We recently connected with Caroline Rice and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Caroline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

Prioritizing conversion over connection. The market is getting more saturated and consumers are getting smarter. If your goal is longevity, you need to create brand loyalty. Gone are the days when we can rely on virality alone to make an impact. You have to center the experience of your customer and meet them where they are, lead with authenticity, and communicate with compassion. For example, did you hear of Amazon’s Fire Phone? I didn’t think so. When they launched it in 2015, they had the opportunity to compete with Apple, but they didn’t consider the user experience (it wouldn’t pair with apps users had come to expect, among other things) and it wasn’t priced competitively. More importantly, what they were missing was the emotional lens. Why buy an Amazon phone over an Apple phone? Apple’s Brand Promise, to challenge the status quo, sparks the ears of rebels, of creatives who don’t want to be put in a box, of those who are hungry for more. What they could have done was positioned it opposite that, emphasizing the reliability of Amazon and leveraging their Everyman archetype. But they tried to sell, instead of connect.

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been curious, imaginative, and had a knack for problem-solving. Despite getting me into trouble as a kid who would rather spend hours in her own world than doing her chores, I found a way to channel my passion and talents as a brand strategist. Strategy is all about finding creative solutions, coming up with new ideas, whether for a soda brand or a small business, and connecting people, places, and experiences.

After 8 years working at various agencies in New York City and Denver, I saw the traditional agency model as a problem to solve. As a queer woman intent on dismantling systems of power and oppression, it wasn’t working for me. The values, priorities, and culture of the traditional agency model didn’t reflect my own. So I created my own.

Bellhop is a boutique branding agency with a passion for creating lasting impressions in hospitality and travel. Our approach is guest-first and strategic, led by a love for good design and curating memorable experiences. But to us, it’s not just about the bottom line, but about doing what’s right — by the guests, the community, and the values we stand by.

I am proud to get to do the work I love, building inspiring brands for my clients, while not subscribing to the traits of the masculine economy that perpetuate oppression, like scarcity, hustle, ego, ownership and competition. Instead, we practice feminist entrepreneurship, as defined by Jennifer Armbrust in her book, Proposals for the Feminine Economy.

“Feminist entrepreneurship asks us to take a hard look at the world around us–at our society and culture, at our institutions and government, at our communities, at our relationships (including our relationships with ourselves), and especially at our businesses—to find the places we are complicit with, or even actively perpetuating (often unknowingly) forms of oppression.

Feminist entrepreneurship also requires that we quit equating masculine principles with success and power, and feminine principles with inadequacy and weakness.

To do something as audacious as call your business “feminist” requires showing up every day with humility, heart, intrepid creativity, criticality, courage, self-love, and a passion for growth. It requires accountability to yourself, your business, and to the larger social project of dismantling patriarchal and oppressive systems.”

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I am an avid reader! It feeds my curious spirit and stretches my imagination. I’m constantly reading, so this list will likely have grown if you asked me this again in a few weeks, but three books that have significantly impacted my management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy are Jennifer Armbrust’s ‘Proposals for the Feminine Economy,’ Brene Brown’s ‘Dare to Lead,’ and Michael E. Gerber’s ‘The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.’

Each of these books helped me to unlearn socially conditioned beliefs about myself, entrepreneurship, and success. Like that as a leader we can’t show vulnerability or that your success diminishes mine.

I truly believe if these three books hadn’t come into my life, I wouldn’t have a thriving business today.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Conveniently, my most effective growth strategy is also what I help clients with: showing up authentically and building relationships. As a branding expert, I can’t express the importance of knowing who you are and not wavering on that. I write, speak, and preach often about the power of Brand Purpose and the platform it provides for growth. Referrals are my number one “lead generator,” and those referrals come back around because of the relationships we build through authenticity and consistency, in our interactions, in our work product, and in how we show up in the world. And that stems from being clear on our why, our values, and acting from that grounded place.

Relationships also looks like real-life interaction, not just digital. Go to networking events, put yourself in the rooms where your ideal clients are, and then strike up a conversation. Build a relationship with people, and they’ll remember you. Sell to them, and they won’t.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bellhopco.com
• Instagram: @bellhop_co
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-rice-59059132/

Image Credits

Katrina Kowalksi, Bailey Batten