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Are you a business owner? Or are you on the verge of taking that side hustle to the next level? Or curious about the world of entrepreneurship? Join Vivian Kvam, Co-Owner of Tandem Works, each week for a behind-the-scenes at small businesses and what it takes to succeed.
Each episode is full of inspiration, education, tips, and great conversation with people like you, people who are figuring it out. Take your business to the next level with insight from expert guests in business, leadership, and marketing.
00:00:00 - Speaker A
Welcome to Riding Tandem, a podcast about building businesses, leadership and creating a positive impact for our communities. I'm your host, Vivian Kvam, and I invite you to ride Tandem Works with me as I have candid conversations with inspiring business owners, leaders, and experts who are building on their dreams and creating impact. Get ready to be encouraged and learn practical tactics, help us build successful businesses, become incredible leaders, and have positive ripple effects. Let's go. Hey, everyone. Welcome to this episode of riding Tandem Works. Well, buckle up. We have a first time for today guest that is super special to me. I have invited my husband onto the podcast today, and we're just going to have a very candid conversation. I am not sure exactly how this is going to go. I've never had my own husband on the podcast before, but I think we'll be able to keep everything all pretty friendly here. We're pretty friendly couple overall, but I'm excited to have him because, as you all know, I love entrepreneurism, I love small businesses, and I love encouraging you all to either continue in your small business to be good leaders in your business, try to bring you some of the latest tips and hacks and help in your business. But I also love those of you out there who maybe haven't stepped into running your own business yet and are thinking about it. And so you're listening in to go, well, can you give me kind of a behind-the-scenes look? I want to look behind the curtain. I want to know what this is like, maybe this is for me, and just pour encouragement into you that you can do this. And so what's exciting about all this is my husband, my very own husband, Troy Burrus, has stepped out on his own into his own business. He might have had a little bit of influence from me. That could be the case, but he left his job as an assistant meat manager at a local high vee, which is a large grocery store chain here in the area. He's been doing that for years and years and years, and he stepped out of that role in April to go full-time as a landscape photographer. And some of you have heard me allude to this, refer to this over the last few episodes, but now we're bringing him on. So welcome to my husband, Troy.
00:02:32 - Speaker B
Well, hello. It's about time.
00:02:34 - Speaker A
I think he has said a couple of times, he's like, so when do I get to be on your podcast? And I was like, when you start your own business, babe.
00:02:45 - Speaker B
Yeah. And then she tells me when you apply as well.
00:02:48 - Speaker A
That's right. There's a link.
00:02:49 - Speaker B
Yeah, you got to apply to be on this podcast. And I jumped the line, so here I am.
00:02:55 - Speaker A
He did jump the line. So to be clear, yes, if you are interested in being on the podcast or, you know, somebody interested in being on the podcast. There is a link on the website. I'll make sure it gets dropped down here in the notes. But we do invite people to be on. We ask them just to fill out a quick questionnaire for that. So thanks for bringing that up. Troy did jump the line, did not fill out the link, but I vetted him. I think he's all right to be here. He has some good wisdom to share today. And the reason why we decided to do this and have him jump the line is we just did the Iowa State Fair together, and on the drive back, I said, I think you need to get on the podcast because we need to talk about this experience. So, Troy, bring us up to date here. Well, let's back up in the story, right? You quit your job in April.
00:03:46 - Speaker B
That would be correct.
00:03:47 - Speaker A
Let's talk about that a little bit. Why'd you quit your job? What were you thinking? What's going through your head right now? Because you're in the newbie stages of entrepreneurship, which I love, and it's also kind of a horrific roller coaster at the same time.
00:04:00 - Speaker B
Oh, it's frustrating at times, for sure, keeping track of everything. Sometimes you forget what you've done with your day, so you forget to write some stuff down. But, yeah. So I quit my job in April. When Vivian and I first met our first date, she asked, know what my goals were in life. And originally it was to be a part time meat cutter and full time photographer and going out and shooting these amazing landscapes since the time we met. And it's evolved to wanting to shoot century farms and heritage farms and try to tell the story of the farmer, try to keep the family motivated and in the farm. And so that's where we are today. So, yeah, I quit my job in April, like, what, three weeks in, I get shot to do the Tulip time impella. So we pack up with only about 24 hours notice. I took what I had, which it was a decent amount of product, but not like, a lot like I probably would have done it a little different, brought a little more product out. But we did it. It was three days. They ended up closing it early due to storms, but a couple came into my booth on day two.
00:05:16 - Speaker A
And before you go further, for those who don't know in Pella, they have Tulip time, and there's a Dutch market. And so it's like an outdoor market where you can have a space set up, a tent, and there's crafters there. So just to give paint a little context in there for everyone. So that's tulip time. So day two, you're in tulip time. Also, from my perspective, this was kind of a wild time because, Troy, when we had first talked, you had planned that you would probably stay part time at your job and that did not work out. You decided not to stay part time. The different stores you applied at, it didn't work out. So now you are full time with no part time income.
00:06:02 - Speaker B
That is correct, yeah. So I offered my services. The days that I had available didn't work, and that's fine. Sometimes a clean break is good. I might for the holidays, maybe go cut some prime rib or something for them if needs be, but at this point, I'm not really counting on that.
00:06:23 - Speaker A
Yeah, so plans change is the moral of the story at this.
00:06:26 - Speaker B
Oh, definitely. Definitely, yeah.
00:06:28 - Speaker A
So you're out at the Pella market. Troy gives me a call. We've talked about doing this market and he applied for the market, but then got put on a waitlist. We're like, okay, maybe won't some friends of ours live there? They said, hey, be ready, because even on the waitlist you'll probably get to go. And Troy, you were kind of like, well, I don't know, you didn't really do any prep for that because you weren't thinking it was going to work out.
00:06:54 - Speaker B
Well, yeah, I was like fifth on the list. I'm thinking, how many people are going to back out? Tulip time is pretty big deal in Pella. They get about 150,000 people coming through there. So I'm like, I'm fifth on the list, knowing it's a long shot. And yeah, we do have connections there and I still kind of thought it was going to be a long shot. So, yeah, I kind of drugged my feet on that one.
00:07:16 - Speaker A
And your wife's on the sidelines, like, you should probably get things together.
00:07:20 - Speaker B
Just in there was there was some whispering in my ear.
00:07:25 - Speaker A
So you get this call and Troy calls me and you said, hey, this is like 24 hours notice, maybe a couple of hours more. It was like a day. I get a call from Troy, and Troy, you said, hey, they called, and I'm like, imagine that. I knew that was coming, right? And they have a spot. And I said, well, you said yes, right? And he goes, well, I don't know. Are we ready? And I'm like, you call them back right now. You don't pass up these opportunities. At the same time, I was kind of stressed out because we weren't ready.
