Why My Name Kip Fits My Work and Mission

I Didn’t Choose My Name — But I Grew Into It

I’ve never had a common name.

Not in the “people misspell it” way.

In the “people pause when you say it” way.

“Kip?”

That half-second pause—where someone decides whether they heard you correctly—has followed me most of my life.

When I was younger, I didn’t love that moment. You want to blend in when you’re a kid, not create a conversational speed bump before you’ve even said hello. But over time, I realized something interesting: people never forgot it.

And eventually, I stopped wishing it was different.

A Name You Can’t Hide Behind

“Kip” is short. Direct. There’s no formal version to pull out when you want to sound more impressive. No nickname to soften it. It just shows up immediately and lets the rest of you catch up.

That used to feel uncomfortable. Later, it started to feel honest.

When people hear “Kip,” they don’t assume much. Which, as it turns out, is a gift. The work gets to speak before the reputation does—and I’ve always preferred it that way.

I Learned to Appreciate How Unique It Was

At some point, I stopped wanting my name to blend in and started appreciating that it didn’t.

People remembered it.

People asked about it.

People associated it with me, not a template.

In a world that rewards sameness, uniqueness carries a quiet responsibility. If you’re going to stand out—even unintentionally—you should probably stand for something.

That idea stuck.

Then I Found Out “Kip” Was an Engineering Term

Much later in life, I learned that in engineering, a kip is a unit of force.

1 kip = 1,000 pounds of load.

I laughed when I first heard that—mostly because it felt a little too on the nose.

I’ve spent most of my career building things that need to hold: systems, businesses, teams, communities. I’m not especially interested in flash. I care about structure, durability, and what happens when things get heavy.

So yes, of course my name literally means “load-bearing.”

Apparently, that checks out.

Someone Also Ruined It With an Acronym (In a Good Way)

At some point, someone mentioned that KIP could stand for Knowledge Is Power.

I didn’t come up with it—and I’m still a little suspicious of acronyms—but it stuck.

Because that belief sits right at the center of everything I’m building.

Not information. Not noise.

Real knowledge—contextual, sourced, usable knowledge.

It’s why I do consulting through Dodson Management Consulting

(https://dodsonmc.com).

It’s why EmpowerLocal exists

(https://empowerlocal.com).

And it’s why Source Local Media

(https://sourcelocalmedia.com) focuses on trust, transparency, and truth at the local level.

When people understand what’s actually happening, they make better decisions. Better decisions build stronger businesses. Stronger businesses support healthier communities.

That’s the throughline—whether I planned it that way or not.

This flips the script—Yelp doesn’t own your story. You do.

Then I Learned “Kip” Also Means Rest

Here’s the part that really made me smile.

In British English, “to take a kip” simply means to rest.

That realization hit home—especially given that I also happen to own A Moment’s Peace Salon & Day Spa

(https://amomentspeace.com).

I promise I didn’t plan that either.

But the idea of rest—real rest, not scrolling-on-your-phone rest—has become increasingly important to me. We live in a loud, reactive, exhausted world. One of the things I care most about, whether in business, media, or community, is helping people slow down long enough to reconnect with what’s real.

Not outrage.

Not algorithms.

Truth.

And sometimes, just enough quiet to think clearly again.

If my name quietly reminds me of that—and my businesses help create space for it—I’m good with that.

I Didn’t Love My Name at First — Now I Wouldn’t Trade It

I didn’t choose my name.

And I didn’t immediately understand it.

But over time, I grew into it.

It’s simple.

It’s direct.

It’s unique.

It carries weight.

And, apparently, it knows when to rest.

So while I may not have loved it at the beginning, I’ve come to appreciate how closely it reflects the way I try to live and work.

Sometimes the things that make us pause early on turn out to fit us better than we ever expected.

One Last Thing (Because of Course There Is)

After writing all of this, someone reminded me of one more definition I somehow left out.

Kip is also the official currency of Laos.

So apparently, my name is:

A unit of force
A reminder to rest
A belief that knowledge matters
And legal tender in Southeast Asia

I can’t claim credit for any of that—but I’ll take the symbolism.

Because at the end of the day, currency only has value if people trust it.

And trust—whether in money, media, or leadership—is still the real currency that matters most.

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