Recording A Podcast On I-90 While Betting On A County Fair

Go Through It Or Grow

unknown 0:01

Oh boy, I'm Twin. This week's episode of Share of the Farmer Podcast is Like No One. Because this episode of the podcast is recorded inside the mother.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Dramatic pause, dramatic play. We are recording this episode of the podcast. Allowed by American Express. Because we currently roll South on I-90.

unknown 0:38

Well, I'm on American.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Let me tell you something. Everybody's through the difference is some people choose to go through it. Some choose to grow through it. It's completely yours. Which one do you choose?

SPEAKER_03 1:53

Hello.

Recording On The Road

SPEAKER_03 1:54

Oh my. Oh, it is true. It is today true. I'm gonna apologize in advance. I am going to put the disclaimer out there.

unknown 2:06

I don't know how the audio sounds. There is absolutely no way for me to test it. I am just recording as we go. Christmas, my lovely beautiful guy. My wifey bought me a uh wireless lapel mic that I can just plug right into my the iPhone. Clip the mic, which I have actually equipped to my seatbelt right now. It has a noise reduction code, so I'm trying to limit the noise as much as I can.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

And I am trying to multitask like an SLB, okay? Because you know me, and your boy is running late on the list and showing on time. He's bounding down, get this bus and trucking. We're gonna do what they always said couldn't be done. That's a little remix on Smokey and Abandon. So uh noise reduction mode intact. We are recording live in the Wild Proud American Express, which is something that, well, I never thought about recording in the bus.

unknown 3:09

That's one thing. But number two, definitely didn't think about doing it while I was rolling south.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

But the good news is I've about 86 straight miles ahead of me on I-90, followed by a bunch of other straight miles. As we are headed to the Erie County Fair, Hamburg, New York. Just to shy at the Buffalo Bill Stadium. You heard me talking about this. I got Brian Pomelo, H.

unknown 3:38

Tomaran back here. He has gotten the Calbousette South, and he is rocking and rolling the RV back there. Before I get off on a tangent, I must say a massive, heartfelt thank you to Brian and his family for uh allowing

Gratitude For The Teammates

unknown 3:55

him to leave, him taking the time, sacrificing the time to help allow Proud America chase this green of mine. And uh this trip, this journey, none of this would be impossible without Brian Hall Malone. An absolute brother of mine. It's crazy in this life, but I always say it how we can place on each other's path for a reason.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

We are so much closer now than we ever were when we worked together with Carly Davis and Neil Ship. Sharing a couple of sales desks and a college refrigerator. It's hard to imagine that our lives would be so intertwined, and he would be helping me to chase my dream, to support my family.

unknown 4:38

Brian, I love you, buddy, and I can't thank you enough for all that you do for me to make this possible. Truly amazing, man. I am rolling south to New York. Um, it has been an absolute whirlwind to make this happen. Y'all have been listening, you know this already. And um, I guess I spoiled the excitement early by letting you know that I'm recording with the express. Mill LPA Express. That means a large large

Fixing The Bus Under Pressure

unknown 5:10

is back in business. This Julio bus is rolling.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Getting this glove straightened out has been an absolute act of Congress. Big banking and Noah for Port Solutions, big thank you to my cousin Toby Donnegan, global mechanic and trailer. And a lot of late nights y'all heard me talk about it.

unknown 5:35

And I think my last report, I got the call that um you know the ABS development module that I purchased was uh was not good, but we decided to um buy brand new. Uh those new parts arrived, and uh we installed those parts, and then with us um wasn't responding to the new module and pump because it needed to be fin matched, so we had to bring it to our local semi-GMT or Lear CMT, have them get in there and flash everything. That took them a day longer than they expected, but um, I picked her up. With the stressful experience of only driving it home, uh made stuff with the time frame, knowing that uh really getting short on time. I didn't have much time for quality control. After loading the bus up one day before leaving, I took it for a little spin around town, and she smelled pretty hot. And uh that made me nervous, so I went for a little longer spin. The smell subsided. Uh, but there's nothing like a five-mile test ride on a $5,000 project, roughly, could be more when I get the final mills in.