00:07:57 - Speaker B
We weren't. And I'm definitely a little more laid back and kind of I'm good at, like Michaela Vivian's business partner. I'm good at throwing things together last minute. So sometimes I put things off a little bit because I know in my heart and in my brain that everything's just going to come together. It always does. I don't know why I'm wired that way, but I'm wired that way. But I've learned because the next show, I definitely planned ahead a lot, but so we're doing Tulip time and talking to other vendors, kind of getting the lay of the land. This is my first big show up until then, I've only done a few smaller shows for the Ralston makers market. And, I mean, that's a three hour event.
00:08:43 - Speaker A
Yeah. And it's really casual. Like, you just pop up a tent and a table.
00:08:48 - Speaker B
Yeah. Just have a few conversations with whoever's mingling around. They have live music. Sometimes they have food trucks. And it's definitely a more laid back event. And so going into Tulip Time, it's a bigger event. It was my first one. I just left my job. Well, let me rewind a little bit. I just got back from a two week road trip as well. Went through some family stuff at the.
00:09:16 - Speaker A
Same time, some heavy family stuff. His stepdad was in hospice and so I want to make sure that's part of the podcast is letting people know it's not all put together. Like, you see what you see on social media. But Troy's going through a transition with job money is not what we thought it was going to be. The part time didn't work out. He still went and took a trip, was planning to spend a full month out on a trip. His stepdad is in hospice and cuts the trip a little bit shorter to come home. There was a lot of wild stuff going on. And then you get a call, hey, do you want to come do this market? And it's a big risk on top of all the other things going on.
00:10:09 - Speaker B
Yeah, it was a big risk, but it was only the fee to do the space wasn't outrageous. I felt confident that I could make that back. So we go, we pack up, we stay on my wife's family or really close and good friend of hers. Yes. And we stay on their farm and kind of just trek into town. Trek out of town during the Tulip Time Festival. And I thought it was successful for something that size.
00:10:40 - Speaker A
It was stressful.
00:10:41 - Speaker B
It was.
00:10:42 - Speaker A
But day two. Day two, some angels arrived in our booth.
00:10:49 - Speaker B
Yes. So where I'm talking to other people and I have an older couple that's in the booth, and they're not really talking to us, but they're really checking everything out. They're looking at everything, reading the material and just pictures, taking pictures. And I'm kind of like, what's going on behind me?
00:11:10 - Speaker A
Yeah. They hung around for a long time and asked a lot of questions.
00:11:14 - Speaker B
Yeah, I definitely felt like I was getting interviewed. I felt like this like I'm getting interviewed, know? So we had a good conversation with them and at the end they asked, do you live in Iowa? I said yes. I live in Council Bluffs. They said, would you be interested in doing the Iowa State Fair? It's ten days. It's this much for the booth. We're in the walnut center. It is air conditioned, so they say the last two days of the fair got pretty hot and air conditioner couldn't hold up, but that's fine. We went to Walmart and got some fans, and it worked just fine. But yeah, so Gary and Cindy stopped by and they talked to me for probably 1520 minutes and pretty much interviewed me to see if I'd be a fit for the Walnut Center.
00:12:05 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I think the thing to point out here, the lesson, I guess I would say at this point, is you stepped out and you took a big risk unprepared, not fully prepared. You had prepared some things in the middle of a lot going on in life, some pretty heavy things going on, on top of travel, on top of all these things. But this is a piece of designing your own story is knowing when even sometimes in a hard season, you're still going to step out and take a risk and you're going to go for it because you just never know how things are going to line up.
00:12:46 - Speaker B
I would agree with that. And it's curious. So a year ago, we get gifted a camper, and we're kind of like, what are we going to do with this camper? It's 24ft long. It's a 1986 Jacob J, and it's kind of heavy for my little Nissan, but it can pull it. It doesn't pull it real well, but we get around with it and I'm like, what are we going to do with this? And it turns out it was a perfect home base while you're doing the Iowa State Fair. So we took it out. It has air conditioning. Some things are still needing some work, and I plan on fixing those before the end of camping season. But it's weird how all these things have come together and it's like we've asked for them, but not like we're not going out and asking people. It's more praying for it and just kind of helping, need some guidance in where we're going. And then it seems like everything just keeps falling into place. It just keeps going.
00:13:48 - Speaker A
Yeah. And it does. Things fall into place. And this has been my journey for years now with running my own businesses, is you hit these points where you're like, how can this possibly work? It can't. It's not going to work. Or there's no money. There is no money. What are we going to do? Or you're trying to get something together and just everything keeps hitting you out of nowhere. But then there's these things that line up if you keep playing the game. And that was one of the guests we just had on a conversation. And I love the metaphor she used, Jennifer. She used this metaphor of basically like, you're programmed to win. It's like a video game. You're programmed to win, but not if you don't play the game. If you don't play the game, you'll stay stuck on whatever level you're so I think that's just a huge takeaway there. But one of the things we wanted to talk about was, what have the takeaways been so far with doing booze and those live events, because that's a whole different type of business. And I know for many of you out there, this is something that's of interest to you. Or maybe you're doing this where you have something where you might go to festivals, to fairs, to events, to craft shows, and you would have a booth space, and you might be looking for some of those tips and takeaways. And we just lived it for ten days at the Iowa State Fair, which was a lot. You hear ten days and you go, yeah, that sounds like a long time. We hit day four, and I literally was like, I just don't know if I can do this again, but you have to keep showing up. And so we just thought it would be helpful to pop on here with this episode and talk through. We have ten tips that we wanted to share from lived experience less than 24 hours ago. We just got back, so should we jump into these?
00:15:50 - Speaker B
Let's do it. Let's see if I remember what we talked about this morning.
00:15:53 - Speaker A
Okay, perfect. Yeah. So brains are a little bit fried because okay, we're both introverted people and we did ten days in a 13 x 13 foot space in a building and they were eleven hour days plus arrival early and a little cleanup and go home drove an hour because it was the closest we could find to stay in our camper. Crash, eat dinner, crash, go to bed, get up in the morning, drive back again for ten days. This is an introvert's worst nightmare. It ends up being like, 110 hours and talking to 11 million people. It might be an exaggerated number, but the fair brings in a lot of people, and so, yeah, introverts worst nightmare, we survived it. And we have ten tips to share with you. So you can survive an event like that, too, if that's something you want to try.
