Meet Taylor Keyes of Keyes to LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Keyes.

Taylor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It was September 2014 when I made the move back to LA from Park City, UT.

I have always felt like a California native having been born in Newport Beach, growing up competing as an equestrian in hunter jumpers, and going to film school at Chapman University.

Growing up, my life was very much driven by the sports I played, which I attribute to my work ethic and being self-driven for success.

What brought me back to LA in 2014 was being on a mission to take my career as an event manager in the music industry to the next level, and I had my eye on working for one record label, in particular, Dim Mak.

Prior to managing events in the music industry, I was the Director of PR for an event company, wedding planner, and corporate event manager. Right out of college I was re-located to open a new venue for the event center I was now the Director of PR for and after a couple of years in beautiful Colorado, I chose to start my own event management company, called Through the Keyhole Events, LLC.

It was the winter of 2012 when I was given the opportunity to work for the concert venue, Park City Live, during Sundance Film Festival that introduced me to the music industry, and I was hooked from then on. The excitement and adrenaline of music events reminded me of competing in snowboarding, tennis, and as an equestrian; I was addicted to the rush.

For those that have not been to Park City, UT, it is like living in a real-life snow globe, and for the next two years, my life was pretty clutch. I lived in one of the adorable historic mountain homes in Old Town Park City where I would walk down two flights of stairs to work with world-renowned artists like Snoop Dog, Slash, Calvin Harris, etc. I was the Artist Relations Manager and Day of Show Events Manager, where we had at least 80 shows per year during the winter season alone. At this time in my life, “I made it!”

After two seasons, I started to become complacent with the Utah music scene, and it was Sundance Film Festival 2014 where I had the opportunity to work with Steve Aoki and his record label team, Dim Mak. From that night on, I knew what was next for me, and I moved to LA a couple of months later to take my event management career to the next level.

I loved the vibe and mission statement, “By Any Means Necessary” of Dim Mak so much that if I could have the job of my dreams, it was to work for them. After a couple of months of connecting and reconnecting with friends in the industry I was interviewing with the Director of Branding, Marketing, and Events at Dim Mak, Bryan Linares; now one of my greatest mentors and life long friends.

I started from the bottom of the event chain and was willing to do whatever it took to work for Dim Mak full time. After a few months, my internship evolved into being the Executive Assistant and Events Manager of Dim Mak, and at this point in my life, “I really made it!”

The next two years working for Dim Mak were some of the greatest career and life lessons of my life that I will forever be grateful for and it was the morning of August 11, 2015, where my life changed forever.

During my career expansion, what was happening on the home front was something completely opposite. My Mom had always suffered from mild depression growing up, and for the past few weeks, her depression was the worst I had witnessed. I was on the phone with my Mom the morning of August 11 sharing with her the accomplishment I had from the night before’s recording session meeting with world re-known artists and producers, and her excitement for me was so forced I knew my Mom was in a dark place.

We ended the call that morning sharing our love for one another, and I will never forget how we ended our call that day, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I will always love you,” are the last words she said to me.

Five hours later, I received a call from my Dad asking me if I was sitting down and if I was sitting with someone. I said, “No, I’m walking across the street downtown right now.” He said, “Ok, call me back when you’re sitting and with someone.” I freaked out, and said, “No, you can’t do that, what is going on?”

His next words forever changed my life.

As my Dad was fighting back the tears, he said, “Honey, I’m so sorry. Your Mom killed herself”. My legs practically collapsed, and the air was sucked out of my lungs. I was sheet white and had the most intense out-of-body experience where I played back every memory of my childhood with my Mom and was in absolute shock that our memories have abruptly come to an end.

The next two weeks, I was completely blown away by the love and support I got from family and friends. People from all over the country and world dropped what they were doing to be there for my brother and I. If there was one thing I knew it was how to throw a party and that’s exactly what I did as my last gift to my Mom. I experienced every wave of emotion humanly possible and at the same time was proud of how we sent my Mom off and the memories we had for her were the way we all knew her; vibrant, feisty, and tiny but mighty.

Returning to work after my Mom’s suicide was suddenly no longer the same. I dove back in head first to keep myself numb from my reality, and as months went on, my demons began to purge themselves, and I was on a self-destructive downward spiral. What I really wanted was to be there for my friends and family the way they had been there for me, and what I created expectation wise for myself in my career, I had no space for anyone or anything but work in my life.

