Kai Marsh

I would say being open-minded in regards to any position that I'm in, no matter where I am. Throughout my career, I've worked in so many different environments - from front desk work at an ophthalmologist's office to serving to work on my networking skills, to working for Oracle and Cerner doing implementation for the Cerner EHR system and being in rooms with physicians and stakeholders, to working within the school district special education system, and then working with AI within the product care industry from a corporate perspective, and now developing my own app. Throughout all those different pathways through life, what's been key is understanding what my KPIs are and really trying to bridge the gap in whatever environment I'm in. Being open-minded has allowed me to learn from each of these different places and apply that knowledge as I've moved forward in my career.

The best career advice I've received would really be to be a sponge - that's the biggest thing overall. It's about gathering as much information as you can, trying to observe and learn a lot from others, no matter what their background is, no matter where they've been, and no matter what position they're in. Learning that has allowed me to really connect with people of all backgrounds in a different type of way, to be more personable, and to really try to set differences aside and just focus on what their frustrations are, what their wants and their needs are for their business or whatever process they're going through at that time. Being a sponge and absorbing knowledge from everyone around me has been transformative in how I approach my work and relationships.

I would honestly say for them to be true to who they are and to be bold with their creativity. Even if it feels like you're getting rejected with your creativity, not everything can be a success at first, right? You have to go through the processes - that's how you get delayed gratification within certain situations. Just staying true to yourself and being bold in every aspect of your life will help you along the way. And of course, just staying grounded in whatever that person's beliefs are as well. It's about maintaining your authenticity while being willing to take creative risks and understanding that rejection and challenges are part of the journey to success.

I definitely feel like within any industry, you're going to have gender disparities, and I definitely do see that in this industry. Yes, I have been affected by it a few times, of course. But at the same time, I try to understand and try to see things from all perspectives, and I don't try to just activate opinions on certain people or anything in that regard, because I just know how hard it is for women in general to go through different series of status within corporate or as an entrepreneur, whatever you're doing. As a woman, you have a lot more stigma that's associated with you, so you have to kind of essentially just maneuver. A lot of times, they're like, oh, you have to maneuver quietly, or you have to maneuver this certain type of way, or do this or that. I just try to focus on just being boldly me, but at the same time listening and holding others' opinions, but not letting it essentially affect the person I am and how I move.

Honestly, it's going to be keeping God at the center of everything I do, to be honest. I grew up in a household where I brought all my problems, I brought all my joy, I brought every single type of emotion I had within my life through God, and it has helped evolve me into the woman I am today. I'm able to really process my emotions, and I'm able to just be more empathetic to others and be an active listener and truly just have that open heart to people in such hard times that we're going through today. So it's always keeping God at the center. And then the second thing for me would be positivity. I try to remain positive, and I try to push positivity onto others as well. These two values guide everything I do in both my professional work and my personal relationships.