Meet Kayla MacVean-Salaun

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kayla MacVean-Salaun. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kayla below.

Kayla, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

Creativity has always come easily for me, but staying creative or being creative ‘on demand’ is much harder. However, given that my career and livelihood depend on me remaining creative 24/7, I’ve found some hacks to make it easier:

First and foremost is consuming content. People often think that disconnecting and staying off social media will give you the best ideas (and sometimes it does), but spending time scrolling through REELs and TikTok, reading through other brands’ email newsletters, and paying attention to funny trends always sparks an idea that you can use as a starting point. Bonus points if you look at your competitors’ content for inspiration (emphasis on inspiration) (not to copy!)

Boosting endorphins while spending time alone really helps, too. Running, working out, going on a walk while jamming to music that makes me happy, showering, or even laying by the pool–are all things that get my creative juices flowing. The key here is to be alone, though–I’ve noticed that ideas come quicker when I’m not distracted (or fully present, rather) with someone else.

Other things like watching shows with funny/witty scripts (hi F.R.I.E.N.D.S.) or flipping through magazines help as well, especially if they evoke some sort of emotion.

And, the most important thing I do is to always keep a notepad or a note open on my phone to quickly write down any idea that comes to mind. The only thing worse than not having any ideas is having had one, forgetting to write it down, and then forgetting it. I’ll shamelessly wake up at 3am to write ideas down or text myself random things during meetings!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I own a social media marketing agency that specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses grow through social media (duh), email marketing, and other marekting initiatives that complement a consistent social media strategy. What I feel is most exciting or special about it is being able to use skills that come easily to me to make a difference in other people’s businesses (and lives).

I might sound naive and I might be stating the obvious, but the more time I spend working with brands and business owners, the more I realize that creativity, organization, and a passion for connection aren’t common skills that come naturally to most people (just like math, science, and economics doesn’t come easily to me). Being able to use what I thought were general and basic skills to help my clients feels really special and fulfilling.

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?

The three skills or areas of knowledge that have been the most impactful in my journey are definitely organization, acquiring sales skills, and attention to detail. Two of these three come extremely easily for me (guess which ones) (ha), but all three have changed my business for the better.

The organization of your business can make or break your bottom line and mental health. I document and organize everything–from my email inbox to internal tasks. Keeping track of every moving part within your company (especially in a marketing agency where you’re dealing with multiple clients, projects, assets, etc.), will set you up for success. I always ask myself ‘how can I make the life of my future self easier?’ and set things up accordingly.

Up until this year, I was terrible at sales–and up until I invested in courses, coaching programs, and dove into the science behind this did my business start to grow. Once you learn how to sell yourself and your service (or product), you understand the value of your work, and that changes *literally everything.*

And finally–attention to detail. I’m not really sure if you can teach someone to be attentive to detail, and maybe this is directly correlated to how much I care about the work I do, but this is how I set myself apart from my competitors. At the end of the day, tiny details are what differentiate the good from the great, and this is what people remember when choosing an agency to partner with.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I laughed out loud at this question because realistically, when am I *not* overwhelmed? All jokes aside, running a small business is already overwhelming in itself, but when you throw in keeping track of 6+ clients, 12+ projects, and all the assets needed for each one, all while trying to stay hydrated, get enough sleep, prioritize movement, invest in my marriage, and have a balanced social life? Yep. Overwhelmed.

I’ve noticed I feel the most overwhelmed is when I’m living in the future, and not the present (focusing on things that are currently out of my control, instead of what I have in front of me), so I start making a list. I write down everything I have to do, in order of priority, and go one by one–giving each item my full attention. I feel better with each item that I check off, and quickly realize it’s not as bad as I was making it out to be in my head!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.clearlycreativeco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clearlycreative.co/

Image Credits

@nicolelebriscreative