Alyssa Hughes - Entrepreneur

Alyssa and I discuss the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur in today's economy.  We also talk about how she and her husband have shared their success with the community.  You might find some good lessons in this one.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Hello, I'm Jim Williams, and you're on the porch. My guest today is Alyssa Hughes. Alyssa considers herself an up-and-coming entrepreneur. She has that entrepreneurial spirit, and we're going to talk about a lot of irons that she has in the fire. Alyssa, thanks for coming to the porch.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Well, I'm excited to talk to you because obviously we know each other and I know a little bit about your background. Tell me how you wound up here in Marion.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

It's quite a story. I'll try to shorten it. So about um a little over a decade ago, so 13 years ago, uh, I had just finished up a master's degree. I was working on a second one. I was a staff sergeant in the military. I was working full-time, and I was full-blown ready to enter the rat race and have a normal life uh in Connecticut, by the way. I was born and raised in Connecticut. Oh. And um at the time I was working for a university, and I had just finished my years of service with the Army so I could finally leave the state because I was in the National Guard. So I was stuck in Connecticut by that contract. So anyway, I was I was ready to try something new. And I had just started dating my boyfriend Matt, who is now my husband, and I basically was like, look, I'm leaving. Do you want to come? And at that point, I hadn't even fully decided where I was going. But I had, like I said, I had finished my master's, I was applying, I was finishing a second one and applying for a doctorate because I wanted to be a licensed counselor. And the only place I applied to was NC State. Uh, they had a really cool program, and I did not get in. But I was like, I don't care, I'm going anyway. So, do you want to go or not? That was my question to Matt, and he said yes. So, much to our parents' dismay, because we had only been dating a couple months, um, he got on board with my crazy plan. We had no jobs lined up. And I was just like, you know, the Chapel Hill area sounds good. We'll find jobs, we'll save up some money because of course we figured it was super cheap to live in the South compared to Connecticut. And we weren't wrong about that at the time. This was like 2013. And uh, so we sight unseen signed a year-long lease in Carborough, North Carolina, which I don't know if you know anything about Carborough. No, it's right next to Chapel Hill. If the it's a super little artsy community, like a mini Asheville. So we came down here, um, got this little apartment, no jobs, ready to wing it. We're like, if we don't like it, we'll just come back in here. Who cares? We didn't have kids, it didn't matter. So, anyway, within six months, we were like, we're never going back. We just loved it down here. We love the people down here, we loved the artsy community. We love that there was a community at all. I mean, people just did not know their neighbors where we're from, not nearly as much as down here.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I can believe that.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Yeah. So, um, and for us, and it was way cheaper at the at the time. So we were like, you know, we can establish our lives here. This is great. So, anyway, while we were in Carborough, we started building stuff on our five by seven deck out of pallets. This is when Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines were really popular. So Matt was making wine racks, I was using wood stain to paint on canvases that he made of pallets. And with that, we started a home decor business that we called Simply Pallettes. And I mean, our rent was like 600 bucks. So we only needed to make a couple grand to like live the high life that we wanted down here. So we're we're building stuff on our five by seven deck, we're putting everything on Etsy. Um, we were flipping furniture, we'd be out at like 10 o'clock at night getting new bookshelves and things like that that people left on the side of the road and doing all that. So that was that was how we got started accidentally being self-employed. It was just out of necessity. And um, just a couple weeks after we started doing all that, we went to a coffee shop called Johnny's. That was right down the road from our apartment. And we're talking to the Barisas about what we were doing, and they're like, Oh, that's so cool. Have you ever sold your art? Like, would you sell it here? And we're like, Well, we sold online, but never, you know, at a place. So we started um hanging our palette art up in this coffee shop, and it was selling, which was wild because it was like $60, $80, you know. And uh so, so that started working out. So that kind of opened us up even more, like, oh, we could do local markets and things. And as we're at this coffee shop with our artwork up, because of course we started to frequent there even more. Um, we were talking and we're always talking about the story and how crazy it is that we're in North Carolina and we're selling palette art. Some guy overheard us, his name was Bruce, and he overheard us talking about what we were doing and the fact that we were doing this on our five by seven deck. And um, he's like, you know, I have a property in in Chapel Hill, and you're welcome to come over. And you I have a big garage that has tools in it you can use, and um, we'll just see what happens. Well, we ended up working full-time out of that man's shop for free for two years.

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

He let us build a tiny house on his property that we lived in, and just it again, that would never happen in the north. That's just crazy. But also to me, that's a God thing. Like, and at the time, my my husband and I weren't Christians, so we didn't realize it, but I look at that now, it's like, wow, what are the odds? Yeah. So we're working at this guy's house. Um, like I said, we ended up building a tiny house and living on his property for a little while. So he had five acres, and that is where we got introduced to the country lifestyle. He had chickens and a community garden and all that. And when I was growing up, I didn't we didn't have that. My mom's a woman of the suburbs, and she still is. And so like I I'll never forget, I was 26 years old living on this property, and Matt and I are still together, and uh, we're walking. We we got in the habit of walking the property every day, and we saw this little plant coming out of the the garden with the um like a little white flower and little things coming out of the flower. And I'm like, Matt, what is that like weird cone thing? He's like, Are you serious? I'm like, What do you mean? Yeah, like what is it? He's like, Alyssa, that's a strawberry. That's gonna be a strawberry. I was like, Are you kidding me? I had no clue at age 26 how a strawberry grew. And so I tell what I say is like we started living the life that we didn't know we needed. All of a sudden, we were hiking, we were having a community garden, we were with the chickens, we were just loving outside. So I say all that because that's how we ended up in Marion. After some time in Chapel Hill, we established our business. We had the couple years of tax returns that you need to apply for a home. But we knew we didn't want to stay in the Chapel Hill area. We wanted to be near the mountains. We were so tired of taking a whole weekend to go on a hike on the Blue Ridge.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

So yeah. So we but much our real estate agent hated us because she's like, Well, what town do you want to look at? We're like, we don't care as long as it's near the mountains. So there was this huge range. We were looking at Transylvania County all the way up to Boone. Like, we didn't care at all. But um, then we kind of narrowed in on the Waynesville area. We couldn't afford that. Asheville couldn't afford it, Black Mountain couldn't afford it. You know, so we ended up looking at Marion, and uh all we knew was that it was the town slogan. We had never been here, but we knew it was where Main Street meets the mountains. Right. And we're like, that sounds awesome. We didn't care that there were not a lot of job opportunities because we were still doing this home decor business. We didn't care about the school ratings, we thought we were gonna homeschool. So we were like, who cares? So we bought a house and you know, we were able to afford a four-bedroom house on nine acres.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

My goodness.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

And that is the house that we live in now. Um, but anyway, so that's how we ended up in Marion, just winging it. Uh, you'll you'll notice this theme in our lives, is like, let's try it. And uh, so that's how we ended up in Marion, and that was in uh 2017, March of 2017. And again, that's we had no kids. Uh, we were working from home, and then we started having children. I had my first daughter in 2018, then 2020, and then 2022. So we stayed essentially like hermits in our house until 2022, which is when our business our not the home decor business, but the clothing business, which we can talk about that. Right. Um, that business got so exponentially bigger that we had to get out of our house. So I didn't really even start becoming involved in town until three years ago.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

We'll try to get this chronologically so that we can talk about the clothing business. I want to talk about that. I'm gonna go back because you know I'm a veteran. In fact, I think I pinned you down. You did, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

With a pin that you designed. Uh yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

As a matter of fact, thanks for the plug. Your time in the National Guard, you were a staff sergeant. Now I've kind of forgotten, is that an E5 or E6?

SPEAKER_01 10:30

E6.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

E6.

SPEAKER_03 10:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

So how long were you in the National Guard?