00:16:48 - Speaker B
Yeah, it's a lot of people. Just a lot of peopleing I held together, I thought pretty well until about day eight, and then I was having trouble communicating. It was like, people are talking to you and you're just like, out of words, and you're interested in what they're saying, and you're trying to stay in there, and you're trying to keep the conversation going, but your brain just isn't working for a little bit. And we found that actually taking a break, going for a little walk, getting some fresh air, and also that's your.
00:17:25 - Speaker A
Tip number one is pace yourself.
00:17:26 - Speaker B
Yes, pace yourself. We were standing a lot at the beginning. I would probably sit a little more, but at the beginning, you don't know. You're thinking, okay, I'm going to be up there. I'm going to talk to everybody that passes. We're going to try to give them the booth to just talk to them about what the projects are that I'm working on. The century farm photography and all that. And so you're standing and you're talking to everybody. It's passing and you're standing.
00:17:54 - Speaker A
Yeah. I think that's important to think about. How long is your event? So if it's just one day or like with Pellet, it was three days. You have to consider what pace can you keep up for the length for the fair? It was ten days and we probably started off at a pace thinking more like our previous experiences, which was 3 hours or three days. And so thinking ahead and going, okay, so if this is a one day event, then pacing yourself looks totally different than a ten day event. And you may want to stand more, but even then you might think a little bit about what energy level you're going to bring and how can you make sure to keep that energy level up. Do you need to have a friend there with you who can give you a rest? Do you need to go take a quick walk around outside? Do you need to swing through the booze? Do you have water? Do you have snacks? Can somebody give you a rest for a minute? There's different ways to think about that, but definitely pacing yourself. And if you're going to do a long stretch like that, then you do want to think about do you want something squishy to stand on under your feet? Do you want a chair? That is one of the things I would say, though we're going to talk about this in several other tips. You don't want to sit the whole time because you want to keep people engaged. So we'll jump into that in a minute. But how do you take those breaks when there is a lull, that's when you sit. When it gets busy, that's when you're up.
00:19:22 - Speaker B
Yeah, I would agree with that completely. And another thing, if you are sitting and someone wants to shake your hand and introduce themselves, I always made sure I got up, shook their hand and engaged them in a conversation.
00:19:36 - Speaker A
And that's tip number two, stay engaged. So you've got to pace yourself, but you've also got to stay engaged. And we talked about this a lot of we definitely saw more people and more sales or more good, valuable conversations when we engaged people. And we didn't just say yes or no type of questions. We asked questions that required answers.
00:20:04 - Speaker B
Yes. I don't know if this is for you, but I have this in this size as well because not everybody has room on their wall for the big print. Not everybody has the money for the big print.
00:20:15 - Speaker A
Right.
00:20:16 - Speaker B
And that's fine. But I also offered other sizes or was willing to order any of the prints.
00:20:22 - Speaker A
Yeah, and asking a question of them. So in Troy's case with landscape photography, the farm know, rather than just saying something generic like, oh, how you doing today? And everyone kind of gives a oh, good. You want to ask a question that keeps the conversation going and shows that you're interested. You know, when somebody would come up and maybe admire something, we would ask a question like, oh, have you visited there before? Or Is there something about that picture that draws you in? Or we might ask a question even we'd ask questions not about our or your work, our work, but we'd ask questions about them. Hey, have you tried any of the great Fair food yet? What's been your favorite? So something to get a conversation going versus just a kind of generic question or something where they can say yes or no. Are you guys having a good time? Yeah. Doesn't really lead to a conversation.
00:21:15 - Speaker B
No. And half the time it just leads for them to walk by. But if you say, hey, this is my photography, I've traveled all over here's some Iowa photography as well. I've been to several places and counties of Iowa and just engage them in general and show interest in what they have to say as mean. That worked. Really?
00:21:38 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I think that's know, you go to these markets sometimes, and you will see people who just maybe sit behind their booth, behind their piles of stuff, and they read a book, you're not as likely to step in, and you're definitely leaving sales on the table, and you're just leaving good connections on the table. I think that was huge that we learned is that not everything was about a sale. It was about making a connection, building relationship, building a community. You want people to join your email list or to engage with you on social media or just to be a great human and have a great connection with somebody versus spending 11 hours on your cell phone sitting in a chair.
00:22:19 - Speaker B
Behind your booth, which we could have easily have done.
00:22:22 - Speaker A
Totally.
00:22:23 - Speaker B
I mean, that would have gotten boring. Yeah. Even though I'm introverted, I do enjoy hearing people's stories. And I like talking to people. I like meeting people. I like to know where they came from. So that was a real good aspect of what you and I were doing, was to engage people and to find out their story, find out what was important to them. Also, they gave us good tips on stuff they would like to see that they might purchase in the future. So we have ideas of what to go in with for next year.
00:22:58 - Speaker A
Yeah. And so that kind of leads great into tip number three we came up with, which was to be grateful. Be grateful for being there, have a great attitude, smile at people, be enthusiastic, and then show your gratitude towards them. And that was something I think you did a great job of, whether people made a purchase or not.
00:23:22 - Speaker B
No, I invited them into the booth most of the time. We had conversations. People liked the work. They gave feedback, but not all of them bought something, but at least they came in and I got to have a conversation and they got to enjoy my photos. So I was very grateful for those people that stopped by, said hi. It was just good to connect. We would look around in other vendors and other places, and they're just sitting there on their phones. I'm like, that doesn't look fun at all.
00:23:55 - Speaker A
Yeah. Some of the other buildings we walked through, I think we were in a really good building with some great people, but some of the other buildings we walked through, people are just kind of zoned out. And you can tell there's a difference in the vibe, which I think is important to point out that you also have an effect on your neighbor's sale. Right. And we're all in this together, and so if you're bringing the vibe down by not being engaging, then when they walk into the next person's booth, the vibe is just down and all that. And I think that was great about our building is that everyone was very collaborative and quick to say, oh, did you see this over there? Or you might like to check that out. So being a good neighbor, like, if you're going to have a booth, be a good neighbor. It's not all about you and your sale. It's about everyone succeeding together. So a little bonus tip that wasn't one we had talked about, but I think is important also with the be grateful tip, show your gratitude when people do make a purchase. For sure. And I loved Troy, that you did such a great job of showing the same amount of enthusiasm and gratefulness to somebody who bought a $5 magnet as you did to somebody who bought a $240 print. And I think that's important that you are showing that to everyone.
00:25:14 - Speaker B
Well, each and every person that's helping. I mean, it's keeping the dream alive. It is money in the pocket. It's paying off debt that I took on going into the fair. And yeah, I'm grateful. I'm grateful that they found what I have to offer good enough for their house. So not to be grateful is just crazy. I think anybody that's helping you out, and it might be from years of working retail, but yeah, you're taught, hey, these people are helping you out. They are purchasing your product. Whether whatever your product is, say thank you. Yes, say thank you. Be grateful. Listen to them.
