What If Fear Is The Real Risk

Intro, Struggle, And Ice Cream

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Today on Share the Struggle Podcast, we recap the weekend and we talk about taking chances, stepping outside your comfort zones, and trusting your instincts. And what can happen when you stop letting fear make decisions for you? Because I think a lot of people are standing in front of the opportunities right now that feel unfamiliar. And that uncertainty alone is enough to keep you stuck. That and more on today's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast. Let me tell you something. Everybody struggles. The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it. The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life. Uncomfortable conversations. Uncomfortable conversations challenge you humble you and they build you. You are right when you need to be. What it do, what it do, what it hot did, did it do. Good Lord Almighty. Am I so excited to be with you? Oh it's true. It is damn true. Episode 307. That means 307 consecutive weeks we have gathered here together. In holy matrimony. That was for you.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

I'm busy eating my ice cream out of a tractor supply bucket. A mini bucket.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

I might have stumbled over the intro here because my tongue is still numb from lapping on a bucket of blue bunny over here. And uh my wife is eating ice cream out of a tractor supply bucket. Oh, let's just not like a five-gallon bucket, it's a little designer fashion TSC tractor supply bucket full of ice cream. And I recently learned that I'm annoying even when I eat ice cream.

SPEAKER_04 2:38

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Isn't there anything that I don't do that bot that doesn't bother you? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Don't get me started.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Good lord. Anyways, all dairy aside, here we are.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Good one.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Thanks. Glad somebody liked it. Didn't hear anybody else laugh. Oh wait, it's just us.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Dad joke.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Dad jokes for the win. Episode 307. You do the math. That means we've been doing this for a long time. Find all things podcast related at www.share the struggle podcast.com. Really hard to say all that with a frozen tongue. Find all things apparel related merchandise proudly made in USA sweetness at www.loudproudamerican.shop.

Breaking The Comfort Zone Schedule

SPEAKER_02 3:30

This week's episode of the podcast, we are going to recap the weekend that was. And we're going to discuss a little bit as we connect our recent experience with the business, with the brand, to everyday life and the task at hand for many of us. And really discuss how sometimes these things we should do or we'd like to do or maybe are interested in doing, we don't do them because they're not familiar. I want to tap into the fact that we tend to just stay comfortable and we don't dip ourselves into the unfamiliar and it keeps us stuck. And I'm gonna say I'm gonna leave things on keeping us stuck for a moment because I have felt for the past couple years that our routine and our schedule has kept us stuck. No offense to the places we've been, no offense to any of the customer base that we've made. But if you always do the same thing, you're always gonna get the same results. And we've been fortunate enough that every year we've experienced some growth and we've stepped out a little bit. We've gone to new places, we've even you know left our our our area codes, we've um traveled cross-country, we've done Florida, but every year we have these um times when we're making our schedule and we just go ahead and pencil in or shall I say blue pen in a bunch of events that are just guaranteed we're always gonna do them. And that's a safety net, it's a comfort zone. And uh this year we're kind of flying by the seat of our pants for a couple of reasons. Number one, I have thrown my I've cast a wide net trying to get into some big time events, and it hasn't worked out as of yet. And um, with that being said, we're trying to read and react to new opportunities, gauge new events, and try new things. So our schedule, I feel like we're not even filling some things until like a week out. It's been kind of kind of chaotic, but in some sense, some of it's refreshing. And I've been nervous to move away from those things on my schedule that I put in pen every single year, and here we are taking those those pillars off of our off of our playbook. And last week was a big example of that because for the past five or six years, we've done the exact same thing for Memorial Weekend.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Yeah, I mean, we've talked about this location before, it's about on the docket. Um, it just hasn't worked out.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Yeah, it hasn't really fit in yet, and the uncertainty with it is because we're leaving a guaranteed opportunity. We're leaving something that we can write it in the book and say, this is what we're gonna do, this is how it's gonna look, and I'm gonna come home every single night and spend each night in my bed, right? Challenging those things, looking at something different. It's unfamiliar. And every year we talk about it, but every year we're not bold enough to leave the familiar and take the opportunity of the unknown.