SPEAKER_03 10:34

You're gonna laugh. So only six and a half years. Um, but when I joined the reason I was an E6 so quickly is because when I joined, I did really well at my ASVAB. So I went into aviation, and in doing that, I was put into an E6 slot even as an E1.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

So basically, as long as I got enough points to be um promoted, I was promoted. I didn't have to wait for anybody to leave. So that's why it happened so quickly because between my college credits, I had good physical fitness scores. Um, I did some competing for like soldier of the year and stuff. So I got some medals. All those things added up to points that allowed me to get promoted really quickly. And I had great leadership. I loved my unit. I had a a golden experience. I mean, I didn't I didn't deploy. It was like my mom's good. Yeah, my mom was so thrilled. You know, I was able to just get in, get some amazing skills, get a free college degree, more than one free college degree, and um just meet some amazing, amazing people, and then I got out. I didn't drag it out, I got out.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Yeah, yeah. I I got out when my time ended too. So while you were in there, did you do anything uh unusual? What I I'm not familiar with the National Guard actually. So did you do any kind of hurricane rescue or where were you stationed?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

So I was stationed in Connecticut.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Um I worked on helicopter radar systems. So nice. Yeah. So there's a big base up there, it's the 11th 1109th Avcrad. They work really closely with um Bradley Airport and the sub-base over there too. Um, so they had a lot of full-timers. I never went full time because I was in school full-time. Right. Um, but uh so I did I was a technician essentially, so that's what I did. Um, so we didn't get called for a lot of things like what you described, like hurricane stuff. We did have a ton of choppers down here for Helene. Oh, um but you know, you don't need a whole crew for that. It was like the pilot would go. Right. And I I remember at one point, um, I think it was an earthquake or something in um one of those little islands, not Jamaica. I I don't remember. I mean, this is a long time ago now. But uh, but so we almost went, some people went for that. I mean, my unit was huge, hundreds of people. So there were little pockets of people that would go, but it was primarily pilots and like a support crew that would get called out regularly. That's cool. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

You might be surprised to know that my unit was nine people.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Oh wow, yeah. We had hundreds. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

A little bit different. So well, thank you for your service. Oh, you're welcome. We always appreciate that. And it doesn't matter. We have someone uh that we mutually know that's in our rotary club, and uh one time we were doing a program about veterans. The veterans were speaking a little bit about a funny incident while they were in or something, and he wouldn't get up and speak. And I said, Well, why don't you want to get up and speak? And he said, Because I didn't do enough.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

Yeah, you know, that's how it feels. It it's like I feel bad, like when people say, like you just did, thank you for your service. Immediately when I say you're welcome, I feel like a jerk. Because and and I got out of it so much. I mean, that was one of the greatest experiences of my life. And I definitely did not earn it in the sense of, you know, I didn't deploy, I didn't have any time away from my family. I I just got in, I had an amazing time. I got to know amazing. There was just no I feel like I yeah, I didn't earn it. But I am thankful for it.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Well, here's the way I look at that when you're in uniform, whether you get to stay in the United States, which is great, or you get deployed, or you see action, it doesn't matter where you are in that chain, because if you're wearing the uniform of the country, you're ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

And that's what I hope people will thank us for. Not necessarily for killing people or doing work or whatever, but thank us for the fact that we put the uniform on and stood ready.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

And so when people thank you, you take it because you deserve it.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Okay, let's move on. So now you're in Marion and you got a house, and are you moving out of the palette business? Is that going away? What's going on?

SPEAKER_03 15:20

No, so we were still full-time with the home decor business. We did that a total of eight years.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Yeah. So that was going well. I mean, it we hustled, man. Matt and I, we didn't just do the palettes, we were watching dogs on the side. Um, there was a point where we sold Christmas trees, we would clean um houses. I mean, I sold zucchini bread on Facebook at one point. It was like ridiculous. But you did what you gotta do.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Right.

SPEAKER_03 15:48

And we did get to a point where there was some consistency. Um, so that was nice, but that's also when we started having kids. So then it was just madness. But um, anyway, so we did that until 2022. So we were doing the the home decor from 2014 all the way to 2022. Um, and basically what happened is that in 2020, so I had my daughter Cameron, who's two or who was two, and then I had a newborn Kaya. And so remember, I I said, you know, we were living the life I didn't know we needed. Matt and I were living this country lifestyle that was so speaking to our hearts, even though we hadn't even been looking for that. And uh, so when we got our house and Marion, like I said, it was on nine acres. So we were living this outdoor lifestyle. We actually inherited chickens with our house too. There were like 12 chickens and a rooster that we got with the house. And um, so right away we were in that. And our daughter was raised that way, and so we noticed really quickly how much it was doing for her in the sense of she was so excited by nature, but it was also calming for her and for us. Um, so that is kind of what started us thinking about the clothing line. So by then we had been doing the home decor stuff like six years, and you know, it was time to just I wanted a little bit of variety. I was honestly getting tired too of just constantly breathing in um the fumes of the wood stain because I was painting with wood stain for years. I don't know what damage it did, but all my kids came out with one head and ten fingers, so we're good, I think. But um, but yeah, I was getting tired of it. And you know, at that point, so Matt started by working in our basement, then we got an outbuilding and he started working the outbuilding. So we're always carrying wood from the outbuilding to the house and then back outside our house to dry. And it was just it was hard. It was a lot of like labor that no longer felt sustainable because we had our kids, and also we hit a limit. You know, we we could have hired someone to help us take up our pellets and sand things down, but I couldn't hire someone and teach them how to paint with wood stain. Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Um, are you still on Etsy?

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Yes, we were that Etsy was our biggest thing because Marion's not gonna be a big market for you. No, and we never by then we weren't even trying. Like I said, we were basically hermits. I mean, we did a couple um events, but never actually in Marion. We did a couple bigger like homestead shows in Virginia, but we were so over that too. Setting up and bringing our kids with it, setting up tents. Oh my gosh, it was horrible. I tell people now, if you see me out there selling t-shirts, because people ask me all the time, oh, are you gonna be selling t-shirts? No, no, I am not. If you see me selling t-shirts in 90 degree weather, something is wrong. We are tanking, and I need to do everything I can to get us back. Um, but anyway, so we were just, I was over it. We were ready for something new. So what's funny is most people don't know, and I I do just want to gloss over this because it's not important, but it's funny, is that the first thing that happened was Matt was like thinking about scalability. And he's like, Well, why don't you do art on a tablet so that you can, you know, put that on different things. And I am not a technology person, I'm like 37 going on 90, and I'm like, I don't need a tablet, blah, blah, blah. But Matt's also the most stubborn person that has ever been born. So he bought one anyway, and um, so I did practice with it a little bit. So I made these like really simple designs. I had always like drawn little cartoons and things as a kid. So I started making little designs, and I'm pretty sarcastic. So we were creating a business called Monday Mood Mugs.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 19:47

And it was, and we had that, like we bought that, Monday Mood Mugs.com. It could have been a thing, however, it didn't. But we were making little things that said like, I don't give a, and then it would have a picture of a duck, you know, or no problem, and it'd be a llama. So still along the the same premise of our home decor, yeah, like very neat.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Well did that go over?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Yeah, well, it was uh it actually was okay, but the uh the pricing just didn't work. Like people don't want to pay twenty dollars for a mug. And by the time we bought the mug, had it printed by someone else, um shipped the mug, and everyone wanted free shipping, and then they break. So the packaging and everything, I mean, we were gonna have to charge 20 bucks, so it just wasn't gonna work. And that's when we learned about sublimation because the images are sublimated onto a coffee mug, and that's the process we use with our t-shirts, but I'll get there in a second. So, anyway, we had this failed business, but we that's how we learned about sublimation, and we learned like it is fun to do the designing on the computer. So, what else can we use that's not gonna break in transit? Well, t-shirts. Oh, and how cool! Because our daughter loves tractors, loves ducks, loves chickens, loves all these things, and there wasn't really good clothing, especially for girls, that had realistic tractor. Like, I don't want this little cartoony thing, I want her daddy's tractor on that shirt. And so that's how it all started. Um, and we figured out that the setup for the business was like 400 bucks. If we need we just needed a heat press, the printer, the correct paper and the correct ink, and then we were off to the races because I already had the tablet. So for 400 bucks, we could get this started, and worst case scenario, we just make t-shirts for our kids and for ourselves forever. Who cares?

SPEAKER_00 21:39

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

So on a six foot folding table in the same room that I'm painting on the other side of it, we started making this stuff, and hopefully I don't think she'll ever listen to this. So the the reason we called it Barefoot Baby oh god, I shouldn't have it recorded. But so Matt's mom. My mother-in-law very much loved the idea of like having sweet little girls to read to and to do all those tea parties and dress them up. My daughter is like the best boy I ever could have asked for. She's running around naked. She's covered in mud. She's climbing trees like 15 feet up at age one and two. And um she was the barefoot baby. And so when I was getting hounded about why aren't you ever putting shoes on these kids? Um I decided, you know what? I'm gonna name my whole business after this concept, Barefoot Baby It Is. And so that is how we got the name Barefoot Baby. And so that started, like I said, around 2020. So Cameron was two, Kaya was a newborn, and all I did was add it to what we were already doing. So I started adding it to an Etsy store. And so that's how it started. Very small. We accidentally found this amazing blend of kids' clothing because it's actually really hard to find kid clothing compared to adults when you're talking about printing t-shirts. Most people don't go for kids stuff because all the equipment is made for adult stuff.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Okay, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Yeah, so so anyway, um, where was I going with that? So we got the stuff, we started it as a side gig. We had like 40 grand in the first year. So that was awesome. People were definitely responding.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

Well, yeah, that's okay for Marion.