00:26:02 - Speaker A
Okay. Number four we came up with was take a Chance. And we talked about this a bit. You took a chance, one, on just going to do the booth in the first place. Right. There's a lot of expense that goes into that and a lot of time. You also took a chance on a product coasters. How'd that go?
00:26:22 - Speaker B
Yeah, so we tried out a different coaster than what I usually go with. I wanted to find something that was affordable, something that people could put in their pocket and walk away with. And it's functional art. So I've tried coasters before. I had Acrylic coasters. The pictures were a little more vibrant, I guess, in those.
00:26:45 - Speaker A
And they sell well.
00:26:46 - Speaker B
Yeah, they were selling well. So we did what they call them thirsty stones.
00:26:49 - Speaker A
Yes, thirsty stones. A little different finish.
00:26:51 - Speaker B
Yeah. So it's a little bit different. Not quite as vibrant, but you could still see the photo pretty well. And we thought going in, that we would need 1000 of these things.
00:27:01 - Speaker A
Home run.
00:27:02 - Speaker B
Yeah. Oh, this is easy sell.
00:27:04 - Speaker A
Easy sell, because we've been selling coasters.
00:27:06 - Speaker B
Yeah. I didn't go with quite 1800, right? Yes. 800.
00:27:13 - Speaker A
How many did we come home with?
00:27:14 - Speaker B
We did get rid of one full box, so maybe we sold 200 of them.
00:27:21 - Speaker A
Maybe we'll count it up.
00:27:24 - Speaker B
I'm going to go through and see how many we sold.
00:27:27 - Speaker A
They didn't sell well.
00:27:28 - Speaker B
They did not, but they're cool and definitely be continuing.
00:27:33 - Speaker A
Available.
00:27:33 - Speaker B
Yeah, it's still available. We'll still be selling them.
00:27:35 - Speaker A
I mean, put a link in the notes.
00:27:37 - Speaker B
Christmas is coming up, guys.
00:27:40 - Speaker A
Well, and that's the interesting thing, is sometimes you have to take a chance and you don't know how it's going to work. And sometimes it's a home run and sometimes it isn't. And you took a chance, but you didn't at the time think it was a huge chance because you had sold coasters before, but you wanted a different price point and you're trying to figure out inventory for things like this. How many? And we didn't know. And what I love is that you did do some research. You got a hold of other vendors with similar price point items, not apples to apples, but just to find out. So, yeah, you were taking a chance, but you didn't feel like it was a total shot in the dark.
00:28:17 - Speaker B
Yeah, I didn't think it was risky to order that many. I thought we were thinking, oh, is that enough?
00:28:23 - Speaker A
Right.
00:28:23 - Speaker B
It is, right?
00:28:25 - Speaker A
It was. And you never know. Sometimes it's just the vibe of that crowd. If the weather was different, if the concert had been different, you just don't know 100% what's going to happen at an event like that. And you just have to take a chance sometimes.
00:28:40 - Speaker B
And we did. And we also took a chance with magnets, which we did pretty well.
00:28:46 - Speaker A
Could have ordered more of those.
00:28:47 - Speaker B
Yeah, probably could have. I think I went in with 400. We came back with less than 100. And they're a big hit. The kids liked them, but people were asking for stickers. And when we were filling out the paperwork, it said, no stickers. I was like, well, it's my first go around. I don't want to make anybody mad right off the bat. So we won't do stickers, but next year we'll probably be doing stickers.
00:29:13 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I think what it was is you're trying to feel. All this stuff out and you're reading through all those things. I think what we've discovered is they just don't want you handing out free stickers because then people stick them on things. So live and learn. I think we'll be okay for doing some stickers next year.
00:29:30 - Speaker B
Yeah. And all the vendors pretty much said that. Yeah. There's been times in the past where everybody was handing out free stickers and they would end up on all the light poles. And that's just not a good look. That's not what the Iowa State Fair wants. And I get it. No one wants that.
00:29:45 - Speaker A
So that leads me, well, to our next tip, which was smalls. Make sure you have small your small items, something that people can take easily with them if your items tend to be bigger.
00:30:02 - Speaker B
Yeah, definitely. Affordable small items that people are going to appreciate. Yeah. I mean, anything that you do, like a market, you need to have some of that. I know people cash and carry, like.
00:30:16 - Speaker A
Easy stick it in their purse or their bag.
00:30:19 - Speaker B
Yes, cash and carry. And then also well, we'll probably get into this in a second, so I'll.
00:30:25 - Speaker A
Let you hold on to that one.
00:30:26 - Speaker B
Yeah, I'll hold on to that one for a second.
00:30:28 - Speaker A
Yeah. So that's important. And it also just draws people in where they see your big stuff, but then they go, well, I can't afford or don't want to. My priorities are not with a $900 piece of wall art, but I would love to have this $60 print or this $20 print or this $5 magnet. And so those smalls really help you cover the costs of your booth so that you have some things moving through your booth. And it's a conversation piece. It gets people to come over. When people see other people at your booth, that's important. They see some money going back for they're like, okay, something's happening over there. It must be valuable. I'm going to come over, too. So those smalls are really important. Okay, so I think we're on tip number seven. Let's see, five, six I think we're on number seven. I might have skipped. I might have to stop with the numbers. I've lost track. Next tip would be to set goals. Let's talk about that a little bit.
00:31:22 - Speaker B
So the first day, we didn't know what to expect. We knew it was going to be a slow day, so we didn't really set a goal for that day. But it was a Thursday. Yeah. So Thursday they say it's mostly the campers that are camping up on the hill, and they just kind of do their first walk through. So we didn't set a goal for the first day, but after that, we did set financial goals.
00:31:48 - Speaker A
We gamified it a little.
00:31:50 - Speaker B
Yeah, we set financial goals. We also set all right, how many of the pamphlets for the Century Farms can we give out that day? How many conversations can we have that day. And we did. We turned it into a game. We made it fun. You have to I mean, you have to come up with stuff to shoot for. And if you make it fun, it's so much easier to get to.
00:32:12 - Speaker A
It is. And it kind of motivates you when you're tired to stay standing, stay engaged. All these things we just talked about, it helps you to go, gosh, I just need to make a $20 sale. I'm going to hit my goal. Not that you're trying to be salesy, but it just keeps you kind of your head in the game so you're not zoning out with those long days or if the weather is tough and things like that. But then we also talked before the fair. What is our overall goal here? What's the purpose of doing this? Is it to move product? Is it to connect with people for landscape photography, for their personal walls? Is it to connect with interior designers? And what we decided was our purpose really was to connect with people about the Century Farms and the Heritage Farms. And so we knew that we wouldn't necessarily sell those there, but we had to keep that in mind, that our goal was to have those really valuable conversations. So for you out there who are thinking about these booths, I think it's important to think through what is your goal? Is it you have to sell X number of things, or is it to make connections and then the fortunes and the follow up for you? But you've got to know why you're doing the show before you go into it.
