Growing up in life in the middle of the ocean on a small cluster of islands, created a very earth-conscious lifestyle for Kimberlyn Laola Racoma. This life created unique experiences that weren’t always so tropical and beautiful, and instead taught the realities of living in paradise.
The expensive cost of living in Hawaii provided intense financial burdens that created drifts in her relationships with people and within her home, triggering her mental illnesses and causing a tremendous amount of stress. Yet through these experiences of bullying from childhood into adulthood, she was faced with a decision to stay in Hawaii and struggle or seek other opportunities in Las Vegas, Nevada, and she chose to free herself and her husband from the unbelievable stresses of island life.
Kimberlyn Racoma of Laola Hawaii is a jewellery designer and business mindset coach helping women to recognise their power, beauty and strength by using her troubled life experiences and turning them into valuable life lessons that offer beautiful and inspiring motivation to dare to be bold and chase dreams. While struggling with anxiety, depression and PTSD, her pleasant optimism on life and no-frills attitude helps women to take action toward their dreams with creating effortless game-plans that empower and excite women.
She uses her experiences with stress, mental illness, bullying and self-love to provide a safe and comfortable space for her customers and clients to open up to her freely, allowing her to support them through her products like jewellery, candles, skincare, bath and body or through her coaching services, or simply as a woman to connect to.
Kimberlyn graduated from Hawai`i Pacific University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and has worked for medical practices, real estate and ultimately Uber Technologies, Inc., managing thousands of partners in over 13 states for their UberEats service focusing on partnership satisfaction.
Welcome Kimberlyn, thank you for taking the time to share your story with us, can you introduce yourself to us?
Absolutely! Aloha everyone, my name is Kimberlyn Laola Racoma, I was born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, and I currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’ve lived in Nevada for almost 4 years, and it’s a much different experience than that of my small, beachy home-town. I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we have a fur baby named Tofu (a dog, Havanese), and I have 3 siblings. I grew up around my uncles and grandfather and grew up loving their hobbies like anything automotive, and I’m a little alternative you could say. I have a lot of tattoos and love all things odd, but I also have a super girly side, loving all things cute, sparkly and dreamy. I love the beach, but living in the middle of the desert makes that difficult, but have found a love for the mountains and rivers, and can appreciate the drab landscape of Las Vegas. I believe there is beauty in all experiences if you look at the details.
Can you give us a little back story on how you are where you are today as a business mindset coach and jewellery designer with Laola Hawaii?
Growing up in Hawaii, there is a conscious effort to teach children about the land, about Hawaiian history, and how it is our responsibility to care for it. I am of Native Hawaiian decent, so culturally, those environmental efforts are of an obligation. Living in Las Vegas though, I found it harder to be culturally and spiritually connected to the values that I grew up with. I created Laola Hawaii (pronounced Lah/oh/lah) to initially be more connected to my home and its people but found that it serves a bigger purpose.
Laola in Hawaiian means “A day of Life”, and originally, my intention for this name was to help people discover a new way of living through self-care and developing self-love through self-care activities, but found that as my business started to progress, my brand became focused on women’s confidence, not simply just a new way of living. As such, my business began to evolve into what is becoming a one-stop-shop for your self-care and pampering needs, providing jewellery, candles, skincare and bath and body products, all consciously curated to be made as naturally as possible.
Business Mindset coaching, on the other hand, fell into my lap when a friend working in a former career of mine needed guidance. She had needed help in almost every aspect of her business, from technology to social media to organisation and time management. I started sharing with her my experiences, and jokingly we said: “what if I coached you?” Then it got started, I developed a schedule and lessons, and it was a rewarding experience to help someone on a journey through the trenches that I was once in.
I have a nerdy side, a love for technology and social media, and have since I was a very young girl. This coupled with my eye for details and passion for relationships, helps me help other entrepreneurs build businesses that have long term success in sales and customer/client retention. I began coaching in early 2019, and have helped other amazing women from a variety of backgrounds step further into their goals and so they take the actions that feel most aligned to them. I am so blessed.
As we know, Laola Hawaii is inspired by nature and promotes peace and self-love to help us with our daily stresses by connecting us with nature through jewellery, bath and body products, and skincare to enhance our daily life. Could you tell us a little bit more behind the brand DNA?
This is probably my favourite question! The idea behind Laola Hawaii is that women deserve to feel confident, beautiful and pampered, despite wearing the many hats that a modern woman wears: mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, employee, entrepreneur, coffee-addict (laughs)…All these hats have a certain role or responsibility, and trying to switch between hats can be difficult. The idea behind my brand is to help connect back to earth in some way, whether it be through my nature-inspired designs on metal, or through gemstone jewellery, or natural skincare. Consciously using these items to support our mental well-being, while unconsciously and effortlessly using natural products that not only make us feel good, are good for us too in some shape or form.
I struggle with mental illness (anxiety, depression and PTSD), and I know what it feels like to be alone. Growing up I was bullied very heavily, and I grew up saying that I want my legacy to be something great, supporting others the way I wish I was supported, and I believe I am on my way to living up to that dream.
What was the setup process like for Laola Hawaii?
Well, it was definitely a journey! I started transitioning from part-time hobby to full-time hustle in 2018 because I was going through some concerning health issues. Creating my business I believe was divine timing, because I already had this in motion prior to my diagnosis. I am happy to say that I am on my way to better health, but it’s going to be a long road. My business allows me not only the financial time and freedom but most importantly the creativity that my heart longed for that my prior jobs and careers didn’t provide.
