Meet Kellee Halford | Creative Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kellee Halford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellee, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
What’s interesting is how we frame entrepreneurship as “working for yourself” verses working for a business owned by someone else. Actually, entrepreneurs work to serve customers/clients. Employees work to ensure they can pay for the basic essentials. That’s always been interesting framing but that’s a different conversation for another day. The single most important decision I’ve made since electing to start my own business is selecting those with whom collaboration will yield greater success for us both. As a consultant, which is a broad concept, it is possible for someone within your sphere to provide similar or the same types of services. Collaboration reminds me that every client or customer is not mine to serve, some may be mine to refer to a colleague. Honestly, I feel collaboration is a much stronger success indicator than competition.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
L’Erin Greenfield Consultants are collaborative strategists dedicated to empowering visionary creatives to transform their passion into sustainable, thriving enterprises. We identified a crucial need: brilliant creative talent often struggles with the business acumen to build lasting success. What truly sets us apart is our profound understanding of the creative journey; we don’t offer generic advice, but instead craft solutions with each creative, balancing artistic integrity with commercial viability. Our journey began from a deep-seated desire to see artists flourish, moving beyond the “starving artist” trope. We navigated early challenges by patiently demonstrating how strategic foresight liberates, rather than limits, creativity, building trust through tangible results and a belief in every creative’s unique vision. We want the world to know that your art is a valuable business deserving of strategic investment; we invite visionary creatives to stop hoping for success and start planning for it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’d kick off our adventure exploring Jefferson Street, the historic heart of Black Nashville, diving into its incredible musical legacy at the Jefferson Street Sound Museum before savoring great food at Roasted. We’d immerse ourselves in history at the Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library, then tour prestigious HBCUs like Fisk University and Meharry Medical College. Dining would be a highlight, with incredible Black-owned spots like Noir Kitchen & Cocktails for upscale flavors, Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria in the bustling Buchanan Arts District, and a sweet stop at The Cupcake Collection. Music is essential, so we’d catch diverse live performances and explore the groundbreaking National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM). We’d also discover hidden gems, enjoy craft cocktails at places like Plane Jane, and perhaps take a day trip to explore the rich history of nearby Franklin. This week would be a deep dive into Nashville’s soul, filled with delicious food, inspiring history, and unforgettable good times!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
An organization that deserves a Shoutout is the Nashville Black Music Association which I co-founded with a few friends to be a safe space for musicians, artists, educators who have an appreciation for and are compelled to preserve Black Music in all its genre bending iterations and possibilities. That organization also exists to promote the proliferation and education of the diverse landscape of black music, in Nashville and beyond.

Website: https://www.kelleehalford.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelleehalford

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelleeekel