Defining Hospitality

What I do is inconsequential. Why I do what I do is I get to shorten people's journeys every day. What I love about our hospitality industry is that it's our mission to make people feel cared for while on their journeys. Together we'll explore what hospitality means in the built environment, in business, and in our daily lives.

I'm Dan Ryan, and this is Defining Hospitality.

Dan Ryan: today's guest is an accidental entrepreneur whose mission is to help others let their business based superpowers shine as a high caliber creative. Her clients have included Oprah, the Mets, and Dolly Parton.

She's one of Forbes 30 under 30 inks, 35 under 35, and advertising ages 40 under 40. She's the host of the podcast Coffee with Kim. She's the founder of Bright Ideas Only. I can also call her kind of like a spirit guide or guru for me personally. Ladies and gentlemen, Kim Kalp. Welcome Kim.

Kim Kaupe: Yay. I'm so happy, and that intro was amazing. Thank you.

Dan Ryan: I think what's interesting about the introduction is it's all you and I think one of the things that I learned and I'm still not good at, but you really opened the door for me was to be more comfortable speaking about myself and kind and accomplishments and kind of putting myself out there, especially on LinkedIn and just bios and all of this stuff.

I'm still not there, but you definitely made me comfortable and that's part of the reason why I want to have you on, because I think we can all learn from the guru, like things that you shared with me and thousands of other people.

Kim Kaupe: Well, I feel like talking about yourself has got to be one of the top five most awkward, icky things right up there with public speaking. I mean, people just hate it. You can ask people all day long, what do you do for work? Or, tell me about your kids, or, you know, tell me about the school that you're attending.

And people will go on and on about their jobs, about what sports their kids in or et cetera. And the minute you start asking them about themselves, it is just like, curl up and die. Just do not talk to me about myself. You start getting the, oh, oh yeah, I kind of do this thing where I do like this consulting for, uh, these people and they kind of pay me.

It's just, it's, it's horrendous and everyone hates it and it's just one of those things that is really uncomfortable for most people.

Dan Ryan: And you just made me feel uncomfortable thinking about talking about myself. And I'll also say, you're, you've, you were a real, um, a very. data point in me starting this podcast as well. Cause like I would look at what you were doing and it was inspiring and then having you having coached me, um, it just kind of opened a door.

And, but I'll also share that in me doing this podcast, I'm still kind of skirting around talking about myself cuz I'm really interviewing other people and getting other people to share what they've learned with others. But, um, I think so first of all, um, a deep, heartfelt piece of gratitude through the internet to you.

So thank you.

Kim Kaupe: Well, I think that anyone who listens to the podcast, myself included, will know that you also dropped some little bombs of wisdom from here time to time. So it's not just everybody else. You're, you're dropping some wisdom nuggets too.

Dan Ryan: try and I, I'm trying to do a little bit more of that, but again, it's just like, it, it makes me uncomfortable. But I think that's a great segue to turn the spotlight off of me to, uh, To you and like obviously it's called defining hospitality. While you're not in the hospitality business, so to speak, um, hospitality, I believe in part of the growth of this whole podcast is hospitality touches everything.

So in your practice of what you do and how you impact others, how do you define hospitality? And let's use that as a point of departure.

Kim Kaupe: First of all, I think we're all in the hospitality business because if you have ever opened up your home to friends and family, if you are ever in client services or been a consultant, you want to have. A great reputation for being a hospitable, amazing person to work with, to interact with. And that's really how I define hospitality is just what are people walking away with?

How do you make them feel? What do they say about you when you're not in the room? What do they tell other people about their experience interacting with you? That to me is the hospitality. You can think of it as the stone that you kind of throw out into the river, but all of those ripples from that pebble that is really kind of the, the wake of your hospitality, and it's something that stretches out and continues to stretch out, not only for days and months, but years when people say, oh, well, back three years ago I did X, Y, Z with Dan.

You know, it's just something that stays with people. So I think we're all in that way. We're all in the hospitality business.

Dan Ryan: Yes. And I love the metaphor of the wake. So I'm picturing a boat cruising through a placid lake and then that wake much like a ripple. It's like a bigger than ripple. It, it impacts everything in, in behind it. So with the, in this, the sense of getting others comfortable to engage with you or to speak about themselves, I mean, you don't have to name names, but like give us an example of someone who was on a spectrum of being uncomfortable talking about themselves.

I'm probably somewhere in the middle, but there are, I'm sure there are people who are just like way on the other side. They'll talk about anything but not themselves. So is there an example that you could share of someone who was on that one side of the spectrum? Totally uncomfortable talking to themselves and how you and the other people that you bring into these cohorts and learning, um, how you help positively impact them and, and how have they taken that and left awake behind them to impact others.

Kim Kaupe: It's one of those things where it's like, how do you pick one story? I have so many, but one of my favorites was I was working, I, I did a big seminar with a group of women actually, and was talking to them really about not only how to talk about themselves, but to talk about the work that they've been doing.

And I think a lot of time our own worst enemy is ourselves. Uh, we downplay our successes more than anyone else. I always tell people, there's nothing worse that you, that you can tell me that I haven't already told myself. I'm a loser. You can't do it. You don't deserve that raise. You shouldn't be charging six figures.

You know, trust me, I've said worse to myself than you could ever say to me. And so I was working with this group of women and really telling them, Hey, Talk about yourself like you would your best friend, because I guarantee you, you would not speak about your best friend the way you speak about yourself.

If anybody has had a best friend, you're always sitting there going, oh my gosh, Dan, he's amazing. His company's amazing. Did you know he's working on X and he's working on Y and you know, he still has time to be a great dad to his kids and his what? You know that, but that's not how we talk about ourselves.

Oh yeah, I have this little thing. I have one or two clients, you know, they're okay. I do an okay job. It is an okay business. And so really kind of harnessed the work with, with this group of women. And I got a note about, I don't know, maybe two or three months later. From one of the women who was in this workshop seminar, and she came back and said, Kim, I took everything you said.

I took all of those templates that we were using, and I never have done this in my life. I put in for an award, a national award, and she actually won, which I was not surprised because she's extremely talented, but nominated herself and won a 40 under 40 award, not because her boss nominated her, not because she waited for a coworker to nominate her, but really kind of raising your own hand and saying, Hey, I.

