Meet Karen Campbell

We recently connected with Karen Campbell and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Karen with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

“My work ethic comes from seeing the impact of consistency over time. Whether it was school, my early jobs, or building my company, I learned that showing up every day, even when things get tough, is what creates results. I carry that mindset into everything I do.”

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Some people spend their whole lives trying to fit into one identity. I’ve always lived comfortably in two.

I’m a contractor and a composer.
By day, I run Campbell Construction Management Group in South Florida, where I focus on the types of projects most people try to avoid: expired permits, violations, and properties stuck in years of red tape. I help owners navigate complicated municipal processes and bring stalled buildings back into compliance. It’s detailed work, and it requires patience, problem-solving, and a steady hand. I take pride in being someone who can walk into chaos and create clarity.

And then there’s the other part of my life, the musical world that has been with me since childhood. When I sit at the piano, everything quiets down. That’s where I reconnect with myself. I’m currently re-recording my album Ayaguano and composing new pieces that explore memory, movement, and the emotional landscapes that can’t always be put into words.

Most people assume these two paths contradict each other, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. Construction taught me discipline, structure, and resilience. Music taught me imagination, sensitivity, and the courage to express what’s real. Together, they’ve shaped a career, and a life, that feels authentic, unconventional, and deeply my own.

Right now, I’m expanding both sides of my work: growing my firm’s presence in the permitting and violation-resolution space, and developing new creative projects, including new music and a memoir about rebuilding identity from both the personal and professional angles.

If there’s one message I hope readers take from my story, it’s that you don’t have to limit yourself to one lane. You can build in the daytime and compose at night. You can be analytical and artistic, grounded and expressive, technical and creative. You can allow all the parts of yourself to coexist, and even strengthen one another.

You can be both the architect and the artist of your own life.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

When I look back at the turning points in my life and career, three qualities stand out as the forces that carried me through: resilience, resourcefulness, and range.

Resilience: the strength to keep moving when life gets loud.
My journey has been anything but linear. I’ve navigated family tensions, medical challenges, and the pressure of running a company in an industry that rarely slows down. There were moments where stepping back would have been easier, but resilience kept me grounded. It’s the quiet ability to continue building, whether it’s a business, a piece of music, or a new version of myself, even when circumstances are difficult.

For those just starting out:
Don’t fear challenges. Resilience isn’t developed in perfect conditions; it’s shaped in the moments that test your commitment the most.

Resourcefulness: finding a way forward even when the map doesn’t exist.
In permitting, zoning, and construction, nothing is ever handed to you neatly. Regulations shift, systems change, and every project tells a different story. Resourcefulness becomes a survival skill: you learn to solve problems creatively, look beyond the obvious, and piece together answers others might overlook. Music has taught me the same thing, improvisation is simply resourcefulness in sound.

For beginners:
Stay curious. Ask questions. Try different angles. Resourcefulness grows when you trust your ability to figure things out.

Range: giving yourself permission to be more than one thing.
For a long time, I felt pressured to choose an identity: contractor or composer. But embracing both didn’t divide me, it expanded me. The moment I allowed my duality to exist without apology, everything shifted. My business evolved, my creativity deepened, and I discovered a voice that felt fully authentic, not edited down to fit expectations.

For those early in their journey:
Don’t shrink to fit a single box. The parts of you that feel “different” may be your greatest strengths. Your skills, passions, and lived experiences are a palette, use all of them.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

My biggest challenge right now is learning how to grow without burning out; how to expand my business, my creative work, and the next chapter of my life while still protecting my energy and my peace.

As my company takes on larger and more complex permitting and construction projects, and as my artistic life begins to flourish again through music and writing, I’m constantly balancing ambition with sustainability. I’ve always been the person who steps into every role: strategist, problem-solver, builder, composer. That versatility is one of my strengths, but it can also stretch me thin if I’m not intentional.

To meet that challenge, I’m restructuring the way I lead. I’m building a stronger internal team, delegating more, and putting real systems in place rather than relying on sheer endurance. I’m also making space for my creative work—not as something I squeeze in when I can, but as a meaningful part of my life and identity. And on a personal level, I’m learning to set clearer boundaries around the things that drain my energy or pull me away from my purpose.

What I’ve learned is that growth requires letting go, letting go of doing everything myself, letting go of outdated versions of who I thought I needed to be, and letting go of the idea that strength means carrying it all alone.

I’m in the middle of building the next version of my business and my art, one that’s broader, more sustainable, and more aligned with who I’m becoming. It’s a transition, but it’s also a transformation, and I’m embracing it fully.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ccmgus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccmg_us/#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karencampbellmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-campbell-057509b/

Image Credits

Karen Campbell