Meet Trailblazer Brooke Mikulas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Mikulas.

Brooke, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It’s been over two years since my husband and I decided to jump all in with this hospitality concept I had brewing inside of me. We were in Vietnam halfway finished with our year-long around-the-world trip when we decided we just had to go for it.

We split our trip to 17 countries into three segments. Rest, then dream, then plan. We’d saved for seven years for this trip and knew we needed to be intentional with every piece of it. Vietnam landed in the ‘dream’ segment, and the dream we did. Already, we had experienced outrageous hospitality everywhere we’d gone; revolving doors, unmerited generosity, and undeserved kindness. We could see the trends were shifting with travel. It was less about isolation and more about belonging, less about touristy stuff and more about local treasures, less about luxury and more about the experience. Everything was changing.

Between the natural bend towards hospitality ingrained in us and our eyes wide open to new ways of hospitality all over the world – we were desperate to see it in our very own city, Colorado Springs. The city we grew up in. The city we escaped from for Boulder, CO after high school. And the city we have fallen all the more in love with since. We are the classic boomerang millennials and more proud than ever to call Colorado Springs home.

After a 3-month stint in New Zealand working with business coaches, writing out business plans and adventuring in our campervan, we headed back home and put our heads down. My husband set aside other dreams and ideas, we turned down job offers, and we decided to try our hand at entrepreneurship. We were rested and full of energy. We knew what we were signing up for, and it was going to be the hardest thing we’d ever done.

Enter Kinship Landing. It’s is a new kind of hospitality — a friendly boutique hotel that brings travelers and locals together around city exploration and outdoor adventure.

The hard work began. In the first three months, we had hundreds of meetings with people in our city to gain feedback and insight and figure out if this was going to be a community asset or not. This couldn’t be a siloed business, it had to be a community one. With the support of those around us, we saw the stars align and invited two of our best friends to join the founding team.

We formed our LLC. We carefully picked an advisory board. We worked tirelessly to raise capital. We bought a prime piece of real estate in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. We found our architect, our design team, our interior designer, our general contractor, and our attorney. We took classes from the Small Business Development Center. We joined the Downtown Partnership. And in the midst of uncertainty and risk, the community wrapped their arms around this project and made it more beautiful than we ever could have imagined. Kinship Landing, a 40-room boutique hotel with private rooms, shared dorms, and suites, is set to open in 2020.

Has it been a smooth road?
Kinship Landing is a start-up, it’s hospitality, our team is young, and the concept is new-ish for America. To put it simply, we’ve had everything against us. But Colorado Springs is on the brink of a renaissance, and eyes are on the young entrepreneurs. This is the time we have to step up to the plate and, even if we’re just a drop in the bucket, help inform where our future is headed.

Entrepreneurial endeavors like this are not for everybody. Amidst the consistent blows and challenges, there has to be a stomach for risk, and I mean serious risk. The stress is high and devastating news often comes around the next corner. We’ve learned to problem solve when there seem to be no solutions or options left. But because we deeply believe in this concept and have a conviction for the need for it in our city, we wake up with energy and determination.

For other women who have big dreams and aren’t sure where to start – remember that there are people around you who do know where you should start. Don’t be shy. Don’t be afraid of hard work. Give yourself time. Give yourself grace. Share the dream with everybody you can, because resources and guidance will emerge.

It’s when the dream is vocalized that it’s realized!

We’d love to hear about your involvement in hospitality.
My experience lies in operations, specifically in non-profit work, but my reputation tends to fall in hospitality. I’m the one behind the scenes running around like a crazy person making sure all the systems are in place, all the details have been thought of, and all the people are happy and relaxed. Our values act as the lens for every decision we make – generosity, courage, adventure, community, and trust.

For nearly 10 years, my husband and I have hosted “Community Nights” at our house – we live in Old Colorado City just West of downtown. We invite people and neighbors who are new to town or want to get plugged in over for a fire and BBQ every couple of months. One night, we had well over 150 people show up to our home (sorry neighbors!), and it probably says a lot about me that I grinned ear-to-ear the next day while I swept up a gallon of dirt off my kitchen floor. I’m a people person. I love hosting. I love connecting people. I love helping people see where they belong in this beloved city. Colorado Springs is a hidden gem, though slowly but surely, our true colors are being exposed to the rest of the world.

We’re hosts on Airbnb and manage two listings, one being on our property. It’s given us tremendous joy hosting people from all over the world, hearing their stories, and even maintaining quite a few friendships.

I also find a lot of joy in managing the @My_CoSprings Instagram handle to highlight the best our city has to offer. Colorado Springs has a long history of hospitality, and it’s fun to see the city through the eyes of the locals.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
Over the last few years, I’ve had a lot of experiences both positive and negative in regards to being a female entrepreneur. I’ve had meetings where the male I’m sitting across from never once looked in my eyes. I’ve had meetings where business cards are handed to everybody (male) but me. I’ve had meetings where my voice is heard and my position in the company is acknowledged and healthily respected. I’ve had meetings where every person in the room was female and well respected and kicking butt in their own prospective areas.

In the downtown Colorado Springs world, women are at the forefront just as much as the men. It has to be a team effort of women supporting men and men supporting women. I think of women like Susan Edmonson, Darsey Nicklasson, Jenny Sherman, Mackenzie Maltby, Sarah Humbarger, and Hannah Parsons (to name only a few), who are committed to the endless hard work of informing where this city goes and am grateful for their leadership.

Contact Info:

• Website: KinshipLanding.com
• Phone: 719-287-1289
• Email: brooke@kinshiplanding.com
• Instagram: @my_cosprings; @kinshiplanding; @brookemikulas
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brooke.mikulas

Image Credit:
Elan Photographie Studio, Nathaniel Grimm, Kris Peters

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.