I think I'm doing a great job over here and I think that that deserves to be recognized. So that was one of my recent favorites because it ended up and, and just to kind of go one step further on that, not only did she win the award, she was able to leverage that award a couple months later when she had a meeting with hr and it was time for a bonus and a raise.

And she was able to say, not only am I a top performer because of X, Y, and Z stats, but I'm also an award winner as you can see here. And that helped her also get a little, get a little pay raise as well.

Dan Ryan: Yeah. And I remember in um, coaching with you was like one of the questions like, what are the accolades? And then I remember, Just having accolades, but also just forgetting them because like I get them, I'm like, Ugh, I don't even want to talk about like, what, what is that? And um, so I don't know this process that you have, and again, that's why I'm so excited to have you on because you know, I always say, um, I love shortening other people's journeys, right?

And I think that you are a great journey shortener, not just for that woman you were speaking about, but all the other people in the cohort I was in also myself. And I know that we've done these big eo uh, uh, kind of q and as or, or um, quasi master masterclass that I don't know, I, everyone just walks away and is like, oh my God, this was amazing.

And, uh, I just love it. And, um, as I think about you and I love, it's the idea of superpowers get and getting them to shine, right? Um, h what. How did you find that superpower in yourself to help oth help impact so many other people and leave that big wake behind your boat, so to speak?

Kim Kaupe: I think it was a lot of trial and errors. So I have owned my own marketing agency now for 12 years, and what I learned along the way is, you know, and you can watch any, um, Show or book or anything that says like the 32nd elevator pitch. Like how do you pitch your, how do you pitch your business? How do you pitch yourself?

And what I was realizing over the course of 12 years is not only are you pitching the business, but as we all know, you know, you could go to McDonald's just like you could go to Burger King, just like you could go to Wendy's. You know, a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger. And it's really about the story you tell around the cheeseburger, around the values with the cheeseburger, you know, all those sort of marketing tactics.

And we as people are no different. So yes, a client or a consultant could hire you, but they could also hire the next person or the next person. Same with hiring if you work at a corporate job. And what I realized is not only do you have to be really concise and crisp when it comes to pitching, Your business, but you have to be concise and crisp when it comes to pitching yourself.

And that, is one of those lost. arts, if you will, of really getting comfortable saying, this is who I am, this is what I do, or this is what I love and this is who I help. And I think getting really clear with that message is not only really more comfortable for you, but it's a gift for other people.

You make them do less work. I'll give you a great example. I was talking with somebody the other day, and I am not kidding, Dan, it took me probably 20 minutes to figure out what they do because it was like, well, I work at this firm and Austin and it's kind of engineering, but it's kind of, and I had to ask so many follow up questions before I was kind of like, oh, I get it.

You build. Corporate buildings, like I had to do the work to like deduce down what this person did as opposed to if that person had just told me, Hey, you know, the new, you know, big Tesla warehouse that got built out in Austin, I do that, but for other companies I'd be like, great, I got it. The, you, you just served it to me on a silver platter.

So it's a gift for other people as well.

Dan Ryan: I love that. And As you're saying that, I'm like pointing this flashlight on me and I'm like, oh my God.

Kim Kaupe: Yes.

Dan Ryan: I totally hear what you're saying and it's making me uncomfortable. Um, because what I think what's resonating there is I can't tell you. Look, I sell and supply furniture solutions to hotels.

I also happen to have a podcast, and I also, um, I consider myself a hospitality entrepreneur. Right. Um, and I remember years ago, well, not yeah, maybe a year and a half ago, um, I had started the podcast and I shared with you the intro that is still the intro. And you gave me some feedback that Yeah, maybe you wanna remix that.

And just for the record, everyone, it's what I do is inconsequential. why I do what I do is I like to shorten other people's journeys every day. I have that opportunity. That's my impact. But you were like, yeah, you might wanna remix that because like what you do is consequential. And I still haven't done it because I'm scared.

Kim Kaupe: You scared. I know, and it's something that I tell people all the time, like, listen, I. First of all, I'm not on the top of the mountain. It's something that I'm working at all the time. I was at a dinner the other night and someone was like, Kim, tell everybody at the dinner party you're, you're fun fact. And I'm sitting there going fun fact, fun fact, like I garden.

Like, I literally had no idea what she was talking about. And she's like, no, wink, wink. Like, you're tv. Fun fact. And I'm like, my tv, fun fact, I looked like such an idiot until she finally said no, that you were on Shark Tank. I mean, I myself completely was like, delete, don't pay attention. Nobody cares.

Nobody wants to hear you talk about that. That was years ago. And so, you know, I'm definitely not on my high horse there. It's, it's something that, you know, you're constantly working towards. So just know you're in constant awkwardness. You're in constant uncomfortableness.

Dan Ryan: So let's go with that constant awkwardness idea. And you know, and I actually forgot you were a shark tank, and I should have put that in the freaking intro, so I

Kim Kaupe: We all forget. I forget

Dan Ryan: That is a great tv. Fun fact. I have a, I have a movie. Fun fact. I don't know if you saw this. Um, it was after the Oscars, um, Brandon Frazier won an Oscar, right?

Kim Kaupe: the

whale.

Dan Ryan: was like, how many people do you know that have been in a movie with five Academy Award winners? Like personally, you

Kim Kaupe: Zero,

Dan Ryan: know, one me,

Kim Kaupe: huh?

Dan Ryan: yeah, I was in a movie. Well, he became the fifth. I was in this movie. I was started as an extra, um, when I was in college, some, someone was in my, at usc, they were producing a film and they're like, Hey, we need some extras.

I showed up and they gave me this featured part. Young guy number three. No, no. It was just a extra, the guy didn't show up. And I got there, the director was occupied. He was like, do you wanna, do you wanna have, do you wanna have a bigger role? Because this guy didn't show up. I was like, yeah, sure. And I got young guy number three.

I didn't have any speaking or whatever, but it was, um, one day of shooting turned into like six or seven. I missed some finals. It was, it was a nightmare. But, and I didn't get paid for it. It, it was dumb. And it was, I was with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Brandon Frazier. Oh, who was the fifth one?