SPEAKER_03 23:32

Yeah, yeah. And and it was adding on. So it's like, okay, this is great. Like, we'll just keep doing this. It was fun for me, it was something different, and it was so nice because I could stay clean and in the air conditioning, and I wasn't sniffing, you know, fumes. And um, so we started doing that. But what changed everything is that a couple years in, um, so now I have a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a newborn. My son Ron was born in April. And for some crazy reason, when he was one month old, I was like, you know, maybe, you know, we're we're ready to grow. And Matt Matt's aunt had emailed me, and she just was like, Hey, she she owns a feed store, like a bird feed store up in New Hampshire. And she's like, Have you ever heard of this website called Fair? He said, No. She's like, Well, that's where I get a lot of my stuff for the store, and maybe it's something you could look into. And I was like, Okay, it's worth a shot. Like, I knew what wholesale meant. We had looked at it for the home decor business, but because everything was made of palettes, it was so inconsistent. There people don't have room for these giant palette signs, and it was just different. But with the clothing, it takes up no room. You know, it's it's really easy to to everything looks consistent between one onesie to another. Um, so we'll try it. So I go on fair and I listed all the stuff we had in Etsy on that website, and it's F-A-I-R-E. Um, so it's just like Etsy, except it's business to business. So I go on there and I list everything. And that first month, which was again May of 2022, we had about $5,000 in sales. And I was like, wow, that's awesome. You know, because that like doubled our income. Wonderful. Then within the next six months, 500 stores ordered from us.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

And it was horrible. Yes, it was horrible. Um, I'm gonna try not to cry while I talk about it. Um, it was really bad. I I was just and I didn't stop it. I didn't know how, but I also didn't want to, but it was just a mess. Now we have these three kids. Matt and I are both living and working here together. We still have the home decor business. Um, we I had to buy clothing. I was buying quantities of six. Now I had to buy quantities of 150. And as soon as I'd get it, I'd be out. And it was just madness. I didn't know what I was doing. Right. I mean, this was not the the plan, but now we're here. And so um, and then the the the website that I used, the company that I used to buy the blank clothing reached out to me personally and they said, Hey, we can't fulfill your orders online anymore. You need to buy direct from still through us. They wouldn't give me the information, but you have to start ordering from overseas because what's happening is you are your one account is taking up all the inventory we have on our shelves and we can't service any of our other customers. So now, overnight, they're telling me that not only do I need to start buying hundreds at a time, which is a much different expense, I need to order three months ahead because now it's coming overseas on a boat, and then it's going to California, and then they're shipping it to me. And so all of a sudden, we had all these back orders. I mean, it was a nightmare. Oh my god. A nightmare. And I'm nursing, I'd be up in the middle of the night and I would just print t-shirts because I was up. And it was, and then it also became this horrible conversation of, hey Matt, this business that you and I started together out of love for everything, it's I can't do it anymore. So what are you gonna do? You're gonna quit it and come work for me? Because I'm out, and you can imagine how fun that was, right? You know, and um it was horrible.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

So what's he doing at that time?

SPEAKER_03 27:37

So he's still doing the full-time uh the home decor.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Okay, so he's over on the other side of the house.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yeah, but now I I'm like, I can't paint. So he's making canvases, he's making dog bowls, he's making all these products that need me to customize them.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

And um, so and then he started, you know, he'd help package, he'd help where he could with the t-shirts.

SPEAKER_00 28:03

So the business is starting to split up.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

Yeah. And it was and there were such heightened emotions from all of from both of us. The letting go, but also knowing that this was could be so much bigger, but like we didn't know where it was going.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Well, sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

And we had never had a business that was bigger than the two of us, right? And we didn't even know if we wanted one, but all of a sudden, my success is overtaking our house and making me really nasty and just hard to be around, but also just like disrespectful of everything that we had. So we had a lot of hard conversations, we worked through it, but it was it was hard. And um, what ended up happening is I went on Facebook and I posted something like, Does anyone know how to help me? Because remember, we're in Marion, but we don't know anybody. We did not go to church at the time. We didn't, our daughter went to school in Black Mountain, and we knew like three parents. We didn't, we had no community here because we were hermits in our house working and trying to survive raising our three kids.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Right.

SPEAKER_03 29:16

So I put it out on Facebook, and my brother out in Colorado was like, Hey, every town in the entire United States has an economic development office. Find them and call them. So I did. And who did I get on the phone? Freddie, who of course I thought wasn't there.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 29:35

I thought she was I thought Freddie, okay. And then she answers and I was like, hi, is Freddie there? She's like, This is her. And um, I said, Hey, I have a business, a home business. I'm drowning. And my brother in Colorado says you can help me. And she said, Okay. She said, Come on down. Um, I said, Okay, when? She said, Well, we're open now. When do you want to come today? I was like, Yeah, I'll be there in 20 minutes. And I was. And what's so funny is I actually parked in front of the office that I'm in now at 44 Keepow. Because I didn't, I didn't know there was even a space there, but I parked there. So I walk in, I go to Freddie, and I said, and she always says this when she tells a story. I'm like, just so you know, I might need to leave, or my husband's gonna come here with my baby because depending on how long I'm here, I'm gonna need to nurse him. And um so I laid out, I I showed her my phone, I pulled up fare and like the stats of what was going on. Because like I said, all of a sudden we had hundreds of stores. I'm backlogged and I'm crying. And I'm like, it's ruining my family. I don't know what to do. Like, I I just I need help. And she's looking at it and it's like, you've made $90,000 in sales in the last 30 days. And she's like, Alyssa, if only everyone had this problem. So she um so Freddie is who connected me to the resources. She was so great because she recognized this was not a gem class. Right. This was like past that. So she got me in touch with Mountain Bizworks and um out in Asheville, and uh they helped me tremendously. They got me a coach who still helps me to this day. He doesn't even work there anymore, but he's so cool. You would love him. He's a retired business guy, and he still comes once a month about um totally for free to help me and Matt just console and walk us through some things. Um, Robert is amazing. So I'm still with Robert, but anyway, so she got me the coaching. She also helped me talk to Alan, uh, the guy who owns the depot building.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:39

Um, that I'm in now. And we got the space, so we got out of our house because we were at that point, we were in two bedrooms, um, the whole basement, and we had the workshop. Um, and she also, I think it was Freddie, that really after we talked and figured out what it looked like, Matt and I were able to have the conversation of okay, we're done with SimplyPallettes. And um, that was hard. That was hard to let go of that. More I think for Matt than for me. Yeah. But looking back at it, it was, you know, we we built, we were accidental entrepreneurs and we built this great business that was would have sustained the two of us. But, you know, uh we there were there were bigger plans that we were not part of, and uh, but God had it lined up. So so anyway, we uh we started Barefoot Baby full time and we were officially out of the house as of January of 2023. So it's all pretty new. Um yeah, and then it just grew from there. So now we we're still in that same building. We moved into a bigger space within the building. Now we're I guess where we are now is where there used to be a furniture. Oh yeah. Dan Davis. Yeah, and so it's funny because all the track lights are still up in the ceiling. Oh and the floors are beautiful. We have these like beautiful old hardwood floors, but um, but yeah, and and so yeah, so that's such a long story. But that's that kind of brings us to where we are in the sense of the business. The business is the same as it was a few years ago, it's just that now it's it's growing, but in a very nice organic way. We we continued to ride the algorithm on fair for a while. We kind of plateaued there um probably by 2024, so a couple years in. And then uh the hurricane happened, and that was like where the foundation comes into play. So we can back talk to that in a second. Um, and then as of this past fall, we started moving toward sales reps. So now we have a rep group out in the Pacific Northwest, we have a rep group in the central Midwest. Um, we're about to hopefully sign on a southeast team. So now the growth is coming in a different way, which is great because we're you know diversifying.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

But do you have employees now in in the manufacturing part?

