Kim Gravel has a way of cutting through the noise. She’s funny, blunt, warm and completely uninterested in polishing her story into something overly corporate. In the same breath, she’ll talk about building three companies and about ripping off her bra at the end of the day. That mix is exactly why people love her. And it’s also why her live selling has worked at a scale that surprises even her.
“We’ve got a lot of hands in a lot of buckets,” Gravel tells The CEO Magazine with a laugh. “Who would’ve thought at 50 my career would take off like this? Who knew?”
From Kim of Queens to QVC, the wildly successful entrepreneur’s career reads like a masterclass in versatility. An author, podcaster, life coach and former Miss Georgia, Gravel is also CEO and President of Hardee Girl and Founder of the apparel line Belle by Kim Gravel and Love Who You Are cosmetics. She has a knack for turning every venture into a must-watch, must-have moment.
The connection economy
It all comes down to prioritizing connection over transactions. This north star has guided her to more than a billion in sales through live selling. Yet she insists she never realized this approach could scale into such a powerful business model.
“I don’t think it was ever a realization,” Gravel reflects. “I think it was taught at a very, very young age.”
She explains that her father was her business mentor and the advice he shared has stayed with her all this time: “If you make it about other people, it’ll always inevitably become about you.”
That’s the foundation of everything – how she sells, leads, hires and builds community. Gravel is clear that people want great products and a little entertainment, but they’re really showing up for something else.
“People love to be seen and they love to be in a relationship,” she explains. “So I knew really quickly that this was not a product or performance business. It truly was a connection business.”
According to Gravel, this connection is visible even in the smallest moments.
“Today someone called in and she was going through a health issue, so everyone on our chat during our live social sale started praying for her,” she says. “In the middle of selling a T-shirt. Is that not the beauty of women?”
Gravel doesn’t pretend her path has been linear. She was never the kind of person who felt satisfied ticking the ‘expected’ boxes and staying quiet about it.
“I always knew I was made for more,” she recalls. “Even as a young child, high school was never enough. College – oh gosh, I was so bored. Getting married… OK. Having kids? Oh my god.”
She’s careful with the point she’s making though: motherhood matters and family matters. She’s raised two boys – one is 16 and the other 18 – and she’s been in the season of being home with them. But Gravel pushes back on the idea that women’s ambition has an expiry date or that one’s identity becomes locked into a singular role forever.
“It’s never too late. You don’t miss anything,” she insists. “I ask people, ‘What’s your calling? What’s your purpose?’ And when they say to be a mom, I tell them that’s not a calling.
“I mean, it is for a season, but there’s a gift, there’s a talent that the world needs to see from women.”
Even now, Gravel admits she doesn’t have a clear picture of her path.
“I’ve never had a clear picture of anything,” she says with a laugh. “I just knew I had a purpose.”
She also has was a willingness to walk through the next door and the next. And if the door looks closed? She doesn’t buy it.
“You don’t miss it. Your purpose is always chasing you down,” she notes.
Selling with soul
In a bold move that cemented her status as a leading innovator in modern commerce, America’s top live seller, bestselling author and entrepreneur, Gravel launched Selling With Soul, a digital course sharing the exact strategies behind her record-breaking success. The course launched on 17 March 2026, in conjunction with Women’s History Month.
As TikTok Shop, Amazon Live and social commerce continue to rapidly reshape how consumers discover and buy products, live selling has emerged as one of the fastest-growing drivers of conversion in retail.
But as more creators and brands rush into the space without a clear strategy, audiences have grown increasingly skeptical of inauthentic influencer sales, and brands have struggled to build lasting trust and loyalty. Recognizing this gap, Gravel launched Selling With Soul to provide a road map for selling authentically and effectively.
Years ago, Gravel also fronted a Lifetime reality show, Kim of Queens, which she says has become a cult classic.
“We had two seasons and it has not gone away. It’s been 14 years,” she reveals. “Disney Plus picked it up and it’s because of the message.”
Now she sees those girls – once coached on confidence and presence – building their own lives online. She tells the story of Addison, who now sells live on social platforms.
“She’s making money for her family because her husband is a farmer,” she explains. “She lives in a trailer in the country. Now she has new furniture, two babies – and she’s selling.”
The course, she explains, has two aims.
“One is to encourage people. It gives them the encouragement and confidence they need,” she points out. “And two, it shows the tricks of the trade – an actual step by step on how to do it.”
Beneath the tactics, though, is Gravel’s why.
“I want to see women and men, but mostly women, empowered in their financial future. I want them to have financial freedom,” she says.
“Everybody is different and unique. Everybody has an audience – you just have to share.”
Servant leadership
Gravel doesn’t hesitate when the conversation shifts to leadership and trust.
“We live in a narcissistic world. It’s all me, me, me,” she notes. “And leadership, I think, is perceived incorrectly in most cases. True leadership makes it about your people. It’s like you’re a servant to your people. I am a servant to my customer. And I am a helpmate to my teammates.”
She runs a trio of companies, but Gravel isn’t performing CEO energy.
“I was hanging and steaming curtains in our new studio yesterday with my team. I’ll bring them lunch,” she reveals.
When it comes to building a team that lasts, she’s clear about the challenges.
“The hardest thing is finding good people,” she admits. “Is their work ethic strong? Are they willing to learn and grow? Are they smart? Do they understand social cues?”
And once they’re in the door, Gravel has one obsession: bringing out their best.
“You mine for the gold,” she explains. “You dig out the gold in people. And when you do that, they inevitably rise.”
Her faith is threaded through everything she does, but what stands out is how direct she is about authenticity.
“People accept what is authentic. Both good or bad, it doesn’t matter. We love authenticity,” she says.
And Gravel’s authentic self is wrapped in faith.
“Faith is not an option for me. I don’t float in and out of it – it’s part of who I am,” she adds.
However, the most universal message Gravel leaves behind isn’t about platforms, courses or even sales; it’s about purpose and choosing to believe you have one.
“I want everybody to step into their calling,” she says. “Everybody has a story, everybody has a calling and everybody can be successful. Everybody. Every soul on this planet.”
And if someone is waiting to feel ‘ready’ first? Gravel explains the role fear plays in moving forward.
“I’m not brave at all. I’m a bit delusional,” she says. “But it takes a bit of faith. Faith in yourself and faith in something bigger.”
Gravel then circles back to the same principle that built her entire career.
“You have to make it about them,” she insists. “If you put your mind and your focus and your energy on your customer – or as I like to call it, my girl – it will happen.”