Oh, Sam Rockwell. I was mostly with, uh, Affleck and Rockwell, like in the, in the scenes that we were in. And I was like, yeah, Ben Affleck, he's never gonna make it. He's, he's, he's a bum. But, uh, I was, how wrong? How wrong was I?

Kim Kaupe: Wait, what movie with this?

Dan Ryan: it was called, Ah, I forget. It's either school days or glory days. And the irony of it is it went straight to video.

It never even made it into a general release. So I think it's on YouTube or something, but I'm like, I got long hair. I was there. But anyway, that's my movie slash tv fun fact,

Kim Kaupe: But see, that's a good dinner party. Fun fact.

Dan Ryan: Yes.

But I

Kim Kaupe: will like

that.

Dan Ryan: it. It just made me uncomfortable talking about it. Um, this is like a therapy session.

Thank you. Kim. Also, Kim, we knew each other before we were working each with each other. I just wanted everyone to know that too, just through, uh, in the same social circles and friend groups. Um, so I just knew you that way. And then it was like peeling back the layers of an onion. I was like, oh wow, you do this?

Oh my God, that's amazing. How can we, how can I help you get your gifts out to all these other people? And I just appreciate you for that and being open-minded to that and also helping me out, helping me out along the way.

Kim Kaupe: Oh, well I appreciate you so much and that's why I think that's why I was so excited when you first started talking about the podcast because I think to your point, yes, you have over the years always shortened to other people's journeys that you work with on a kind of one-on-one basis or clients or people that you've come across with in person.

But I think a podcast is such a beautiful way to touch people that maybe aren't coming across you in, in their everyday life, but they are still getting the wisdom and the guidance and their journeys are being shorten, shortened. And so that's something, that's why I think I am so, so bullish on people, whether it is a podcast, whether it is posting on LinkedIn, like whatever it is to just share what you've learned because you have no idea.

Who reads that, you have no idea who that helps. Yes. You hope that somebody writes you an email from, you know, South Africa saying, Hey Dan, I listened to the podcast and you know, I've been listening for six months and it's so helpful. And I always say, yes, you probably have gotten emails like that, but there's probably thousands of people that don't send those emails, but you are still helping them.

So it just because you're not getting the, um, round of applause or you're not getting the standing ovation, doesn't mean that people aren't watching the show, so to speak. Watching what you're doing, watching what you're sharing, really absorbing the, the knowledge. And so that's why I think I'm so adamant that people start to share.

It's just so helpful.

Dan Ryan: I, I completely agree. And as you're saying that, what I'm realizing is there's this great democratization of broadcasting if you, I don't know what it would be called, broadcasting, but everyone has the ability in their fingertips or on their computer, what really aren't their fingertips with their phone to share their knowledge with everyone.

And you know what? One person might listen, 10,000 people might listen, but you know what? Even if that one person listens, they're part of your wake. You've impacted them in some way and you've changed their direction. And, um, I think the more that we all realize that we can all share our knowledge because we all have these life experiences that we, that everyone can learn from.

And to, to be able to have this be, to be able to like be your own network channel. Be able to, to share your knowledge or the knowledge of others like having you on, it's pretty freaking amazing, and I think we're at this very still early stage of it that it's just really exciting to be a part of it. And I, I challenge all of the listeners or people watching that, you know, you can do this too.

It's, it takes a little bit of work, but, and, and also just getting over yourself. I think the big, hardest work is like getting over yourself and your own inhibitions.

Kim Kaupe: That is by far the hardest part. It is what makes people feel the most awkward and uncomfortable, but also it's, you know, it sounds cheesy, but it's like riding a bike. And I'm sure when you first, first, first did your very first episode of the podcast, you were completely freaked out, completely nervous, real sweating, you know, really kind of losing it.

And I'm not saying that now, everything is sunshine and rainbows and unicorns, but with every podcast episode, it feels a little more comfortable. You get a little more confident, you feel a little bit like more, oh, this is a conversation with somebody. I'm really interested and I'm curious, and I'm asking questions.

And they're asking questions and talking about yourself or sharing your knowledge is the same way. It's gonna, I, I don't sugarcoat it. I'm like, it's gonna be horrible at first. Like you will hate it. Like this will be like the very first pushup in the gym and you'll do one pushup and say, why am I at LA Fitness right now?

This place is horrible, but you just, you have to keep going. You have to do the second pushup and the third and the fourth, and that's the hardest part.

Dan Ryan: I completely agree. And, and it's just, it's really just putting yourself out there. And again, I just, again, thank you. Thank you, thank you. So, um, look, you've worked with people like me and the woman that you shared the story about, but then also Dolly Parton, Oprah, and. I dunno, the New York Mets, who I love, just so everyone knows I'm a, I'm a sad MET fan, but, um, in dealing with all these different types of people on, on a spectrum, um, is there some kind of a thread that you could share about how you get them to be comfortable talking about themselves or, or just being comfortable with and open-minded to learning what you have to give them?

Kim Kaupe: Well, again, I think honestly it all comes down to, again, hospitality. Like when I'm working with these people, you know, using Oprah as an example, working with her on her last big tour in 2020, it was how do we want fans to feel when they leave this arena? What, what are they feeling at the end of the day and the merch that they're buying?

Where are they wearing this? Who are they giving this to? How are they using it? And really, again, like an onion just going deeper and deeper. Another layer, another layer, but it, the, the root of it all is really, again, coming back to that, for me, the definition of hospitality, which is how are people feeling?

When they leave you, what does that look like? And, you know, yes, the syntax can change. You know, you go to Target, they call all of their shoppers guests. You go to ho a hotel, they might call them consumers, you know, I don't care if you call them consumers, guests, fans, customers, whatever wording you wanna use, it's, it's another human.

And what does that human feel when they leave you? And that really is the through thread through all of our clients and all of our work, whether it's the work that I do with large entities like an Oprah, like a Dolly Parton, like a New York Mets, or the work that I do with individuals like entrepreneurs at eo.

It, it really comes down to the same question, which is what, what's kind of the aftertaste that we wanna leave people with?