SPEAKER_03 7:00

Um, and then taking a 10-hour journey. In the words of fellow leaders, I don't think butthole buckers right there, okay? And uh, it certainly did.

unknown 7:15

It added to the anxiety, it added to the stress, the worry, the frustration. But I must say we just executed our first stop of the day. I think we're maybe two or so hours into the trip, and uh everything's checking out right.

SPEAKER_03 7:32

Um, she's rolling good.

unknown 7:34

I haven't taken a ventilator. The old express is uh bowing down the miles. She's feeling good, a little hot on the floorboards, my feet be burning up a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

She's uh a little low on AC, okay? She's high on love. She's also high on noises.

unknown 7:55

This baby's got some MT tires on the back. And when I say MT, that is M as in Mary and T as in Tom as in terrain.

SPEAKER_03 8:06

And uh on the understate man, it's been a little while since I told this girl. Uh they're a little noisy, alright? But uh you might hear that highlight in the background, but we're doing it, we're rocking and rolling, we're working into it. We hope to get to the fairgrounds this evening, and um maybe be able to check in on our vendor spot, see if I can get my spot, make sure I pass all the all the inspection stuff, which has got me nervous in itself, and get into our camping spot and settle in and try to get some sleep.

unknown 8:40

I'm currently rolling on about three hours sleep, and uh this weekend has been a lot like that.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

So the bus took up a lot more time than um I had hoped for when it comes to the repairs. I was pretty hands-on on being there trying to help and maintain and figure things out, and even if I had to run the park stores and get things and do that, just to kind of help keep everybody on task and save as much money that uh time as possible. But in doing that, it has a me from taking care of all the product that

Building Inventory On No Sleep

SPEAKER_03 9:15

I wanted to take care of. But what I will say is and Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday, not the pressing side of life, but Friday night and Saturday night, the most, the the largest amount of items I've ever pressed in a day has to be I'm adding over 200 plus items to our inventory a day on Friday and Saturday.

unknown 9:43

Now, some of these items I'm pressing the front, then I'm pressing the back. And when I say pressing, I'm uh putting our image on our apparel.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

So you press it once for uh anywhere between 10 to 18 seconds, and then you open it, peel it off, and you re-press it for a few seconds, and then you click it and do the other side. So each item, if it's a front and a back, you're talking about four presses. Some items three uh locations, which would be six presses, meaning you might do a front, a back, and uh like a sleeve type of print. So each item is getting pressed four to six times, and I'm adding 200 plus a day. That's a lot of work, that's a lot of pressure, that's a lot of crazy. I have so much stuff that I've added to inventory, like legitimately, haven't even had the time to put it all into the computer. I hope we have some downtime tonight and put everything in the computer to get ourselves prepared and ready to go. Um it's a lot, it is a lot. Again, my beautiful bride took a couple of uh uh things on our own plate and decided to design a few things.

unknown 11:01

We have these super cool retro, I call them like gator eight coolers, the type of coolers you would see on the sideline of an NFL game of the magnificent, they probably still have them, but uh these big coolers had this idea of knocking them down a can size, like a 12-ounce size, I think like a 16-ounce size.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

So it's like you take your can and you're basically taking your monster can or your whole bush bike and your equipment in a um looks like a little mini gator eight cooler, red, white, and blue, tagged with a Lapron American, uh pendant on there, keychain style, thanks to our good friend Nick over dogwood designs.

unknown 11:42

Nick actually was a videographer for our wedding. I grew up since birth with his wife. So uh he blocked those out of the park for us. That's a new item to take you this week. Also, I got my hands on a bunch of um steel, I believe they're stainless steel, credit card wallet size um bottle openers.

