What happens when change meets entrepreneurship? You get the inspiring journey of Kym Leibham, founder and CEO of EventWise, who masterfully navigated the ebb and flow of market changes throughout her 25 years in business. This episode is a treasure trove of insights from Kym's accidental venture into entrepreneurship to her unstoppable adaptability in various industries including nurturing student entrepreneurship at Lakeland University. Join us as we unpack her wisdom on embracing change and failure and the crucial role they play in business success.
Ever wondered how an entrepreneurial environment can transform students into trailblazers? Welcome to Lakeland University, a vibrant cradle of student-run businesses nestled in the cozy rural landscape of Wisconsin. Our guest enlightens us on the art of managing an array of personalities and the power of self-reflection in team success. Hear about Lakeland's groundbreaking student-run business ventures that have not only picked up speed but have inspired other institutions as well. We also touch on the opportunities awaiting high school students in the community eager to dip their toes into entrepreneurship.
As we wind down, we turn our spotlight on Kym Leibham at Lakeland University, whose leadership is creating a ripple effect in the community. From running a campus shop to leading a content writing business, Kym reveals the ins and outs of their current operations. But what truly elevates their initiatives is the philanthropic arm - a program that harnesses student talents to aid local non-profits. Discover why intuition is your best ally when it comes to choosing your path. And before we wrap up, we bring you a remarkable student making waves in non-profit work. So grab your headphones and get ready for an episode overflowing with inspiration, valuable insights, and opportunities to connect and support.
What happens when change meets entrepreneurship? You get the inspiring journey of Kym Leibham, founder and CEO of EventWise, who masterfully navigated the ebb and flow of market changes throughout her 25 years in business. This episode is a treasure trove of insights from Kym's accidental venture into entrepreneurship to her unstoppable adaptability in various industries including nurturing student entrepreneurship at Lakeland University. Join us as we unpack her wisdom on embracing change and failure and the crucial role they play in business success.
Ever wondered how an entrepreneurial environment can transform students into trailblazers? Welcome to Lakeland University, a vibrant cradle of student-run businesses nestled in the cozy rural landscape of Wisconsin. Our guest enlightens us on the art of managing an array of personalities and the power of self-reflection in team success. Hear about Lakeland's groundbreaking student-run business ventures that have not only picked up speed but have inspired other institutions as well. We also touch on the opportunities awaiting high school students in the community eager to dip their toes into entrepreneurship.
As we wind down, we turn our spotlight on Kym Leibham at Lakeland University, whose leadership is creating a ripple effect in the community. From running a campus shop to leading a content writing business, Kym reveals the ins and outs of their current operations. But what truly elevates their initiatives is the philanthropic arm - a program that harnesses student talents to aid local non-profits. Discover why intuition is your best ally when it comes to choosing your path. And before we wrap up, we bring you a remarkable student making waves in non-profit work. So grab your headphones and get ready for an episode overflowing with inspiration, valuable insights, and opportunities to connect and support.
Did she really do that, you, betcha? She did. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of you, betcha Sheeted, the podcast where female entrepreneurs, changemakers and leaders, especially from Wisconsin, share their wit and wisdom. I'm your host, raina Rikiki. Today in the studio I have Kim Leipholm. She is a Sheboygan native with over 25 years experience in event planning, marketing and fundraising. She is the founder and CEO of EventWise, a Sheboygan-based event meeting and strategy planning firm that is currently on pause but will be back in action soon. As I keep going in my description, you're going to get the sense that Kim is a very busy woman, and she is indeed. So, besides doing that, she's also the director of strategic outreach at Lakeland University and is heavily involved in the student-entrepreneur initiatives there, such as Launch, which is Lakeland's student-run businesses, which I personally love because it is helping to mold the next generation of entrepreneurs. So, kim, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:
Hi Raina, Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I'm thrilled to have you here because you are someone with tons and tons of experience in the entrepreneur space. You're definitely a woman who has crafted her own path in terms of entrepreneurship and you keep doing it as you go along, which is nice to see. So I guess let's start at the beginning with EventWise. What inspired you to start your own company and what strategies do you think has led to its ongoing success? Because 25 years is a long time to be in business.
Speaker 2:
Thanks. It is a long time, and the business really started by accident. I have always liked to make something out of nothing. I've always liked to try new things. I've always been relatively fearless, and part of that probably stems from my dad. My dad was a business owner, and so I was always able to see the hard work that had to go in to owning your own business, but also the way that you had to continually improve yourself, improve your business, improve your relationships, and that just always appealed to me.