Dan Ryan: Totally. And as you were saying that also I started, my mind was going, I realize I don't know this about you, but when did you first decide to start putting yourself out there and like, how did you start doing it? Like what were your first steps?

Kim Kaupe: Yeah, it was like all great ideas, born out of complete laziness, which I own. And I am sure that you have gotten this, Dan, and I'm sure anyone who's listening has gotten this. I have found, especially, I was living in New York City at the time, I was working in music and entertainment, but before that I was working in publishing at Conde Nast.

And what would happen around this time, actually, like May, June-ish timing, and it would happen in again in like November, December, and that would be, someone would reach out and the email would sound something like this. Hi, Kim. My insert niece, nephew, son, daughter, neighbor, friend of a friend is graduating from insert school here and y Caltech, university of Florida, et cetera.

They are really interested that you work in, once again, insert here, you work at a magazine, you work in music, you work in entertainment. Would you be open to coffee, lunch, breakfast? You know, would really appreciate it and. The first couple I would go to and I would get a coffee and I'd be sitting there with Little Jimmy and little Jimmy's so excited.

He's a senior at nyu, what is he gonna do when he graduates? You know, here's a question about this. And then I would again, wash, rinse, and repeat. It'd be my mom's Pilates teachers daughter, you know, and we'd be on Zoom and she'd be talking. And what I found is for a lot of people it was the same questions.

How did you get where you are? How do I get the first meeting? How do I do well in an, an interview? You know, it's all of these same questions. So in my, what I thought was genius, I was like, I know what I'll do. I will, this is so funny to think back on, but I really at the time thought I was like the smartest person in the world.

I was like, I will take all the top questions that I get asked, which is like 25 to 35 questions that repeat a lot, and I will hold a coffee cup as if I was across the table from them at a Starbucks, at a Lapan, you know, whatever coffee shop you like, and I will answer in one minute or less. 25 to 30 of these questions.

I will post these all on social media and then the next time that my dad's. You know, tennis coaches, brothers son wants to have coffee with me. I'll say, Ugh, I'm so sorry Robert. I do not have time to sit in a Starbucks with you for 45 minutes and answer the same 30 questions that I've been asked so many times before.

Here's a link. Here's all the questions that you were probably gonna ask me, and I've already answered them. Like, here you go. And I thought it was so genius and I was like, yes, I'm getting my time back. I'm answering all these questions. And instead what happened was I started putting more out on social media and then I just got more questions back.

So it totally,

Dan Ryan: it was like filling, filling your, uh, backlog of questions. So you had all this content.

Kim Kaupe: It totally backfired. Um, so that I had even more of a, a, a deluge of questions. But it's actually been so lovely and I do think that I've been able to help way more people than just, you know, a friend of a friend's granddaughter or a friend of a friend's son who's, you know, thinking about switching jobs.

And it, it is all the same advice that I would give people if we were having coffee. I'm just doing it in a different format.

Dan Ryan: Yeah. I love that you shared that it was born out of laziness, because I'll also say this podcast was born out of laziness as well, because I saw the power of LinkedIn, I started writing a lot of articles. I was, I committed. I was like, I'm gonna write these articles. Um, mostly about what I do, which is supply custom furniture to hotels and just design trends and travel things.

And, but it just got so hard. It was like, it was a real, uh, pushing a huge boulder up a hill. And then I think this po I was like, you know what? I, I got an opportunity to interview some people on other platforms. Um, like, and I think there was two things. They were 30 minute interviews, but I feel like the conversations just started getting good at 30 minutes.

So I had to stop them.

And then, but then I was like, oh, if I do a podcast, I can kind of just plagiarize myself and have conversations with people and then that will help with the content and that will be my wake, my impact that I could leave behind. So I, I appreciate you for, uh, for sharing that and also owning it.

Kim Kaupe: Oh, a hundred percent. And I always tell people it's gonna look different for other people. So for you, it sort of started it as writing, and like you said, it was like pushing a boulder up a hill. You're like, ugh. You know, for, for you, podcasts kind of come a little more naturally. You're, you're conversational, you're gregarious, you know, it's, it's something that feels comfortable to you.

I always say it could be the opposite for somebody else. Somebody else could say, I'm gonna start a podcast quickly realize, oh my God, I absolutely hate this. You know, I feel really uncomfortable on the spot talking to people. I would way rather write the articles. You know, I'd rather stay up till two in the morning writing articles, and that feels more comfortable for me.

So I always say the medium doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it's an article, if it's a post, if it's a podcast, if it's a video. I think what matters is, Helping other people and sharing your knowledge. And by the way, to your point, and we were kind of talking about this beforehand, it's a little self-serving too, right?

And the example I always give people is if I said that you had to go play on an N B A team, and you can either go play for the Miami Heat, who are now going to the finals and doing great, or you could go play for, I don't even know some other team who's just like not doing that well, doesn't have good players, you're naturally gonna be like, well, I wanna go be the with the winners.

Why? Why would I go sit with the losers? I'd rather go be on the winning team. And so what I say to people is when you start sharing your knowledge online, you start looking like, wow, that Dan Dan's really smart. Wow. That Dan had another good idea. Dan just linked an that I hadn't read. And then naturally people, people wanna work with Dan cuz Dan seems like the smart shining star compared to maybe somebody else that they're just kind of like, yeah, Jerry's okay, I guess.

But you know, Jerry doesn't seem amazing. So it's also a little self-serving as well, cuz you'll find that kind of like a moth to a flame. People are drawn to people that they think are smart people, that they think are intelligent people that they think are curious. And when you do start sharing your knowledge in some sort of format, that kind of naturally happens too.

Dan Ryan: for those of you who don't follow Kim on LinkedIn, please do. Because like they're always good ones I mean, there's video content that goes along with it, so it's like, it's fun. one that stands out in my mind right now is like, Hey, do you have a minute?

I just wanna pick your brain. And then you, you came up with this whole, all this content around like what to do when people ask to pick your brain because we all have the same amount of time in the day and. It's really important to how we spend our time and block our time. So our time is the most valuable thing we have.