I originally started with crystals, gemstone jewellery and metal jewellery, and slowly started to expand as I began meeting and networking with women not only in Hawai, but all over the nation as well, creating partnerships and further supporting the ‘women empower women’ concept, building little communities along the way. It’s been a phenomenal experience to connect with women from many different areas!
What are your preferred marketing methods for promoting Laola Hawaii?
I solely focus on online networking and connecting with potential customers on social media, organically. I only focus on organic growth, and that’s a personal choice. I feel more connected to my business through this process, but know that eventually, that day will come when I’ll have to share the responsibilities with someone else, but for now, I am enjoying meeting people online and hopefully, again at in-person events. Occasionally, I do fly to Hawaii for in-person events which are so much fun. I get to see my family, friends, and do what I love; what more could I ask for?
I also collaborate with other brands and cross merchandise on product shoots, social media shoutouts and giveaways, carefully working with women who have brands that are similar in values to my company. I feel like that’s been that most successful for me, besides in-person events.
How are you helping your female entrepreneur clientele to recognise their inner power and to utilise their strengths to create their dream business that will essentially positively impact the lives of others?
I love to teach and I love to learn. I try to learn new things everyday, and look for techniques, strategies and tactics that can further help my female entrepreneur clientele with their business. I try to focus on 3 pillars: Mindset, Technology and Community. By focusing on these three areas with my clients, I am able to help them build up their self-image and perspective on the internal thoughts and emotions to ensure they have the tools to support and lift themselves in times of hardship, give them the knowledge on how to use the resources available in the online space, and build a community online so that they can build impactful footprints within the communities that they live, work and play in.
I believe that when we as women in entrepreneurship are empowered, confident and focusing on serving others rather than focusing on what we’re receiving, we’ll be able to create positive impacts of inspiration and motivation for others in our community to make positive changes. Whether it be small changes like changing to eco-friendly shipping materials, to scheduling beach workshops that allow women to learn something while cleaning the beach, or creating a creative workshop to allow children to express themselves in a safe and encouraging environment, these small impacts can inspire lives and the community, and as a small business focusing on a consumer base that is aware of what’s going on in the communities that they live work and play in, I feel like it’s my responsibility to be an example and show women what I do, so I can help them spread more knowledge to others.
What 3 strategies are you helping your clients to implement within their daily life to maintain consistency whilst business building?
- One simple strategy that I use to help my clients begin to implement in their daily life to maintain consistency is my daily check-ins. I don’t simply ask “hey, what’s your plan today?”, I am constantly checking on their progress on the goals they set for themselves. It’s my job to not only be their cheerleader, but to be their accountability partner and encourage them to stretch themselves a little past discomfort in order to grow. For example, one of my clients in her first week of working with me, surpassed her client goal in the second day of the week, and so I pushed her a little more to see what would happen, to get a realistic benchmark. I want my clients to see that you are likely to go further beyond your goals, and that it’s okay to make adjustments during the week to the goal. If you hit your goal midweek, don’t sit and settle! Keep up the momentum and really see the efforts of your progress!
- Another strategy that I implement, is that I am always telling my clients to get comfortable in the uncomfortable, and that there is a difference between discomfort, and anxiety-triggering activities. Depending on their level of stress, I work with my clients to take certain steps into the fears and discomforts to take the necessary actions needed to make progress. I sometimes have to have them practice on things not within their business, so that it makes the things within their business seem insignificant to the fear they once had. It really takes a creative person like myself to help my clients overcome certain obstacles in the ways that I have.
- Lastly, my biggest strategy that I help my clients implement is that I help them celebrate the wins, big and small. So often, we as women are so focused on what’s next. Where is the next client coming from? When is the next sale? How are we going to keep going? We are often asking ourselves these questions and lacking the reflection to stop and say “look at how far I’ve come!” Sometimes we hustle so hard and the blinders go up, and we get so focused which is great, but we have to stop to celebrate. Not only are celebrations a form of incentivising efforts, but it also helps to break up the monotony of daily work and hustle. Celebrate yourself, you deserve it more than you realise!
One hard lesson in business you have learned so far?
The hardest lesson I learned so far in business is that sometimes, the people you expect to support you won’t, and that it has nothing to do with you, at all. Not everyone can see what you see, so focus on the supporters who can see your value, trust yourself and your decisions, and never ever compare yourself to what someone else is doing. Yes, the industry might be the same, yes your title may be the same, but the structure and heart of your business is different and you are the lifeline of your business, so focus on what’s right for you!
What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?
#BEYOUROWN means to me to unapologetically be yourself, whatever you want to be. Be your own boss, not the boss that someone else believes you should. Be your own woman, not the woman society says you should be. #BEYOUROWN is an expression of the embracing of your individuality and celebration of that unique identity that you bring to the table. Embrace it, own it, rock it and proudly exclaim it, you are your own you and that’s what makes you amazing!
What have you got planned throughout the rest of 2019?
2019 has been so crazy, and I can’t believe we’re more than half way done. I will be traveling to Honolulu, Hawaii in November 2019 for a an event on November 8th and 9th, and I am hosting a mastermind on Oahu on November 10, 2019. I also have a ton of holiday planning for online sales coming up for the fall and winter, which I am so excited about.
I am also welcoming more women into my one-on-one coaching program, as I want to help a few more women by the end of 2019. The fall of 2019 is going be the celebration of 2019 as a whole, and the preparation and welcoming of 2020.
Instagram: @laola_hawaii @laolahawaiicoaching
Website: www.laolahawaii.com www.kimberlynracoma.com
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