49: Catching Up with TJ! Owning a Tattoo Shop & Small Business Management!

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Welcome, welcome. This is Anna. And Calissa. And Sarah. And our guest TJ He sounds so scared. Yeah, that's cuz I was preparing Yep, Sarah always does this to us So what we do is we discuss the topic before the microphone is are actually and then we get hot talking and then Hannah We're spitting, you know Yeah, Wow here. Let's just Good. It's quiet. You were spitting. I don't say anything when he does it. You're notorious for loud noises. Okay, so yeah, we were spitting and um, so TJ is back on. Um, the second time back on. We talked about it and we were thinking like March. Do you remember when you were on last time? The beginning of the year. March or April maybe. Wow, so we opened in January. Oh, so way before that. Yeah, it was. Like a year ago. Yeah, probably right around So TJ is a tattoo artist and he just opened up a tattoo shop Yeah, 10 months, yeah, that is quite a while to think yeah, actually almost 11 How's it going it's going good it's going good good lots of clients it's yeah I know you were nervous and you were like, I don't you know, you were worried about like not getting people in the door. And I was like, no, you will have no problem. It's just nerve wracking when you start something and you hope people follow, but you also are not sure. You can't like rely on other people's loyalty. No, but it's been good. It's been really nice. I mean, we've. Solid for booking good. Usually it's almost two months ahead. So three yourself I do now and then two others, right? Yep. We just added that third one. Okay, probably a month ago Okay, how does uh, how do you hire someone do they like come in and be like, hi hire me? Yes, I was No, I Was gonna put out an article You That we were searching but then I also was like, I don't want a bunch of people. Yeah, Randy's just yeah Just coming in being like, yeah, I'm from the streets. Can I tattoo? Nothing wrong with the streets, but uh, no You're only like, you know What's that called? That's like your only thing that you've ever done. That's a little like present tattoo style, you know Yeah, like pen. Yeah. Like if you give me some pen and ink and tattoo, I'm probably not going to hire you. You don't want to stick and poke a person? No. If you're legit? Could be cool. Yeah, but if it's a pin, not so much. I've seen some pretty cool like Japanese. Yeah style. Yeah, like stick and poke Yeah, that would hurt so bad I was just showing someone a lady who was like a hundred and one and she was like the oldest stick and poke person up In the mountains. I saw that video. Was she um, I mean she's covered and people come from like everywhere to get stick and poke Yep, she gets she has like three three designs that you can pick up Pick from and she'll stick and poke you. Is she Peruvian from the mountains of Peru? Possibly. She's from the mountains. Yeah. I mean, Peru to the mountainous people. I mean, there are other mountains too. That's true. Oh my gosh. Speaking of Mount Everest, there's this guy from like the 1920s who has been missing since the 1920s and they found his leg. Not too long ago. What? Yeah, and then it finally was uncovered and they found it and it was in his boots still So that family although probably mostly dead in Mount Everest. Yeah. Oh, yeah It's kind of creepy that they just leave dead bodies there for land. Okay, I was gonna ask if that was not enough Although you know what? Another fun fact. I love it. There's a rule now that you have to take your poop with you. Yes, I saw that. Because when it melts and there's landslides, it's just all poo. Yeah. Oh Yeah, so you there's a rule now you have to take your poo with you. You can't just like leave it. So Why are we climbing Mount Everest? That's what I said. I'm like why? It's a really cool thing to do It's what the cool kids do. I mean I can still call it cool and I'm just looking at it, you know? Yeah, that's true. That's true. I'll look at it at a National Geographic and be like, cool, cool, cool. I don't know why people do the things I do, like cave diving? No. No. So scary. I watch some of that footage and I get claustrophobic. I'm like, I can't breathe. I can't do this. We, I mean we literally just went to Decorah. Yeah. Yeah. And there's a ice cave that's there. Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. I couldn't even go in it all the way. Yeah. Mm-Hmm, It's, and it's not even that bad. It's just like a tiny, it's really not that bad. Squeeze through. No. And it's just open and it's cold. And I'm like, no, no. You hear about, you hear about all those people who get like stuck inside the tiny tubes of like mines and caves and stuff, and they just die of suffocation in there because they can't get back out. And I'm like, oh, no. Yeah, like, sorry, no. Instant panic attack. Can't calm myself down. I end up just like, I will die. I would die. Starve to death in a tiny little hole. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so sad and I would just. Well, that one guy didn't, I mean, he was upside down for that long and they couldn't get him out. Like, no, that's my worst nightmare. The guy that had to cut his arm off. In the camera? No, no, no, no, no. This wasn't, I know, I'm just saying another guy, the guy that had to cut his arm off in the avr. Oh, 127 hours. I don't know that one. It's like a, it was like a tiny pocket knife and he just like cut his arm off. So they made a movie. James Franco played him. Yeah. James Franco. Really? Mm-Hmm. Is that the older one or the younger one? You guys have so many facts. You spend so much time on social media, but no, no, Kalissa is a working mom. And then I just, Kalissa knows things about people. Like she's like, do you follow this kind of account? Do you follow this kind of, I'm like, no, I don't. I follow just like random stupid stuff. But now I'm starting to like, Ooh, like, Caleb Hammer. Yeah. Mm-Hmm? I just discovered him. Oh, he's so cool. Do you follow Caleb Hammer? Yeah. Yes. He's the coolest. Ah, everyone knew about him. Yeah. He's the coolest because he is so funny. Okay. Here's what's crazy to me, though. Okay. So in our world, we all know who Caleb Hammer is. Mm-Hmm. He has a very similar sub subscriber account to Nick. Yeah, really? So there's, yes. Oh, I didn't know that. So there's people out there that just like, there's this many people who know Nick, as well as like, we know Caleb Hammer. And it's just like, that is weird. I know. We were talking at lunch the other day and I was like, Nick will always just be Nick. Like he'll never be like famous Nick. The people that know Nick are just like, who's Nick? Like it's not. We should probably offer some context. Um, Hannah's husband is a YouTuber and he's pretty popular. He has over a million subscribers. We were at music class and Nick was wearing one of his merch and it said tax this couch or something about tax and his couch or something. It was, if you don't know his YouTube, you wouldn't understand it. Yeah. It's just like, huh? And this mom looked over at Nick