It's not our salary, it's not how, it's not the money, it's not this, it's our time. So how do we choose to do what our time? And it's interesting how the pick your brain. I didn't realize that the pick your brain thing is really what led to your podcast, uh, coffee with Kim. Um, but I appreciate all those nuggets that come out there and they always make me think, and they all, and, and in some way they help change my behavior a little bit.

So I find it really, really powerful. So again, if you want some of my secret sauce, it's really right here. Kim kp. Check it out.

Um,

Kim Kaupe: it together.

Dan Ryan: yes, exactly. It, it's, uh, one plus one equals five. one other thing I'd like for you to share, but like, why do you love LinkedIn so much and what is the power.

Behind it.

Kim Kaupe: I think the title of this episode is gonna be like Kim Kelp Lazy Advocate. Because once again, the reason I picked LinkedIn is because I'm lazy and, and what I mean by that is, again, to what you just said, we all only have 24 hours in the day. We don't have all the time in the world. So yes, in a perfect world, Gary V and all of these people, these internet moguls are gonna tell you, Dan, you got a post on TikTok and then you gotta have a Snapchat strategy.

And what are you doing on Twitter? And what about LinkedIn and about Instagram and what about Facebook's like I am. Tired. I'm tired just listing all of those. I don't have time for all of those. And it's honestly like too much work. Like I am lazy. I don't want to post on 17 different platforms three times a day, and I don't wanna hire a team to post on 17 platforms three times a day.

So for me, it was really about, okay, how do I look at all these choices and what's gonna give me the most bang for my buck? Like where is, where is my effort going to go the farthest? And for me, LinkedIn is the number one answer to that question for three reasons. listen, if you have all the time in the world, by all means go, go post on 18 platforms.

If you are a busy person, if you are a person that is stressed and already has a lot going on, listen up because I'm going to hopefully make your life a lot easier on the argument of why LinkedIn is the best platform for you to really double down on. And the first one being that LinkedIn is the only platform that is crawled by Google.

What do I mean when I say that? I mean that you could give somebody winning lottery tickets on Facebook. You could give somebody winning lottery tickets on Instagram. You could give somebody winning lottery tickets on Twitter and after three months, because this is how the algorithm works, this is how the feed works.

Your content is lost, never to be seen again in the black hole abyss, unless Facebook reminds you like on this day, six years ago, Dan, you posted this picture from Nantucket, but other than that, the Nantucket picture is never to be seen again because it's so far down your feed that nobody scrolls that far to see it.

LinkedIn gets crawled by Google, so if you write an article for, I'll use myself as an example. I wrote an article on LinkedIn titled The Four Mentors that Every Person Should Have. That was the title of the article to this day, if you Google Kim Kelp mentor into Google, not LinkedIn, into Google, one of the top five results will be that LinkedIn article be, even though I posted that same content on Facebook, posted that same content on Instagram, posted that same content on other platforms, LinkedIn gets picked up by Google, so your, your content continues to live on.

It has a second life. It can be found in search engines, so that is number one. LinkedIn is called by Google Your Go, your content continues to live on way past the one or two or three days post post platform published. So that is really, really huge. Second of all, what I think is really powerful when it comes to LinkedIn is you are accessing the right people.

So what I mean by that is if someone is listening and they are looking for hotel clients, or they are looking for restaurant clients, or they are looking for, you know, a client who is going to help them do X, Y, Z, the majority of these business people, the majority of C-suites, the majority of people that are making decisions are logging on to LinkedIn.

I'm not saying that they're not on other platforms, they very well could be, but there's a good chance that the Chief Strateg strategy officer of Marriott Hotels is not scrolling on TikTok at two o'clock on a Tuesday. So, Chances are they opened up LinkedIn at two o'clock on a Tuesday. Maybe not. Maybe you got some C-suite executives that are sitting in their corner office scrolling on TikTok.

But I highly doubt it and I highly doubt it because they wanna network with other professional business people. And that is where LinkedIn is happening. And not only that, but most people don't realize that a lot of these big corporations, whether it's Marriott, whether it's Hilton hotels, just using hotels as an example, a lot of these places will not allow employees to get on sites such as Facebook on their work computers.

It is blocked. It is a blocked platform. They do not allow social media on work computers, which is not that surprising because. Their work computers, they, they don't want you scrolling on Twitter, uh, doom scrolling when you should be working. So whereas LinkedIn, for a lot of these Fortune 500 companies, they don't count it as a social media platform.

They count it as a net networking tool. So LinkedIn is not blocked by a lot of these Fortune 500 companies, whereas Facebook, Twitter, some of these other platforms are kind of on the no-no list when it comes to people's work computers. So that's number two. You're kind of fishing where the Phish are in terms of the business people that you are coming in contact with.

And then the third reason why LinkedIn is just really a powerful, powerful place to be is. Most people don't realize that the amount of people on LinkedIn is in the billions. Most people don't realize that it's a worldwide platform. Most people don't realize that it's translated into 24 languages. So Dan's post is not only being posted in English, it's being posted in French, it's being posted in Korean.

You know, you are seeing it no matter where you are in the world. So it is a global network of billions of people. Here is the part that I think is so fascinating. Less than 1% of people actually post on LinkedIn. So what does that

mean? 1%.

Which 99% of people are what I lovingly refer to as the lurkers.

I love a good lurker. We all love a good lurker and lurkers are people that go on LinkedIn, they wanna see the industry news. Maybe their old coworker got a new job, maybe their old boss had a baby. You know, they're kind of going on to keep up with the industry, but they themselves aren't posting. The majority of people in your professional sphere are this person.

They are a lurker. They are looking, but they are not contributing to the conversation. So other platforms, it is much, you have to scream much louder to be heard. There's millions and millions of people posting on Instagram. There's millions and millions of people posting on TikTok. You have to scream very, very loud to be heard.

LinkedIn, you can get away with just like a light screen and you'll be heard by lots and lots and lots of people because many, many, many people don't post. So I still see people all the time that say like, oh my gosh, Kim, you popped up on my feed. Oh, you've been on my feed twice this week. And I always say, it's not necessarily that I'm doing anything special, it's that the rest of your feed is pretty dang quiet.