Fear, Outside Opinions, And Apology

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Last week on on this podcast, I mentioned that I spoke with some other vendors that cautioned me that I might be getting into a situation where um we should feel unsafe about our product, we should feel unsafe about our displays, that things get crazy, things get wild. And I let that get into my head. I let that get into my head, and I want to start today's show with a crotch first confessional. Okay. What? Crotch first. That's when you're confident. When you're confident and you go at it crotch first, okay? You just open the door, crotch first. Someone's gonna kick you in the Himalayas. It is what it is. You know what I'm saying? You're confident enough to just go in there.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Just I'd love to see you just walk that walk for a second.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

The arch of your back, you're probably just gonna sometimes you just go in the room with your denim, okay?

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Lots of men do that in general.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Well they lead with their wiener, not their Okay, this is off topic.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

I'm talking about confidence. I'm talking about confidence, crotch confidence, okay. Full frontal confessional, hand on the Cavela's catalog, out of the sky, truth from this guy right here.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

I can't believe that I allowed myself to get that worked up. Don't don't hmm me. You were in the same boat. You heard all the same things that we heard. I'm gonna issue an apology. We shouldn't, or I shouldn't have come on here and been like, hey, I'm a bit nervous about how this is gonna go. I shouldn't have been nervous. Last week I did say that I was gonna go into this with the confidence that God's plan, I know it's all gonna work out. Like it's I know it's gonna work out, everything's gonna be okay, but you have that risk of going somewhere new and not knowing. And I let outside opinions affect my own opinion of what I was getting into, and I couldn't have been more wrong about it. First off, it was a family environment, it was a great environment. Yeah, I don't have any questions about um how things are handled. No, I completely feel safe the entire time, everything was incredible. I'm gonna also say we met at a wet t-shirt contest. I drive thousands of miles to watch women wrestle in coleslaw and sell t-shirts at the same time. Um, I'm a different breed. I should never be uh uncomfortable in a situation. But I let so many other vendors and just patrons tell me, like, oh well, you should be you should be worried. And I said, Well, rednecks typically would be the ones to protect what it is that we do.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Rednecks would eat their ice cream out of a tractor supply mini bucket.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Amen to that, sister.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

So that's why I started this episode off by eating my ice cream out of a mini bucket.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Okay, mini bucket.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Bucket. I should have bought more. I want one for myself, but I bought it for the baby because I'm pretty envious not eating ice cream out of it on my end. Listen, it was either she was buying that for a dollar something, or she was buying a chicken for a dollar something. So we opted for the bucket.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Yeah, we don't need a chicken. I know.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Try telling the baby that she wanted to climb in with the chickens.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Spoiler alert, we had a great time.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah, we had a really great time. I mean, I feel like if you didn't go in to a new event nervous, it would be weird. Yeah, I'll take that. You know what I mean? Like it's it's your business, it's what keeps your lights on. Like, if you yeah, it's good to go into new events like with confidence, but if you go in like cocky, then yeah, I feel like I think we were cautiously optimistic. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Like we considered everything and said, hey, I think this has the potential of being better than what we've been doing. There's some risk here. And I think ultimately, if the queen isn't involved, if there is no little Paisley Renee involved here, I don't question it.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah, right. We would have hauled the camper there and we would have been there regardless. Yeah, we would have been elbow deep.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

So I think this is like this is a revelation here. This I think that my nervousness stems from the fact that I'm a dad now, right? And I'm trying to figure out where's my business safe, and so is my child at the same time. For sure. Valid. Um, so that was that was a big thing. And I think the fun the more I think about it, the bulk of my concern was is this gonna be an environment where my family is gonna be and enjoy it. Right. I'm thinking about the loudness for the little one. Um, as we were getting closer to it, I started to get a touch nostalgic over it because my mom went with us and she was telling stories about as me as a kid going there with my dad. I'm remembering my dad mud racing and how excited I was about it. But in the back of my mind, I'm also a little nervous because Paisley does not like loud noises, and we can't keep her um headphones on, like when it comes to we tried so many times during the fair for fireworks, and she would just rip them off.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

And I was just like, this not really sure how this is gonna go. But here we are. And I know that like when we've been at like um Bentley's before and the motorcycles are revving up, like she jumps and does not like it, gets nervous, and um, but then it's so weird because sometimes like she doesn't care about loud noises, but the moment that you take out your like power drill, she's like no, yeah, no, like yeah, so bizarre. So we were definitely on edge when it came to like ooh, how's this gonna work? Like we already had it, you know, set in our mind, like it's only like 27 minutes away from home. Yeah, not that we were counting, but we're like, all right, you can take one vehicle down, I'll bring an extra one myself just in case we need to bring her home. We like set up the trailer like you did. Um, this whole play yard. And like we had tips and tricks in our pocket. Well, we didn't need them.