SPEAKER_03 34:04

Yeah, not many. We're very small, our output to team ratio is tremendous. So Matt and I both still work in there full time, and then we also have our lead Sarah, and it's funny because Sarah actually started helping me after that conversation with Freddie. She also hooked me up with Sarah, and uh so Sarah started working in my house. So, you know, at that time I think she was 19. So she's been with us four years, and so she came in and like we have kids in our house screaming. At one point, she came in. There was like a chicken that had accidentally made its way into a bedroom. It was like she had the dog on her feet. I mean, it was a wild ride for her, and to her credit, she stuck it out, and man, has she grown. And now she's our team lead, she runs the day-to-day a hundred percent. It's her, and then we also have two other girls, Elaine and Harley. So, right now it's just the five of us. Um, employees don't work more than 16 hours a week. It's it's a very part-time job, but it's great. They're all just they're just I don't know, they're just good, good people. We're very conscious now, more than ever, as we get better about hiring, about who we're hiring, in the sense of like, we're this little community of people that, you know, the work that we do isn't necessarily fun on its own. Like it's tedious, you're printing t-shirts, you're packaging t-shirts. It is what it is. But, you know, we play music and we're all I like to say we're all around the same age. They're much younger than I am. They're like Alyssa, we're not your age. They're like early 20s, but um, but we all have a good time together, just like we're one of the girls has a couple boys, so we're we're not completely separate in that we can't just have a good time and feel like a real team, and that has made such a difference, such a difference.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

Do you feel comfortable with your business now?

SPEAKER_03 35:58

Uh kind of. Yeah. So we recently we're kind of in scaling up 2.0 mode right now. So um we just got through a lot of it, which is great, but there was a it was tough for a few months ago. I guess what I would say is I'm I'm confident in our abilities now, which I wasn't before. And it caused so much stress and turmoil. But now that I now that I have that to look back on, that Matt and I figured it out and we were fine, even and Sarah did too. You know, Sarah was involved in that time. So now, when like just recently, what happened with these sales reps is they're successful. And so we signed on this store um in the Midwest called Shields.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Oh, yeah, we know them.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

You know them? Okay, sure. I had never even heard of them. Our our sales manager was like, Hey, I'm so excited for you. We just uh one of the reps says that he thinks you can get this account, and I'm like, I don't know what that is. But um, but turns out it's uh they have 36 stores, and so when the rep called us, they're like, but everything needs UPCs. We didn't have them. We had them on 10 designs. We have about 50 designs. Um, you need UPCs, you need to tag everything with the UPCs, uh, just all oh, we needed a catalog, we didn't have a catalog. I mean, we didn't need it, so we didn't have it, and so we came together as a team, and Sarah basically figured out how the heck they were gonna print all this stuff. Matt is like an AI wizard, so he's like creating all these systems with AI's help to like take the barcodes and put them on a tag and then give us a visual of all however many. We have like 3,000 of them in an instant.

SPEAKER_02 37:47

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 37:48

And so he I that's over my head, I can barely write an email, but he's doing that, and then I was doing the catalog because I I have the visual aspects down. So we all just I mean, we really worked hard for like a couple months there. And um the Shields Deer deal ended up because we worked so quickly, it happened. And they they said initially, they're like, Oh, we'll probably be starting you in like 14 stores. Um, so you know, figure like a $20,000 order or so, and that's still huge for us. Up to this point, our biggest account was Mass General store. Oh, and we love Mass. We've we've been with them for a few years now. Um, they're a wonderful, but uh so anyway, that but they only have 11 locations. So 14 to 16 stores was still huge for us. Well, then we got the or the PO and it was 31 stores, and it was over $50,000. And we're like, we didn't even have enough inventory. We had to air in inventory, so now we're going into our line of credit, like all of these things. But again, like at least we have a foundation now of what this looks like, right? So been there, done that uh to some extent. So it's been crazy, but we are so much better prepared at this point. Matt and I, the list of jobs that we know how to do now is so ridiculous from all these experiences. Like, what could this pop? Because now we look back and we're like, oh wow, like SimplyPallett's trained us in all these ways that help us now with barefoot baby. Yeah. Or even with the foundation. And so now, and now it's like, so what is this training us for? Like, it's scary, but it's it's cool.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

Let's go off the track a little bit. Describe one of these uh t-shirts for me.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

Okay. What's it look like? Like the designs and everything. Okay, so like, for example, um, we we always lean into the three categories where barefoot kids are, which is on the farm, uh, on the trail, and at the beach. So um, like one of our designs is a chicken that has a little hiking bag and hiking boots on, and it says free range. And so that's the kind of thing, and but it's all realistic. Like we we have um, we don't have super carto cartoony stuff. It's all like proportionate. We really try to to do stuff like that, or or then it will be more like we try to be unique and think of new twists on old things, but we also try to be traditional. So I say the free range chicken, which is a funny one, but um like we have a shell collector design, and it's just a whole bunch of really pretty shells, and then it just says collector underneath. So we're trying to do timeless stuff, we're trying to think of things that people liked before technology happened and what they'll still like in 50 years. Every a kid's a kid's a kid, right? You're gonna collect kids will collect shells until the end of time. I don't care how many tablets you give them, they like that. And um, that's kind of the whole premise of that we started the the clothing line on is and we said the mission of our clothing business was to bring nature and family back to childhood. We did that's the notion that we want to bring to the t-shirt. So every image we have a bug collector one, we have um a raccoon that says feral animal. Um we have uh a cow, just a cow face that says moo. I mean they're very simple, but the message is clear. Like these are for outdoor kids who are gonna go run around in the mud and possibly throw all these clothes off their bodies because they're just wild kids. And and that's the kind of childhood that we hope we're giving our kids and that we want people to continue to give their kids because we think it's important.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

What sizes, you know, Janet and I have no kids, thank goodness. So I don't know much about this. Do you start them at infancy and move them up to three or four years old?

SPEAKER_03 41:53

Yeah, so that's actually a great question. And that's a great question, especially because the name Barefoot Baby trips people up. And we have talked about changing it. We'll see what happens. But um, it started out with just onesies, because that's what my daughter had, which is why we called it Barefoot Baby.

SPEAKER_00 42:08

What in the world is a onesie?

SPEAKER_03 42:10

Oh, sorry, like a bodysuit, like it just um it's not a t-shirt, it has the bottom for their butts to go in and snaps. Um, so we have that. So that starts at zero to three, and then that goes up to 12 to 18. Then as our as we were putting all of the stuff out, this is towards the first year or two, people would be like, Well, I want that for my toddler, and now I want that for my kid. And so we started going bigger, bigger, bigger. So now that free range chicken that you I feel like you need in your life, we have it in size all the way up to adult XL. Oh, really? Yeah, so we're now a full family line solely because we just kept getting asked for bigger, bigger, bigger. I you know what's so crazy? So, Mass General is a great example. They started out with the kids' stuff, and I didn't even offer adult sizes. Yeah. So I'm like, I'm not gonna wear that. I don't want a cow shirt. Well, adults want some cow shirts. So now we added all the adult sizes, and now Mass General, when they order, they order 50% adults, and it's not different designs. It's the chickens, it's the cow, it's the duck duck goose. We have that on the thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:21

So if I wanted this free range t-shirt in an XL, you got it. So where do I go?

SPEAKER_03 43:28

You'd go to barefoot babyclothing.com.

SPEAKER_00 43:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 43:32

Um, you can pick up in our location, but it is solely manufacturing. Um, but some of the shirts are also available, like if we're talking for locally, like Flavors on Maine has some of our clothes. Oh, and they have baby through adult sizes.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

Um I could see me in a free range shirt.

SPEAKER_03 43:50

Yeah, we have a we have a lot of local or like Flavors on Main is the only one in Marion, but then like in Black Mountain, we have stuff at CW Moose, at Sassarats on Sutton. And Perisocial House.

SPEAKER_01 44:01

My God. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:02

And we try to make sure that they're not overlapping designs so that, you know, you don't have that direct competition right up the street. We try to be aware of that. It it gets harder as we get bigger to be thinking about that. But we do try to encourage that. So, and we also have not just clothing now. We have hats. We have kid hats and adult hats. We just added adult hats like two months ago. And it's patches that I design and we just adhere them. So we don't do customs patches or anything. But I design them and we have, you know, like 11 different designs or whatever. We have books. I've done children's books that have to, and a lot of the like our our best-selling chicken shirt has artwork from the book. All the different types of chickens in the book are on a t-shirt. So I sell way more t-shirts than I do books. Um, most people don't even know that I have books and workbooks. We did a workbook with the MTA um for Year of the Trail. So it's like a really cute kids' hiking book that's specific to North Carolina. And we just went ahead and I talked to Steve and we threw the MTA logo on there. So it's officially Barefoot Baby and MTA. So we do all sorts of stuff. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

I had no idea you were that involved. I mean, I didn't know that the business was that big.