Nobody else is posting anything. So again, you really get a bang for your buck because you have less competition. So those are the three kind of lazy man's reasons why LinkedIn just makes a lot of sense, I think for business professionals.

Dan Ryan: Uh, uh, and as you're saying that, I'm reminded of, I think I shared this story with you. Um, I sat next to, on an Airplane to Daniel Roth many, many, many years ago. He's like the editor in chief or something of LinkedIn, I think. And he was telling me, oh yeah, you know, you can, I was talking about LinkedIn, I don't know, eight 10, I don't know when it was.

It was a long time ago. And he said, yeah, you can visualize your network. I'm like, what do you mean? He's, they had a web thing where it showed all the connections in like different colors. Like school would be one, professional would be another, maybe family was, and somehow it knew, but it was like this crazy, like neural network.

They've, they don't have it anymore. But when I saw that, I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. And my work one in LinkedIn was like, I, let's just say it was blue, but it was like massive and it was blue and it was dense, and it was, it was, uh, It was like a fractal. I, I don't know what it was, like, the most incredible visualization, and I wish I could get it back.

I, but they don't do it anymore. But I think when you say you're only 1% of the people are posting when you're post, when that 1% is posting, I would assume most of them, it's that work network is, it's already kind of filtered. So it's like really showing it to all those people in your professional world that matter.

it's like not just a, a filter, but also like, uh, like when you have a magnifying glass and you set a piece of paper on fire with the sun, it's like a, a laser beam focus kind of thing. And uh, it's really neat.

Kim Kaupe: Oh, it's, it's really cool. And again, what I, another lazy man's reason why LinkedIn is pretty, pretty awesome and worth your time and energy is if I were scrolling on Instagram and let's say I like five posts, you, Dan have no idea what I liked because I control my own thing and you don't see any of that.

Same thing with Facebook. Let's say I go on and I like, you know, five posts. You don't see what I like because again, it's, it's my feed. Same thing with TikTok. LinkedIn is different. So if I go on LinkedIn and I like Dan's post as an example, There is a portion of my network that we'll see Kim liked this post and it will actually serve them Dan's content.

Even though they do not know Dan. They have never met Dan. They do not follow Dan. They are not connected to Dan, but because I liked it, the LinkedIn algorithm kind of says, Hey, if you're a friend of Kim and Kim likes this, there's a chance that you like this because you like Kim and we think you might like what Kim likes.

LinkedIn is one of the only platforms that does that, and that's why things are able to go. You are still able to go kind of quote unquote viral or, or kind of. I always tell people if you post something on LinkedIn and you wait a couple days and let's say you get 20 likes on that post, and you go and look at those likes, I guarantee you, you do not necessarily know all 20 of those people.

You maybe know like 15 of those people. But then the other five, you're looking at that going, who's Marjorie? Who's Daniel? And when you look at it, you're like, oh wait, Daniel is connected to Dan. So because Dan liked it, Daniel must have liked it. So again, it's one of the only platforms that your content can live beyond your network just because people are interacting with it.

Dan Ryan: I, I said it was neat, but it's, I, that was a terrible word. It's like incredibly powerful.

Kim Kaupe: It's pa it's powerful. And again, like it's, I always say like if you are busy, which I feel like the majority of people I talk to these days are people are understaffed, they got a lot going on. Their to-do list is always full. And they're kind of always exasperated when it comes to social media. And I always, and they're always like, ah, but you know, I know I should be on all these platforms.

And I'm like, listen, yeah, I should be cleaning my whole house every week, but I'm not. So like, do what you can with what you got from where you are. And to me that's like, go to LinkedIn. It gives you more bang for your buck.

Dan Ryan: Totally. And, and so you're in Austin and Austin is really, it's, it's become like almost a Silicon Valley part two, right? Is that safe to say? So there's a huge tech, so when you say it's the only platform that's crawled by Google, how is, uh, LinkedIn affecting all these large language models and ai?

Are you seeing that, are you seeing any trends there? Um, are, are these large language models able to crawl them as well, or only the Microsoft ones? Because I think Microsoft paid 26 something billion dollars for LinkedIn whenever they did. And everyone was like, wow, that's crazy. But if all these people are on it and it's this powerful for commerce, it would seem to me like.

There's some, uh, really big changes that are about to come. So like, what, what are you seeing there? And if, if that's a whole other conversation,

Kim Kaupe: Okay.

Dan Ryan: can have a whole other conversation at another time.

Kim Kaupe: No, it's, it's one of these things where, listen, as we know, AI is infecting every facet, every industry, every nook and cranny with a different angle that people can take things. And LinkedIn is no different. So for example, LinkedIn has started to play around with AI generated content. So you may see this on your feed if you haven't already, or if you're listening to this and you don't spend a ton of time on LinkedIn, perhaps now that we are talking about it, you will notice it.

But what their AI learning has been able to do is, again, let's use for example, um, that there is a salmonella outbreak. I'm making this up. There isn't one, but let's pretend there is. Let's say there's a salmonella outbreak and they are recalling. You know, some sort of product or some brand of produce.

What the AI models have started to do is if they think that you are an expert in that area. So let's say you own a restaurant, or let's say you are in the food services industry, you will begin to see a prompt that says basically, Hey Kim, you know, there's a salmonella outbreak. What advice would you have for someone who's dealing with a food recall as a restaurant owner?

And I would go in and type, you know, my one tidbit or something like that. And what the AI models are doing on LinkedIn is they're also asking that question aggregately, let's say, to 30 more people. Then what it's doing is it is self. Writing an article that says, are you affected by the latest salmonella outbreak?

Here's what you should do, you know, based on these insights. And it will actually give quotes as if somebody from, you know, the Wall Street Journal or something has written this article and you would see quotes from restaurateurs, you would see quotes from, you know, service food handlers. It is a really, they're just now playing with it.

It probably got rolled out maybe a month or two ago. So it's, it's one of those new features, but it's a long-winded way of saying, yes, that's happening. It will continue to happen. And so I think again, all the more reason that as much as you can now, I just think it's really beneficial to post, even I tell people, Once a month, you know, people will say, oh Kim, I guess I should be doing it two week, twice a week, three times a week.