and she like, I saw her whisper to her husband, What's up with this shirt? And then the husband, he's just like, that's the fat electrician. And she was like, what? What did you say? He's like, the fat electrician. And this was like away from the room, but I could instantly see it, react, read the lips. And then he like, I saw him pull up a foam and then show her like this, like, see? And she goes, uh, Like, yeah, looking at the phone as we're sitting here. And I'm like, yeah, oh god. Yeah, it's funny. No, it's funny because when you guys came to my housewarming party, my mom took pictures and you guys were in it. Well, somebody commented and they're like, Oh, is that the fat electrician? I was like, Nick? Yeah. Exactly. So it's just quite, It's just Nick. Yeah, it's just Nick. It's not really that serious. Yeah, but some people are kind of crazy and they go berserk. Yeah. Yeah Media, man. Yeah. Media's crazy. Yeah, but I'm sure you like we'd all feel the same way if we all met Caleb Hammer. Oh, yeah Oh my god, I would ask Caleb Hammer. Probably wouldn't, but I'd be like, ooooh. Well, I mean still, like if you were to walk past you, you'd be like, you know, double looking like, huh? Who's that? I don't know if I'd recognize him in person to be honest. Oh, I think you would. I think you would. He's, okay. Yeah Caleb, if you're listening, give me some financial advice for my husband. I really want to go on his show, but I think I'm too normal. He takes he's, I'm a normie. Like he takes some strange, strange people. We don't have enough like debt and stuff. Yeah. Darn. Rack up some debt. Speaking of finances, tell us about, um, how the bookkeeping is going as far as like your height, you're responsible for payroll now and paying other people. And I just, wait, are you? Are you responsible for payroll or do they get paid by their clients and you take a chair fee? So I booth rent. I don't take, I don't, I don't want to deal with all that. To me, that's not. Is that what most of them do? Usually it's booth rent. Yeah. Um, just cause one, then they have to deal with all their clients and their pay and that kind of stuff. And then they can have the write offs for like IRS and they don't get screwed, you know? But then I don't get the headache of dealing with all of that. So it's kind of a nice. Two way street. Yeah. Yeah. Do you like doing books and stuff like that? Do you like bookkeeping? Because I'm like, I'm such a nerd like spreadsheets are my thing, budgeting is my thing. Like all, give me all the numbers. I'll run them all like. See I, uh, used to be. Mm hmm. I don't know if my, uh, lovely ADHD is just, like, out the window. Yeah. So I have my lovely receptionist. Oh, perfect. She's like my You should see a day when she's off. Yeah. So she's my, yeah. Then I pay her. Yeah. Um. But yeah when she's in it's like everything goes smooth, it's great Yeah, everything's written down and then she's gone and I'm like, oh, where's my water? It's fun some days put it that way Yeah, we do and you found a good one it sounds like yeah, yeah, she's also my sister in law So it kind of helps because she knows me. Yeah, I was like, hey Don't make Thanksgiving awkward! Is it Mackenzie? Yeah. Oh, right on. She's so cool. How do you know her? We went to school, well, not really. We were in choir together I should say. Oh, that's awesome! She's very cool. Cool! She's like the nicest person ever. She's really sweet. She is very nice. Very good like front of the house person. Cause when people walk in, they want like that nice Except when you make her mad, then it's just I had never seen her mad. Her smiling face is just like a little angel coming down. She's gonna really laugh when she hears that. She's just so sweet and cute. She is. She is. Pretty good one to have. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Is she tatted up now? She's getting there now. Okay. Yep. She, um, Has a huge like thigh piece now that we're working on so Yeah, she says a little bitey, but she's just and we took like her sunflowers from her garden to make it Cute i like that. Yeah, that's so sweet speaking of um meaningful tattoos. What's the coolest tattoo you've done lately? I've seen a couple Okay, so we need to have um screenshots of these sent to us so that we can post them because yeah in the story I want to like see them, you know, okay. Yeah. Oh, yeah I mean, my favorite lately is probably the big back piece that I'm working on. Oh, I think I saw that the other day. My goodness. How long did she sit for? Um, so I think it's three sessions now and we still have at least one more to go. Well, that's not bad. Four sessions. Oh my gosh. That is beautiful. She's a good sitter though. So she does not. Tell me what a bad sitter does. I don't know. Moves around. Sweaty and like constantly sweaty. Yeah. Sweaty. I've had some bad sweaters, man. I mean, I sweat bad, so I can't say nothing. Like, they're sweating on you? Like, profusely sweating on you? So, like, their endorphins are just In shock, so like your whole back is just wet. And so you have they have to lay down that uh, what's that paper? Or like a medical paper. Yeah The act of tattooing makes them sweat, is that correct? Yeah Oh, I didn't know that. like your nerves and stuff So it just. But like Nick he would sweat so bad that like Olivia would have to like redo the sheets. Yeah You like three or four times. And I'm like, what is wrong with you? Just lay there and he just can't, he just can't. Yeah. I will say women are definitely better with pain than men. Absolutely. That's fascinating. I need other studies done on this, this type of thing. I need to know all the facts that go. About what? I'm just like scrolling through his Instagram or doing this, just like about like the differences between like men and women with pain tolerance and all that kind of stuff. I'm just crazy. I've heard like they always say like man gold, you know? Oh, yeah Yeah, it's so like I just I'm curious. I just want to know stuff like that. I think it's fascinating Yeah, I can verify that women are much more Especially children, you know, I mean, yeah, usually I have like a first time tattooer come in She's like I have three kids and I'm like, you're fine. You're great. You're good. You're good. You got this. Yeah And how do they do? Oh, fine. They literally it's like another day. Yeah. Yeah They don't even move and like it's like all in your head sometimes like oh my gosh, it's gonna hurt It's gonna hurt but then like you just have to get rid of those voices. You need to like get in the zone I mean it is scary if you think like, oh, I'm getting a needle with some Some ink in there grinding on my skin. That's great, you know, but it's really it's really not that. Okay question and I wasn't Like remember that I wasn't here last time that you guys talked so like I don't know Oh, like recall what questions you asked and stuff, but I want to know Like what are your favorite kind of people to tattoo? Like what are they? Does that make sense? Describe your ideal client. Yeah. Like personality quirks, quirks, quirks, quirks, quirks, quirks. Do you know what I mean? Like what kind of stuff like really is like, Oh, this is the perfect. I love, okay. So there's like two type for tattooing. I love like the buttery skin. Oh, you can just do one stroke of the liner and it's in, don't have to go back. Don't have to redo it. Nothing like that. Personality. I love the wild stories. Give me something wild. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yep. Definitely. Talk or tattoo? Like give me the wildest tattoo or just a fun conversation? A fun conversation. Okay. Usually I really just love because some people have some wild, wild stories and I'm just like, why? You know, like there's just some shocking Stories that people tell yeah, and I love it. I eat it up. It's like I'm the therapist Yeah, I just get to be that I see you posting. I'm like Therapy or tattoo and sometimes I get both in the one. Oh, that's like when they say you're going through like a mental crisis And you need to cut your hair Some people get tattoos Yeah, you know, yeah, but a tattoo you probably wouldn't want to get is like maybe like your ex I refuse to do that. Really? Okay. I was gonna ask what you refuse to do The only time I ever have done it's like initials for like a ring or something even then I don't like doing it But yeah, otherwise if they're asked they're like, yeah, I want this Actually, was it two years ago? I had someone Want it on the side of their face Like right by their ear And I'm like, no. Yes, I will not be responsible. Sorry. Yeah, so I'm curious then like how much, I don't want to say control, but like how much input do you generally have? Like, do most people pretty much trust you or do you feel like you have to kind of bend over? It's 50 50, usually, I'm usually pretty bold, I will, I'm usually like up front, I'm like, yeah, no, that's not gonna work, or like, we have to change this, or that's gonna fade over time, that kind of thing. Were you always like that, or did you have to overcome that? Mmm. I know when you first start something in your career, you're a little like, okay, I'll do what you want. Especially when you're apprentice or something different because you're just trying to make your clientele. Yeah. So I'd say in the beginning, I definitely probably just let them walk on me, that kind of thing. But now I'm like, no, that's my name on that, so not gonna work, you know? Mm-Hmm. Yeah. So that's kind of where I'm at. Yeah. Yeah. What about apprentices? What does that look, what would that look like for your shop? Open to it. Are you not? So we actually do have an apprentice. Okay. The new person is in front of us. Yeah. He, no, this is another one. So we have four now. Oh yeah. So he has not started yet. He just moved from Maryland. Okay. It's actually Gage's brother. I was going to say Maryland. Like there's only one other person that I know from there. Gage. Yes. No. Um, yeah. So he just moved here and he's like brand new, needing to be taught everything. Oh my gosh. So he'll be drawing, drawing, and you know, learning, looking over the shoulder, all that good stuff. So. Is that, do you like that when they like look over your shoulder? Is it weird? It used to bother me when I first started now. Yeah, not so much. I'm so used to it now that you know, and plus it's your shop So it's like your reputation too. So I think it'd be kind of shitty if you were like, hey go over there and quit bothering me Yeah, no, I'm not gonna do that That's really mean. I could not do that to somebody. I know but like that's like the old Style tattoo shops though. I know they're all the getaway. Yeah. Yeah, they're just mean Oh, like why I don't know. I don't know if that was like the Yeah. Nobody heard that. You didn't hear anything. You didn't hear a word. Callista got that. I definitely heard it. You heard it? I definitely, absolutely, but that's exactly where my, my mind, my mind went also. That was like, I don't know if it was like the older times that they just thought that they had to be fricking rude or what. I feel like that's such a stereotypical, like thought about like tattoo people also. It is. Yeah. And like people not only that do tattoos, but who get to get them Yeah, well, I felt like back in the day that people that got tattoos were bikers more. Yeah bikers prisoners I mean that was the thing that was yeah, and I think that's why it was so looked down upon Yeah, the older generation like oh, you're just degenerates. Yeah Yeah, no for real for sure or like if you were in the Navy or something. Oh, yeah military military that kind of government branch Yeah, yeah Luckily now we're getting away from that. Yeah, it's a lot more widely accepted I would say. Cause it's more so becoming a culture rather than just a stipulation of these bikers or nasty people getting tattoos. But you can now create like an actual painting. You could never be a biker. I'd move my moped and then do the bike wave. I feel like the furthest you'd ever get is like leather pants. That's as far as you could ever go. You want a motorcycle? Oh gosh. No, I want the fringe jacket. Oh, yeah That'd be so cute actually Speaking of leather pants. Um, this is totally off topic but Craig and I are going as Peggy and Al Bundy from Married with Children. She's got the big red hair. Mm hmm Hold on must Google and I've got leather pants. It's Ed O'Neill from Modern Family. What's it called? Peggy and what? No, Al Bundy. Al Bundy. Al Bundy. Why does their last names have to be Bundy? I was thinking Ted Bundy and I'm like no All right Okay, this guy wait, he's like partially bald though You see? Craig has hair. Craig has hair. And oh, this lady. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Oh yeah. I love her. She's from um, Eight Simple Rules. Yes. That's what I was thinking of. Yeah. With John Ritter. I love her. So I'm very excited. And Yeah, it was kind of weird. Well, he had a heart attack. Yeah. But like the way they had to play it in the show. Yeah. Same with Glee when. Oh yeah. Jen died. Yeah. Montouth? Monteef? Yeah. I don't remember what his name was. Cory. Yeah, but I forget his last Monteith? Monteith. Montouf? Monteith. Did you watch Glee? Yeah, did you watch Glee? Are you a Gleek? What? No. Are you a Gleek? I was not, but I mean I've seen some parts. It's actually I forget how much younger you are than us. That's 24. Oh, that's not that young. But Glee was definitely like, that was like when I was in middle school. I would say. Wait, was our last guest 24 too? I was a freshman when it started. Dang. Oh, yes. And I know that. You would have been a sophomore. Okay. Yeah. I forgot how old we are. Yeah. Well, and I was just saying, our last guest I think was 24 too, so. Oh, yes. Mm-Hmm. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. I feel like once you for 30 crying and trying, we're having a lot of, yeah. But I feel like we're in similar life places, even though we're like different ages. I'm much older. Mindset. Yes. We should be, I think always been like that. Yeah. I always have, people are like, they always are like, what? How old are you? And I'm just like, Mm-Hmm. Oh, do you think I am? And they're like, oh, probably like. Upper twenties, early thirties. Nope. I feel like it, but no, I would put you definitely at like 30. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say 27. Yeah. That's usually what I get is 27, 28. Yeah. Right around there. I'm bad at guessing. I don't know. That's okay. I'll go with the flow then. I'd say also 27, 28. Usually I don't guess. Cause then I'm like, are they going to be mad at me? Right. And they always are. Yeah, I know. And I'm like, I say you're old or something. Yeah. I'm like, you're not old. Just kidding. I'm not guessing. Okay. This was my question before we started. I want, I don't want to, I don't want to know specifically about like the shop that you were at before, but I do want to know like what changes have you made in your own shop versus like the shop that you came from? Um, you know, like rules, regulations, even like, um, like your actual studio space, like differences there, all that kind of stuff. Yeah. I mean the setup's pretty similar because It is like standard sanitation, all that good stuff. So we do basically have the same. I like across the board then. Yeah. Most. Okay. Yeah. Well, if you're a good shop then. Yeah. Then you have good sanitation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard people mixing, you know, like their Opticide, which is the stuff to kill bad stuff. Oh no. And I'm like, don't mix that with water, please. That's disgusting. Oh, like to dilute it? Yeah. To save money? Oh no. Yeah. Some of these nails. You're being so lazy. I'm sorry. She's like clunking things around. Great. Now that we've acknowledged it, I don't have to edit it out. Okay. Let's talk rules and regulations then. Like in terms of like rules that you've created. That I've created. Yeah. Or like, do you know what I mean? Like more What kind of culture are you trying to? know like what is different about like, so you came from a very specific shop. That's where you, um, apprenticed, right? And so obviously like you're in your own place, you're with a smaller group of people, people that you're close with. And so I assume like the family dynamic, the culture dynamic is different. The rules maybe that you have are different because it's, like a different professional setting because that had a ton of people at one point. Yeah. And now you're like a small group. So like, I just want to know kind of like what you've done differently than what they did. Yeah. Um, I mean, as far as like the rules for like employee employees, it's just the difference between percentage and booth rental basically. Whereas they're kind of, they're, Own boss in a sense of their work type of thing. Um, whereas before we were getting paid like payroll wise. Oh, so I don't do that. So I don't have to deal with all that kind of stuff. Um, honestly, besides the other things, I don't really make up rules for them as long as you know, they abide by just respectful and no drama starting. Yeah, that's my drama is key. The main thing is my drama. I I told every single one of them including gauge If there is drama you are done I will not tolerate it Yeah, you are out keeping your peace. Yeah. Yeah, because I'm not doing it but like within the whole shop just like Just ruins relationships and like it's a professional just makes me not want to go back to work. Yeah Yeah, it really does it does seep into your clients to like your clients can see that they can sense it That's the tension. Yeah, I don't agree with and what travels faster You know word of mouth word of mouth if your clients get catch of something bad. Now they're going to be spreading rumors and all this other stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Even if you didn't do anything wrong, you are now going to be the bad guy because these people are talking around town, you know? So yeah, drama is probably my main rule is keep it out. I feel like that should be everybody's rule. Yeah, it should really should be. Some people will be bored. That's so true. And I think to some degree it's human nature to like, It is not necessarily a gossip, but to discuss things that like are upsetting to you or bother you. Right. So I get that. But I guess then it depends. Like it's, are we in a, are we in the professional setting where we shouldn't talk about that? Or like, are we hanging out as friends? Right. Like discussing our grievances, you know? Yeah. So, yeah, no, I mean, yeah, it's just a lot of keeping that out. And not allowing that to poison Other people's views and yeah, my all this stuff happened my manager. She won't add anyone on facebook. Oh, see that's genius yeah, she won't add anyone on facebook and When she texts you it's just strictly Professional like you want to hang out this weekend? No, none of that Yeah, that's true See, I don't think me personally. I don't think I could ever do that as much as it would be like a You Off your shoulder type of thing. I'm just not that kind of person. I think I think I have too much like empathy and Well, and you care about your em, your employees. Yeah, you know well on Gage I think I said that last time but Gage is like a brother now Yeah, you guys started off friends before you like opened. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Like if you came from a different place in that relationship, then yeah Like just hiring some random person based on their resume. Like he came with me when he didn't have to type of thing. So yeah, we're pretty close on that. So I think that is also a factor too. I mean with Abby, she's our newest artist. She actually fit in really well. It was really crazy. Um, kind of like she's been there the whole time. I have to get used to talking to two people because I'm so used to addressing Gage. I'm like, Gabby, sorry, I have to remember that both of you are here. So I can't wait till Leo joins. Cause now I'm gonna have to address. Sweet people! And you're just gonna keep building on and building on and then you're gonna get a bigger building and then you're gonna start a franchise. Have you thought about, like, expansion in terms of, um, piercings or anything like that? Or is that, like, a direction that you'd want to go in? I do have someone learning piercing currently, so I will be having a piercer. I think, um, I know last time. We're going to outgrow this building very quickly. Oh yeah, yeah. With your parking and everything in the parking lot. That's the worst part. I loved the building, loved the high ceilings. Everything was great. It's downtown. That parking is horrible. Parking anywhere downtown is terrible. Yes, it is. And this one's just like a tiny, I think we got, what? Eight spots, max seven. In which case then they'd have to park in the public parking. That's like a couple of blocks, which isn't bad. I mean, but you just have to cross that big highway. Yeah. Yeah. And that's including the workers. Like we park in that same parking lot too. So I'm like, this sucks. But speaking of last time, I know when piercer because he said it's more, um, um, Insurance, licensing, licensing, insurance, and which I wasn't, but the amount of piercing calls that