Speaker 2:
So when I started my business EventWise it was truly an accident. I had been working for the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra as the director of marketing and quit my job because I was having my third child, and at that time then opportunity came about through a family member to run a political campaign, and so again I started doing something that I didn't know anything about but yet seemed to be within the wheelhouse of skill sets that I had. And I think that's what I've really noticed is that when you step to tap into where your natural abilities and skills are, the things that just come easy to you, your gifts, you can really take that and transfer that to other industries, other volunteer opportunities, other organizational strategies, and that's what I did. So when I was finished running that political campaign, that successful political campaign then I started my business through an opportunity that I had with a local advertising agency, and the rest just kind of flowed from there. It accidentally became a need in the community and I started by doing corporate work, corporate event planning, as a contractor.
Speaker 2:
And then, as the economy changed and companies weren't doing event planning any longer, or external or internal events the non-profits started to need help, and so, therefore, I adjusted my business and adapted to the marketplace and became a resource for non-profits to help them through their challenges of board development and fundraising in particular. Then, as the market changed again, the the nonprofits became self-sufficient, which is which is what you want, right? I don't really want anybody to be necessarily dependent on me. I want to be able to give them the tools and the best practices to be able to do it themselves. Then my corporate business came back around again. So I love change and I think that's what I've enjoyed so much through my businesses that every time I have a new client even if it's the same client there's always a new set of challenges and there's a new set of opportunities and there's a new opportunity to approve upon what we did before, and that's just always appealed to me.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, there's two things you said that I love there. One was that idea of embracing change. I feel like in order to be successful at anything, especially life, you have to be open to change and it's you know, humans are a little resistant to that, but I think when you, when you flip that switch and that narrative and you embrace it, things happen. And then I also loved how you talked about taking strengths you already have and then translating them to other industries, because I think you know, sometimes people think, oh, I don't really have any skills, like, let's say, you're a stay at home mom. It's like, actually, you are great If you're a stay at home mom. You're great at multitasking, handling multiple things at once, organizing, planning, and you have to kind of examine your everyday life and say, ok, what am I already doing that I know I'm good at, and how can I apply this in something else? Like, for example, for yourself, what are some strengths that you feel you have that have helped you throughout?
Speaker 2:
your business, I think the one that you mentioned with change, and you're right, people don't like that word, and so therefore, I try to use a different word. I use the word adaptability, and it's just a kinder, gentler way to say that we need to embrace evolution and we need to embrace advancements. We even need to embrace failure.
Speaker 1:
Yes, 100 percent.
Speaker 2:
Those are great learning opportunities and an entrepreneur in particular, has to embrace failure, and so that is absolutely one of my strengths I seem to have. You know, as COVID came the word was pivot right, and so I've just have always had the ability to adapt and to change and you know, that has served me well. I think part of it is because I've always had a very healthy detachment from the work that I did and even the people that I worked with, for that matter, and that has allowed me to continue to see opportunities and grow in areas or industries that perhaps I may not have seen before if I would have been a little too invested personally in that particular opportunity. Another one of my strengths is definitely organization and time management.
Speaker 2:
Lots of people juggle lots of things and everyone is busy, and it's frankly, it's disrespectful to think that one person is busier than another person. Everybody is busy. But if you actually make choices about what you're going to put in your life and how you are going to spend your time, you have a better opportunity to actually do everything at the highest level that you can, because you've chosen to make room for it in your life, whether that's personal or professional. So because I'm able to have that kind of organizational strength. It allows me. It allows me to balance many facets of my personal and professional career that I find to be rewarding.
Speaker 1:
This question kind of goes along with that. So I know as an event planner you work with a lot of different, diverse people with different personalities right All over the board. What advice do you have for managing those different personalities, because for some people that is challenging, and maybe I mean you kind of sort of talked about how you were able to remove yourself a little bit from situations. But speak to us a little bit about that. How do you handle different personalities?
Speaker 2:
I have found the best way to handle personalities is to first know what your personality is True. I mean seriously. You can't really underestimate the value of self reflection, self reflection, humility and self actualization. So I love inventories and assessments. I always like to know what type of personality do I have, what type of personality might somebody else have that I'm working with? And then, therefore, how do I adapt my personality or my communication or my organization in order to better adapt to the other person?
Speaker 2:
Because doing a job as a contracted event planner is never, ever about me. It's always about somebody else. It's never about me looking good or me being successful. It's always about letting somebody else have the recognition or allowing some other organization to shine or to grow. So if I can't figure out what are the strengths and what are the challenges of that person or that organization, I actually won't be able to be successful for them, because I'm not adapting to who they are or what their brand is. So that's something that I do in my own life. It's something that I do with the work that I do with Lakeland University and our launch students, and that's really helped me be able to be successful with personalities that are different than mine.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's good, solid advice for handling people, but, like you said, you got to know yourself first and how you react. Well, let's pivot a little bit to talk about Lakeland University and your role there in fostering entrepreneurship. I just think the whole thing is amazing, like I feel like when I was in college, the idea of entrepreneurship definitely wasn't on my radar, but I keep hearing about it more and more and I hope that universities are starting to go that way, and I know that Lakeland is. So talk to us about that. What's going on there?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I've been really fortunate to work here at Lakeland University because we're such an I would say we're such an innovative university. We do not shy away from trying anything and I don't mean that to sound like we just throw everything against the wall and see where it sticks. I mean, we actually have strategies and plans that go into having a very transformational educational system that we have here and I get to be involved in launch, which is Lakeland Student Run Businesses. So in 2020, so May 2020, let's remember that is COVID we decided to launch a Student Run Business Venture and why not?