And I always say, listen, if you go to the gym, anyone who's tried to do a new diet or January 1st starts and you say, I'm gonna go to the gym three times a week, and you know, the first week in January you go to the gym, the second week in January, you go to the gym, the third week comes and you're like, eh, I didn't go three times, I only went two times.

And then the fourth week in January comes and you're like, eh, I only went once. And by the time February rolls around, you kind of throw up your hands and you're like, oh, it's a hell and a hand basket. Like, I'm not going at all. And so you, you kind of lose it. Whereas I always tell people, if you just kind of set your minimum, something that seems like too easy, like okay, one LinkedIn post a month, then it might be the opposite.

So then it's the example of somebody who says, okay, what if I tell myself that I only have to go to the gym for five minutes? And then maybe you do go to the gym and after five minutes you leave and you're like, this day sucks. I'm only staying for five minutes. I did a couple pushups. I'm out. But more often than not, once you're already there and the five minutes go by, you're kind of like, all right, I'm here.

I'm sweating. Let's stay another five minutes. And then before you know it, you've been there for 25 minutes. So I always tell people like, post on LinkedIn once a month, and if you're feeling up to it, maybe that turns into twice a month. Maybe that turns into three times a month. But don't start with these really high expectations because the truth is like you'll do it and then your kid will get sick, the dog will be barfing.

One of your clients is freaking out. You miss it one week, you miss it another week, and then you throw up your hands and you say the hell with it, which is just

never worth it.

Dan Ryan: what is that? One drop of water will become a waterfall, or it takes one drop of water first to, for a waterfall to happen. Um, so. You're a content creator and host of, uh, coffee with Kim, the wildly successful coffee with Kim. You are a keynote speaker, you're a LinkedIn instructor and guru, but as an entre, as really an entrepreneur at heart, I would, I think, and I'm pretty sure bright eye on Bright Ideas only is your, is your day is like where you spend most of your time on, right?

So tell us a little bit about Bright Ideas only, and as everything like AI and all this other stuff is rapidly changing in trends and consumer behaviors, what are you doing to stay ahead of the curve and what's exciting you most about the future?

Kim Kaupe: Yeah, so Bright Ideas only is our marketing agency that I run with. My business partner, Abby, who is. Absolutely fantastic and amazing and I could not do what I do without her first and foremost. And what we do is a really, at the heart of it, we're working with brands. We're working with entertainment properties.

We're working with music artists on two things. The first one being what are their fans tangibly touching? So what merchandise are they receiving? If anybody has heard of V I P packages, which is instead of, let's say, getting a Dave Matthews, Band ticket for $50, you are paying $150 and you're getting front row tickets and you're getting some sort of exclusive merchandise pack.

Really, what are people touching? What is that tangible stuff that they are touching and how is it cool and exciting and exclusive and makes people feel like, wow, this was really made for me and it's something that I'm going to use every day and love and remember because that. Makes a world of difference.

I think we've all gotten those really lame, boring, like Geico, you know, sweatbands, and you're like, I'm never gonna wear this Geico, sweatband, like Goodwill, like trash, like never gonna wear it. So really looking at whether you call them promotional items or gifts and saying, what is something that somebody's actually going to use?

What is something that doesn't have. Your brand all over it, but it has something that they resonate with all over it. So it's not all about you. Nobody wants to be at the party with someone who's going, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. You really wanna focus on the other person. So again, that hospitality through thread, it's not about you, it's about the other person, how they feel, what's gonna get them excited, what's gonna get them talking.

So not only those tangible goods, so that being number one, but also working with a lot of companies and startups on their brand if they're going through a rebrand, if they are redoing their website. So once again, that through thread, through thread, what are other people seeing about your brand? What is your logo?

What is your colors? What is your type font? What does your website look like? Because as we know, that plays a world of difference. When somebody goes on and sees a brand that looks cool and slick and exciting and they're like, yeah, I wanna. Stay there, or I wanna do that, or I wanna buy that, versus something that's like, eh, I don't know if that resonates with me.

Or, eh, the website was really hard to use, or, eh, like, I'm just not really feeling it. And then boom, they're gone onto the next, onto one of your competitors. So that is really at the heart of what we do at Bread Ideas only, and I think that's why, again, I, I really, truly believe that hospitality is at the core of not only what we do, but of what everyone hopefully does.

In realizing that it's really about other people and not

so much about yourself.

Dan Ryan: totally. It's that. It's that empathy and walking in someone else's shoes, and to me, that's what I've learned the most in doing this podcast. It's really how you make others feel and anticipating what they want. So I'm glad you're on the forefront of that. And then as you're looking to the future, what's exciting you most?

Kim Kaupe: I think what's really exciting me the most when it comes to the future is just really the potential and the opportunities for other people to realize how much their voice is important and needs to be heard. I think that we have all been in rooms where you have that person kind of shaking their fist, being like, these millennials, they just don't work like we used to work.

Or, you know, gen Z, they're so confusing. I don't understand how they're doing anything. And my question always back to these, whether they're entrepreneurs or whether they are corporate people, is like, well, when is the last time that you mentored someone? I. Or when is the last time you started posting on LinkedIn about how an email should be drafted or how you should take notes in a meeting or how you should follow up after a meeting and, you know, I get crickets.

Oh, well, yeah, I guess I haven't mentored someone. And, you know, something that my, my parents always sort of beat into me as as a kid, was that unless you're willing to do something, you can't complain about it.

Dan Ryan: Totally because those people are shooting all over other people.

Kim Kaupe: Exactly. So

Dan Ryan: But um, boom.

Kim Kaupe: exactly you can, you know, it's like people who complain about politics and then you say, well, did you vote?

And they go, well, no. And I go, okay, well then you've lost the right to complain. If you've voted, you've earned the right to complain and by all means, complain away. And so what I think I'm most excited about in the future is really the, hopefully the opportunity that people who have been in the business for a decade or two decades or three decades to kind of say, okay.

I can't rely on Gen Z to quote unquote figure it out. I can't rely on millennials to figure it out. I really have to roll up my sleeves and start helping shape this, this next generation. Instead of sitting around and complaining that, you know, they don't work hard or I don't like the way they did something, or this wasn't right, or this was half-assed, you know, you gotta earn that, right?