00:33:28 - Speaker B
And also, like with the Century Farms, was having the conversation and getting validated that it is something that people do want, that are in that community research. Find out what their needs are, find out where their pain points are and try to work with them. So we had one guy that liked the idea but didn't quite want it done that way. And so we had a conversation with him, and I have his phone number, and we'll be calling them back probably after this podcast just to have the conversation about where we would be financially on that project and just see if that works for them. And hopefully it does. But a lot of ideas snowballed from having conversations with the people that we want to work with. And it was great.
00:34:22 - Speaker A
Okay, so tip number seven is an actual phrase that we use. We were listening to a book. Oh, shoot, I'm not going to remember the title. I might look it up here as we're talking a little bit. I'll pop it in here. But we listen to a book and it's phrases, sales phrases to use. So tip number seven is learn some sales tactics. They are important. Not that you have to be sleazy, not that you have to be salesy and use Carmen sales, but there are certain words, phrases, questions you can ask that make a huge difference. And so the one we wanted to share with you today for tip number seven is, I'm not sure if this is right for you, but and we talked about this one on the way in, we were listening to it and I said, well, let's just try it out. So the phrase is, I'm not sure if this is right for you, but and wouldn't you know it, it worked.
00:35:14 - Speaker B
It did. There's a gentleman that was very interested in a print. He liked the big one, but he didn't have the room on his wall. And he just sat there and stared and stared, and I come up to him and said, well, I don't know if this is for you, but I have it in this smaller size.
00:35:34 - Speaker A
And boom.
00:35:36 - Speaker B
Yeah. Not even a second later, he was like, Done. Sold.
00:35:40 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I liked that phrase because what it does is it introduces the idea of when you say, I'm not sure if this is right for you, the other person immediately goes, well, what is it if you're not sure if it's right? It might be right for me. I'm curious. Right. So it sparks curiosity. And what I like about it as well is it puts you in a position where you're not pushing anything on anyone. I mean, you're literally saying, I'm not sure if this is right for you, but I do have this option, but this has a great feature, or whatever it is, so it puts you in a really, I just think, a friendly position. And we literally said we're going to practice it and use it. You did, and you made an instant sale. So that's tip number seven. I'm not sure if this is right for you, but try it out.
00:36:28 - Speaker B
Yes, it does work. It gets their mind going. And yeah, it did work when we used it. Also handing out flyers, there's a few people that are kind of on the fence. You can kind of tell they're reading the fold out. What is that thing called the rollout? It's a big banner. And we kind of laid it out and didn't lay all of it out, just big letters and nice photos so they could look at it and be interested in it. And I came around the corner a few times and said, I don't know if this is for you, but I shoot century farms, family farms, heritage farms and acreages.
00:37:07 - Speaker A
And that made handing out brochures way easier because otherwise you're like, Here you go, here you go. And everyone's like, no thanks. No thanks. When you said, I'm not sure if this is for you, but I have some information about Central, like, everyone took one. Oh, yeah, it was very disarming. Okay, next up, we wanted to talk about tip number eight here, which is posting on social media during the events. So whether it's one day three days, ten days. Let's talk about that a little bit.
00:37:40 - Speaker B
So we discussed me going live every day and giving the State fair update. I did not do very well at that, but I did do it a few times and then also just at Downtimes or if we were there early enough and we didn't do our little walk to watch know when. We get there early in the morning, they walk the Clydesdale horses, which is really cool, and they're just walking them down the middle of the great. And it's cool. It's cool to see an animal that big and they walk in unison. It's just cool to see. So sometimes we would go outside and watch that and just kind of get our minds right going in. And I would not do alive, but I think going into the future, I would definitely try to do more, try to be on top of it and then also tell the stories of the photos because that's what people really like. They see something that's a great photo and then you tell them the story and it means more to them. They start connecting even more with that photo. And if they haven't been there, they might want to go there. And I don't know how many people I've talked to, but we gave them the guide to Moab because I've been 40 times, vivian's been about five now, and there's just so much to do there. So we were definitely helping people plan their trip to Moab.
00:39:09 - Speaker A
There was a lot of that. And I think what's important here is post during the event or at minimum, gather content because you're there anyway and your stuff is out and it's displayed and it looks great. So be snapping photos while you're there, get some videos while you're there. Go live if that's your jam and you feel like you can. But if you can be posting during the event, that is gold because you're building energy around it with your audience. And so even if they can't come, what it does is it goes, oh, my gosh, there's so much happening over there. Look at Troy. He's doing some really cool things. Oh, I love that. I love to support that. There's energy, there's things happening and it doesn't have to be in a look at me, look at me kind of way, but it does build energy around your brand, and you want energy around your brand. People are attracted to things where there's a good vibe, a good energy, and so they're excited, right? And then they can go, oh, gosh, I have one of Troy's pieces on my wall and this is so cool. And he's doing that and it just builds engagement. So one of the things we did, which is super easy, is we just took a picture of ourselves every day in some different way. We didn't overthink it. We literally like, oh, my gosh, we got to get a picture, we'd stop and we'd get a picture and we just posted it as an update every day. And it just builds energy, it builds excitement, and it does draw people in who maybe would not have stopped by or didn't realize as well. And so there was that too.
00:40:38 - Speaker B
Yeah, definitely connecting with the audience.
00:40:41 - Speaker A
It builds community. I mean, I think people enjoyed there are one or two people who said, do we get our fan picture? Like, yeah, absolutely. We got to get your fan picture and post it up here. And so I think it just builds that community, which is really cool. Okay, next tip up. Speaking of all of this and engaging with people, we were talking some about know when to exit a conversation. There's this fine line of you want to engage. I think it's really interesting with the nature of landscape photography. Everybody wants to show you their pictures of the same place, if they have it, or show you a cool place so that phones come out, you're scrolling through, you're looking, you're talking campsites, you're talking all these things. They show you every single picture they have. It's great, you're building rapport with them, but people are walking by that you're not getting to engage with. And so there's this fine dance. And so we talked about that a lot of know when to exit a conversation. And I saw you, Troy, a couple times, get really stuck in conversations. And so that's where I think a person with you can help with that. They can run a little interference or they can at least engage with other people. But we even talked a little bit and I had offered to you, Troy, hey, when there's a pause and you know, you need to exit the conversation because at some point you do need to move on. And there are those who just stay for a while and love them, right. Don't introduce a new topic. And so we had a couple of things that we could do. We said, all right, well, enjoy the fair. Right. It's like something that says, this has been great, but now it's time to move on.
