Jim Keplinger

About Jim Keplinger

Jim (or Kep- a long-standing nickname owing to being the Chief Meteorologist of the Armed Forces Network in the US Air Force) moved to Bloomington, Indiana in 2009 to attend the Kelley School of Business (for a second undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation), open That\'s the Rub Massage Therapy Center with his wife Lisa, two of five children, two cats and several imaginary friends who keep beating him at chess. He completed his degree (with honors) in May 2013. But is one degree enough? Of course not! He followed the first with a Master\'s degree from IU\'s School of Informatics and Computing in Information Science where we focussed on entrepreneurial information communications and strategy. So who is this incredibly hard-working, non-sleeping entrepreneur? Kep! has the definitive \"portfolio career\" as an advertising copywriter / designer, spa consultant, translator of Arabic and Chinese, soda jerk (often considered the most appropriate position he\'s held), a television meteorologist, a combat weather Staff Sergeant (US Air Force), an inside sales director for an Internet development firm, graphic designer and branding specialist for a leading Internet advertising agency, jazz and light opera singer, and a professional magician and mind reader. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up he shrugs. Jim has written, lettered, and designed logos for Image Comics, Image\'s Shadowline imprint, Dark Horse Comics, numerous smaller publishers, and has been the verbose force behind several webcomics. What do you want to hire Kep! to do today? Specialties: Entrepreneurial thinking, Ideation, Design Thinking, Information visualization, Information science and communication, spa, resort, and hospitality consulting, corporate entrepreneurship & Innovation, comic book writing, comic book lettering, logo design, ad copy, branding and identity, personnel management, sales team development, and creative development.

Experience

1. Owner

   That\'s The Rub Massage Therapy Center

   Mar 2010 — Present · Bloomington, IN, US

   Developed and built specialty massage therapy center to be customer facing while ensuring a safe, effective, and dynamic work environment for therapists and their professional development. • Expanded in September 2014 by opening That\'s the Rub Body Boutique, a skin and body care retail operation, expanding That\'s the Rub Massage Therapy Center to 6 rooms in the process. • Created positions for twelve massage therapists and six front desk staff who were recruited using with unique business model and retained with innovative compensation packages. • Increased client base from 25 in October 2009 to over 3500 in February, 2014 primarily through offline and online targeted marketing. • Instituted focused online strategy employing strong creative vision across email, social, mobile social, and web channels while achieving first page and top three listings in all meaningful key words and phrases within our geographic and demographic audience. • Designed and managed brand including all marketing materials, advertisements, logos and signage.

Education

• IU Luddy Department of Information and Library Science

  Master of Science - MS, Information Science/Studies

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Master of Library & Information Science - MLIS, Information Science/Studies

  2013 — 2016

• University of Minnesota

  Studied, Extractive Metallurgy

  1988 — 1990

• Indiana University - Kelley School of Business

  Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business, Entrepreneurship & Corporate Innovation

  2010

• Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

  Master of Information Science, National Security Policy Studies

• Community College of the Air Force

  Associate of Applied Science (AAS), Weather Forecasting Technology

  1990 — 1996

• Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indianapolis

  Master of Science - MS, Information Science/Studies

  2013 — 2016