SPEAKER_03 45:25

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's excellent. Yeah. It's been, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

How long do you think you're gonna have to hold on? Let's say you plateau here or you grow a little bit. How long before you feel like you're comfortable? Now, I'm asking you this question. Janet and I have owned several businesses, and we know you're never comfortable. You're always trying to get more. Yeah. At this point, do you feel successful?

SPEAKER_03 45:54

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:56

Yeah. Oh yeah. I I I am no longer even before the Shields order, but especially with the Shields order. The Shields thing was like if we can get 31 stores to buy from us regularly, which by the way, we shipped that out the Thursday before Memorial Day. We've already had three of the stores reorder.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

Really?

SPEAKER_03 46:19

Yeah. So it's going to do well there. That account alone is enough for me and for Matt to live our lives.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 46:29

So um, so growth is like, I just don't, I don't think about it. I wasn't looking even for the Shields order.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Right.

SPEAKER_03 46:39

Um it's just like sustain. And we we hit sustain a while ago. So we still want to grow. I mean, it's just frustrating to see like 2024 to 2025, there was no growth.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 46:54

We but we didn't sustain. Um we we had a little bit of a reduction um in Q1 because of the hurricane, because Mass didn't order. And there's they're such a big portion of our bottom line that them not ordering for six months showed. Um, but luckily they also later came back and made up for it, so which is great. Um, but we if we decided to just stay a small team and sustain, which takes its own level of work, but um, we'd be fine now. So I'm not, I'm no longer, we don't chase down anything. It just if it comes, it comes, which is great. Um it's a nice feeling with the Shields order, it was like a weight off my back. I don't have to sit here and try to strategically email all of my fare accounts to try to get them to order next month. It's just like we have enough to to sustain. Now, unfortunately, we're still waiting on the first payment, but because you know, you have net you have net uh 30 terms for most of these. Oh, yeah, yeah. And we're ordering overseas inventory. So we had and then we had to air in inventory because we can't wait three months for it. So, like, we're in this weird limbo state now where we're very much in the red, but once we start getting uh that back again, we'll be all set. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

So well, I have um people who listen to this podcast know that I have a niece and nephew in Lincoln, Nebraska, or a niece and her husband in Lincoln, Nebraska. And I'm gonna bet you that within the next couple of weeks, either my niece or my nephew is gonna have one of those shirts. Because Shields is prominent in Lincoln.

SPEAKER_03 48:43

Yeah, yeah. They have, I mean, when we actually looked at what that was, we're like, wow, and we had to, we just had a uh video shoot last last week. Man, every day feels like a month. Um, we had a video shoot last week because that's the first account we've ever had that were that asked for marketing assets, high definition photos and videos so that they can like play them in the store or or post them up in the store. You know, we've never had that before. So that's another expense in ourselves. And and I and I had to do another catalog, and now we're printing again in January. I mean, it's it's crazy. And to think of where now a Shields order is making Mass look small, which is crazy. Mass has been our by far biggest account for the last three years. And to think our our reps, the rep group that signed on Shields, they work with Bass Pro. Well, and and our our other rep is talking about buggies. I'm like, oh it's I I I just I just we don't even I just let it go let it go. I mean, what's gonna happen is gonna happen. And I'm just I'm so so so blessed to not go to bed worrying about how am I gonna get a sale the next day. It's like it's coming.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

I'm gonna touch on a subject that I told you we would not talk about, but I think it's a it's kind of important because of where we're gonna go here in the conversation. You told me that you felt when you came in here that you felt like you're on a heavenly path here. Yeah. Tell me about that, tell me why you feel that way.

SPEAKER_03 50:26

Yeah, so well, I kind of have to preface this by saying so um four years ago, Matt and I did not go to church at all. And um we found God in that hard place of marriage and business and everything. And it was basically just like we need some Jesus in our lives, like right now. And um, I say the South finally got us. We finally went to church, and um, but it was wonderful, it was a great experience. And um right away we we felt like looking back, all these things made sense. Like these the again, the fact that we had a guy willing to let us work in his workshop and then for free for years, and then we just happened to end up in Marion, and then we just happened to, you know, start a clothing company and we put it on fare at the exact most perfect time to have this incredible explosion. And I just happened to get Freddie on the phone, and there happens to be an office that's open right next door to her.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

Well, you know, Freddie might be an angel.

SPEAKER_03 51:38

I know I believe that. I 100% believe that and agree with that. And I'm and she, I mean, luckily not quite as much anymore, but there was a the whole first year. I mean, I'd go over to her with questions. I could just walk right over. I don't think that's an accident. There are so many things. The Shields thing, I mean, all of this is so unbelievable in how everything's lined up and how all of the experiences have led Matt and I to together have the perfect level of expertise so that we don't just completely drown. It can't be explained by any other reason in my head. I mean, it just can't.

SPEAKER_00 52:17

Well, I'm not here to accept or deny that. I just think that's an interesting way to look at it. And it's gonna lead me to the one of the next questions. Do you not think that here in Marion we have a depth of knowledge in this community that you may not see in the beginning? When you go to somebody like Freddie Killow, her depth of knowledge and understanding about businesses is amazing, don't you think?

SPEAKER_03 52:51

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Aren't you surprised at what you can get out of this little town of Marion? I mean, we're from San Diego and we see it all the time.

SPEAKER_03 52:59

Yeah. I think it's so sad to me because I think the people who see it are not the people who are raised here.

SPEAKER_00 53:06

That's an interesting point.

SPEAKER_03 53:07

Yeah, I think so. To me, like back in Connecticut where I was, I was surrounded by people who didn't want to be there. I like there, and there are people like that in Marion, people who are born and raised. Yes, they're like, Well, my family's here, and so I stay here and I hate it, and I can't afford it, and everything's going to, you know, hell in a handbasket and blah blah blah, whatever the phrase is. And everyone's complaining all the time. And oh, you're so lucky you moved. No, I'm not. First of all, no, I'm not lucky. Like, we took the risk.

SPEAKER_00 53:38

Entrepreneurs are not lucky.

SPEAKER_03 53:41

No, but you know, you're so lucky you're gone. Well, you could be gone, but okay. But they just sit there and complain and complain and complain, and they'll never leave for a variety of reasons. Yep. And that's that's fine. But then you move to somewhere else. And a place like Marion, because of the Blue Ridge and stuff, you have a large percentage of transplants. Um, and the transplants are the ones that are are making a big difference because we're choosing to be here. We know that there are other places in the world. We lived in them.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 54:13

And we don't have to stay here. We are choosing to live here because we see what you're talking about and we see the beauty and we see and we become a part of this community and we see how special and amazing it is. Unfortunately, there's also this large amount of people in Marion who are born and raised and who haven't gotten the chance. So I don't blame them. I think most people are just so close to it, they haven't gotten the chance to step away and see what a gem of a town we have and what great people are in it. They're just still caught up in their well, the crap from high school, or you know, whatever. The the junk that their parents passed down to them, whatever it is, they haven't stepped away to see, or they haven't tried to renew their look. And I think actually, um, I listened to Betsy and Blake's uh podcast that you did with them.

SPEAKER_00 55:07

Well, thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_03 55:08

And yeah, and uh they they mentioned this the fact that they moved away and they came back. Yes, and in that moving away, you see Marion's pretty awesome. Marion, it's not even just that it has potential, it's in some it definitely has potential to be more, but it has realized potential right here. You just have to look for it.

SPEAKER_00 55:31

Yes, you're absolutely right. And if you are smart enough to look for it, I I think you'll find it. Oh, yeah. However, maybe that's what separates the uh entrepreneur from the line worker. It's that ability to look at what's around you and to take advantage of those opportunities.

SPEAKER_03 55:52

Well, and the successful entrepreneur. Yes. Because I was actually, it's funny you say that. I just talked about this really briefly. We had an MBA meeting this morning, and um Cindy from Refinery13 is there.