00:42:22 - Speaker B
Yeah, I had difficult time getting out of a few conversations, which they were good conversations, but like Vivian said, you do have to move on. You do have to try to talk to more people. There are people passing by. Well, two are these younger children and they are into photography. And I talked to the mom and the older daughter, I believe, but she's probably twelve maybe. But later on her brother wasn't able to be in the booth. So she brings her brother back about 07:00. And I had a nice conversation with him. He won an award for a photo that he had taken in Glacier National Park, I believe it was. And we were having a great conversation, but at some point it's like, okay.
00:43:10 - Speaker A
Guys, it's like a 45 minutes conversation. And you are there to run a business, right. And you do need to make sales. And so I think this is just important to point out of that balance, that dance of no disrespect to anyone, and you want to be able to have these conversations. And you loved engaging with the kids. I think that was huge. And you took a lot of time for them. And that builds rapport, right. That is so valuable. On the flip side, you do have to find that balance, especially if you're running a booth by yourself, because what you're doing is you're allowing other people to walk by and they don't feel like they have your attention and you don't look attentive to them. And then that gives them they're not positive feelings for them. They're like, oh gosh, all he does is talk about camping trips and I'm curious about this piece of artwork or whatever I want to talk to. So it's being respectful to all of your clients, all of your cusTroyers. So you have to have a couple of phrases that help you exit that. And so one that we found were just to say things like, well, I hope you enjoy the rest of the fair, or It's okay, I think, to say too, this has been a great conversation, I need to go straighten this up, or it looks like that person has a question. It's okay to say that and to end the conversation.
00:44:32 - Speaker B
Yes, it is okay to end conversations and just be polite about it.
00:44:39 - Speaker A
There's no need to don't embarrass anyone.
00:44:42 - Speaker B
Yeah. Most of all, just be polite about it. And if they're still in the booth and they're still looking at stuff, do check back with them, though.
00:44:51 - Speaker A
Absolutely. Yeah. You just have to learn how it's a dance. It's a lot of, like you said, peopleing before we hopped on it was a lot of peopling. You do have to be attentive and read people, read their body language and just read the situation and decide, am I going to stay in this conversation for a while? Because some of those longer conversations do lead to some really great things.
00:45:14 - Speaker B
Well, yeah, we had one lady that she's probably in the booth for about half hour. Both Vivian and I had conversations with her, and she had several prints in her hand. And then she just puts them all down and leaves. And we're like, what know, we thought things are going really well. Well, she comes back the next day with her husband and ends up making a pretty decent purchase, more than she.
00:45:37 - Speaker A
Had in her hands the first day.
00:45:39 - Speaker B
Yeah. And her husband I will say this, some women's husbands were killers of sales. Because the woman yeah, don't be that guy. Yeah. She's coming in, she's like, I know exactly where thou fit in the house. And the husband comes up and just kind of looks at like, we don't need that. And it's like, yes, you do. This is going to bring you joy. Some people don't realize having nice photos on your wall, not having your family and everything is great too, but having a photo of nature is calming, relaxing, and it is good for you.
00:46:17 - Speaker A
Yeah, there were a couple of times that happened and you're like, oh, gosh dang it. It is okay for people, I think, especially couples, to decide how they want to spend their money together, for sure. But there were definitely a couple of times where I'm like, man, you're just kind of a killjoy there. You could tell that it was a possibility for them and someone would just come in and just kill it. And you're like, come on, man.
00:46:43 - Speaker B
Yeah, well, this woman though, her husband's like, what, go with the bigger one? And I'm like, yeah, you probably want the bigger one.
00:46:50 - Speaker A
Those are the best.
00:46:51 - Speaker B
Yeah, she's like, I don't have room on the wall. Yeah, we worked with her and she's one of them that I got an order for. So we'll get that going and signed and out the door here real shortly.
00:47:02 - Speaker A
Met just some really cool people, which I think is awesome overall, just like a really great experience. But I do want to point out because part of the whole purpose of this podcast is to encourage people, right, to encourage people who are in the trenches right now, thinking about getting in the trenches, needing that encouragement, maybe trying something new, maybe going into it, and just need a fresh perspective. Are those reminders of like, yes, I have 400 events booths under my belt, but that's a good reminder. But I think too, just to pull back the curtain and let people know the reality of things. And so one of the things that we are banking on is the follow. You know, Troy, you and I talked beforehand. You didn't even break even with this. Have you still have some money to make up from it, but we've planned for that. But that hasn't felt great. You want to talk about that just a little bit? I mean, even though we kind of knew that, talk us through that part of things.
00:48:07 - Speaker B
Yeah, we had our numbers pretty spot on. We knew where we needed to be coming out of it. We were right where we needed to be. But still frustrating. I still did not break even. I'm getting everybody paid. And so that feels good.
00:48:28 - Speaker A
And that was one of the goals. Like talking about goals. Goal was have to be able to pay back or buy the product and all that. So that's all covered. But we took some money out of our own world and that's not replaced yet. And you obviously want to make a profit. Like the whole point of owning a business is to make a profit.
00:48:49 - Speaker B
Yes, it's to make profits. It's to make a living and live out my dream, just doing this as a job, as a career. I'm so much happier. I'm so much in a better mindset just by, honestly, a better person to be around.
00:49:09 - Speaker A
I'd say Troy, I'll say that's true.
00:49:13 - Speaker B
Yeah. She was very encouraging on this decision that it was hard for me. I did enjoy my other job. It was breaking down the body a little bit and the soul. Yeah, a little bit of the soul at times, too. Yeah, for sure. But yeah. So as of how we sit today, we did hit our goals. I will be having conversations with people in the weeks to come, and I will be booking at least three Century Farms. I feel we had really good connections with those people. They seemed very interested, so we'll see how it pans out. But ultimately, yeah, we did hit the goal. And today, going through, I was counting the money, making sure everything matched. You know, Vivian looks at me and can tell that I'm a little not happy as I a little discouraged, a little discouraged, because I really just wanted to get everything taken care like.
