Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayleigh O’Keefe.
Kayleigh, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
On February 29, 2020, I boarded a plane in San Francisco – the city that had been my home and playground for the last seven years – and flew across the country to Fort Lauderdale, ready to start a new life as an entrepreneur.
I didn’t know exactly what business I wanted to build, but I knew intuitively that after three years working alongside a renowned tech CEO and doing my part to build the company from $4MM ARR to $25MM ARR and raise our Series A, that I had what it took to create a lasting legacy of my own. And so, despite warnings from everyone in my life to not leave such an incredible opportunity, I knew that I was meant to create something new. I trusted that a new environment in South Florida, the playground of my childhood, would serve me well as I discerned what I was meant to create and how I was meant to serve.
And so, in the midst of a global pandemic, I built a publishing house for conscious, courageous, charismatic leaders in business to share their wisdom in books and related platforms. I came up with the idea for the first book – Leading Through the Pandemic: Unconventional Wisdom from Heartfelt Leaders – and recruited 25 executives from around the world to each write a chapter in this timely book. In just a few months, we produced a bestselling book that has inspired so many people around the world to lead themselves, their families, and their teams with greater commitment, clarity, and compassion. And so, a business was born!
The publishing industry is outdated. Traditional publishers only publish books from known people who will sell millions of copies. The low barrier to entry of self-publishing means there’s no quality bar on what’s circulating in this world of ideas. I felt called to fill in the “in-between” space to support lesser-known, high-performing, high-integrity leaders to publish their chapters and books with our unique process and support. It’s been just over a year since I officially started the company, and we’ve gone on to publish more multi-author leadership books, work with individual leaders on their solo non-fiction books, and partner with organizations like the Utah Black Chamber and tech company 21stCentEd to share their mission. Over 60 executives and entrepreneurs have become international best-selling authors working with us in the last year!
I had no background in publishing when I started the company, but I have always loved writing, reading, creating, connecting, and facilitating, which are all essential ingredients for building a publishing company. The company name – Soul Excellence – came to me a couple of years before I founded the publishing company! Soul Excellence represents our lifelong quest to live with excellence in alignment with our values and desires. For me, as I look out at our culture today, I see a huge opportunity to amplify better ideas for living so that more people can live freely and on purpose.
Finally, I am a South Florida girl! I grew up in Weston, graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale where I was senior class president, and attended Duke University for undergrad and the University of San Francisco for my MBA. I spent my early career in Washington, DC as a research analyst and then made my way to San Francisco, CA where I had the opportunity to work in an early-stage real estate tech company. I feel so lucky to be back in Florida at this time in history where we are creating such a vibrant start-up and business scene!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For me, the biggest struggle has been staying committed to myself and the vision. At the beginning of the pandemic, after my move to Florida, for example, I decided to take another tech job because of the uncertainty of that time. Within two months, I realized that I was falling right back into the safety of my comfort zone – working for a company versus following my heart and creating something more meaningful. I had to be shown through that short experience that I was ready for this next chapter, and I made the decision to finally, finally “go all in” on my dream.
In the early months of figuring out what kind of business I would create – what challenges did the people in my network have that I could solve for – I started building out consulting and coaching packages to help leaders align and motivate their teams. Through my sales conversations, I soon began to realize that this was not the kind of business I wanted to create. I am better suited at facilitating large groups and motivating them to achieve something massive together versus working closely one-on-one with an individual to navigate workplace challenges. This was such a valuable lesson for me and is what inspired me to focus on launching a multi-author book project where we had a shared goal, clear expectations, a big vision, and a fast timeline. That’s how I love to operate!
My current challenges are all focused on growth and scale! Building out the team, investing in the best sales and marketing channels, and discerning new ways we can add value to our incredible leader/author community. These are the kind of challenges that I love – I love who I get to become to create more capacity to lead a growing company. I invest heavily in my own growth and development so that I can create space for our company and client’s growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Soul Excellence Publishing?
Soul Excellence Publishing is a hybrid publishing agency designed to help executives and entrepreneurs turn their wisdom into books and platforms. Traditional publishing only highlights the voices of leaders with large followings or conventional perspectives. Self-publishing is a difficult process to manage with reduced credibility. Soul Excellence Publishing sits in the space in between, partnering with select leaders to write and publish their books. Our authors retain all royalties and rights.
We specialize in working with conscious leaders who want to write their non-fiction book to share their business insight and stories of personal transformation along the way.
Overview:
Soul Excellence Publishing
WHAT WE DO: We help founders, executives, and entrepreneurs turn their wisdom into books.
WHY WE DO IT: We’re on a mission to amplify the wisdom of conscious leaders to create a free, flourishing society.
WHAT SETS US APART: We infuse ritual, meditation, the virtues, spiritual companioning and play into all that we do. The leaders that we work with don’t just write and publish best-selling leadership books, they become more energized, influential leaders through the process.
WHO WE HELP: You’re a conscious leader in business. You’ve spent your life learning, leading, and achieving. You’ve also spent your life exploring, innovating, and expanding. You have wisdom to share that would uplift the reader and shift the future of the world.
WHAT WE ARE MOST PROUD OF: In 2021, we published 3 Amazon international best-selling multi-author leadership books, helping over 60 executives from 12 different countries become best-selling published authors. We set the themes of the books and then recruited leaders who felt called to each write a chapter. These are the three books that hit bestseller status in multiple countries:
The X-Factor: The Spiritual Secrets Behind Successful Executives & Entrepreneurs
Significant Women: Leaders Reveal What Matters Most
Leading Through the Pandemic: Unconventional Wisdom from Heartfelt Leaders
We’re also proud that we have expanded our offerings to include helping individual leaders to publish and collaborating with founders and CEOs to create a multi-author book of their own to support the vision and growth of their companies. Here’s a peek at our current lineup:
Sasha Stair, FinTech Leader: The Inside Job: Master the World Within to Lead the Future of Corporate
Elizebeth Varghese, Global Talent at IBM: [Block]Chain Reaction: The Future of How We Live and Work
Marlon Lindsay, CEO 21st Cent Ed STEM, STEM Century: It Takes a Village to Raise a 21st Century Graduate
James Jackson, III – Founder, Utah Black Chamber, Black Utah: Stories from a Thriving Community
PRODUCTS & SERVICES:
Wisdom Package – we help you to clarify your goals, structure your book, and make it easy for you to write it delivered via a small group program. ($3,200)
Courage Package – we help you to polish and publish an already-written manuscript. If you’ve already written a draft of your book, this one is for you! ($15,000)
Enthusiasm Package – we help work with you and serve as an accountability partner to help you write and publish within nine months ($27,000+)
Excellence Package – we write, publish, and market for you using a ghostwriter to save you time and ensure a high-quality book ($75,000+)
Leadership Package – we work with you to lead your community, company, or clients to collaborate in a best-selling book that we help you publish ($50,000+)
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Books: The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
Podcasts:
The Kayleigh O’Keefe Show for sharing leadership stories
Powerhouse Women Podcast for guidance on building a business
Dark Horse Podcast for exploring heterodox cultural viewpoints
Resources: I highly recommend if you’re an entrepreneur to surround yourself with community! I participate in two masterminds – The Powerhouse Women Mastermind led by Lindsey Schwartz and The Sustainable Business Growth Mastermind led by Leigh Jane Woodgate
Contact Info:
- Email: kayleigh@kayleighokeefe.com
- Website: https://soulexcellencepublishing.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soul_excellence_publishing/
https://www.instagram.com/kayleighok11/ - Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soul-excellence-publishing/