SPEAKER_00 56:04

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 56:05

And Cindy's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 56:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 56:07

And uh and to me, that is why amidst all these people in town who either are just having a hard time, which everyone has hard times. So the ups and downs of business are very frustrating, and I get that. But I think there's this mentality, especially from newer entrepreneurs that I've noticed where they think that whole if we build it, they will come.

SPEAKER_00 56:32

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 56:33

And that's not how it is.

SPEAKER_00 56:35

That's correct.

SPEAKER_03 56:36

That's especially not how it is in a town where tourism is down.

SPEAKER_00 56:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 56:41

You know, and all the other factors that come with being in a small rural community. So, but what Cindy has done is create her own community out of her business. You know, she invites people in, she was so wonderful during Helene. But even when there is no hurricane, Cindy is putting herself out there and being a light to people and making them feel appreciated. Thank you for coming to my business. Not, hey, I'm in Marion, why aren't you supporting local, you jerk? She's she's not doing that.

SPEAKER_00 57:11

Right.

SPEAKER_03 57:12

She's she's like, thank you. She's gratitude and generosity. And I hope that people see that. That's what I'm striving for, especially with the foundation. I hope that it's coming through because I think that successful entrepreneurs understand that it's not about what I mean, it's gonna sound so cliche and you know, not about what the community for can do for me, but what can I do for the community, you know?

SPEAKER_00 57:40

But that is well, that's the right attitude to have.

SPEAKER_03 57:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:43

And you're right about Cindy. You you when you go in there, you always feel comfortable. Yeah. I've I've noticed that. All right. I wanted to get to this part because I know this next thing that we're gonna talk about is near and dear to your heart. Tell me about this foundation.

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Okay. So uh it's called the Barefoot Baby Foundation because we're really creative. Uh, and honestly, people confuse the two, and that's fine, because the mission's the same. So, like I told you before, the clothing company was created with a mission of bringing nature and family back to childhood. The foundation's mission is the same, but we add on through memories. So our whole the whole goal of the foundation is to get families outside together making memories. And it's because my family saw years ago when we accidentally became country folk here in Marion, um, we got so much out of it and that slower lifestyle. And and while we saw so many of our friends, you know, going out to eat and shoving a tablet in their kids' face, or you know, just disconnection, constant disconnection, con disconnection from each other, constant connection to the technology, or to everyone else who's not in my house right now. It's it's shocking. And um, so we wanted to remind people that kids are still kids, and even adults are still adults, you can still make the most impactful memories outside. In fact, I would challenge you, and I would challenge everyone listening to recall for a second one of your favorite childhood memories. Um just the first one that pops in your brain. Every almost everyone, almost with a hundred percent accuracy, I can tell you that regardless of your age, your background, it doesn't matter. The memory that you have in your head typically involves your family, nature, or both.

SPEAKER_00 59:55

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_03 59:56

And it doesn't matter. You could ask someone who's 20 and they'll say that. So this is not to say that, well, life's changing. It doesn't matter. You're not gonna remember your favorite day watching TV, period.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:10

You're just not.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:11

I mean, and and nowadays it's like think about it's so easy when you think about it, i if you are a parent, but even if you're not, you know, think about everything that you do, Jim, even during the week. Like you said, you you don't have kids, so this is easily relatable, even if you don't. Think about everything that you did in the last seven days, let's say. I'm assuming that if you had to pick one of your favorite moments out of the week, it wasn't you watching Netflix at night. No, it was probably sitting outside with a loved one or with a friend or whatever. That's that's universal. That is everywhere in the world. This is how humans were made. And it's so sad that as a society, we're forgetting that or dismissing it as like, well, if I had time, we'll make time, dude, because you're gonna die and you're not gonna have a camping trip to look back on with your kids. And meanwhile, that's your favorite memory of your whole life, and you're taking that from your kids.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:12

Yeah, that's a good point. That's a that's a real good point. My favorite memories are sitting on the front porch, as everyone who listens to this knows. Uh uh, Janet and I sit out there with our friends and we have coffee. But I'll tell you another memory. Just this morning, Janet and I are out in the rain at Starbucks having a coffee and a blueberry muffin, just being able to sit there. We're in the car because it's raining like cats and dogs.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:42

And we're able to just sit there and talk and enjoy our company, or at least I enjoy her company. You know, I don't know how it works the other way around, but but you're right. I d I could as much TV as we watch, and we do watch a lot more now that I don't get out as much. I don't remember anything about that. Yeah. That's nothing really.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:02

Yeah. Yeah. And now can you imagine if that was most of your childhood?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:07

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:08

You know, and the thing is, is I I I know that I've heard I'm I'm 37, so I'm in like this perfect middle ground where I was definitely I wasn't gardening when I was a kid, as we already went over. I didn't know what a strawberry grew, how a strawberry grew, but I did ride my bike around the neighborhood and I did go sledding, you know. Like I said, I'm from Connecticut, so we had a big sledding season, and um, I do have a lot of those great memories. Social media didn't come into play until I was in college. Yeah. A little bit in high school, but um, I didn't have a phone till I was 14. And uh, and even when I did, it was like, I mean, it didn't have camera, it didn't have internet, it didn't have any of that. So I didn't I wasn't exposed to that until I I say adulthood. Nowadays I look at an 18-year-old and I'm like, yeah, adult, okay. But at that point, I was like, I'm a grown-up now and I can have a phone. And um, but you know, kids now they're they're not having a childhood. Like 90% of their time is this part that they're never gonna remember because why would you? There's nothing good about it. Yes, it's horrible.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:20

I have a cousin who has uh three grown children now. He and I talk about that a lot because they were right in the phone age, uh, you know, and they're on the phone a lot. Um and it's a shame because they're missing out, I think, on a lot of the natural things.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:40

Uh but I I gotta get I gotta get back. Let's talk about this foundation some more. Is it a 501c3?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:48

Yeah, so it's a 501c3, and basically the only reason that Matt and I made it is because I had started doing some community outreach with the McDowell Trail Association. Um, Steve and I got together and we attacked onto their family day um as barefoot baby, the clothing company. Like, oh, we like kids, so we're just gonna fulfill this part for you guys. We made the foundation in the hopes of just tapping into the grants and all that kind of thing, and so that we could get donations to just try to expand the work that we did. That was the only reason we basically put it on paper rather than just doing community outreach through our for-profit. Okay. Um, and that was in April of 2024. And what's really crazy is that um the IRS normally, I guess it can take up to six months to approve a 501c3 that is brand new. And we even went through like there's a short form and a long form or something for donations. Matt does all the paperwork, so I don't know any of it. But um, it could have taken up to six months to get the paperwork finalized. We got it in 21 days.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:00

Really?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:00

Yeah. It and of course, what that did was make it so that by the time Hurricane Helene came along, we were already well established with the IRS. We were poised to do something that we hadn't done. And up to that, up to the hurricane, we had only we made a little park, like a nature park. We built it with the folks at um Lucky Strike Campground.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:24

Uh, right across the street where they just had the gold festival. There's a little nature park now. It's very small, and honestly, they did it, they had everything. They did everything. We just had kind of had to light a fire under them a little bit. Um, but it says like Miner's Meadow Nature Park, and it's this cute little thing. So we we had done that in the summer, right after getting the 501c3 approval. Um, but that was all we had done. And then all of a sudden the hurricane happened, and we're like, okay, well, what are we gonna do now? And um so that really was like a a thing where we We got, I don't, I don't know the words I'm looking for. We were in deep really quick with okay, now all of a sudden, like we can get grants, we can help. How how are how do what does that look like for us?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:12

And the first thing we did was start this little light um campaign. So basically, we at our house we didn't have power or water for nine days, which when you have three kids feels like forever. And uh so we were like, how are we gonna get through this day? And this is like literally within 24 hours of the hurricane ending. So we could get out a little bit, but we were stuck at home for the most part. Um, so we were like, you know, how fun would it be if we just took a few hundred bucks and went to Dollar J or Dollar Tree and got like a bunch of off-grid stuff: clay, board games, dominoes, cards, that kind of thing, which is so in line with what we're talking about anyway.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:56

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:57

So that's exactly what we did. Matt and I took 400 bucks of our own money. I went down there, I had a blast just buying them out of everything like that. And we dropped it off at a few of the um distribution locations in Old Fort, like the Country Davis store. Um, I can't remember. There were like three of them. And uh, so it was so fun. And I posted about it on my personal Facebook page. And a bunch of my family up in Connecticut was like, hey, you know, we would love to support this. And now, by the time it got to that, so we're talking about a few days, and now by that point, the water, the food, all that was pouring in from everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:35

