We had the good fortune of connecting with Kenya McGuire Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenya, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve always desired flexibility and I constantly have creative ideas in my mind as it relates to entrepreneurship. The first business I started was my music business as a singer/songwriter and honestly it was birthed out of necessity more than anything. I believe most people don’t understand that being an artist is in fact being a business owner. It’s even trickier because we are our own product, so remaining objective and going through processes can be challenging when you’re wanting to simply focus on the craft. The skills I learned building my music business are what I’ve used to build my current wholistic health and wellness business, Finding Your Voice.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am first a creative…the label is singer/songwriter, but I also use an incredible amount of creativity in my role and profession as a health & mindset coach. What sets me apart is my unique background as a trained licensed physical therapist (I no longer practice) and health coach intermingled with graduate training as a counselor. All of these aspects have the common thread of being a healer and as an artist, that’s the heartbeat of creativity- healing. Having the ability to weave all of my gifts and interests into one is unique and extremely gratifying because I feel whole and not compartmentalized. It’s taken me a long time to accept all of these aspects of myself and it really wasn’t until my 40’s that it all began to come together. There has been a plethora of challenges. But the pathway to evolution is experiencing contrast in order to develop beyond current conditions. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be authentic in every aspect of life in order to follow your truest and higher self. I lived a very “conditioned” people-pleasing life in the past and I’ve learned that leads to a ton of resentment, unhappiness and stagnation. What I want others to experience and know about me and the services I provide is that I’m always coming from a place of considering the mind, body and soul when it comes to providing a service. I want to understand people as their whole selves, not just one aspect. That’s when my work is most impactful once I address the whole person, even when creating music.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Chicago, IL and the most amazing aspects of Chicago can be seen during summer. The first place you must take all visitors is Lake Shore Drive and the beach areas surrounding the metropolitan area. After spending time walking along the beach the next must is to go get food! This is a hard call because there are soooo many amazing restaurants in Chicago. Given its the summer, my top vote is to find a rooftop restaurant where you can embrace the skyline as well as the beautiful weather Chicago has to offer in the summer. Finally, the arts and music scene in Chicago is very diverse and plentiful in the summer. Whether its listening to free jazz in the park (and there are multiple parks to pick from to listen to local musicians) or going to a music festival or simply going to a local venue, music is a must! Finally, taking a stroll along the riverwalk area is a beautiful way to cap off the evening in order to people watch as well as grab some ice cream, talk and chill along one of the sitting areas along the walk.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have had amazing mentors my whole life as well as very supportive family and friends. There’s no way I can recognize just one person! It may sound cliche, but if there is a singular entity it would be what I consider my “soul collective” as the foundation of my success. Soul collective includes God, ancestors, spiritual guides, angels and the Universe.

Website: findingyourvoiceafter40.com and kenyamjmusic.com

Instagram: @kenyamjmusic

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kenyamcguirejohnson

Twitter: @kenyamjmusic

Facebook: facebook.com/kenyamjmusic

Youtube: youtube.com/kenyamjmusic

Image Credits
Only credit are the images of me in orange outfits: Chuck Olu-Alabi

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.