Kimberly Sundt, Brand and Customer Experience Strategist
www.kimberlysundt.com | Instagram
Tell us a little bit about yourself…
Well, I was in the corporate world for about 20 years. I went out on my own because I wanted to combine marketing with the customer experience. Back then, it wasn’t a thing! I have a strong hotel background, so creating branded customer experiences is in my DNA. Most recently, I shifted my business to focus on the interior design and other lifestyle industries. These are my people – where I do business – my friends. I understand them so well, and so many of them are brilliant at what they do, but the marketing/branding/customer experience part was a mystery. I help them figure it out.
What inspired your career?
I think a combo of the hotel industry and live performance (music, theatre, etc.)
What does your day look like? Walk us through your typical day…
Let’s call this an “ideal day” LOL. Up by 6am (earlier in the summer), a lemon water, a tea, coffee, quiet time, some sort of exercise, then at my desk by 8am, but no email until 10am! I batch my days, so when I am out and about, I do it all in one day. I try to schedule all calls on the same day, etc. One day a week I work somewhere other than my home office so that I can shift my perspective. I usually stop by 6pm, wrap up the day with a chat with Dave, and then we cook dinner. Again, this is an ideal day – they don’t all turn out this way!
What is your favorite failure that sets you up for later success?
I think my first failure was not failing enough, and this WASN’T because I was super-successful and doing everything right. It was because I was playing it too safe. Once I started doing one thing every day that had a risk of failure, the world started opening up in amazing ways.
When you feel unfocused or not motivated what do you do?
Simply move out of my current space. Go for a walk. Move to a different part of the room. Or flip through a coffee table book. If I know it’s not going to happen, go run my errands as I don’t have to be creative during that. If it is a bigger stuck, I go on a personal retreat for a couple of days
If you could send a mini message to all people, what would it be?
The world is just so noisy that we must take time to be still and be quiet. Taking the time to be quiet, so that we can hear the voices inside of us, is the best thing we can do for our businesses and ourselves.
Be Curious. Be Empathetic. Be Kind.
What advice would you give to someone starting a business journey?
Be Curious. Be Empathetic. Be Kind. Also, don’t try and be better than someone else; that’s not important. Be different – that’s what you must be able to communicate.
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