So when, when you start posting on LinkedIn once a week with your tips, then you can complain about millennials all you want. But until you're doing that, no complaining.

Dan Ryan: And it's true because, okay, if you're complaining about these generational issues, again, like if you go back to what we were first talking about, this great democratization of broadcasting and education, that's really, it's, I mean, you can renovate a whole house or build a house by just watching YouTube.

You can teach that millennial how to write an email or shake someone's hand, or I think actually maybe the millennials are better at that. Maybe you could teach that Gen Z or how to do that. But you gotta put yourself out there, right?

Kim Kaupe: Exactly, and I, think

Dan Ryan: you make

those people comfortable. And I hope, I actually hope that this conversation to all the people that are listening to this, you just see like, take those complaints and put them out there and make awake.

I love the wake. Make awake. You have the ability, it's all at your fingertips. And if you need any help, Kim's there too. you have the ability to make the change with this incredible megaphone. Um, so thank you for the reminder and yeah, if you're gonna complain, do something about it.

Um, so you're a gator, right?

Kim Kaupe: yes,

Dan Ryan: Okay. So you finished up University of Florida and then you went to Conde Nast, you said earlier.

Kim Kaupe: Yes.

Dan Ryan: I want the Kim I'm speaking to right now to stand in front of the, recently graduated Kim from the University of Florida, about to head up to New York to go to Conde Nast.

What advice does the Kim I'm speaking to now have for that young about to head up to the big city? Kim?

Kim Kaupe: Yeah. I think hopefully this is a message that resonates with anyone who's listening, who has been a big achiever, who is big on kind of the next carrot, the next leg of the mountain, the next step, the next I, I don't think I did a great job at the time of really, I. Sort of enjoying the moment, enjoying the wins, enjoying the big projects and the successes.

I think I was really in the what's next? Okay, I'm so excited. Like, what's next? What's next? And really just kind of savoring and saying like, no, you know, eat that piece of cake. Like have that second glass of champagne. Like really sit and say like, man, that was fricking awesome. Um, and I think probably a lot of achievers will resonate with that because part of what makes us so successful is that we are constantly striving and we are constantly kind of moving to bigger and better.

But I think on the same, Side of the coin, uh, really trying to slow down. And that's something that I, you know, now that I'm in my thirties, I'm really trying to do that. When we get those big wins or we get those big projects, or I finish a project with Oprah that I'm really sitting there saying like, holy crap, that was freaking amazing.

Like, I'm getting a second glass of champagne. Like we are celebrating. This is so cool.

Dan Ryan: I agree, and I, again, I think that that ties into the, it's kind of, I think it rhymes with. Why we're so inhibited, inhibited about talking about ourselves. It's, I think that there's like a correlation to celebrating the fucking wins. Like just celebrate them. I'm guilty of not celebrating the wins. I'm like, oh, I could do, it's like the gap versus the gain, right?

It's like I could be doing, there's a gap, but you know what? I just gained all this stuff, but there's a gap. Um, so I love that. And I wanna apologize. The young Kim graduating college, you're still young. So for those of

you

Kim Kaupe: course, of course.

Dan Ryan: um, Kim, this has been awesome. And actually I feel like there's so many more topics that I want to cover that will have to do a round two at some point.

And I'm sure the, I'm sure the, uh, the listeners will love it, but like, I just want to help shorten everyone else's journey as far as like how you've helped me, helped shorten mine. So I want to say thank you. But first, how can people learn more about you if they would like to get in touch or learn more, be or, or surf your wake?

Kim Kaupe: Yes, well you can come surf my wake any time on LinkedIn, on Instagram. Those are probably the platforms that I spend the most time on. And um, on LinkedIn, I know you'll link that in the show notes. And I'm really, really easy to find on Instagram because all you do is you start to type in Kim Kardashian.

So you just start, start to type in K I M K A, and then I am literally the second, I'm right under Kim Kardashian. So I always say there's two Kim K's, one has all of her clothes on. That would be me. And then you're gonna see another one that does not have her clothes on and that is not me. So just start typing Kim Kardashian and stop after the a and I will be there with all my clothes on.

Dan Ryan: I, and also everyone, if you want to, every Wednesday you're doing at 1:00 PM Eastern, I think it's, uh, coffee with Kim on LinkedIn. It's LinkedIn Live, correct.

Kim Kaupe: it is on LinkedIn live. You can also watch it on YouTube live as well. But yes, I'm there every single Wednesday. It is my most fun meeting of the day. I always say, because I'm just talking to interesting entrepreneurs and executives all about what they're doing that works and how we can kind of copy their homework and use it for ourselves.

Dan Ryan: And also if, if they happen to miss the 1:00 PM like where are the archives? Is it on coffee with kim.com or something like that?

Kim Kaupe: Exactly. So you can head on over to my LinkedIn page and watch them, or we take the audio from those sessions and put them out on every podcast network on Tuesdays. So you can go on Apple Podcast or Overcast or any of these podcast networks and search coffee with Kim and subscribe, and they'll come right into your headphones.

Dan Ryan: Awesome. And you, and you'll stalk us virtually. Um.

Kim Kaupe: Yes.

Dan Ryan: Kim, I just want to give you a heartfelt and open-hearted thank you for your time and allowing all of us to surf in your wake. Like, I really appreciate it. I'm sure all of our listeners appreciate it too.

Kim Kaupe: Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. This has been so much fun and I really hope we can do it again soon.

Dan Ryan: Uh, I know we will because I have a feeling I already know, you know, I can feel it in my bones that this is gonna be a very highly downloaded and watched and listened to episode. So I also thank you, Kim, but also without our listeners and watchers, um, our audience, let's just say, um, we wouldn't be, I wouldn't be here doing this if you guys weren't like tuning in.

So incredibly humbled. So please, if this is your first time listening, subscribe and like, or do all that stuff that you gotta do, um, it'll just help. And it's all been pretty much word of mouth, so, Please. Uh, if this changed the way you think about hospitality or making others feel comfortable or leaving a big wake behind you, please share it with a friend and, uh, thank you everyone, and we'll catch you next time.