The human behind CaroConnect
Nice to meet you!
My name is Carolien, but most people call me Caro.
Before I was a strategist, an advisor, or a business owner, I was a daughter of entrepreneurs.
I grew up at the intersection of farming and hospitality — where hard work wasn’t optional, where dedication was a given, and where welcoming people was part of daily life.
I learned something fundamental from a young age:
How you treat people matters.
Not in theory, but in practice.
Where it started
At the age of 14, I made a very conscious decision: I wanted to work in high-end hospitality and learn from the best.
I moved abroad by myself, enrolled in a renowned hotel and tourism school, and started building my experience from the ground up.
Not from theory, but from the floor.
I worked in my first Michelin-star restaurant at age 14 in the evenings, weekends and school holidays.
Several degrees, a ton of experience and a career in high end hospitality in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Malta followed. Even serving at the Belgian Royal House at the age of 17.
Working in high-end hospitality environments meant:
pressure is real
expectations are high
every single detail matters
but most importantly people don’t make the difference, they ARE the difference
I didn’t just observe service, I lived it. On the floor. In teams. Under stress. When everybody was watching. When no one was watching. In silence. In peak moments.
Each country, each team, each environment taught me something different, but the essence was always the same:
The experience is never created by systems alone.
It is created by people.
Experience, Business, Strategy and Human Intelligence
Alongside my hospitality career, I began running businesses with my mother while still a teenager, alongside my studies.
That combination shaped me deeply.
I learned how:
Operations really work
Teams behave under pressure
Business responsibility at a young age
Insight into human behaviour under pressure
A natural strategic mindset
Customers feel before they speak
That profit grows — or disappears — based on human behavior
After gaining experience for more than half of my life, I founded my first company in 2019. And more businesses followed across different industries.
What connected them all was not the sector, the product, or the market. It is how they are built.
Humanity and hospitality are not “extras” or “soft additions” in my work. They are the core strategic pillars.
Combined with a strong, clear strategic mindset,
they have helped businesses:
increase profit without massive investments
improve performance without burnout
strengthen culture without empty slogans
build brands people actually remember
This is why my work often delivers results others can’t replicate and sometimes even don’t understand, when it often sounds to easy to be true. It’s something that is created by theoritical experience, but by lived experience.
Why I do this work
Hospitality, connection, and
experience are not just skills to
me. They are my deepest
passion. Its who I am, its what a
breathe.
I believe every business has the
responsibility to not only grow, but
to grow well.
While running my own businesses, I deliberately reserve time and energy to support other businesses and people.
Because I truly believe this:
Only when we connect, share our strengths, and work from our highest qualities, can we create something better together.
CaroConnect was born from that belief.
It is my way of bringing decades of lived experience out of private rooms and into the world in a form that is human, accessible, meaningful and can truly change lives.
Why do I so strongly believe that?
Because small acts of kindness can change peoples day, but also of yourself. Meeting 1 person can change your course in life.
By showing up as the best version of yourself and getting the knowledge in how to grow and improve, you grow your chances for your present and your future + life is way more fun when you try to get the most out of it!
People see it, people feel it. Maybe not everybody will recognize it, but as said before, sometimes it only takes one person, 1 encounter, 1 opportunity to change your life, to make your life more rich. And that’s what I truly wish for everybody.
To live your best life, connect, experience, and never give up!
What my work is really about. The real impact, at its core.
At its core, my work is about one thing:
Human connection as a force for real impact.
I don’t separate:
service from dignity
leadership from emotional safety
performance from humanity
profit from people
Because in real life, they are inseparable.
I help people and organisations understand that:
your people are the heart of your business
they are your greatest strength or your biggest weakness
and they are the only true differentiator left
And yes.. for myself, my clients, their teams this has been very profitable, and not just moneywise.
You can try to differentiate all you want but, no matter your industry. All your competitors also have things like:
A polished look
Clever branding
Smart systems
Efficiency and AI automation
A solid product or service
Competitive pricing
Convenience and speed
What they don’t have is your people — and how those people make others (your guest, customer, client) feel.
That is where brands are built. That is where loyalty lives. That is where growth becomes sustainable. That is where my expertise lives.
And not just my expertise, that’s basically what I live for.
A personal note
As you may have already felt, CaroConnect is not about me standing in front. It is about creating a world where:
People feel seen
People feel heard
People feel valued
At its core, it is about connection.
About meaningful experiences.
About creating a positive impact on the world — not from a place of perfection, but from presence, care, and deep commitment.
Everything I share comes from lived experience.
From years of listening, observing, learning, and showing up.
With the intention to add real value — so that, together, we can shape a world that feels more human.
In teams.
In leadership.
In everyday life.
Wherever people meet.
If this resonates with you, you are already part of it — and I want to thank you for that.
Because when we move together, with attention and intention, our impact reaches far beyond what we often realise.
—
Carolien