SPEAKER_03 12:07

They had those engraved uh designs a lot of art American lifety, put the money up front for all of these. She believes that they're gonna sell, they're gonna do well. So, first thing, you get mama's money back. You know what I'm saying? Make that happen.

unknown 12:26

While that said, um it's been a lot. It's been an absolute lot. I don't think I've ever worked harder than I have in the past few days trying to get ready, branding all of this in. Also while trying to be the best dad I can be to a two-year-old, knowing that I'm gonna be leaving her for a couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

Trying to be the best husband I can be, and I know that my wife probably feels like I'm an absolute husband when I'm branding and do all these things. And I know I add some stress to my mother's plan a lot, maybe the most patient son she's ever had during these times, but I do all of this with my family in mind, I do all of this with my family first in mind, and you know, to try to show the wife that you know that that I'm sorry and that I love her and that I reach her everything, and water some flowers and put those on the table before I leave, and do the best I can to spend some

Family Strain And Time Guilt

SPEAKER_03 13:28

time with all of them before you leave. And I really want to try to get better at structuring things where like my last name before I leave, I actually enjoy my family. That would be nice. As opposed to enjoying them for an hour, it'd be nice to do it for a day, you know? This trip, this monumental task of getting myself and our business to this point, it hasn't been easy, it's been extremely challenging. And I gotta be honest, guys, I I sometimes find myself sitting at the dinner table or trying to close my eyes at night and I'm thinking about the announcing to-do list that's in front of me.

unknown 14:05

But I also start to have doubt about this event and what I have to live about.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

I start to experience a little of that self-sabotage, I start to feel a little bit of that uh imposter, like you just don't fit. Like maybe you're in over your head on this one. And uh I haven't felt in this way in a long time. And I think I'm just overwhelmed with a lot of it.

unknown 14:35

It just kind of feels like I'm swinging for the big leagues, like this is my major league call-up. You know, I'm about to go play shortstop for the Yankees, I'm about to I didn't work a first baseman.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

I'm about to play quarterback for the Cowboys, I mean defensive tackle.

unknown 14:54

And uh it's a lot, but

Vendor Rules Fuel Imposter Syndrome

unknown 14:58

I've allowed myself to be overwhelmed by a few things. There's one of them, there's a vendor portal that you have to go on, and there's this massive like 20 or 30 step checklist of things you have to complete. And I got my application, but I don't have all those things to complete. And there's I want to say four major requirements that they give you. I rented off my my actual uh vendor contract, but it's 40 or 15 pages. And uh, one of them is highlighted and it says that obviously paid in full, which I am. If you don't pay by a certain date, it's an 8% fee.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

If you don't pay by another date, it's a 12% fee. There's a mandatory meeting on Tuesday that if you don't attend it's $450 fine.

unknown 15:53

I've also supplied them with eight adequate insurance halfway there.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

All right, experience is the meeting working on insurance, which I I do not have. And um I am my own employee and I own my own business, so I don't know why that's required of me.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

And the next one is um New York State sales tax paper, which I've approved to charge New York State sales tax, but I can't find the sheet that shows that the actual certificate. In in Maine, I have an actual certificate, and in um um Connecticut I have one, and uh Florida I have one. Never really even asked to present those. Because they're asking me to uh present the certificate and posted it in my booth, and if I don't, there's a $50 fine. So I can't find that paperwork. I made an account last night and I couldn't find what I needed on there.

unknown 17:05

My wife spent a bunch of time trying to figure it out to stop. And uh my application comes in or my approval's on there, so I downloaded that PDF and it has my numbers that I could use to report, and uh, I print all those and I brought those and I'm gonna hope for the best. And hope that works. And it's scary to have all this money on the line, and you're doing something for the very first time, and you don't know what they're gonna say. Like, will I get there and they turn me away?

SPEAKER_03 17:33

And uh that that seriously is on my on my mind. And the other thing is, every vendor that's an outdoor vendor appears to have these coal tents, like a carnival-style coal tent, and most people would pay somebody to come and send them. And uh I don't have one of those tents, and they asked whether they approved it, and they said you can't have uh like an easy amount of meeting. I don't. I have a professional creative tent.

unknown 18:01

Okay, I uh one of these tents cost me about $5,000 a piece, I have $2,000.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

But they uh they have the appearance of an easy amount, and I'm nervous when I start putting these up.

unknown 18:12

Someone's gonna come in and question me. Someone's gonna come in and tell me you can't have these.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

And if they were to tell me that I can't have these and I can't overcome that argument, I'm DOA, then I'm arriving, but I'm going home with nothing. And I have mortgaged the farm to make this event happen. And I put this pressure on me to make this happen. And those unknowns have created this level of stress and anxiety that's boiled up into an imposter syndrome that's created this self-sabotage and mindset.

