"In my experience, one of the most underestimated parts of running a company is the importance of company culture."
Welcome to this exclusive interview with ValiantCEO Magazine! Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Kelly Kimple, the inspiring CEO of Adventures in Good Company.
This incredible organization creates unforgettable experiences for women seeking adventure through small group getaways, providing opportunities to connect with fellow travelers, local communities, and nature. Founded in 1999, Adventures in Good Company has grown steadily over the years, attracting participants and guides who share their vision of empowering women through travel.
In this interview, Kelly shares her insights on topics such as company culture, sustainable growth, and leadership. As a 100% woman-owned and operated company, Adventures in Good Company prides itself on its excellent traveler reviews, high repeat client rate, and its commitment to having a positive impact on both people and the planet.
Kelly’s candid responses offer a glimpse into the heart of a truly remarkable organization, as well as the dedication and passion that goes into making every adventure an unforgettable experience for women from all walks of life. So, buckle up and join us as we explore the world of Adventures in Good Company with Kelly Kimple!
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Kelly Kimple: At Adventures in Good Company, we create experiences of a lifetime for women seeking new adventures. Our small group getaways encourage women of all ages and life stages to (re)connect with their adventurous selves, fellow travelers, local communities and cultures, and the natural world.
Our vacations are for women who love being active, regardless of whether they a first-time travelers or a lifelong adventurers. We handle the logistics so you women can relax, have fun, and fully experience some of the world’s most breathtaking places.
Adventures in Good Company was founded in 1999 by Marian Marbury. Marian guided for a non-profit called Woodswomen for over a decade before starting AGC. Woodswomen was the first organization to offer women-in-leadership courses that trained women to become guides in the outdoor travel industry.
When Woodswoman closed its doors in 1999, Marian wanted to continue offering trips for women based on the same philosophy, which included valuing emotional and physical safety, personal choice and individual goals, healthy relationships with other people and the environment, and valuing women and their way of knowing.
Over the next 20 years the company steadily grew, attracting both participants and guides who share this vision of what adventure travel should be.
Woodswomen and AGC pioneered a path for active, women-led group travel and we continue to hold ourselves to high standards. We are really proud of where we have been, where we are going, and the experiences and connections we have made possible for thousands of women.
We work hard to make our itineraries a great value for women at any stage of their journey, and we are the ‘domestic experts’ for women’s active travel in the U.S with our slackpacking trips along various sections of the Appalachian Trail as something you won’t find anywhere else. Our trips are excellent for independent female travelers, bucket-list experiences, or milestone life events.
We pride ourselves on our excellent traveler reviews and repeat client rate, which was just under 80% for the last 5 years from 2018-2022. We have women that have been traveling with us since our inception in 1999, as well as some original guides who still lead many of our trips.
We are 100% woman-owned and operated, including our field staff and guides, and we’re constantly striving to have a positive impact on people and the planet. I am humbled and honored to be leading such an incredible organization and team.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Kelly Kimple: Adventures in Good Company had its best year ever in 2022, with more trips and travelers than in the twenty-three years prior.
Despite starting the year with covid restrictions still in place and having to navigate travelers on international trips being required to test for covid before returning to the US, we still maintained excellent traveler reviews and had a high return traveler rate.
For many of our international trips, it was also the first time in several years we had run tours to those destinations and we spent a lot of time working with our local partners to understand how things had changed and how we could continue to make each trip a great experience for everyone.
We also had some major employee transitions in 2022 with the company’s longest tenured employee of over 20 years retiring, a few staff promotions, and we hired 4 new staff and about a dozen new guides.
We accomplished a lot in one year and managed to provide over 1000 women with amazing active vacations and help them make some life-long friendships and connections. Undoubtedly, one of my favorite parts of what we are doing is witnessing the friendships that form on our trips.
I love hearing all the stories about how these friendships continue to develop after the trip ends and it keeps me motivated to think bigger about what we are building and how we grow. We hear time and again that women join their first trip not knowing what to expect and return home so excited to sign up for their next adventure, typically with new friends! Reading comments like these make me so proud of our team and all we are doing:
“I feel fortunate and so very grateful that over the past eight years, AGC has broadened my travel experiences and provided adventures and lifelong friendships.” – Susan R.
“I was fairly devastated after my divorce. I had no idea where my life was going. Thanks to AGC (and a bit of work myself), I am now living my best life. The confidence I have gained, the experiences I have had, and the friends I have made.” – Jill W.
While it is wonderful to see the company grow, it is even better to see the empowerment and connections we continue to provide for women and that we continue to exceed expectations.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, are an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle keeping talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are adapting to the current shift we see?
Kelly Kimple: This is a great question and one I hear quite a bit from other business owners. Our business is fortunate to be in an industry that it passion-driven, which provides access to great talent and to individuals who are eager and committed to the outcomes.
Still, workplace culture is very important to me and as the CEO of an all-female team, I also recognize the challenges that still exist for women in the workplace, especially should they have children or other caregiving responsibilities.
Which is why, when I took over as CEO, it was critical to me to make sure everyone had access to health care, including dental and vision coverage, and to contribute towards each employees’ monthly healthcare premiums.
In doing so, the cost of labor has increased over 30% in the last 3 years, however, it has been essential to me to know that employees are supported and taken care of to the extent the business can afford to do so. And it’s what drives me to continue to grow the business – to provide even better opportunities for women to achieve both their personal and professional goals.
A few key factors that I am focus on to keep employees happy, engaged, and motivated are creating a positive and collaborative company culture, offering ongoing opportunities for growth and development, providing flexible, remote work arrangements, and ensuring fair and competitive compensation. Along with these things, I have also helped foster a sense of purpose among the team.
I believe employees are more likely to stay engaged and motivated if they feel like their work has purpose and meaning beyond just a paycheck, so I continue to clearly communicate our company’s mission and values and show how each employee contributes to these goals.
Here is a two fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Kelly Kimple: I love to read and there are many books that have influenced me over the years. As a business leader, one of my favorites is Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. This book helped me think about leadership differently and provided insights on how to become a more courageous leader.
A few of the biggest take aways for me from this book is that vulnerability is essential for leadership and that it’s not a weakness, but a strength. When I took over as CEO at the beginning of 2020, I had no idea just how challenging it would be and how quickly.
While I knew that taking over from the founder would be challenging, I had no way of knowing just how hard it would be given that three months after closing we would be in the midst of a global pandemic.
Nothing about those first few years was easy. Half of the staff were with AGC prior to the sale and the other half were newly hired right after closing. And for those first couple of months, I naively believed I had plenty of time to train and transition the newly formed team.
I was only three months in when I had to start quickly making decision after decision about canceling trips, updating policies and procedures, staffing structure, and doing my best to lead the team and guides through so much uncertainty.
It was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and did I mention I also had two grade school-aged kids suddenly at home who had to do a year of ‘remote learning’?
I definitely had more sleepless nights and anxiety-ridden days than I ever want to experience again. Looking back though, I can see that this experience allowed me to uniquely establish and build trust with the team and our travelers, and to successfully move the company from founder-led to founder-inspired.
And from Dare to Lead, I learned that trust is critical to effective leadership. Brown emphasizes the importance of trust-building behaviors, such as setting clear boundaries, communicating effectively, and holding oneself accountable. Along with trust, I also worked on developing greater empathy for everyone’s unique experience, fears and perspectives around covid.
This is another lesson from the book, in that Brown argues that empathic leaders are more effective because they can connect with their team members on an emotional level and create a more supportive and inclusive workplace culture.
Overall, Dare to Lead provided valuable insight on how to become a more courageous and effective leader by embracing vulnerability, building trust, and cultivating empathy. As I have built back from the pandemic, my job has been to grow trust and to show, one trip at a time, that it was still the same AGC the team and our travelers knew and loved, and maybe even a little better!
I have gifted many of Brene Brown’s books! From Dare to Lead, to Daring Greatly, to Braving the Wilderness, she is a constant source of knowledge and understanding for how to be better as leaders and in our lives.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Kelly Kimple: If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said Covid-19 and its economic impact.
The pandemic disrupted global supply chains, caused labor shortages, and led to changes in consumer behavior, all of which caused the largest crisis in the history of the tourism industry. As we move forward from the pandemic, the real challenge now is how to grow sustainably, not just financially but also for the betterment of our planet.
As people become more aware of the impact of travel on the environment, there is a growing demand for more sustainable and responsible travel options. We are excited about this shift and in our own business we are working to take it a step further from sustainable to regenerative travel.
In order for our business to keep growing, we need to do our part to ensure that we not only do no harm to the places we visit, but leave these places better than we found them. To this end, we continue to seek out eco-friendly accommodations, find ways to support local communities, encourage low-carbon transportation and waste reduction, and to educate travelers.
By working together to reduce the environmental impact of travel, the industry can continue to thrive while also protecting the planet.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Kelly Kimple: In my experience, one of the most underestimated parts of running a company is the importance of company culture. Company culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and practices that shape the behavior of employees and the overall working environment.
A strong company culture can motivate employees, foster creativity and innovation, and help drive business success. On the other hand, a weak or toxic company culture can lead to low morale, high turnover, and poor performance.
Despite the importance of company culture, it is easy as business leaders tend to focus on other areas such as sales, marketing, and operations, and overlook the importance of building a strong culture.
When I took over as CEO and owner of Adventures in Good Company there were no articulated company values, however, it was clear that delivering excellent customer service was part of the team culture.
This culture has helped our company grow steadily over the last two decades and has helped attract travelers who share our vision of what adventure travel should be, and to retain a loyal customer base.
Over the last year, we have worked to articulate our values, which continue to be centered around great customer service, delivering experiences that exceed expectations, and an environment of inclusivity and collaboration.
What does “success” in the year to come mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Kelly Kimple: After the last three very volatile years for the industry, success to me in 2023 would mean achieving a combination of financial, operational, and strategic stability.
From a financial perspective, a successful year would involve meeting or exceeding revenue targets with ample revenue to cover expenses, and achieving profitability goals to support the business and the team.
From an operational perspective, a successful year would involve delivering high-quality trips and effectively managing resources, particularly staff and guides while maintaining high retention.
From a strategic perspective, a successful year would involve making progress towards long-term goals such as expanding into new markets, new destinations, and improving brand awareness.
In addition to these objectives, a successful year for Adventures in Good Company, would involve continuing to create meaningful and memorable experiences for our travelers, contributing to their overall well-being, and consistently exceeding expectations.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Kelly Kimple for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Kelly Kimple or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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