204: Kim Young: Building Genuine Influence: Strategies to Foster Authentic Connection with Your Audience

Today With Kim Young:

Today on The Inner Edit I am joined by Kim Young, Kim Young of Dope Black Social Worker and host of the Revolutionary Hoodrat podcast. Kim is a licensed therapist, a nationally recognized social worker, and an expert troublemaker.

For many years, Kim’s career centered on direct clinical services for youth, families, and communities. But over the last five years, Kim has shifted upstream, moving out of direct service, in order to make an even deeper impact in the field of social work, focusing on programmatic, organizational, and systemic changes.

Kim gets it. She knows who she is and who she wants to help. And she understands how her platforms—in addition to her real-life work—are all a part of that.

In this episode, Kim shares the story of how she ‘accidentally’ grew her amazing online following, how she has (reluctantly at times) accepted her influence, and how she uses humor, authenticity, and creativity to make excellent trouble.

Pick It Apart

[2:45] Kim explains how she began growing a community online—completely by accident

[9:40] Kim shares why she is so grateful for her online community and gives tips on cultivating respectful engagement.

[20:44] Christie and Kim discuss the importance of setting boundaries, especially within online platforms.

[31:38] Kim shares how she has resisted accepting the influence she has because she prefers to work behind the scenes.

[46:55] Kim unpacks why it is important for content creators to continuously ask themselves and understand who they are creating content for and why.

Christie Rocha's and Kim Young's Ah-Ha Moments

“I'm not going to just create content just to create things. I'm not going say things just to say things…When I open my mouth and speak, it's real, deliberate, and intentional.” – Kim Young “If you have the platform, even if you're not going to share your own point of view, put the resources out there of the people that do.” – Christie Rocha   “I'm a troublemaker and social worker at my core. Even though I'm online, I'm always thinking ‘how do I use what I have and what I have access to to make sure other people come along with me.’” – Kim Young   “I'm not going to concern myself with things I have no control over.” – Kim Young   “If we're creating content for external validation—because we're not giving ourselves internal validation—you're never going to find whatever you're looking for.” – Kim Young

More About Kim Young

Kim is a nationally recognized and sought after Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), expert troublemaker. and host of the podcast, Revolutionary Hoodrat. Kim has over a decade of experience working alongside at promise youth, families, and communities. Kim is deeply committed to cross sector collaboration that utilizes an asset based approach to develop strategies which promote community driven solutions to system created problems. Kim has experience in providing direct clinical services to youth and adults in psychiatric hospitals , residential treatment and community based settings. Kim specializes in working with multi–systems involved youth and young adults who have experienced and participated in acts of community violence. In 2019 Kim made the shift upstream and stepped away from direct service to begin working on programmatic, organizational and system changes. Kim has worked nationally with universities, localities, and organizations delivering consultations, training, keynotes, and lectures. Kim focuses her work around three priority areas:

• Increase the visibility of Black social workers.
• Create pathways to opportunities for Black youth and young adults.
• Eliminate barriers to dreaming for Black youth and young adults.

Kim has been recognized as an Essence Magazine Essential Hero, Richmond’s Style Weekly 40 Under 40, Virginia Commonwealth University 10 Under 10 and featured in a number of publications and podcasts. Kim was born and raised in San Diego, California and is proud to have called Richmond, Virginia home since 2011. When not causing trouble Kim enjoys moving with ease, reclaiming rest and listening to trap music. Kim believes that relationships heal and there is power in empathy, compassion, and kindness.

Connect with Kim Young

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Other Shows Mentioned:

The Inner Edit #190: Renee Reina: Navigating the Intersection: Where Your Passions and Niche Content Meet on Social Media   The Inner Edit #198: Tomi Obebe: Transforming Passion into Profit: Lessons in Blog and Social Media Monetization   The Inner Edit #203: Chastity Holcomb: The Value in Trusting Your Instincts and Pivoting in Content Creation to Create Evergreen Authenticity