Meet Kenneth Woods | Spoken Word Artist, Writer, & Photographer

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

Hi Kenneth, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my business was quite simple. It happened organically. I wrote my first poem in 2008 and started performing at different places in Louisville, Kentucky in 2011.

In the early days of my artistry, all I cared about was getting better and improving as a writer and performer. Along the way, I had different folks tell me I should make it into a business, but I thought nothing of it. At that time I didn’t know of any professional poets, I didn’t know that was a thing.

I believe things changed in 2013. Up until that time, I had done a couple of events and gotten paid in cash but in November of 2013 was the first time I’d had to fill out an I-9 and it was the first time I cashed a check for poetry. It’s literally been a decade since I cashed my first check for poetry. Once it was clear that I wasn’t just good but enough to where people wanted to pay me, that’s when poetry went from a hobby to a business for me.

Consequently, I believe all creatives who endeavor to make money with their gifts, talents, and services are all entrepreneurs, whether they want to be one or not. So treat your craft like a business and it will pay you like one.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My artistic mediums of choice are poetry and photography. I’ve built up my name as an Indiana poet for the last decade, while I didn’t pick up a camera until December of 2020. I believe my poetry resonates with people across various demographics because it comes from a unique place. I was born in Hawaii and have lived in the following states: California, Texas, Florida, and Indiana, some these places more than once. I’ve met a lot of different people and had unique experiences that I put into my poetry. I also view the world through my Christian faith and put that into my work as well. So being Black, Christian, American, and a lover of comic books and anime give me a wealth of things to write about and diverse audiences to interact with.

Though I am fairly new at photography, it gives me such joy. To pick up a new skill during the pandemic and be affirmed by a few people that I was not only good at it, but I should think about doing it professionally, really affirms me. Photography truly doesn’t feel like work to me, and I love that for me. Since I’m fairly new, I don’t know that I have a particular niche, I do know that I love photographing events. Technically, photography is the art and science of capturing light, but for me it’s about the art and science of capturing moments. As someone with a science background and an artistic entrepreneurial practice, photography feels like the perfect playground for both sides of me to play in.

The things that excite me the most about my poetry is the reach and impact it’s having. I’m always excited when someone I don’t know reaches out to book a performance or a workshop. I make it s practice to ask how they heard about me and the answers are always inspiring. I’ve seen my poems affect adults and children in different and similar ways and that’s always intriguing to me, to see the impact that words have. One of my proudest moments in recent memory was being nominated for Poet Laureate of Indiana! Although I didn’t get the position, it was still an honor to be nominated.

What excites me the most about my photography is that I’m just getting started but I have been booked to do some amazing events. Photography is my lesser known skill and I’m excited to keep sharpening it and see where it takes me.

Getting to where I am professionally has not been easy, but then again, nothing worth having is easy. One of the biggest and ever present challenges I deal with is doubt. When the opportunities come I’m high on the hog and all is well, but when they dry up, I get swallowed in doubt. Wondering if I should even be doing this and does anybody care and things like that. Doubt is a dangerous place to live.

Another challenge I’ve had to overcome was saying “no.” Sometimes, it feels like there are so few bookings that you’ll want to accept stuff that is only beneficial to one party and not yourself. I’ve learned that when you are talented many folks will want to use your gifts without properly compensating you. Poetry is notorious for this, there are memes about it and everything. I’ve learned to stand on business and pass on things that aren’t mutually beneficial.

There are so many lessons I’ve learned along this journey, but I’ll just share a few. I’ve learned to believe in myself and my gift. I’ve learned to not lean on my doubts but to instead press into the 10 plus years I put into this craft. I’m developing thick skin, which is required for every industry but especially the arts, because the no’s and not yets vastly outweigh the yeses and confirmed bookings. For all the things I’m seen doing, please believe there are at least 10-20 other engagements that didn’t work out. I’m learning that the key is to acknowledge the disappoints but to bask in the victories. Oftentimes we do the opposite. It’s the equivalent of getting 20 positive comments and 1 negative comment and letting that 1 comment ruin your day and wreck your confidence. I believe in business and everyday life, there are more people rooting for you and waiting to support you, you just haven’t met them yet.

As far as my brand and story, I want folks to know that Refresherpoint, my spoken word brand and company, aims to bring the gift of poetry and spoken word to them and their communities. Words have power and whether they want to hear my words or have me teach them how activate their voice with their own words, I’m here to serve. I’m a resource to be utilized. Refreshing perspectives with language one poem at a time is the goal. Check out my website to see how I can serve you and your folks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I talk about my wife all the time, and rightfully so, as she’s the reason I am where I am and my business is the way it is to this day. Her decade plus of support has been monumental in my success, however, I would like to shed light on two people that I don’t think I give enough credit to for my success: my parents Kenneth and Karen Woods.

My mother fostered my love of reading at s young age. There was a time where she used to read books to my siblings and I and take us to libraries and bookstores. We used to move a lot because my father was in the Navy, but we had a tradition whenever we would move to a new city: we had to find the bookstore. My mother still chuckles about that to this day. For my birthdays and Christmases past, I could always count ion at least one book as a present. She always encouraged my siblings and I to read and created an environment for us to rely love reading. I believe that was the foundation for me to become the writer I am today.

I appreciate my father, Kenneth Woods, for letting my siblings and I be ourselves. He also encouraged us to follow our interests and when he could be present he was. Even though he’s from Texas, where football is almost a religion, he never tried to force me into any sports. He drove home the importance of an education and he created an environment where my only “job” was to get good grades. I really appreciate him for that.

Website: www.refresherpoint.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/refresherpoint

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-woods-6770451b6

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/refresherpoint

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@refresherpoint

Image Credits
Marlesha Woods