we get a day. Oh, We honestly, I think we have at least six to seven calls a day, so it would be a day a bump for the extra revenue. Right. Well, and so have you gotten a little bit more confident then like, okay, maybe let's add it on now that I kind of know how to get. insurances and the business aspect of keeping that, you know, like safe for them, safe for me, safe for the building. I'm more comfortable with it because I am familiar with it now. So, okay. So kind of going off that, what's your hierarchy like? Like you're the boss, you're the owner. Yeah. What does that look like in terms of like kind of how you address the other people that are there? And like, are you engaged, right? Yeah. So you engage, um, Are like, do you go to him and be like, Hey, what's your opinion about this? Or like, what's your thought about this? I do. Okay. I do that. Sometimes kind of business partnery. Yeah. Just cat. Well, he tells me all the time. He's like, I did not. I would never want to deal with what you deal with. And I'm like, dude, you kind of do because I come to you with everything. But I do, I just get their opinions. Cause you know, sometimes they have, better thoughts than I do on some things or I can think on it and be like, Oh, but what if we include this with that? You know? Right. So yeah, it's kind of like a learning aspect. I mean, I have family members that do a lot of own their own businesses and own finances and stuff. So I've kind of learned from there and gone from that. Nice. Built on it. That's kind of nice. Yeah. It's good to have that kind of relationship where you can like lean on your Your people that you work with, but also like there's a separation too. Yeah, yeah. Clean on me, but not too far. You're not sending a job or I'll fire you. Oh man. That was good. That was really good. Yeah, that was a good one. That was like a 10 out of 10 on the jokes though. I'm so funny. Dang. Hilarious. Naturally hilarious. Dang. I have a question. Okay. So when I've interviewed, when I've interviewed for nursing jobs before, especially flight nursing, they have a crew, they have the crew or whatever. And so you have to interview with like the, it's a panel interview and you have to, it's mostly making sure that you're a good fit for the, Like a team that you're gonna be joining. Do you do that? Um, I do. Yeah. In like a sense, so, Abby, she reached out to me and asked if I had a spot. So, I had her come in and kind of chat with me and get to know me, meet Gage, you know, and kind of see that dynamic and see how they interacted and see how she did and she was very professional and I kind of liked that. How she did that when she came in, like off the bat, she was professional. She like laid it all out. She was honest. She was bold. And that's what I look for. So yeah, so kind of like that. And then I don't tell them yes or no right away. I just kind of talked with my other coworkers and went from there and they liked her too. So. What are some of the questions that you ask? Yeah. Curious. Do they bring a portfolio? I'm assuming. Yeah, definitely. I have to see like their art, like over the years, what they're working on. And then I usually ask like future goal. That's my main, like, what, where do you want to see yourself in like 10 years, five years, that kind of thing. Do you ask for recommendator or like, um, what's that called? References? References of like, um, like previous shop or like, like maybe whoever they're a print terry. And yes, but I don't know what the apprentice, a printer. Yeah, kind of. It's just depending on situations. Because she probably hasn't tattooed on a body yet. She has. Oh, she has. She did come from a different shop. Oh, okay. Okay, but explain that answer. Sarah's not letting it go. I was like, what does that mean? She, um, just didn't really care for herself in that spot. And she Lives in Mason City too, so she kind of wanted to be closer to her house, because she was in Forest City. Yeah, so she just didn't want to be there and She wanted to get a different Clyde and Tell base and so that's kind of well and She probably sees all the positive feedback that you get when you post something like you get a lot of reactions You get a lot of like, oh my gosh, it's amazing like you and Gage's artwork Yeah, so that yeah, it's also helpful to I like a social media presence. I do too Well, yeah, especially if you're looking for like what work they've created. Yeah, we're looking for an artist. Yeah, right Well, and people talk, I mean, like we said before, words of mouth, you know, yeah, words of mouth, words of the mouth. Speaking of your mouth, um, Oh, yes. You were going to start a podcast. I am. Yes, I'm getting there slowly. It has been a lot of like research trying to get that. And we are we've started like diving into like the content creating. Why is like on TikTok and that kind of stuff? Because I've been interested in it, but you just never know how to do it. Yeah, like you can't just. And I just, I just feel like you're so busy, like Like, okay, one of my questions was like, what is your peace? Like, what's a day like when you're not at work? Like, do you shut off your phone? Do you, like, how do you relax? Depending on the day. Sometimes I just kind of Put my phone away and just do things around the house But a lot of the times I am on my phone because I'm always if I'm not working I'm always uploading stuff I've done or now creating the tik toks or yeah, which Mackenzie has Thankfully helped me started like posting the tick tock. Yeah, but I see a lot of these shops You know gaining clientele from posting tick tocks and being active on social media because that's what they want They want you to be active with them. It's a community thing, you know, so it is very very busy life Yeah, honestly, I think if I didn't have that busy life. I would be Crazy. Mm hmm. I would be crazy. Especially around here. Yeah, like what else do you do here? Right, right Well, and I'm a busybody. I like to stay busy So give me stuff, you know, I'll complain. I'm gonna complain You're gonna hear me be mad and all these things, but I would not trade it Yeah, you like to keep it so then like doing the podcast wouldn't be extra work on you no, okay. No, honestly, I Don't fall asleep very well anyway, so when I don't fall asleep. I just either go edit pictures or See other people's videos and see like okay. What can we do? Something similar like that, or what can we create, write down ideas, you know? Mm-Hmm. So have you figured out more of like what you want your content to be for that? Yeah. So I like the humor I that clients getting on the table. Oh yeah. I saw that. Even tell you how thought that was to make. It was so good too. Just effortless. That was like one take done. Good. It was crazy. It was good. That was a good one. Yeah. And then I have to repost that one. Yes. We'll be yeah, sharing your artwork and your TikToks. I appreciate you guys. I really do. To our whole like 20 followers. You have to start somewhere, right? That's true. Yeah, you do. You can't. I mean, it's a You got to build yourself up type of mm hmm