarantees anyone’s success.

But I have pushed through the negativity time and time again, and I have found a beautiful little community of artists who want nothing more than to support and encourage each other. Though sometimes it feels like I’ve been stagnant, if I look at the progress I’ve made over the last 10 years and hope for that same growth in the next 10, I think I can certainly get to where I want to be as a performer.

What sets me apart is my personal identity and open discussion of topics that our society discourages the acknowledgment of and how it shapes the world for me and many others. My experience is extremely common yet still very underrepresented in most spaces. I’m a queer second-generation immigrant who had a very turbulent upbringing filled with love, joy, abuse, and fear, and these identities play a large role in the work I do and how I navigate life to this day.

I’m very open about the violence and life-long consequences I and my family have suffered at the hands of white supremacy, and I think it helps a lot of people like me, especially those who have experienced physical, emotional, and religious trauma, to know that our struggles are not isolated. There is abundant healing and happiness ahead when you find the strength to separate yourself the best you can from any person, organization, or culture that perpetuates the brutality that is white supremacy and I aim to encourage others to do so every way I can with my work.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?

Yes, I have so many! As a business owner, I am always looking for free and budget-friendly resources that create value for me. I live off of spreadsheets, and I use the Sheets app by Google for my personal and business budgets.

I track and categorize each and every one of my purchases to the dollar by the month, and then at the end of the year, I analyze each spreadsheet, write down my biggest spending trends and goals, and adjust the new sheet accordingly for the new year. I have the Docs app by Google, too, and it’s so convenient to write up any kind of document from my phone and download it in whatever format I need to deliver. I use Planner Pro for all my calendar and scheduling purposes, and it’s connected to my Google Calendar, which is really convenient at times.

For creativity, I can boil everything down to Notes, Voice Memos, CapCut, and Canva. The free versions of all these have served me well, but when I have a higher budget or need for it I would love to get Canva Premium. WeTransfer always saves the day when transferring large files.

I really enjoy podcasts and listen to different ones while I’m completing different tasks. I definitely spend the most time listening to Financial Feminist and Duolingo Spanish Podcasts. I also listen to NPR almost every day, and I really enjoy The Working Songwriter when I need some inspiration.

As a musician and business owner, travel is a big part of my life, and I have a few apps that make it go as smoothly as possible. Of course, I have to give a shout-out to Duolingo! I swear by my 500+ day streak and the power of one lesson a day! I also use my Reminders app to make sure I prepare properly for travel. I have a master Packing List template that has every single thing I could possibly need to pack for a trip. For all bookings, I always use Momondo to show me all the best flight, lodging, and car rental options. It combines all the deals from websites offering what I’m trying to book and always shows me the best travel itinerary and places to stay at my destination.

Lastly, I use HappyCow when I travel to find great restaurants that have food I can eat. One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying new food, but sometimes, it can be tricky to find restaurants that have quality vegetarian and vegan dishes. HappyCow lists all the restaurants in your chosen radius and displays their vegetarian and vegan options.

Contact Info:

• Website: kayleeflores.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayleeflorez/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayleeflo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-flores-9777261b7
• Twitter: https://x.com/kayleeflorez
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Kayleefloresmusic
• Other: gobigsounds.com

Image Credits
Martha Lopez, Israel Garcia, Jonathan Flores, and Corey Scanlon