Meet Keesia and her uncommon path
At Uncommon Wealth Partners, we love helping our clients conceive and achieve the uncommon path that allows them to live an utterly uncommon life. It’s right there in front of all of us and it’s our privilege to help people realize just how attainable that uncommon life is!
Why is this Uncommon Path important to you?
I love my family and supporting them, but I hated commuting 40 miles each way to a job I wasn’t passionate about. I felt that there was no way out. We needed the income and my benefits.
And then I met Bryan and Phillip and everything changed. In our first meeting, they asked if I was happy at my job. They asked why I was working for someone else. They asked why I was putting 20% of my income into my 401K! They asked a lot of questions and made me reevaluate a lot of things. I left that meeting smiling. Suddenly my tunnel didn’t seem quite so dark.
Was finding the right path quick or easy?
Eventually, but not at first! I’d always dreamed of running my own company but never seriously thought I could do it. I brainstormed with Bryan and Phillip and the first idea was to start a marketing company — falling back on my current skills and expertise.
I created a company, hired a designer for a logo and got a couple clients. I continued my full-time job and ran the new company on the side. A few months in, I realized I wasn’t very passionate about the new company either. I was still doing the same work I did during the day. It didn’t excite me. It didn’t make me feel like I was making the world a better place.
How did you pivot after you realized that marketing wasn’t for you?
I stayed curious and patient. While reading a business book that Bryan and Phillip recommended, I kept scribbling notes in the margin about another business idea. It was kind of weird even to me, but I kept writing down the word “obituaries.” I kept making notes and then realized I was onto something. I talked the idea over with Bryan and Philip and their enthusiasm pushed me on.
Writing stories and interviewing people has always been one of my biggest strengths. I love doing it. In recent years, I’ve been asked to write obituaries and eulogies for quite a few family members. I inadvertently became an expert at it. People really liked what I wrote and that was incredibly rewarding for me. My stories connected them with a lost loved one. I realized how important it is to record and preserve a person’s stories. And that’s how I came up with my next business idea, Circa Legacy — a company that helps you record and preserve your stories and your family stories in fun and easy ways.
Circa Legacy is now about two months old. I’m still working a full-time day job, but I found a new employer that allows me to work remotely and run my company at night and on the weekend. It’s a lot of work doing both, but so far it’s going great. My goal is to slowly build Circa Legacy so it can become my full-time job. My husband is a big reason I’m able to do both jobs — he handles a lot of household duties and many administrative tasks for Circa Legacy. He’s a smart guy and believes in what I’m doing. Our children have also been extremely supportive and excited for me. They help me test products, package kits and motivate me to keep going.
What would you tell people out there who feel stuck like you did?
This has been an amazing experience. If you feel trapped in a job with no light in your tunnel, talk to Bryan and Phillip’s team! They’ll give you the push you need to change your life and attitude about working and money. I couldn’t have done this without them!