and then eventually once you hit that algorithm and then people see it They're like, yeah, this is great. Yeah, I love it. We're hilarious. Yes But what were you? Um, oh, I forgot what we were talking about. Sorry. I got ADHD. You can't ask me man Social media the tick tocks. Oh, yeah your content. What'd you decide by content for the podcast? So we're going off I know for sure, I have, I can't decide if I want to bring it to the shop or keep it at my house type of thing. That way everybody when they're there, cause I definitely want to have like a shop talk type of podcast and go from there. But I also have a best friend where, I don't know if you guys are like that or if you guys have a friend like that where you, when you're together. You just don't stop talking about things and then you end up making funny jokes. Yeah, and I think people would die To hear us talk so I might have her come in too So we're kind of playing on ideas of that right now as well But I mean you can make it a series like shop talk series versus yeah your regular content, right? That's kind of what I thought too My best advice is to just start. Yeah, true. Just put something out into the world. All you need is a Kalissa who does the research. Yeah, just start. Just do it. Just go for it. Find someone else to do it. All you need is a Kalissa who will do all the hard stuff and then you just show up and you're like, Alright, I'm ready. You would not be anywhere without Kalissa. I'm the talent. Kalissa is the whole brain for this operation. She's carrying me and Sarah. She is. Yeah, she is. There is always that one friend though. And you do need that one friend. Callista gets 10 stars out of 10 stars. Yes. Yes. If we were to get paid, she'd get paid the most. Oh yeah. Cause she wears the most hats. Literally and figuratively. The most what? Hats? Oh. Yeah, hats. Like she said, Tats. No. Well, she's got virgin skin, DJ. Oh yeah, that's right. I bet it's buttery soft too. It probably is. Do you moisturize? Yeah, explain buttery soft. I get it. It's not like this. I totally know what you're, yeah, yeah. She would know what you're talking about because like Sarah's crusty, I would hate to tattoos Nick. Crusty. Crusty, because Nick has, I'm sure you can just Thick skin. Yeah. That's like callous. Like that leathery. Yeah, because he's out in the sun a lot and stuff too, I think. Well, and he just sometimes skin. Yeah. He mankin. Yeah. I feel like it's, yeah, kind of. Yeah. Hannah, I'm sure would be great to tattoo. I'm sure cuz Hannah puts lotion on it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you probably would buttery soft It's the same with starting IVs as I hate starting them. Yes certain Like I hate needles, yeah, but I'll get a tattoo any day. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah that for that from several people That's gross, okay see but with that like shots and stuff that's like All the way in your skin, like you could hit my bone, and I don't like that. Sometimes they do if they're the big needles. No, see. No, we don't. Yes, yes, huh. Yes, huh. Yeah, see, you know, that's different. At least the new tattoo needles aren't like the top of your skin. They are the tiniest little, oh my gosh. They do like just, ugh, they'd feel terrible, but it's not the same. I was 17, I think. And me and my mom went to Waverly, Iowa, because we went to a wake, so we're dressed in like nice church clothes and everything. And I was, I was really wanting a tattoo and I'm like, Mom, before we go to the wake, can we go to this tattoo shop and like just talk to them? Like maybe I want to get a tattoo. She just rolled her eyes. Oh, fine. I'm surprised she even did it. You go in there and it's like a tattoo shop. Everyone's covered head to toe, face. It's like a tattoo shop. Um, cheek tattoos. The girl had pink hair, like tattoos all over. And then my mom goes, so how do you do a tattoo? And do you like, this is like a branding or something. I was so embarrassed. I wanted to die. I'm like, Oh, nevermind. We're leaving. Actually, I don't need a tattoo. I'm fine. We're going. I thought this was a flower shop. But, like, the receptionist was so nice and she's like, Well, here we have a little pamphlet on how it works, and it's just a tiny little needle that just kind of pokes your skin. And I'm like, thank you for being so nice. Thank you. And not laughing at my mom's face like, you idiot. It was so embarrassing and I'll never forget it either. The branding. Branding, seriously? I mean, but, like, I, I get it. I get it. I get it. She's a farm lady. So I get, I get why that was like, the coordination. She lived under a rock. Yeah. I didn't know a lot of things. Yeah. It happens. Now she knows a lot of stuff. Yeah. It happens. She's a genius. She does. She knows a lot of stuff. Should I start offering branding and be like, yes. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yellowstone up in this. Actually, that'd be kind of cool. And someone would probably do it too. They probably. I think it's kind of cool, honestly. You do it. I don't know if I could like handle that type of pain, but I don't like hate the idea. Like, it's kind of interesting. Like who was the first person that thought of tattoos and they were like, wow, imagine just sticking a needle with some ink in your side, your skin. Yeah. It was the people in the mountains. Okay. The Peruvian mountains. Egyptians. Did Egyptians have tattoos? Um, I don't know. You should know this. I should. You're right. I should. Pacific Islander people. Yeah, yeah Asian cultures. Yes, like Moana. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep, or Jason Momoa. Yep Momoa's from Iowa That's his heritage is Pacific Island, yeah, I'm sure yeah, yeah, I think he's born on like I Know it's like the second island of Hawaii, but I can't remember what it's called. He's like moved all over the place He has he really has so who knows big eyebrows Like literally his only famous role I think is Aquaman. Oh, no, I'm thinking Game of Thrones. Oh, yes. Where you first saw him on the small screen. Yeah, what was his name again? Um, I Drago? Yeah. Drago? No, I don't know why I know that because I've literally only watched I think it was Drago. Malfoy. No. Draco. That's like so Drago with a G. That doesn't sound right. That doesn't sound right. I'm pretty sure it is. No. Yeah, Drago? Drago. Drago. Well, we all have the world at our fingertips. That's true. Calissa's gonna Google it. The fact that I actually know that. I'm actually, I'm pretty sure that's right. Because I don't watch Caman. I don't either. The first three seasons were fine and then it just, I honestly really didn't think it was that bad. I just can't get into it. I think it takes some time. Oh, I'm like on episode seven, how much time does it take? Because you have to, like every time is a new episode. They like introduce new people. So once that you get past that part of it, I feel like it's fine. Drogo. There you go. Oh, well, that's really close enough way closer than anyone else. Yeah. No what happened was um a Game of Thrones They would always switch