Artist, Designer, Entrepreneur, and Reiki Practitioner: Kali Kirkland

Kali has had quite the journey - from the high-pressure, fast-paced, and demanding New York hospitality scene to tranquil Bali, managing her brand design agency, building a sobriety community, and being a reiki practitioner. Find out how she came to terms with her self-healing, scaled her business in six months, and is now the happiest she’s been in a very long time.

***

Q: Tell us about your current work roles.

I’m an artist, designer, businesswoman, an advocate for young adults tinkering in sobriety through my community The Offline Project, and I run a branding and design business focusing on empowering healers, coaches, and product-based services to show up and be seen online. I am also an attuned shamanic reiki practitioner, using my gifts to help send light and loving healing energy to my clients and their businesses.

Q: TELL US YOUR JOURNEY TOWARDS YOUR CAREERS.

starting out: CORPORATE HOSPITALITY

Getting to this point in my life has not been easy by any means. I moved to NYC at 17 and forged a path to working in Fashion or PR. After working for a PR company, I realized I wasn’t going to be making money any time soon, and that working as a waitress at a bar was a much more efficient way to make an income, plus I got paid to party - Win-win kids! But I quickly learned that the pull the NYC hospitality industry can take on a young girl with a lot of big dreams can be dangerous.

My path started in corporate hospitality as an Events Assistant. At 21, I was planning high-end events for companies like CNN, Google, etc. I was immersed in the nightlife all the while making money. I spent 21-27 working my way up. This is one part of my addictive personality that helped me while working in corporate because I was always so driven to be the best. At 27, I was the Director of Events at a high net worth property in the Hamptons making 6 figures a year.

Here’s the thing, what they don’t tell you is how unfulfilling, dangerous, and how easily one can get fully consumed by the pressures of constantly going out to maintain a presence in this industry.

I was hired for jobs because I had the clients, I was social, and I was always down for a drink. I was taking clients out most nights of the week, then going out with people I met. I was a functioning alcoholic with borderline drug addiction. The years between 25-27 were harsh and fuzzy. I was reckless with my mind, body, and soul, but I was functional. I was making money. Everyone in my industry seemed to be doing just that. I had an apartment in the city and the Hamptons, I was crushing it at work and I was doing this all under 30. This was the dream, wasn’t it?

TURNING POINTS: FINDING PURPOSE, A PSYCHIC PREDICTION, AND A PROJECT

By the fall of 2019, I was exhausted and burnt out. I knew that there had to be more, more purpose, and I kept remembering what a psychic told me 2 years prior - that I would start a business, not just one but two, and that one would be creative and one would be with a partner. How freaking comical and scary that is now, because back then, I thought she was a total nutjob.

By October, I was laid off, received a hefty severance, and decided to just go for it. Initially, my business was not going to be a web design company as I had no prior experience doing this. I didn’t even finish college because I was rebellious and hated being told what to do. All I wanted to do was make money, prove everyone wrong, and work. For years I felt shame about not finishing, but now I feel empowered standing in my truth, and knowing that the path less traveled can sometimes be the greatest one of them all. I studied and started to design my website. I always had a good eye for design, and after a lot of feedback (and surprisingly not so much effort), I landed two clients, who were both my friends.

The funny thing is, I sat on this business not doing too much with it from October to January. I was focusing on my sobriety and trying to get my second business, Offline Project off the ground. I was a bit of a mess, and I knew I needed to make a change, get sober again, and do some major inner healing work before my business took off - but I just wasn’t ready for it yet.

In January I was making moves. I met my business coach who is not only intuitive but also a freaking crazy money manifestor.

*Side note - I cannot say this enough, find a mentor, find someone who expands you, someone who has all of the things you desire in your life - because THIS is what removes your limiting beliefs. This is where you fully understand you can have everything you desire in life.

Find a mentor, find someone who expands you, someone who has all of the things you desire in your life.

GOING ALL IN: self-healing + spiritual practices

Going into the new year, I had very crazy goals. By January, I needed to make money fast. I had a trip to Bali planned. I had to move at the end of the month. I needed clients. I had these crazy goals of making $20k months but wasn’t taking the action to do it. The most life-changing experience for me that leveled up and expanded my business was the the inner self-healing work + mixing my spiritual practices. There is something called neural pathways in our brains that can allow us to reprogram our subconscious minds.