00:50:16 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I guess to explain us a little bit. So what we did is we put together a budget, and we knew ahead of time, okay, this is how much product you have in the booth that you could sell. If you sold every single thing, this is what you could make. And then we walked it back from there and said, okay, but you won't sell every single thing. That's highly unlikely. So we worked a formula out of what percentage of things we thought could sell. And it's helpful because Troy has some background in inventory and thinking through that, and there's some science behind. As things clear off of your shelves, people stop buying as much. It looks a little picked over. So it's like you have to find this balance of inventory, but the likelihood that you're going to literally sell out of every single thing. So tips, extra tips, bonus tips here. You won't sell everything more than likely, and so you need to figure out what percentage of things you think you're going to sell. So what we did is we took a percentage. We said we think that he could move through the booth, this percentage of things. Knowing that and the nature of Troy's business, we knew that there was a likelihood that he would not sell enough products during the fair to make the margins that he wanted, and that he would have to sell those follow up items, that he would have the photo shoots to go out and shoot those. And that was how we set our goals. Then when we talked about that tip of setting goals, our goal was to have conversations so that he could book sentry and acreage and heritage farm photo shoots for families in the future. That was the main goal. And that being said, it all worked out exactly like almost to the dollar what we expected. He moved almost the exact percentage. Even though the coasters didn't sell, other things did more. So it all worked out, the percentages we expected, and we said he'd have to sell one Century Farm shoot to break even and then anything on that would be profit. That's literally, my friends, exactly where he's sitting right now. And I think it's important to share those things because it's easy for people to think like, oh, man, you did the fair and you probably just made all this money and you're so successful and you're an overnight wonder. And I think, Troy, you are all those things, you're awesome. But it's good for people to know the reality of things. Now, for others, your goal might be that you do need to sell a hundred of your thing and then that you're going to make money that way. And that's a fine goal to have, too. And for certain business models that will work at an event like this or at a booth like this, for Troy's type of work, that wasn't the goal. And so, all that being said, there is still, even though you're sitting exactly where you expected to be to the dollar, there's still a little bit of gosh dang it. It would have been cool. Right? And so I think not getting lost in that is important.
00:53:17 - Speaker B
Yeah, it would have been awesome for the big prints and the little bit smaller ones.
00:53:28 - Speaker A
The overnight success story is cool.
00:53:31 - Speaker B
Yeah. Oh, it would have been awesome to come back and be like, I sold.
00:53:35 - Speaker A
It all, blew it out of the park.
00:53:37 - Speaker B
Yeah. And I think we did.
00:53:39 - Speaker A
You did.
00:53:42 - Speaker B
When you stop and think about it and you're like, yeah, we did. We did exactly what we thought we were going to go in and do, which I believe will bring out the outcome that we wanted. I think that we will. Yeah. It is the long game. We will book Century Farms. It did go over real well with the people we talked to and yeah. So I'm looking forward to having those conversations with people. We also connected with a distillery that does they make whiskey out of Century Farms, so that was a good connection to have. Vivian talked to the wife of the man who owns it. I talked to the owner as well, and we are going to take a road trip and definitely do a tasting of some of that whiskey and just go out and have another conversation. When you're at the fair, you're busy and you can have a conversation with all these other people, but sometimes it's brief because you do have people walking in and you do have to explain what you're doing there. And so my conversation with him was very brief.
00:54:45 - Speaker A
The fortune is in the follow up, I think is a takeaway for sure for everyone listening is the fortune is in the follow up and even if you blew out everything in your booth, that's a one time thing, right? Like a business is built on sustainability. And so the follow up, the relationship building, the fortune is in the follow up. That's really important.
00:55:08 - Speaker B
So when it's all said and done, were you surprised at what some people were asking for? Because I was surprised with how many people wanted calendars.
00:55:19 - Speaker A
So that was a tip that kind of got cut. So I guess we'll throw it in here real quick. Bonus tip. These types of things are great for validation. I know I've talked about validation before. Validating your product is huge. And that was one of the things we talked about was this was an opportunity for you to validate the Century and Heritage Farm offering, right? You're going to be in front of a bunch of people. And if you pitch your product or your idea to literally thousands of people, and if you get a lot of negative feedback or they are super excited and then they see your pricing and go, oh, and you see that again and again, you're getting validation right now. It can go the other way. And so that was one of the things we talked about a tip possibly being is you can use things like this to research as well. And so, yeah, a lot of people asked for calendars. A lot of people asked for more cow photos. A lot of people asked for Colorado shots. And so obviously it's important to remember that if you went and did the same type of thing at the Florida State Fair, they're probably not going to be asking for cows and things like that. However, Colorado is kind of universal when it came to people who so you can start extrapolating. That's a word, right? I think I've got that right. You can start to dissect what people want. And calendars was definitely one that was asked for. One person said mousepad. I don't think you should do mouse pads. But that was interesting. But yeah, I think that's a takeaway is listen to what people are saying. What are they asking for? Are they asking for it in a different size? Are they asking for it a different price point? Are they asking for something completely different that you don't even have, that maybe you need to carry next time, and then you need to consider, will that translate next year or will that translate to a different audience? Or is that specific? A lot of people ask, do you have Iowa State Fair photos? Like, obviously you go do pella market. They're not going to be asking for Iowa State Fair photos in general. So I think that was important to think about. But calendars, yeah, I mean, I think people still like calendars. You guys tell us you listening out there. We're a little split on this one. I think calendars are still a thing. Troy says no, so maybe. You can help settle this debate for us. Would you reach out to I've got all of my contacts down the notes below. Would you buy a landscape? Beautiful photos. Beautiful photos. Calendar from Troy or from anyone? Do you still use a calendar? I would like to hear from you. Help us settle this.
00:58:02 - Speaker B
Yes. This is a debate that we've had many a times and I might end up breaking down and doing it. But I'd also like to thank all the people that said they need more Colorado photos. So now I can tell Vivian we need to get back to Colorado.
00:58:17 - Speaker A
That's right. Okay, Troy, we always wrap up with some rapid fire questions.
00:58:23 - Speaker B
Oh, no.
00:58:24 - Speaker A
Are you ready for these?
00:58:25 - Speaker B
Yeah, I guess.
00:58:26 - Speaker A
All right, cool. What is the biggest misconception about owning a business so far?
00:58:34 - Speaker B
That you'll build it, they will come and that success comes easy just because you're doing it.
00:58:42 - Speaker A
One of my favorite things to say is you think if you build it, they will come and they are not coming. You have to get them there. That's right. What's an important piece of advice? I'm going to switch up something up a little bit. What's an important no, I'm going to leave its name. Sorry.
00:59:00 - Speaker B
Okay.
00:59:01 - Speaker A
What's an important piece of advice you've been given and actually applied to your business?
00:59:08 - Speaker B
Oh, boy.
00:59:09 - Speaker A
It better be one I gave you.