characters. Mm hmm. So Me and Nick we were watching it with the series So like when the new series came out, I'm like wait, who is this guy and they replace so many characters so different faces Oh, yeah, that one guy her three her Little special man that followed her around that ended up with the rock disease Yeah, and I'm like, who is this guy? Yeah, they like turn into a rock they get like crusty and turn into a rock So not tattooable skin. No, okay I could just see who is that? Uh guy that puts the lotion or like He puts the lotion Okay, the silence of the lambs. That's what i'm gonna think about you drop the basket into those Like you just give your clients like the clients are in the hole Like Not mean but I've been like do you moisturize? Really? Yeah, not like in a mean way, but I'm like you should Do that do that Like the nicest way possible, I'm like, yeah, I use this lotion that really makes my tattoos come to life You should try it in the next time No, just have a shelf of your favorite lotions and be like, here, you can purchase. Oh, I was gonna say, do you sell aftercare? Yeah, we do. Okay. What do you like? So I do like aquaphor for like the last option Only because it's still petroleum based and I'm not a petroleum fan. Same. Usually beeswax or like cocoa butter is what I always suggest. But we have a, we have a local lady that actually makes our stuff. Oh, Radicals. Shout her out. Yeah. Small business. Um, so it's, used to be Hanson Holistics, now it's like Homestead Highway. I feel like I've heard of that. Let me just look it up quick. Yeah. Homestead Highway. What do they all do? Lotions? Yeah, so she does quite a bit of stuff. I mean she has oils, lotions, The tattoo stuff obviously that we use and then I mean so she has a whole she has bath bombs and stuff I mean she does like quite a few. And it's all natural, no added Perfect Crap, that's not in today's. I know. Yeah, okay. Yep We'll give her a follow and then we'll shout her out. Put her in our stories. Remind me to look that up again later because I will forget. Just follow real quick. I did. Okay. She also has eggs on here. Oh, she has quails. Yes. Yes. Yep. I've heard quail eggs are so good for you. Are they? That's what I've heard. Hannah's face right now. I'm pretty sure they're the ones that can lay multiple eggs per day. They're so tiny. They're so little. They're just little tiny and they're so cute. They're all spotted. Look at these eggs. Oh, so cute. Aesthetically, I would just, you know, keep it on my shelf or something. Yeah, it's like a decor. Decor, yeah. But I wouldn't eat them. Why? It's just like a regular egg, except it's tiny. Okay, then eat an ostrich egg. I've also heard, actually I've heard that, um, duck eggs are also really good and exceptionally healthy. Duck eggs, I have heard that before. And usually if you have an egg allergy, they might be okay. Why do I think it's so, so weird to eat any other egg other than a chicken And then now I'm thinking about chicken eggs and it's like, why do we eat chicken eggs? I don't know. That's really weird too. I mean, they're unfertilized. It's not like you're eating a chicken. Yes. Yes. Well, that would be terrible, right? Yeah. God forbid you eat a chicken. Well, but like in a baby chicken, like when they're, you know, in the Yes. Yeah, that's one thing with like having chickens at home. Sometimes that happens. So you crack the egg. Yes You always have to crack it into a cup. Yes. Otherwise, you'll ruin your yep, and there's a chicken bits in there Mm hmm or the start of it. Yeah Me my brother My brother has chickens because they live in on an acreage. So, yeah. And I didn't know, so I was watching survivor and they gave them eggs for a treat. Yeah. And I'm like, wait, they don't have a fridge. How are they going to keep it cold? If they're unwashed, you don't have to keep them going, which is crazy. Actually, they last longer sometimes if you don't want, but in the grocery store, they're like, they're washed. Yeah, they're like old and like, yeah, so they have to be refrigerated, but I didn't know that like it from, from a chicken. Straight from a chicken tushy. Okay. They don't need to be, yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, why don't we just have chickens, Nick? So now he's looking into it. Shut up. I would love chickens. No, yeah, I had chickens growing up and like we'd get a new batch every Mother's Day And that was like our fun thing to do on Mother's Day is to go pick up the baby chicks We eat a lot of eggs. Do you yeah, you'd have to have so many chickens to give up with that many eggs I'm just thinking too They only lay like one egg per day if you're lucky. That's fine. Maybe you just want to look at them. Yeah Okay Oh my gosh, you should get the fluffy chickens. Yes. The silkies. Yes. Or the ones with feathers on their feet. Oh my gosh. Or the ones that have feathers. Yes, see Sarah. See, they're cute, but I just, and they're noisy. They always be clucking. I do not want to hear your roosters a block away, okay? Oh, so if you're in town, typically they don't allow roosters. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Just So usually it's just because they're afraid of cock fighting. Yeah. Oh, well. And storing the cock. Do do. Oh yeah. I'm just placing bets. Just kidding. Anna's gonna run a chicken ring in her. Oh, maybe that's next. Next venture. Oh God, yes. Fighting them chickens. Animal bedding. That's terrible. We're a donkey. Oh my gosh. You should get a goat. You should have goat milk. Goats are actually camel. Really cute. I've heard camel milk's really good. No. I have not. It's really good for you. Again, because you have a dairy issue, I've heard that it's very, very unlikely to give you dairy problems. So you should get a camel. Or a goat. I've heard donkeys are good too. Certain goats. Not all. Not all. I think A2 goats. Going on. Don't get like the Nigerian goats, they scream. And it's like, it sounds like them. It does, it sounds like them. I knew you were trouble when you were And then it's like, and now I'm lying on the cold hard ground. Do you guys know that guy on TikTok who sings to his goat? That is weird. Okay, that's how everyone That was just so weird. No, he's so I don't think I've seen that. He's like from another country. He doesn't really speak English, but he just sings American songs to his goat And it's so sweet All right, and his chickens. Mostly his goats, but definitely his chicken too. Yes, he should. It's really cute Say into mini dinosaurs. It's sweet. It's so sweet I'm like tearing up a little bit thinking about it. So sweet. He just seems like such a nice person. Oh my god. Watch, he does this on camera. He'll sing to his donkey or whatever. And then after the camera's like, get out of here. Go back in your pen. That goat is in love with him. There's no way. It's a goat, not a donkey. Listen. Okay, so I When we first met TJ like I didn't know what kind of like person like you were like you just kind of Kind of shy, but you loved Mooshu my dog. I did He's my neighbor. Yeah. Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. And then like, I just think you're the funniest person.'cause like when you add someone on Facebook, like you kind of scroll a little bit. Mm-Hmm. Like, just to kind of get a feel like who, are you a political person? Are you a comedy person or are you a ranter about your life? Boring Are, do you not post So I had to like screenshot and share like some of the funny, I'll post them on the stories too. Um. Things that you've like shared. Oh boy. What have I shared? I'm kind of nervous. Best friend, let's start a podcast. Us after the first episode. And it's got Jonah Hill and the sexy guy. Being arrested. Being arrested by the FBI. And I'm like hilarious and then You shared everyone on 4th of July and it's got a couple kissing with the fireworks in the back And I totally understand this and then our neighborhood and it's like people running away from fireworks We actually had an incident one year, oh no cuz we didn't at my house So, you know that tight little street right there. We got a big firework and this is before we knew We didn't take precautions, okay. Don't judge me. Um, we had one of those big cakes. Like, I don't even remember the grams on this sucker, but it popped off, went up great. I was like, wow, it knocked over and it started shooting at us. I have never seen so many people get up so fast and start running. Scary. That's very reminiscent of, um, my younger years when we would go to my family's farm and we'd set off fireworks. And it was like my teenage cousins at the time, like just doing stuff and I'm like, it's like Russian roulette. You're like, good luck. Are you going to lose a limb or are you going to lose a, yeah, a couple of times people got burned. That's for sure. Oh yes. Scary. Yeah, okay. This one is so true because I'm like this. Okay. You shared me. I'm an adult. Also me. Mom, what do I say when I get there? I still do that. Oh, me too. I call my mom about everything that I don't know. Everything. I mean, Google's right there, but I call my mom. This literally just happened. Me. My memory is so messed up. Person. How bad is it? How bad is what? How bad is what? I do that all the time. The casino needs to add an uno table. I'll fuck everybody up. I, so that's like one of my hidden talents. I can cream you at uno or tic tac toe. Tic tac toe, that's like a psychological thing. You have to, it's really you really, if you got it right, the people will be like, What? How are you doing that? I don't get that. And I'm like, You You know, no. I'm such a sore loser, like. Oh no, I am too, don't worry. If there's a chance I'll lose, like, I don't even want to play. I'll flip the table and everything and leave the room. That's so childish, you guys. Um, well. Get it together. I think it's like a competitive childhood thing cuz my dad never let me win and So now my kids will never win if I can get the chance to beat them I get it though Again, not like you are not winning. I don't care if you're three. I don't care if you're five. You are not And i've got like 12 kings and gus's has like one chip left I don't want to tell you man get better Losing's a part of life. Yeah. Yeah, i'm that's fair man. Everything's a life lesson. Yep All right. Um, anything else that we wanted to ask TJ? I don't think so. I got all my questions out. Yeah. We got some wishy washy ones too. Well, sometimes I'm like thinking and it's formulated in my mind, but then when I go to say it, I'm like, I don't think that makes sense. Okay. When's your opening for all of us to get a tattoo by you? Whenever you're ready. Whenever you are ready. Okay. Do we get a discount?'cause we're, oh, Sarah. Oh my God. The first God I know. I'm the first. She passed Walmart and asked for discount too. I mean, you put up with me two times now, so Yeah. I think you qualified for discount. No. You're like, oh yeah, this is discounted. Like off the charge I would, I could never. Maybe to people that are like irritating, you know, but to people that, Hey, what's your, um, what's that called? Your price range. Yeah. How do you, like, how do you charge? Like, do you charge by the hour? Do you charge by like size? And do you have it posted on the salon? Um, no, I usually, we post it on, um, like online. Okay. Like on the, and you do flash, right? Yeah. Yep. You know, so that might be where I'm at. Okay. Getting some flash. Yeah. Not of bodies, but of tattoo. for clarifying. Cause you were so confused. You never know, you never know. Flash me! TJ flashes you. Good enough! What's your flash price? Uh, they're kinda all over. Okay. Usually they're marked 20 30 percent though. Do you do the flashes? Everybody does. We have like our own personal boards. So before you leave then we'll have to um, Get everyone's Instagram handle so I can follow everyone so I know what I'm looking at here. Yeah. Because I only just followed you on Instagram. That's okay. We were friends on Facebook before, but I think that's where I was seeing your posts. Stuff and yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. I know. I'm just not. I'm just not a. What kind of friend are you? Social media lady. I'm not a social media lady. I'm sorry. That's okay. Sometimes it's too much. As she knows, every TikTok ever. Okay, but TikTok is so different. I don't follow people that I know on TikTok. I don't either. Anyone. No. It's not a interacting platform. No. No, I'm looking for people that I specifically do not know Like if I know you, see you later Yeah, I literally scroll on if it's someone I know Like, ew, get out of here Unless it's my niece, then I'd like to If you're a kid, I guess you're safe Oh man It's not for me So all of the links that we've been referencing will be attached in the, in the Instagram stories. Possibly if we can remember. We can make a highlight so that it's there for people who are a little late to the game when you're listening, although you should listen every Friday, right? On time. Geez. Yeah. Right on time. Sarah's running out of battery over here. And on that, what's our emoji at the end for listening? I'm so tired. I'm always a disco ball. A disco ball? I'm boring. Okay. No, I like that. That's nice. Yeah. I kind of wish I had a disco ball. Yeah. It's a Taylor, it's a Taylor Swift reference, but take that back. TJ got us these cute little gifts. Yes. They're so cute. The Stanley Straw cover. How So I'll be a teacup. A teacup. I want to be this flower. Sunflower. I want to be a sunflower. Do they have that on there? Let me look. Let's put a flower. No, sunflower specifically. No, I don't think there's a pink flower. Yes, there is. And TJ, what's your emoji? What's your favorite emoji? Is there a, uh, I like the melting face. That's usually what I send to everybody. Perfect. I love that. Just cause that's me. I'm like happy, but I'm like melting. Yeah. Yep. Relatable. I love it. It just caps all moods, so. It does. It really does. That's true. I feel like that's like the definition of 30 crying and trying is just that like, like sinky face. Oh, genius. Yeah. That's genius. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, this has been Kalissa. Hannah. Sarah. TJ. Bye. Bye.