So I I just I say that because I don't want people to think I told my family in Connecticut, like, don't give money to Red Cross, let's give them dominoes and board games. You know what I mean? While some people, meanwhile, were still stuck in the mud. Like, I mean, I don't want to make light, but I do want to point out that, you know, this wasn't not needed. It wasn't about survival, but it did help people that weren't as that were no longer in survival mode, but we're still not back to normal either. And anyway, so that started. We called it this little light. And so we did that for about a week. Um, and that was it. And then we got power, maybe two weeks, because then we got power back. Most other people in Marion got power back.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:15

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:16

And so we're like, okay, and and by then FEMA was there, like everybody was on the scene. So we're like, okay, we don't really need to keep doing this, so we're gonna be done. That same day, I got a phone call from my friend at church and she said, Hey, Alyssa, are you still collecting coloring books? That was one of the other big things that we got. And I was like, No, not really, but um, you know, if you have a few, I'll get them to someone who can hand them out or whatever. And she's like, Okay, that sounds good. I'll put them on your porch. So again, we were done. And uh she put like 600 coloring books on my porch. I'm not kidding. Like, she's she works for the one of the churches in town, so maybe like it came from that. I don't know, but I was like, okay, clearly God is not done with this little light. So we doubled down and we asked Gateway Wellness for a grant so that we could create memory boxes for families, and we got uh a small grant, and that's what we did. We created these memory boxes that um parents. I I wrote a book called Mountain Maid uh that had to do with my daughter's experience of the hurricane. I had that out three weeks after the hurricane. Because I'm like, what other person in Marion is it has a child who's at the right age to give them her perspective who can illustrate her own book and who has published it so I can get it out that fast. So I did it. And we put that book in there. Mass General Store still sells that book, by the way. Really? Um, yeah, but we put the book in there, we put a gratitude journal, and then we wanted parents using the mindset that they gathered from the book and from the gratitude, writing what they were thankful for post-hurricane. They then created a our like we had a banner in there with paint, and they were supposed to create a resiliency banner for their family. So we gave out those boxes, like 200 boxes. The go-go's, the library, the why, all these places. So again, that's part of this little light. And then that project ended. This is why I'm going all the way here, with the front porch project, which I don't know if you had heard about that, but we were creating porches for families in McDowell County. We wanted to give them the front porch experience that no one does anymore. So we announced that at our ribbon cutting in September of 2024. So we're like, we're gonna build porches. Two weeks later, we're we're demol like everything's devastated by the hurricane, and we're still talking about building front porches when people didn't have homes.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:46

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:47

And that stunk. And we were like, okay, do we still do this? Like, do we morph it? But then there were already other agencies that were worrying about the rebuilding of the homes.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:00

So we're like, you know what? This is still true. This is this fact that people are not on their front porches, and that we think that this is harming their actual like family life and community life is still real. Maybe now more than ever. So we went forward with it, and we ended up building. It was we only did three. Porches are way more complicated than in my head. We were like, we're gonna do 20 of them. But we did three, and um, the front porch project is how we kind of closed out the this little light program. And what we did was we put a little light on all the front porches. Oh, nice. Um but yeah, so that's just to say that we created the foundation for community outreach, but just like we do in our business, we stayed versatile. We we tried to morph to what the need was, and now we're back to the community outreach, doing these events that help people make memories outside of their families. So, like this Saturday, we're doing a beach day, um, which we're only able to do because we got a small grant from Rotary um for twelve hundred dollars. So we were able to buy sandcastle building stuff. We're gonna have sandcastle building competition, um, hula hoops, we got uh speakers for music, we have some other free play toys. Um, we have our Polaroid camera that we're ready to take pictures and give to the folks that are there, and they get to keep everything, they get to keep sandcastle stuff. Oh, wow because we want them to be able to do this again.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:30

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:31

Um, bring the memory home.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:33

I assume you're gonna do this over at the lake.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:35

Yeah, it'll be at Lake James in the Paddy's Creek swimming area. And um Kula is providing a free lunch.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:43

Really?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:44

Yep, they're they're partnered with us to bring totally free lunch. So um so all of a sudden you're gonna get the talk about this on Thursday too. I'm actually speaking to Rotary, but um it's amazing because when I thought of the Family Beach Day, most of these ideas just come from what I love with my kids.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:02

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:03

And um I didn't even I had been to Lake James like a couple times. Um so I thought about it and I applied for the Rotary grant. I I don't want to get in trouble, but I hadn't even talked to anybody at Lake James. I'm just like, this will happen. Why not? And so I got the grant. I'm like, okay, now I have to have it happen. So I called Nora over there, which actually you had um Nora was here a few weeks ago, yeah. Yeah. So I called her and she's like, okay, no one's ever done that before, but like that's we've had private events where the whole beach is only for that event. But I'm like, no, I want it to be open. We can have our event, but anyone from the community can come, whether they know about it or not. Let's get them in here.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:47

And so we did that, and and Nora was so excited and supportive of it. She brought it to the board of um the Friends of Lake James. Friends of Lake James. And thanks to their donation, it's also free entry that day. And in fact, yeah, and in fact, so they had to cap what their donation was, but a board member, uh, I don't know which one, felt so strongly that this is such a great project um that he is willing to personally cover any gap between what Friends of Lake James can donate and whatever the cost is for everyone to get in free that day.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:23

I can I can guess. I used to be on that board. So yeah, maybe.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:26

I have no idea. I don't even know who's on that board. But let me tell you, to take it from the an idea where I didn't even talk to anybody, to now our little twelve hundred dollar grant and partnerships, we can provide all of those things I just mentioned to open to the whole community on Saturday. It's just that's that's why I believe this is a God thing because it doesn't even make sense. It just like defies logic, and it's certainly not by me. Like I'm good at making connections to people, but these things just fall into my lap.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:02

Well, there again, when you talk about Nora, Janet and I hold her in high esteem. We've known her for many years. She's always been helpful in these kinds of projects, as well as taking care of the park. As you know, if you listen to the podcast, under her supervision, Lake James was park of the year one year. I mean, that's a big honor. Oh, yeah. And she had to work hard to make that happen.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:28

We're pretty uh proud to know her. This interests me a lot, a lot more than it did because Barefoot Baby really doesn't intrigue me very much. You know, if we had had a kid, I would have traded it for a motorcycle. That's where I am. But what you're doing for this community now I'm pretty doggone impressed with it.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:49

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:49

So what would uh the average person do if they wanted to help you out a little bit? Is there a way? Do you take donations? Do you have campaigns? How do you make this grow? Or is this something that's going to end one of these days? What what's your vision?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:06

Aaron Ross Powell That's a great question. So, first of all, for just to make sure I say it, if anyone wants to donate or get more information or both, um, barefootbabyfoundation.org is our website. Okay. And we do have it set up so that you can donate through there, whether you want to provide a general donation or to specific projects like the memory mobile, which I'll bring up now. Um, I can't believe I haven't brought that up yet. So the way I see this going, we we have now, this is our third year of doing some big projects within the community that are, I don't even think I'd be able to stop them if I wanted to at this point. Like the Halloween party. We started the countywide Halloween party um in October of 2024, right after the hurricane. We had about 750 people estimated there the first year. We had um over a thousand this second year. This year, um, we expect it to be even bigger because we are making sure that the trigger treating on Main Street is going to be the same night as the party. Um, so we're coordinating with the business owners in the chamber on Main. Good idea. Yeah. So the hope is they'll trigger treat and then end up at the party, which is this year going to be at the tailgate market. Um the last year was in at the depot. So we have more room now. So that party is going to be ongoing. Um, the New Year's party, we added on the family New Year's. Um, that was at 8 p.m. Uh, and the first year that we did it, we added it on. So I was just like, look, my kids are young. We're we're not trying to be out at midnight. Can I do that? And to the city's credit, and not just the city, to the city for this specific thing, but in general, that's also where it speaks to Marion. They let this random person who's only been on the scene for like a few years come through and start all these initiatives. And I hope that they're initiatives that continue for decades.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:14

Um, but we did the the family-friendly New Year's at 8 p.m. because I knew that's what I wanted as a parent, and I was willing to put my money where my mouth was and my time and make it happen. So we did that. And the first year we had about 1,200 people at our New Year's party, and there were only a couple hundred at midnight. So the second year, now we only do the the 8 p.m. ball drop, which the city is just, I just want to make a PSA for everyone who's listening to this. If you're one of the people that was upset about no midnight ball drop, the city can do whatever they want with the midnight ball drop. I am only willing to do the 8 p.m. one. So I just, if there isn't one, it's not because of me. I am not stopping anything. Um I don't want to throw them under the bus, but I just want to make sure it's clear. Like, I did not be like, don't do it. Um, but anyway, so to answer your question, like those events I hope will continue forever. Because I think that they make Marion more family friendly. And I think that that's something that most towns don't really think of. And it's because most of the people who are out there and that have time to do events don't also have little kids. I'm just a maniac, so I'm willing to do both. But most of the time, people who are running those events are well past the kids are moved out, and that's why they're able to take this on. So I feel like I bring a very different perspective than most people because I'm still very much in the trenches. My kids are eight, six, and four.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:46

But do you have anyone coming along behind you as harsh as it sounds? When you're gone, is the foundation gone? Or will there be people behind you?