When we grow up we pick up limiting beliefs along the way, like never being able to make money, or not being seen. Ever wonder why people are so afraid of public speaking, it's most likely at some point in their childhood someone made fun of them. There are so many examples. I learned from my business coach Jocelyn, that you can reprogram this, but you must take the aligned action towards it.

I started doing a ton of rewriting my own story, EFT tapping, meditations, intention journaling, and mini-goal setting.

My childhood, as beautiful as it was, wasn’t nearly as great as I made it out to be. I grew up incredibly self-conscious, and I grew up with little money. I had no idea how to manage my finances or income when I was an adult. I got myself into severe debt which I am still dealing with. I never felt worthy of that money. Through self-healing practices, I started to unblock my shadows around always thinking I’d be poor, about showing up as my authentic self, and being seen. And guess what, my business started to flourish. I booked a $5k retainer client, and I manifested $7k in 2 weeks.

Given all of this, the journey was still not over, because I wasn't in my worth yet. I rewrote my own story that I so severely wanted to get out of by even considering taking the $5k Client. It was a hospitality company (bless them) that I should have never signed off on, but I was desperate and it was certainly not for my highest good. I made a tough decision after a month to drop them as a client in mid march.

I started to feel that I wanted to leave NYC. I was working so hard with my company, and I was doing okay, but I just wasn’t seeing clearly. So I packed up three days before COVID shut down our world, and flew to Bali - blindly and fearlessly. In the past month, I’ve found a new found love for our world, humanity, and myself.

My business is thriving because I show up authentically as me.

I niched down on who I desired as clients. I no longer took jobs because it was “money”. I stood in my self-worth with my pricing. I let opportunities pass knowing that there would be more aligned ones for me in the future. (This holds absolutely true by the way, because I once said no to a client, who I didn’t feel right about, even though I secretly needed the money, and then signed on two dream clients at my full rates two days later).

I got certified as a Reiki Healer, after being a huge advocate of this type of healing and using it for many years. I channeled that healing energy through clients' businesses, and what’s so amazing is my last client sold out her product in 3 hours.

There is something really magical about mixing western and eastern medicine, as well as spiritual and practical practices. This is my story and what led me to the happiest and most fulfilled I’ve been in my life.

On Making a Career Shift

Q: What has been the greatest challenge for you when it comes to switching careers?

The greatest challenge I’ve experienced when switching careers is the uncertainty. You have to blindly trust the universe, and take aligned actions towards your goals. You don’t know when that next client is coming, you just have to believe that as long as you keep showing up for yourself, and giving that you will 100% be successful.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing?

I am proud of my sobriety, I am proud of my perseverance through all of the hard times. I am proud of giving back and building a team of trusted empowered women, to help me achieve my goals. I am proud of investing in myself. I am honored to work with clients who are light leaders, healers, coaches, non-profits, and product-based businesses who impact our society in beautiful ways.

Q: What advice do you have for others who want to switch careers?

My advice for anyone switching careers is to just go for it. Starting your own company will humble you. Come up with a plan, but know that Plan A will most likely switch gears, and be open to adapting. Understand that even when you feel like it’s rock bottom, that is when you are about to have your biggest breakthrough. I’ve had $200 in my pocket, not sure how I was going to pay my intern and my rent. At the end of the day, I trusted that it would always work out.

Q: What’s next for you, what are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to integrating more of my spiritual practices in my business. I am so excited to start to scale The Offline Project. My goal is for it to become a non-profit. I want to empower young adults to feel comfortable talking about sobriety and having a community. I want to bridge that gap. I want to build programs in middle schools rooted in self-love practices and hopefully curb the self-destructive behaviors we pick up in high school.

Hopefully, soon we will go back to a new but better normal. When this allows I would love to travel to Thailand, India, and Tokyo over the next year, continue to meet like-minded people, expand my team, and have a 7 figure year. You know, reach for the stars. But for the time being, I am enjoying Bali, being present, enjoying making new connections, and scaling my business KK Co.

***

Learn more about and connect with Kali at:

Website: www.kalikirklandcreative.co/ ; www.offline-project.com

Instagram: @kaliierinn; @kalikirklandco; @offline__project