Meet Kailani Raye of THEKAICOLLECTIVE in Inglewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kailani Raye.

Kailani, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ll start by thanking God. Because that’s where it all really starts anyway.

So from the top, I’m from Sacramento, CA! And there’s some pretty poppin’ people out of Sac; some you know, me included. I’ve been in LA for nine years now, and I absolutely love it here! I feel like there’s so many parts I’m still discovering about LA; it has that kind of magic ya know.

Anyway, before moving, I always knew I belonged here. I was always plotting my move to LA, so much so that people started not to believe me because it wasn’t happening. It wasn’t until February of 2011 that I came down for All-Star Weekend and that’s when reality hit me – this is where I wanted to be, where I HAD to be!

By that time, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to become a Celebrity Stylist. Fashion had always been so natural to me. When I was younger, I was obsessed with Mary-Kate and Ashley and I would write down everything they were wearing because that’s how I made my birthday and Christmas lists. I even remember as far back to my 5th birthday. Let me set the scene: five years old at Payless choosing her birthday shoes. Her Mom and Aunts say get the Mary-Janes but this little baby says no! She wants the white cowboy boots! There’s a back and forth debate for quite a while that ends with said five years old crying on the floor. Let’s just say those 5th Birthday party photos – white cowboy boots in all their glory!

It wasn’t until I was older and going out with my friends that I truly realized my gift. I didn’t even know styling could be a career until I discovered Rachel Zoe. I was styling me and my friends every weekend going to clubs. It was so natural to me and I was really good! I remember this one guy walked up to me and said “Your fit is so tight. You look good!” I wish I knew that man because I want to thank him so much! He doesn’t know that at that time in my life, I was super insecure. I felt like all my friends were so much prettier and better than me. But fashion, getting dressed, having the sauce .. that was all me! I did it the best out of my crew and thats why I say in some ways fashion saved me. It helped me find myself.

Long story short (hahaha) I moved to LA. I knew without a doubt in my spirit the life I envisioned for myself was about to come true. God and I got that kinda thing going on. In 2014 I met Chris Paul Thompson, an amazing photographer and friend. I DM’d him on Instagram like “Hey, let’s shoot!” And we did just that. We put together my very first major shoot. I love Chris, he’s been in my corner from the beginning – my real day 1.

A couple of months later, he introduced me to Draya Michele. That was kind of like my break. Draya and I met at a time where we were both growing in our own lives and fields. And that’s what I love most about our dynamic because we really helped each other and grew with each other in that way. She took a chance on me and I’m forever grateful for that. We don’t work together in that capacity anymore but to this day, she is one of my closest friends always supporting me with any and everything!

Since then, I’ve worked on major magazine editorials, with various high profile celebrities and even Costume Design for TV and Film. I’ve learned so much along the way, like what parts of the business I love and the parts I absolutely hate; I’ve learned my strengths as well as my weaknesses. I’ve also grown a lot as a woman, specifically a woman of God. Which is why I’m really excited to talk about this latest transition in my life and what I’m doing now!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t think anything worth really having or doing is easy. Part of the struggle is first believing you deserve the life you see for yourself. That’s why my relationship with God is so important as in I love God more than I love anything!

I remember the night before I was about to leave Sacramento to move to LA, I was getting cold feet. I come from a big family and that’s all I ever knew and I was about to leave all of that for to pursue a career that was very unknown and unheard of where I’m from. That night I was in the car crying because I was sad to leave. I remember praying to God and I asked him to tell me I was making the right decision and that everything was going to be okay. I opened my eyes and as soon as I looked up a shooting star shot across the sky. That’s when I knew God had a plan for me.

And it’s been no easy ride. I’ve gone through depression, been completely broke, gone through heartbreak, had no sense of direction or clarity at times but through all of that God is still soooo good! So yes, there’s been tons of struggles, but God got his girl til the wheels fall off!

THEKAICOLLECTIVE – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Okay, so I have a secret. As in I have a totally new career! Hahaha this is actually my first time announcing it to anyone other than my close friends and family.

Remember when I was telling you I’ve learned a lot along the way? Well yea, throughout my career I’ve met so many people, learned so many new things, picked up new skills and truly got to know myself and identify my skills.

A few years ago, I was planning to start a new business. Being the (recovering) perfectionist that I am, I deep dived into business development. I had to know everything so my business could be great. But the thing was, I spent so much time learning I never really executed anything. Man but I loved learning and even more than that, I loved telling my family and friends what I knew.

It wasn’t until last year, after telling my other entrepreneur friends different tips and strategies they could implement in their business, that I realized “Wait, this is my business!” It was a bit of an epiphany moment. I had so much knowledge to share and it came so natural to talk about (because I was obsessed), I completely missed that this was an amazing business opportunity.

For starters, the knowledge industry is a BILLION dollar market and is on trend to enter the trillions by 2025. Information sells!!! But I didn’t realize that at the time. It took my epiphany and some amazing people in my life to really push this! I’ve been secretly taking clients since the beginning of this year, and when I say secretly I just mean I never officially launched or announced it publicly.

So this is my unofficial announcement lol. THEKAICOLLECTIVE is my baby. I currently specialize in Content Marketing Coaching and Consulting. I took all the things I loved doing and all the things I’m really good at and made it into one business. Specifically, I work with faith-based women entrepreneurs teaching them how to identify and walk in their purpose, monetize their expertise and market themselves into abundance like God intended them to.

I decided early on my niche was going to be faith-based women. And here’s why: everything I do, everything I know and everything I talk about, begins with God. If I tell a woman God has destined her for abundance and we are here to do his work, to be fruitful and multiply, and he has given us the skills and tools do so, but she doesn’t know God, she will never truly understand how I work or even how I think. That was important for me because we’re doing Kingdom work out here!

I love what I’m doing because I love helping people. But what I love even more is doing God’s work. No event in my life is coincidence, I’m just following God’s lead. Right now, he wants me to lead other women to do their God’s work and I’m here for all of it!

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Throughout my career, I have found that success is really about being happy. I don’t believe you should chase a job or money at the expense of your happiness. There have been jobs I turned down if the energy was off.

I want to look back on life and feel that I lived to my fullest potential and that I made people happy on the way.

Contact Info:

• Email: kailani@thekaicollective.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kailaniraye

Image Credit:
Chris Paul Thompson, Yasmeanuh Antonio

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