Praying Through Anxiety And Risk

SPEAKER_03 18:50

I just keep continuing to try to pray my way through it. I just keep trying to to take this frustration, to take this worry and anxiety, to take all of this and to give it to God and to say, you wouldn't have created this opportunity for me if you if if I couldn't handle this um this opportunity wouldn't have come to me, I wouldn't have applied for it, and it wouldn't have accepted me.

unknown 19:18

I just keep telling myself that.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

I and I literally just keep giving the worry and the stress and the frustration to him and saying, Oh, I need you to take this. Because all the energy that I could possibly muster up and possess at this moment is what's required of me to get there and to execute what I have set forth for myself. So that's what I'm doing. That's how I'm handling it.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

And I'm doing my absolute best to do my absolute best and to do this with my family, to make that crowd, to grow this business, and to bring it closer to the heights than we always expect it for. The risk is high, but I do believe the report is higher.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

As I run closer, I start having those conversations are you gonna pass this? Are you okay with that? Are you ready for this? Are you digging up for this?

unknown 20:30

All those things have been laying on me, and I just keep trying to push them out, and I just keep trying to break my way through it.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

And when you have those those elements of doubt, and you try to remain positive and productive, and you're dealing with all the continuous negative views about your people about trying to get the bus ready and added cost and more mishaps and uh more broken parts, all those things, man, it is a runaway freight train that can derail all of you, that can that can change you, that can destroy you, that can demotivate you, and that can ruin you. And I come on here today and talk my way through it and say that I'm proud of the fact I have pulled my way through it. I didn't finish everything on my to-do list, but I put this business in the absolute best possible position is a 216. We managed to get the Labrador American Express back on the road.

unknown 21:33

I've got my brother behind me in an RV, dedicating his next two weeks to helping me make this happen.

SPEAKER_03 21:41

I have my family at home praying for me, hoping spending the time they need to pick up my Slack and my duties. I've got everybody along the way to help me get me to the point that I make.

SPEAKER_02 21:58

And this is it. I love my rolling through passes.

Stepping Into The Biggest Event

unknown 22:23

I only once in my life experienced that amount of people out of the fair. That's when the event works when my arm flew up to Florida and it was a draw very fast. So that's a million plus attendant attraction and that amount of people was overwhelming.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

And to um think about what that was like to experience in the crowd to now being a part of the attraction.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

That short experience has added to a long life and there's a point. This is the moment I've been waiting for. And none of them, none of them have come even close. This one has the opportunity to be even greater.

unknown 24:05

I know when I go to my biggest events. I've done them before, I'm prepared for them, I know what to expect, and I know how to talk a lot of them work.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

This one is a live world. This has the opportunity to be greater than anything that I've ever done.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

There is nothing left to it.

SPEAKER_03 24:46

I don't tend to go longer and ramble. I think it is kind of a while that I got a microphone, quick top, seatbelt.

318 Weeks And Listener Thanks

SPEAKER_03 24:55

And I'm rolling the south now.

unknown 24:57

Shooting the podcast. Hopefully, it doesn't sound like an absolute platform. I'm gonna dedicate to you, okay?

SPEAKER_03 25:05

318 consecutive weeks. I can't miss one because your boy's rolling south.

unknown 25:14

Taking on the greatest freaking challenge he's ever taken on for his business. That's not a reason.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

There's no time for excuses. There's no crying at baseball. I got up at 5 a.m. this morning hoping that um I didn't record. That didn't happen.

unknown 25:30

I spent all that time on final touches. So this was what we had to do. I hope it sounds okay to you. And before I go, I must say that I thank and appreciate love each and every single one of you for all of your support.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Whether you only listen to and support the podcast, we reach out and support the brand, whether you buy a detail or a t-shirt, to share the post, help grow the mission. I thank each and every one of you. It's because of you that I get to be this worry.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

It's because of you that I can work through these moments of doubt and chase this dream to provide the life for my family that I've always wanted to provide.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

I truly, truly thank from the bottom of my heart each and every single one of you. Appreciate you. Thank you, supporting my American dream. I don't know, Bosch and my hands.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls.