Meet Kayty Helgerson | Hospitality Educator: Podcast Host & Owner of Gather

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kayty Helgerson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayty, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
Questions like these can sometimes feel a little uncomfortable to answer. I don’t think I’m alone in that. There’s something about culture and the life of an entrepreneur that is praised for ambition yet at the same time criticized for too much of it. I spent most of my childhood hiding behind the lies my life told me. That being raised with poverty meant a lifetime of limited opportunity. Most of all, that making myself small to fit the circumstances would forever have to be the narrative of my life, my story. As I got older there became more opportunity for me to stay in one place; College and our first home overseas as newlyweds. These opportunities challenged my perspective, challenged what’s possible and invited me to test the limits. As I started to test the limits my dreams started to expand, what was possible started to expand. I was in my mid 20’s and I was bulldozed, life totally flipped upside down, by a dream, a goal, the start of a lifelong pursuit. This was the start of something new for me. More than just an ‘admirable venture’, but truly the start of seeing the world, my world, in a whole new way.

What is this dream? As the ‘greats’ of hospitality are reaching the end of their careers, I believe that I will step in and take the baton. Take the baton to lead our generation into a new wave of hospitality, a new way of gathering. Shifting away from ‘entertaining’ culture to ‘gathering culture’ I want to teach, equip and inspire hospitality that shifts the narrative from ‘how does this make me look’ to ‘how does this make you feel?’ Through workshops, podcast, product lines, conferences, media and more, I aspire to develop a large scale, nationwide brand that becomes the go-to trusted resource for the everyday host of all stages to grow in confidence as they open their door and fill their table.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
To know me especially in my early 20’s was to know that I had a plan…always had a plan. Lofty goals, actionable to-do lists, a solid grasp on the next step were things that I was known for especially as the oldest child, an enneagram 3 and a typical type A. At the beginning of our business I had a clear outlook on what I wanted things to look like. My husband and I set out to build a curated gourmet catering business so naturally we rented a kitchen, signed up for expos, got our name out there like we were told to do.

…just to find out that we hated THAT much time in the kitchen.

This led me to start to teach. To not just sell curated food but to teach people how to create them. These charcuterie workshops and cake decorating classes quickly turned into something so successful that nearly every class sold out. These sought after classes built my confidence teaching, and my own confidence as a food stylist which led us to be fully booked out in 2020. Which is when the pandemic hit.

…Just to find out that our bookings were canceled for the year.

Friends encouraged me to start teaching virtually, I didn’t feel I had the skill set, the proper tools and certainly not the confidence to teach on camera. It all felt so vulnerable to me. It wasn’t a pretty transition, it certainly didn’t always work according to the ever changing plans we had. However at one point we found that we were hosting guests from nearly all 50 states and 6 countries which led to also a social media following of 10,000 which pre-pandemic rested around a couple thousand at best.

…Which then led to the pandemic restrictions lifting and people desiring in person connection.

This was, and is our hardest shift. However at this point in our business journey self doubt was replaced with more confidence and a bigger dream into what was possible. I started to realize very quickly that if there was something I wanted to learn more of, I needed to reach out and become a student. If there was an opportunity I wanted to explore, that I needed to take the first step. I realized that there are certain areas of business, and seasons of business, that we need to wait and others that require us to act.

…this led me to learn how to pitch.

While pitching certainly can have a low rate of success ,if you will, I will be the first to say that it is so incredibly worth exploring. It’s so easy to believe that media opportunities and influencers relationships can only occur when they first pursue you. However as we were working to shift our focus again, I saw how pitching opened doors that otherwise I’m not sure would have come. Or when they would have come. Tv segments, a TEDx Talk and small business features on reputable instagram accounts were just a few of the ways that going first opened doors for this new season in business.

If I’m being completely transparent, we have experienced business growth whip lash. Awe-inspiring growth, drastic and sudden drops, pure clarity and mucky uncertainty. while we currently find ourselves asking a few questions along the lines of ‘what’s next’ I repeat to myself what I would want to encourage you with. In the pursuit to any dream, goal, vision or whatever you want to call it it is so incredibly important to stay focused on the big picture, while remaining open to growth and being flexible through each season. So often we can believe that our plans are best, I certainly did. However by sticking it out through the hardest of transitions I realized that the beauty and unexpected surprises were right on the other side of the discomfort. For that I’m better, for that I’m grateful.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Getting asked this question always makes me realize how many people propelled me to where I am in my journey today. This is no way represents everyone that deserves to be on this list.

My very sweet friend Jana, who I didn’t get to know well enough during our time in Thailand but that I absolutely adore. She was the first one who told me “You should teach this- I’d take your class”. She spoke it, I listened, It gave me the push I needed to get started.

Alia, our brand strategist and website designer. There are not enough words nor is there enough room to write everything that should be written about her! Her commitment to me, the vision of Gather and the process goes beyond what I deserve and could have ever asked for. Any and all credit for everything that Gather becomes is shared with her!

THINQ Media (Formally Q Ideas). This organization of big thinkers, dreamers, entrepreneurs and leaders welcomed me in and came into my life at a time where I almost threw it all away. I am without a question still going and persevering because of the community they welcomed me into- and the way they show up for us day after day.

Website: Gatherintentionalliving.com

Instagram: gatherintentionalliving

Image Credits
Dani Diamond Photography