Speaker 1:
Why not then? And you know what?
Speaker 2:
What we really did was we concentrated on what we felt was going to be needed in the marketplace and so, therefore, we started with service businesses. We could start them cheaply because our greatest expense was going to be human capital and we had a grant to fund a year and a half worth of startup. So we started by doing some research on other collegiate student run business ventures. There is a really outstanding national association of other schools that have student run business ventures and we interviewed them, we talked to them, we learned about their best practices and their challenges and I don't mean to name drop because I don't really care for that, but I'm going to. But I'm really proud of the fact that Lakeland University is a small, very small liberal arts university in Wisconsin and we were embraced by all of the larger schools that are running student run businesses, like Loyola in Chicago and Harvard and Stanford and Princeton and Cornell, and it didn't matter to them that we were not a yeah, not a league, exactly.
Speaker 2:
We did not have to be that in order to be successful in starting a business with who we are, and I really think that philosophy translates into any type of business.
Speaker 2:
It doesn't matter how big or small you are. You have a plan, you have the passion, because I really think passion has to stem and fuel the longevity of being an entrepreneur. You can do and be just as successful as anyone or any other institution. So that's how launch started, and it was really fun having those first interviews with students, because I'm trying to pitch something to them that didn't have a name, it didn't even run it, it didn't run any businesses yet. So I was trying to find students that had that mindset, like I do let's create something out of nothing, but let's do it together. And I was really fortunate to have an incredibly dedicated group of students who started launch and really made it successful out of the gate and gave us the tools that we needed to have credibility with the university, have credibility with the customers that we were working with and then be able to grow that business right away in the second year in a way that I didn't anticipate what happened.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, it's pretty incredible how, if you are a student, how do you get involved in launch the student run businesses? Can anyone join? Or is this, I mean, even for students who are maybe in high school right now? What are the things they need to be thinking about?
Speaker 2:
That's a good question with students that are in high school. You know there are in our area. There are some interesting opportunities through some local high schools where they could have the opportunity to be entrepreneurial, whether it's through Incubator EDU or a program that we run at Jakes, which is an offshoot of Lakeland University, that is managed by Stephanie Hoskins, who you interviewed back in April of this year, and that program is called Innovator Fellowship, which is actually going to be expanding and scaling to several other schools this year and it's an opportunity for high school students to concept and growth and launch of a product or service. So in our community in general, I just think that we're pretty mighty in the entrepreneurial spirit that we have, both educationally as well as through other nonprofit organizations. At Lakeland a student can get involved with launch if they have a passion to want to start a business or even learn how to run an existing business. So I will alter jobs that we have or I will alter businesses that we might consider starting, because I have a student who's passionate. That's something I can't instill in somebody, but I can take that passion and I can figure out how to direct it into something that is going to be meaningful for that student as well as educational for them. And I do that all the time.
Speaker 2:
When we're interviewing right now for a procurement manager for our campus shop and I have the scope of the job kind of narrow, well, I interviewed somebody of the day who has a wider interest and I'm happy to adapt that position to give, to capitalize on the passion of that student.
Speaker 2:
And we had another student that came to us said you know, I'm a writer, I want to be a writer, and I said, ok, what do you want to do with that writing?
Speaker 2:
She goes well, I think I could start a business and maybe we could be offer content writing services to people in our community.
Speaker 2:
So I said, ok, and you know, we launched that business about two months ago and we already have two clients. It just, it was obviously the right, the right thing, the right business, I should say, priced at the right level Exactly. And then being able to convey what we're offering to the community is really important, because there are a good number of community members who want to be able to support young, entrepreneurial minded students, and the opportunities that we have for launch are really what is doing that, and so our customers actually become our mentors and our partners and they're helping not only their business grow, but they're really also helping the students grow in their professional capabilities, in their communication skills and in their abilities to manage conflict and manage businesses. I get very excited about what I get to do, and especially when I work with students who just see the connection about what they're doing now and how they don't have to wait for their future to be a business owner, to run a business.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I know I love that part. It's like you. Like you said, if you have that passion, it seems like that's really the key to starting Start now, while you're still in school and you're going to learn so many skills along the way and you've got support, so you know why not do it Right. So you gave us the example of the content writing what other businesses are kind of in the works at Lakeland or have been in the works in the past.
