Kinyatta E. Gray is a five-time author and the CEO behind the brand Flights In Stilettos. As a literary author, her portfolio includes three print publications (30 Days: Surviving The Trauma And Unexpected Loss of a Single Parent As An Only Child, Passing As Straight, and From Section 8 To C.E.O. A Novel Based on Real-Life Events), and two ebooks (So, You Want To Be An Author: A Step By Step Guide For Aspiring Authors and I Survived: True Stories Of Domestic Abuse Survivors And Their Courage To Live An Abuse-Free Life For Good).
That’s five-book in under one year! Gray’s aspirations to become an author were as a result of a heart-gripping moment in her mom’s final moments of life. She committed to honoring her mother’s legacy by becoming a published author. Through penning her life in an effort to unpack, and heal; Gray is revered for her trials and noted Internationally as a Grief Expert, Mental Health and Domestic Violence Awareness Advocate.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Flights In Stilettos LLC all about?
My business is called Flights In Stilettos, LLC. My business’s premise is to empower women and inspire them to put their best selves forward when traveling. Through my website, I sell travel-inspired accessories with a touch of glam, most notably are my FlightsInStilettos Glam Girl Beach Towels.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
It was by accident! I planned to start a traveling blog focusing on glamorous travelers. However, my blog name FlightsInStilettos was considered “cute & catchy,” and I was encouraged to create a line of t-shirts for women travelers. A line of t-shirts evolved to many other products, and here we are today!
What are your plans, how do you plan to grow this company?
I plan to continue to monitor trends and flex my marketing and public relations strategies as appropriate to raise awareness of FlightsInStilettos to our ideal customers continually. Additionally, we will expand on our product line. This year we added FlightsInStilettos Beauty and FlightsInStilettos Fitness. We also have a line of apparel and accessories for little girls. I would also like to design products that represent other underrepresented populations, specifically the LGBTQIA community.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
- Creating my website without the proper expertise
- Using iPhone quality products pics instead of professional product photos on my website
- Using low-quality packaging for shipping
All of these mistakes combined my may business appear amateur, unprofessional, and mismanaged. All of these issues have since been corrected and the response to my business has been overwhelming.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Designing beach towels with artwork of women of color is such a unique niche that I have yet to meet anyone doing anything similar.
What is one thing that you daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
Read articles about how others achieve and maintain success and pray that what’s for me will manifest.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
- Starting a Business Quick Start Guide – Ken Colwell PhD MBA
- LLC Basics –
- Find A Way To Get To Yes – Roger Fisher
If you only had $100 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If I had a $100.00, I would buy “how-to books” to raise more capital to launch my business.
Several themes are present throughout all of my books; they are resilience, hope, being unstoppable, and following your inner voice.
What were the top three mistakes you made publishing your book what did you learn from it?
The top three mistakes I made were:
- Failure to research to understand the various publishing options
- Joining a book anthology project (in my eagerness to become an author) without a signed contract.
- Failure to understand it’s not just about writing a book, but writing and releasing a book — becomes a book business.
I learned that these mistakes could derail an otherwise smooth process on your authorship journey. It’s best to take the time to educate yourself before becoming an author to avoid mistakes later.
What must happen for you to consider your book(s) a success? and when do you predict it will happen?
This is a great question. An indicator of success is when people reach out to me to tell me that my book has impacted or changed their lives for the better. I have received many such messages already, and it’s confirmation that I did the right thing by writing and releasing content that matters.
Invest in an author coach who can walk you through the process from when you have an idea to publishing your book.
What is the one thing you wished you knew before publishing your first book?
That author coaching existed.
Yes, absolutely.
- Sharing with my followers about my book’s upcoming release to build anticipation via all social media platforms and my mailing lists.
- Creating an Instagram page focused on my journey to becoming an author, and posting about my book, giving the back-story behind my journey.
- Building a rapport with my followers, engaging with them about who I am as an author. People will buy into you before they ever buy your book.
- My new learning video called So, You Want to Be an Author.
- My free e-book with the same title, So, You Want to Be an Author.
- I would recommend that aspiring authors spend time researching key terms such as traditional publishing, self-publishing, and indie publishing.
If you only had $100 dollars to write, publish then promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would use the $100 to create marketing flyers, team up with several new authors and host a virtual book launch.
How can we get in touch with you?
Kinyatta E. Gray – I can be reached via Instagram @flightsinstilettos and my website flightsinstilettos.com. My website is kinyattagray.com and my IG handle is @kinyattagraytheauthor
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