SPEAKER_03 1:19:57

I hope there are people behind me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:00

Um, and so one of the very big initiatives that is just starting to come to fruition, but I actually first thought of it a couple of years ago, was the memory mobile. And so basically, I was talking to Matt about how difficult it is for me because I for every event that we do, I'm loading up my personal van and then driving it there and unloading it, sometimes with my kids, like all amiss all the stuff, sometimes not. I have to immediately unload it because I have to drive that van throughout the week. And it's just a pain in the butt. And so I was like, man, it'd be so cool if we just had like a much easier setup that could just be taken down easily and it was recognizable from a distance and all this stuff. And I'm speaking out loud to Matt. We're waiting for a church service to start, and I don't think that that's uh an accident that this is where the idea came about. And Matt's like, it sounds a lot like the bookmobile. And I immediately started crying. I was like, it's the memory mobile, that's it. And so I'm like, so the rest of the church service, I don't even know what the pastor said. I'm just like in my head thinking about the memory mobile and what that looks like. So the memory mobile is now a real thing, and it's getting worked on literally right now. And I'm praying that it is done in time to be there on Saturday. But basically, we have this big um, I don't know anything about vehicles, it's some sort of sprinter-looking type big white van. And it's wrapped, so it says that or that's what they're doing now, is wrapping it. So it says memory mobile and everything. And the whole idea behind the memory mobile is to bring the memories wherever they need to be made. So we're going to continue the events downtown because they're great and they allow bigger audiences and a lot of visibility. But there are people that will never go to an event on Main Street. Or, you know, there's just we want to be able to go into a neighborhood and make memories. I love the idea of going into a little, even like whether it's regular houses, a trailer park, whatever, go to some place that's underserved in our community and have a random pop-up block party with this memory.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:11

Oh, that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:12

You know, or pop up on a trailhead and we like we did a bear hunt before. So we give, you know, binoculars and a scavenger hunt page, and uh we say, you know, go just enhance the memory that people are already gonna make. Um, just pop up all over the place. We want this memory mobile to be everywhere. And so I say that because there are there's a lot of there seems to be a lot of interest in what that where that could go in terms of sponsorships and stuff. And for all I know, at some point there will be a memory mobile for McDowell County, Rutherford County, Polk County, you know, who knows? I I I am I am done trying to predict because everything that has happened has so far exceeded what I initially thought. But the memory mobile is going to be a great way for anybody to help because we are going to create a a memory menu. I'm really big on alliteration, apparently. I've I've realized a memory menu where you can pay, like, and you check out, and you so you can Jim Williams can go on and purchase a memory. So you see the menu and you say, Okay, I'm I'm okay with spending $150. So what can I get for that? So you go and it will say, like, popcorn at the library on Saturday, $150, or popsicles at the park, $150. Like, you know, and there will be different scales. Like, if if you want to go real crazy and sponsor the whole Halloween party, you'll be welcome to do it. But I want families to be able to participate too, not just businesses. We're always banging down the doors of all the businesses, you know, donation, donation. But families can participate. And the cool thing is, so let's say you check out that $150, you're like, I love the library, let's do popcorn at the library. So as a foundation, we have to within a calendar year um book that event. Now we'll try to do it as close to when you purchase as possible, but you know, we're limited. And also you could technically say pop schools at the park and you do that in September, and we don't have availability in October, and now we have to wait till the spring because of the weather. So we're giving ourselves a calendar year, but it it hopefully it won't be that long. We email you, thank you so much for your donation. We have put this on our calendar for this date. So then you know to check our social media because on that day you're gonna see exactly where your money went.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:43

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:43

And to me, that following the money and being so participatory in where your funds are going and knowing that it doesn't take a $5,000 donation, it truly will be $150 or whatever. Um that's where I see our foundation really expanding. So I want to keep having these annual events in McDowell at least two or three a year, just because this is where we are. This those are very impactful all at once. But to me, the memory mobile is the vision. It's those simplistic memories. We're bringing them to you. It's more about high impact, less people. That is the mission.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:22

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:23

Well, I know that you're keeping yourself in the public eye, which is what you have to do for a foundation. Yeah. And for a business, too. I think you're doing good. We're at an hour and a half already.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:35

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:36

Anything else you want to say?

SPEAKER_03 1:25:38

No, I think we got it all. Uh, and then some, and I'm so sorry to be if you've made it this far, congratulations. I should probably hand out a ribbon if you want to come by my office.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:48

I I have loved every minute of it. I have a quest. Plan on seeing me in one of those free range t-shirts.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:55

Free range chicken. You said XL.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:57

XL.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:57

All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:58

That's that's in my head now. I can I can see it. I like it already.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:03

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:04

Now I won't look like some little kid though, Will. I probably will.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:07

You might. It's okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:08

But you wouldn't bring them around.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:09

You'll be a barefoot baby all grown up. That's what it's about.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:13

Well, I'd be glad to be that. Anything else you want to say? Uh that you could think of, Will? Anything you want to plug, or you got any any activities coming up that you were you're looking for donation? Tell me once again about this memory thing. How do people contact you about that? Your website, I guess, huh?

SPEAKER_03 1:26:32

Yeah, right now on the website there's the launch mem a memory launch the memory mobile. Um, it's right on the front. So if you want to donate specifically to the memory mobile, you can. Um we do not yet have the memory menu up. Um, like I said, that the memory mobile is getting wrapped this week. So this is still very much new. I wouldn't expect the menu to be available for purchase until probably the early fall. Um unless I can get some time and figure that out sooner. But I would say by um the time school starts again, we'll have that up and running. For now, I mean, we we really do make a dollar stretch. So um, and we don't have any paid, no one is paid by our, we don't have that funding yet. So um you are not your dollars are not gonna go to my pocket, they're not gonna go to a board member's pocket. These are just going to the memories. So we have our beach day on Saturday, we have a pirate day uh at the Marion Public Pool July 10th. So to make it easy, even if you donate to the general fund, I'm telling you now that's that's where your dollars are gonna go to those next few events.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:42

Anyone that is interested in giving I guess any size donation you would take. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:48

And once again, they could go to barefootbabyfoundation.org.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:54

Barefootbabyfoundation.org.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:57

Yep, that's also where you can sign up to volunteer. People are welcome to send in a f we have a quick form so that I can contact them if they are interested in volunteering, and we can just send you an email and try to figure out you know when you're available and and you can do that.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:13

Well, I had no idea what this was going to turn out to be, and I want to thank you for coming up. I I'm not sure you knew either.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:21

No.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:22

It was just kind of a a blind chance that we took to get together. And I want to invite you back up.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:28

As things progress or an event comes up, come on up and let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:35

Okay. That sounds great.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:36

All right. Let me tell you, we've got a couple other things coming up. Um, I think I've promised you some lessons in photography. That's not too far in the future. Keep in mind that we're gonna do the ghost stories yet. I've heard that I have a couple of Bigfoot guys coming up uh who have actually seen the monster. We'll have to discuss that when they get here. I'm putting together the uh crew again to discuss the finding of the B-24 plane crash that happened here on the Blue Ridge Mountains in McDowell County. Hopefully, we can get that crew together and we'll talk about that. A lot of things are coming up. Alyssa Hughes, I want to thank you for coming up. This has been a really interesting talk. Thank you for your time, and I appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:24

Thank you, Jim. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:26

Alright, folks, that's about it. Join me next week on the board.