Kaela on Air: Live and Unscripted

So, did I mention that I'm a radio personality?

That's still a funny concept to me even though I've been doing this for almost three years now. I especially find it funny when people say, "Oh, you're a celebrity!" However, I have recently discovered that I actually do have a little bit of a fan base.

The program is called The Weekend Countdown and airs every Friday afternoon from 5-6pm on 620AM so if you're ever in Columbia listen in!

Although it is only a weekly program it requires a level of planning and commitment on my part. Topics have to be researched and developed, guests scheduled and confirmed and then of course when I'm on air I'm producing and hosting simultaneously. That alone requires a certain level of multi-tasking.

Generally a good show requires maybe five hours or so of planning and preparation...assuming I have a topic in mind and that I can get guests lined up fairly quickly but five hours is a pretty good sized chunk out of my week considering I'm trying to launch a business, take care of the clients I have and still keep up with the responsibilities of my day job.

Not that I'm complaining. I feel that it is a huge privilege to be able to provide a voice to the public and, because my program is a call in radio show, they do indeed make their voices heard! It has also afforded me the opportunity to do some pretty incredible things. I attended the Democratic debates in the spring of 2009 and I've interviewed some pretty high profile folks including our now President, Barack Obama. The show has also be a great launching pad for my business. Not so much because I get to self promote, which I don't, but because I've been able to make invaluable contacts and learn about the industry from the inside.

To be perfectly honest, I love it. It is always a challenge as guests, listeners and of course the programming department keep me on my toes.

I do often ask myself, however, if I can continue to keep it up. With ViXUS Communications growing and me still having to meet the demands of a full time job, it can be a bit much. I'm not ready to let go just yet but I suspect that in the near future I might have to make some changes.

Lets just hope that change allows me to make ViXUS the full time job and keep the show on the side.

Making Great Contacts in Kansas City, MO

So I'm officially up and running and this past weekend was incredibly successful.

I went up to Kansas City, MO to meet Shanise and her family and have a few meetings. This was actually the first time that I've met Shanise and she and her family were just as nice as I knew they would be. In fact her daughter was kind enough to let me stay with her over the weekend so I wouldn't have to spend extra on a hotel. Now if that isn't kindness and generosity then I don't know what is.

Friday turned out to be a hectic day as I missed my 6:10 flight out of Charlotte...I never was a morning person. So I ensed up spending most of the day in the airport. But I was still able to make a few calls and I got some reading in so overall it wasn't too horrible. I was supposed to be in KC by 9am but it was almost 5 before I finally arrived. That really turned out to be ok, though, because the meetings we'd hoped to have on Friday didn't come into fruition so we spent the evening running errands and meeting people before meeting her husband, Mike, for dinner at P.F. Cheng.

Saturday was pretty amazing because we started the day with an outline of what we'd hoped to accomplish but still left things open for flexibility. Good thing, too because just as soon as Shanise picked me up we received a call from Clay Johnson who wanted to meet with us regarding an upcoming fundraising weekend he is hosting for his non-profit organization. We had spoken with Clay earlier in the week to pitch the idea of having him commission Shanise to create several pieces specifically for the event and he was definitely interested so we were able to arrange to meet with him and his wife to show him Shanise's latest piece which was a portrait of Anthony Hamilton.

The meeting went better than we could have imagined and we've been in talks throughout the past week hammering out the details.

Later in the day we headed across town to the venue for that evening's Anthony Hamilton concert. We spent the afternoon hanging out with his road manager, KC Jackson. Great guy. He's getting an internet TV station going. You should check out his site.

After Anthony Hamilton finished rehersing, we presented him with his portrait he LOVED IT! See...

In fact, he loved it so much he brought it on stage during the concert. More...

After the concert, I spent a little more time with KC picking his brain and just hanging out as he wrapped things up and pulled the crew together. I have to say that KC and I really just kind of meshed so wait to hear more about him as we come up with creative ways to work together and build business for the both of us. So all of this takes us into another week. Next week I'm hoping to schedule Shanise for an interview or two.

And hopefully I'll be able to get a new client on board before for end of the summer. You know I'll be keeping you posted!

In the meantime, Don't forget to visit my official site www.vixuscommunications.com

The Journey Begins

The web site is up twitter is active and I have one formal client to speak of. It has been a lot of work just to get to this point and I've had a lot of support from some great people. Now comes the really hard part, taking this from a dream to a reality to a success.

It is a little unnerving but I have full confidence that I'll get there. I know that I'll experience a lot of set backs and failures but also that I'll experience a lot of achievements.

The most exciting part is that I dont' have to travel this road alone. I'm looking forward to gettting advice and feedback and guidance from friends, followers and supporters along the way.