The Best of Both Worlds: How to Turn Passion into Productivity
an interview with Kayla Mercuri
In this edition of The AHA! Moment, I’m chatting with Kayla Mercuri. Kayla is your internet best friend - here to bring you meaningful original music, the best online finds, and everything else in between. Born and raised in Boston, she works a corporate job in sales enablement by day and pursues her passions as a singer-songwriter and content creator by night. Kayla has built a strong online presence and community, and has collaborated with brands like Merit Beauty, Maison Margiela Fragrances, and Oak and Luna Jewelry. In 2016, she was a top 10 finalist in the New England RADAR Music Awards and has performed at festivals and venues throughout the Boston area. Her two EPs, No Turning Back and Notions, along with a handful of singles, are all available on Spotify and Apple Music under Kayla Mercuri. She shares her story of how she discovered her passion for music at a young age, how she prioritizes her passion projects and creative dreams up to this point, her content strategy, how to contemplate the balance between a 9-5 job and your passion, and so much more.
Whether you’re a corporate professional trying to prioritize more passion projects in your life, or if you’re trying to gain inspiration for a personal branding strategy, this conversation is loaded with ways to determine how to successfully improve the creativity and innovation of what lights you up professionally and personally.
Be sure to listen to The AHA! Moment Podcast for the full episode!
A lot of people let go of their creative dreams and passion projects as they get older—what has kept you dedicated to music up to this point?
My new song that just came out in November called How Does It Fit In My Life? kind of explores on this topic. Where you've had this dream for so long, and as you grow older and you've developed other areas of your life that take priority, how do you still fit in this sort of dream that you've had? Maybe it doesn't always take priority number one. Do you still like fit it into your life?
It may be this dream didn't come fully into fruition. There's so many complicated emotions that come with it. If anything, writing that song made me realize and get more back in tune with why I do music and why I love it so much and to stop putting so much pressure on myself that it has to look a certain way in order to pursue it. Even if you aren't going on tour, selling millions of albums, things like that, that's okay. If it doesn't look like that, you can still enjoy the process of creating music or whatever activity or dream that you might have. Really just getting back in touch with why you started in the first place.
There was a passion deep inside me and trying to channel back more into that rather than all of these outside pressures of making sure that you have certain accolades to show success in a certain area. It's about going back into yourself.
You’ve built a strong personal brand as a content creator. How did you get into content creation, and what’s your overall strategy as you continue to grow your brand?
Content creation found me because going back to Instagram, that was a piece of music I liked—building out my music brand, posting to Instagram. That was one of my favorite components of doing music, obviously writing songs. That's my number one. But I loved the personal branding behind it. Through that, I gained a following, and brands reached out to me. I was doing this to promote my music and spread awareness, so the fact that brands started reaching out made me realize I needed to take this more seriously.
That's how it evolved, but it's always been something I enjoyed. I've always enjoyed photography, which translates to Instagram. I loved consuming TikTok content and thought, I can do this. So I started. In terms of my strategy and road map, TikTok is a big component of where I see things going. That’s why I was freaking out—TikTok is a big part of my vision.
My main thing, tying back into sales enablement, is that I post because I love sharing knowledge. I love helping and teaching people. That is always at the heart of my content—whether fashion, beauty, fitness, home decor, or anything I'm passionate about. I want to share my experiences and expertise to help others. My main driver now is growing a following to help people and be a trusted source.
Beyond that, I want to grow further. I love sourcing things, like with Kayla's Cart, my new series. This outfit I'm wearing? Kayla's Cart. I love sourcing things and want to take that idea and apply it to a business. If someone needs outfits for a bachelorette party, I could help curate a package or lookbook for them. Building a business off what I love doing with content creation is ideal—maybe not next week, but maybe by the end of the year.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who is contemplating the balance between their 9-5 and their passion?
One, I have a planner. I write everything out—you have to schedule and make time for yourself. Figure out where you can fit time for your passions.
My "Hannah Montana" lifestyle fuels me in my corporate experiences because life feels fuller and more well-rounded. If there's something you want to go after or try, go for it. It enhances your life. Managing and balancing everything will be tough, but following your passions makes life much happier.
Where can people find you?
Instagram: @kaylamercuri @pizzabykayla
TikTok: @kayla_mercuri
Follow Kayla on Spotify and Apple Music
Cheers,
Angelina