00:59:12 - Speaker B
You and pi. Others. One is to listen to the cusTroyer. I mean, validation. Ask questions. If they're looking at your stuff and not seeing exactly what they want, ask the question, what are you looking for? And is it something that I can provide or is it something that maybe I know somebody that can provide?
00:59:34 - Speaker A
It huge. That's great. That was when people would ask me, hey, do you have a business card? And we always followed up with a question. Yes, absolutely. Is there something you're looking for? Right. So that's the question.
00:59:46 - Speaker B
That is correct.
00:59:47 - Speaker A
What would you tell your 18 year old self knowing what you know now?
00:59:53 - Speaker B
At 18, I should have started this. I didn't have the skill set at 18 to start this, but if I had the mindset and the practice, then I'd be so much further along.
01:00:09 - Speaker A
Love it. What is your favorite kickback and relaxed beverage? I know this one.
01:00:15 - Speaker B
I am an IPA drinker. I love hitting breweries. Whenever we travel, I hit a brewery and I try their IPAs.
01:00:25 - Speaker A
He sure does. I love it. Is there a song, a book or a podcast that is inspiring you or you find inspiration from?
01:00:36 - Speaker B
I am big into music and I love the Joe Rogan podcast. But music right now, man, I just listen to so much. But listening to people know bands and stuff that I know didn't have instant success definitely motivates me and people that I know that were on the road fighting for. Just so I'm trying to think there's a country singer right now, jelly Roll. So I'm not a huge fan of him, but I do listen to his music because I've heard his story and Joe Rogan, and I'm just like, man, this guy fought for a long time to get to where he is, and that just knowing that the battle that he took to get where he is is definitely inspiring.
01:01:25 - Speaker A
Love it. What excites you most about the future?
01:01:31 - Speaker B
Becoming a famous photographer.
01:01:35 - Speaker A
I love it.
01:01:36 - Speaker B
Yeah. Some people at the Iowa State Fair said, oh, I've heard of you and stuff. That's great. I'm hoping that's true.
01:01:45 - Speaker A
Yeah.
01:01:46 - Speaker B
And so I don't know about being exactly famous, but just being known and being known for what I am. Photographing what's?
01:01:55 - Speaker A
Something people often get wrong about you.
01:01:58 - Speaker B
Man, I don't know. I'd have to ask somebody else that probably I'm kind of a quiet guy, so they might get that. I might not be interested in what they're saying, but I am. I'm just quiet and listening and taking it in.
01:02:15 - Speaker A
Yeah. And I try to remind people, too. You're a little hard of hearing because of being next to that saw for too long.
01:02:21 - Speaker B
Yeah. 20 years of meat cutting. Those saws are not quiet. And, yes, I do have a little bit of hearing loss. So if I'm just looking at you blankly and I'm trying to hear you.
01:02:32 - Speaker A
I really am glad that's over. All right, last one here. What do you feel business owners, which you now are one can do to make the world a better place?
01:02:48 - Speaker B
Well, I think especially in my case is to give you know, I joined the PotawaTroyy Conservation Foundation board. I want to help potawaTroyi county, where I live now, have great parks, so that's what I'm doing. Other business owners, there's so many things that they can do, and it's what they're passionate about and how they can give back to the community. So business owners have to answer that for themselves. But for me, it's the conservation aspect of the county that I now live in and call home. So that's where I'm at on that.
01:03:24 - Speaker A
I love it. It's good. Well, Troy, congratulations. You made it onto your wife's podcast.
01:03:32 - Speaker B
I know. And everybody would think that this would be easy, and it actually I've asked several times, and she keeps telling me, well, fill out the application. I'm like, really? I have to fill it out, too?
01:03:44 - Speaker A
Yes, that's right. We only bring quality interviews, quality stories here.
01:03:51 - Speaker B
Well, I hope I'm a halfway decent ballistic, then.
01:03:55 - Speaker A
I think so. I'm just really proud of you. So I want to be sure to say that I'm proud of you. And I think it's important for people to remember success doesn't happen overnight. And having the support of people around you, whether it's a spouse, a partner, friends, family, it's key for these entrepreneurs out there. It's key for me. I think it's key for you. And just tell those entrepreneurs in your life that you're proud of them. Even when I'm proud of you, even when we're not sure where it's all going right and how long it'll be. And if you decide this isn't for you, I'm still proud of you because you're following a dream and you're trying something out.
01:04:44 - Speaker B
Yes, this has been a dream since I was 18, probably before I was 18, to be a photographer. And when you're young, it was be a National Geographic photographer. But now that's kind of a you could still do it. And we've gone to speeches or shows where National Geographic photographer is talking and tells how he did it, but it's not the only way. And now there's so many avenues and yeah. The support of friends and family. I've had a lot so very grateful for everybody that has shown up and has told me, go after it. And we had people one more quick story. We had people buy magnets and they said they're going to put them on the refrigerator, and every time they look at, they're going to pray for me to be successful and to go after it. And I'm like, that's crazy. And Vivian got a little teary eyed, for sure.
01:05:38 - Speaker A
I'm getting a little teary eyed again.
01:05:40 - Speaker B
Yeah. Oh, can I make you cry right before we get off this thing? But I mean, the power of that hearing that it blows your mind and yeah, if you know someone that wants to do a business and you feel that they can do it, yeah, definitely support them. It's a big deal because the money doesn't always come in and you are scraping at times to make that money. So, yeah, just be supportive and be patient. It is a process, for sure.
01:06:10 - Speaker A
Awesome. All right, my friend. Thanks so much for being here. I love you.
01:06:16 - Speaker B
I love you, too. Can I tell them where to go to find.
01:06:20 - Speaker A
Course. Of course. So, Troy, if someone wants to find you, what's the best way to find you? Do a little self promotion here.
01:06:28 - Speaker B
So you can find me on Facebook at Cooley Photography. That would be K-U-H-L-I-I. Photography. And you can find me on Instagram, same handle. And you can go to cooleyphotography.com and you can find me there and you can feel free to make comments on my post. Message me. I'm always down for a conversation. I love photography. I love the outdoors. The outdoors has actually saved me. When I was young, I had a lot of anxiety and a panic attacks and just didn't want to leave the house. And a lot of my friends that have been on this journey with me for a while know that I wouldn't leave the house at times for like weeks or months. And so traveling and getting out of the city, it's made me a whole different person. I don't do meds. I'm a totally functioning adult now, and I can go out and do things, and it's great. So, yeah, just make sure that you are supporting your loved ones in whatever they do.
01:07:36 - Speaker A
Yeah, I agree. Well, thanks so much. We might have you back again, Missy.
01:07:41 - Speaker B
Maybe. And I'm out.
01:07:43 - Speaker A
All right.