Speaker 2:
Right now, launch has four businesses. We run a musco's campus shop, which is our spirit or merchandise shop. We have an online store, as well as a brick and mortar shop. Here on campus at Lakeland we own a service business called Elementastic. Elementastic delivers hands on science workshops to elementary school students, primarily through after-school workshops, which is just fun. It's just fun. It's a little kindergarten or a second grader in a lab coat with their glasses you know, their safety glasses on blowing up a volcano or figuring out how sound works or making goop, and you know. We're trying to fill opportunities that maybe aren't offered in the grade schools right now through after-school opportunities that are affordable.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I love that too, the pairing of the college students with the younger students, and like I can only imagine the energy exchange that goes on and how excited like both parties are.
Speaker 2:
Exactly, and we've got a really well-bought education program here at Lakeland, and Elementastic is a really neat way for education majors to be in front of students in a way that's different than when they're in the classroom, so it's a really good learning tool for them as well. We have an event planning division. You know, go figure.
Speaker 1:
I know, I figured that would come up somewhere.
Speaker 2:
I was like how could?
Speaker 1:
there not, you've got the best role model to lead them along the way.
Speaker 2:
We have to run businesses that I can mentor. I can't mentor an accounting business, because that's just not that is not my wheelhouse we haven't even got any business.
Speaker 2:
That's been incredibly successful over the last couple of years. We've run everything from a concession stand at Road America to the Gus McRuth 3 on 3 basketball tournament. We've run the Oregon Memorial Day Parade for the last several years. We also run some workshops a financial planning workshop that we're doing in cooperation with another business in town.
Speaker 2:
We have run some camps on campus here as well, which are really neat, and so this, that particular business, really can be run by a student of any major, because what it is is it's really teaching new organizational, time management and communication skills as well as problem solving. We have our content writer business, which I have already briefly talked about, and then it's important that we teach students that we are all part of a community and it's important to sustain and support our community. So we have a philanthropic arm that's called our non-profit collaborative grant, and so we take profits as well as donations and funnel them into that particular opportunity where non-profit organizations can apply to have funding to support the wages for a Lakeland student to work at that non-profit, at little to no cost to the non-profit. And that is really neat because you know we've worked with over 13 area non-profits, and we have shared over $60,000 in wage relief by having this grant opportunity for non-profits.
Speaker 1:
If you are a non-profit in the Shibuikin area. How do you get into that program to have?
Speaker 2:
a student work with you. It's really simple that the application process is very simple. You just go to the Lakeland University website and search for launch and then under the launch businesses you'll see non-profit collaborative grant, and we don't even ask for an essay or a defense as to why you're looking for a student worker. We simply ask for some of the details about the job. We do limit it to 10 hours a week for student workers because we want to be able to impact more nonprofits and usually we're able to place two to three students at a nonprofit per semester. Some of that depends upon external donations that we receive and and how well our businesses are operating during the course of the year, so that ebbs and flows, but it actually makes an impact in the community and we're really proud of the work that we've been able to do in local nonprofits through that particular grant.
Speaker 1:
Well, I love everything that I'm hearing. I'm sure my listeners do as well. It's like you guys are fostering this great generation of new entrepreneurs. You're getting them involved in the community and multiple levels and obviously teaching them fantastic skills along the way. So, kim, you know you're kind of balancing a lot of different hats right now. What's in the future for you? What's on the horizon?
Speaker 2:
I don't know. I'm going to be real honest about this.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
I established I like. I like change. So I am at Lakeland full time. I do work part time for the Sheborgen North Catholic Parishes. I'm their director of adult faith formation, which gives me the opportunity to really get to know people in a different way and help them tap into their gifts in a different way than more the hard skills of business. So those are two of my passions. But I also am back in school almost full time. I'm getting a second master's degree in systematic theology, so that's the reason why my business is on pause at the moment.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I think that's so important. More and more people I talk to are learning to trust their intuition right Like finding where is the right spot for you right now and again, if it's not the new pivot, the new change, and you seem to have mastered that. So congratulations on that. On that regard, Thank you so much for being on the show and sharing your wisdom and sharing all of the super exciting things going on at Lakeland University. Guess, if you'd like to get in touch with Kim, I'll have her information linked in the show notes. Definitely reach out, especially. Maybe you're a nonprofit that is looking for an amazing student to help you out.
Speaker 1:
This would be an opportunity you don't want to miss, as I was. If you like what you're hearing on the show, don't forget to share it with a friend, a co worker, a neighbor. You never know who's going to need this information. And finally, if you like what you're hearing on you betcha, she did don't forget to leave us a review on Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. These reviews help us get listeners. That helps people know about the show and also increase our mission of lifting women up everywhere. Until next time, take care.