I was no longer fulfilled working in music and as amazing as it was working for Dim Mak, where everyone literally became like family, I chose to resign and take on the next few months to heal, be there for my brother, and open to self-discovery.

It was during this time that I pursued my interest in real estate I once never had time for and got licensed in California. By January 2017, I stepped into my new career as a Real Estate Agent and have been equally challenged and rewarded ever since.

The transition from managing events in the music industry to being a Realtor was not all rainbows and unicorns, and discovering my niche and what worked for me to generate business was an area where I chose familiar waters.

Instead of cold calling and door knocking, I threw open house parties with a twist. My friend and event partner, Brigitte Vera, who worked with me at Dim Mak and after leaving the company she started her own event production company, Verified Productions, where we created badass events that allowed me to connect with 200 – 250 people in one night, while they experienced a memorable event.

We threw exclusive parties at homes in the Hollywood Hills with influencers, product sponsors, and sold tickets or gifted our clients to partake in. For example, a Fight Night House Party, where we showcased the Floyd vs. McGregor UFC Fight on a 30′ ft LED screen overlooking the city and had some of LA’s hottest Dj’s playing and setting the vibe int between commercials. It was epic!

My first year of real estate I started off as a solo agent, and since October last year, I made the best career decision of my life and joined Think Real Estate Group, founded by Principal, Dave Robles, my team leader, and an amazing mentor. There are about ten agents on our team that cover all areas of Los Angeles where my territory as of the past few months has been and will continue to be Venice and the westside of Los Angeles.

I’m in love with living on the westside and Venice, in particular, reminds of being in the mountains of Park City but on the beach. I am very much an outdoorsy person and have to live by the mountains or the beach and am so fortunate to now call Venice, home.

Has it been a smooth road?
My road has looked like an EKG report. Lots of ups and downs and the downs have been access to my greatest accomplishments. It’s been a vulnerable, humbling, and rewarding journey so far, and I’m so excited for what the future holds.

There are so many shiny objects thrown at you in Real Estate, and my first year was a lot of trials and errors that had me really discover what works for me is what is going to authentically work for my clients.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Keyes to LA story. Tell us more about the business.
Having the last name Keyes, I’ve been blessed with cute branding strategies as a realtor. Keyes to LA is the name of my company and brand, and being on the Think Real Estate Group, I’m still able to incorporate Keyes to LA with social media and other marketing platforms.

As of recently, I am re-focusing my branding and clientele to Venice and the westside of LA specifically. Up until recently I have had no problems going all over LA to service my clients and now getting the impact of that and working on efficiency and sustainability has been awesome, and something I wish I took on a little earlier in my career. Better now than never.

I am still open to consulting clients with their selling and home buying process all over Los Angeles and now what that looks like is partnering with other agents to be in multiple territories at once without having to be there physically throughout the entire home search or selling process. Creating win-win partnerships for my clients, other agents, and myself is what lights me up the most.

I am known to go above and beyond for my clients. Managing events for over ten years prior to real estate trained me to be incredibly detailed, organized, and fully present to effective and consistent communication being the keys to the kingdom for success and accomplishment.

What sets me apart from other agents is that once my clients are in my life, they are really in my life. Once the deal is done, that is almost like the beginning of a forever friendship, and anything they need I am always open to connecting them and being their ongoing resource to set them up for what’s next for them and important to them in their life.

I’m very good at connecting on a personal, business, and profession level. I love the dynamic and interpersonal relations real estate brings to the table. Every day is different, and I am very drawn to the flexibility, challenges, and rewards that come with this line of work.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Since being in this industry, I have heard humbling real-life experiences about the real estate crash in 2008, and despite what a lot of the media may say, the real estate market is still hot. It may not be as hot as it was one year ago, however prices are still high, interest rates are low, and buyers are buying.

It is part of the real estate cycle that more dips in the market are in our predictable future, and that’s something to be prepared for. However, it won’t be like it was in 2008. As long as buyers can stomach watching the value of their home’s appreciation stay stagnant or dip over the next year or two, the appreciation will still accumulate, and I truly believe investing in real estate is the best investment you can make for your long term financial goals.

It’s awesome to learn how neighborhoods have evolved over the years and watch up, and coming neighborhoods gentrify and become the next hot new areas of this city. Every day I learn something new about LA, and this is one of the things I love most about my career and this industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thinkrealestategroup.com/about/Taylor-Keyes
• Phone: 435.962.0710
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Kevin Leverenz & Tyler Hogan

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