SPEAKER_02 13:22

We didn't need that.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

None of them.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Before we get to that part, I want to say we rolled in to set up on Thursday night.

Setting Up At Proving Grounds

SPEAKER_02 13:30

You, me, and my mom, the baby, the trailer, and um, we were all talking it up and getting excited as we pulled in. There was we were waiting in line to get in, which was also a cool thing. And they were so awesome when we got there.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

We met uh Bethany and Randy, and they were tremendous.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Super sweet.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

They were so thankful that we were there. They showed us our spot. I loved the spot. Yeah, it was great. Right next to the track, uh fellow food vendor from the fairs across from us that we know. And um, I'm like, man, we can sell and still see the event.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Yeah, because we were told that where we were gonna be, we weren't gonna see any of the racing.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

That's what um it was behind us.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

It was incredible. Um a lot of times we go to events and we don't we we get to go to really cool events, but we don't see any of them.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Yeah, like when we're at the fair and they have like the mud trucks and stuff like in the arena, which good luck keeping the baby away from that.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Rodeos, we've been to rodeos, we're so far away.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

So far away.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

So when we put our first 10 up, we started sending the 10 up and we were like, I think we're missing an opportunity here.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Because we if we're replacing an event, I said to you, we can't replace that event if we don't have the same setup. So I said to you, I was like, listen, I would offer them to bring in the other 10, bring in more merchandise, because the guy had said to you, Randy had said to you, like, this is it. You guys are the only vendors, the only other one that we're waiting on is a barbecue guy. And um this is your space.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Yeah, leave your trailer here, fill it.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Yeah, park your car next to it, whatever you have to do. Um so I said to you, I was like, let's go home and get the other one. Yeah, like we only had one tent with us, but it's a one 20-foot tent, 20-foot tent.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

It's a good size tent.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

So we set that up as best that we could. And uh I went to him and said, Hey, if it's okay with you, I'm gonna go home and get another tent and I'll be back tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

In merch. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Yeah. So um He was like, Hell yeah. Right, they were stoked.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Yeah, please, please do.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

We came home and uh we left the trailer there, came home, and um I got up bright and early the next morning, made some more inventory that I needed to finish, and then I loaded the um truck up with everything like tent and you know, random things. I went up there by myself and did the second half of the display by myself, which was a few hours, and then I set up the play yard for the baby and and um just got things going to make our display look as as good as we could.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

Randy and Bethany were so genuine that they were like, you know, when you get to a vendor event, usually you're paid up and ready to go. Like we had just got in like just a couple of weeks ago. So, you know, you went to go pay them and they were like, no, we want you to make money. Yeah, make money. What? That doesn't that doesn't happen. Most places that no, no, they were so genuine, they were just like, no, we want you to make some money first, then you pay us because it's all about like family businesses. That's you can tell. Those are the vendors that are there, those are the people that are there. Like, when we were unloading, setting up the first tent, you and I both looked at each other and was like, this is where we're supposed to be. Like it just felt supposed to be, yeah. It just felt right.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Everything felt I started getting so excited when we were setting up on Thursday. Like I was giddy. I was like, man, I started thinking about me being here as a kid and the full circle moments and how much bigger it is now, but then being able to do this with my daughter and my wife, like my mom coming back to this. But the appreciation that they had for us being there, yeah. This might sound crazy to people that aren't vendors. Not a lot of places appreciate you. They just want your money and that's it. You're just filling a spot on their lawn, is really how a lot of vendors the best places go that vendors are part of their experience and they bring in the best ones and they treat them that way. Most events are not like that.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

We get that type of hospitality at Windsor Fair.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Windsor Fair for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

So um And that's a big fair.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

That's one of the that's the second largest fair in the state, but they know what they have and they understand yeah, exactly. It's not just the carnival, it's not just the rides.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Welcomed us, they appreciated us, and um oh man, I was I was just giddy. I was giddy about the opportunity, and I bet felt like I haven't been this excited going to a new event in a long time.

When People Show Up For You

SPEAKER_02 18:15

And um that excitement just continued to build because I find myself there on Friday setting up, and a fellow rolls up in a um cart, and um he pops off the cart and was like, Hey man, I can't believe you're here. And I was like, What do you mean? He's like, Man, I'm so excited that you're here. He's like, I went to Randy and I said, How the heck did you get Keith and Lau Proud American here for Memorial Weekend? And he's like, What do you mean, man? The guy reached out to me. Yeah, and uh you just feel good, you just feel special when someone comes to excited that you're there, and then also say, like, how did you get him? Yeah, you're like, What? You know what I mean? Like, here we are.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Who is he?

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Yeah, we're we're we're putting all of our eggs in these random baskets and nobody's getting back to us. So to go to an event and have them be like, How did you get this guy here? Um, talk about a change of pace that with that.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

I think it it also goes to show that like your business is growing and you're starting to get noticed more, like not for nothing, but just some small hometown vendors may not have gotten all the way out to Daytona or you know what I mean? Like been to Bentley's bike week. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I think like you've been in business for six years. So you've had the opportunity to kind of dabble and you know, get out there and grow your business. And I think that it's starting to it's starting to show because people are noticing you like that one time that guy on like FaceTime was like, Oh my god, you gotta stop in there. Like those sort of moments for you should be like powerful.

SPEAKER_02 19:54

I was pretty encouraged by what they were saying and the fact that they appreciated me being there and that I thought it was a big get for the venue. I will also say that I'm encouraged by the fact that there were several people that did go to this event because we were there.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

So not just our extended family from New York that that came out, um, our number ones, Jen.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Number one.

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Number one, yes, um, godparents, Jen and Lance coming out. I didn't, I just said it. Um, they um they came out for the you know, obviously to see us and um Jen and Len as well. But we had other customers that came out just because we were there and um they were like, Hey man, I'd never been here before. I figured I'd check it out because you're here.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

And your video.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Yeah, multiple people said, I saw your video, and I said, and I'm gonna go check this out. You're doing this new thing and we want to come see it, and they're like, Man, this is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

The other thing that you have to remember is that like a lot of people that we see are up up Main area because we do like Fryberg and Windsor and that sort of thing. We don't usually get down past like Bentley's.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

Well, the funny thing is is there's four separate couples that I can think of that are all Southern Maine from like Waterboro South.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Yeah. And I'd never been there. Oh, really? You know what I mean? I mean, I'd never been there.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

So um like heard about it, but never been.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Biddeford, Arrundel, Waterboro. I'm just thinking of some of the people I know off the top of my head that that came in. Um, for anybody listening that's not from Maine, that's the southern Maine area. This is a this is not very far for all of them. You know what I mean? And um, they came out for the first time, and I think that's what a good event wants vendors like us for that reason. Yeah, and we want to be there because they have their following that has never seen us.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Right. And then they also like a venue or facility that you're you know vending at the videos that you put out that draw publicity. In general, like they don't really know until after the event that it's happened. Like those videos have been posted, um, and they see like you advertising for them and stuff like that. And so I mean that gives um good publicity to them organically.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

No, nobody does that um side of things.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

But I mean I think it helps you get your name out there and be like, hey, come find us. Yeah, I'll like come check out this new event.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

You know what I mean? Like, I I want us to be like if we're doing an event together, then I want people to think that it's common ground, common values, common interests. Like, you know, let's help each other out here.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

I see what you did there.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

What's that?

SPEAKER_00 22:42

You said common ground.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

Is that improving ground? Yeah. Yeah, all right, I like that. Um yeah, so I was really excited about all of that. And it was also, I mean, not to stay on the tooting of our own horn scenario. Toot doot! Toot toot for too long, but don't say they'll do loud. There was um a few other vendors there. So I I just want to put this out there that there's two types of vendors that were there.

Vendor Competition And Display Respect

SPEAKER_02 23:13

There's food vendors, and the only other vendors are apparel vendors.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Well, there was also the um Fox trailer.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Yeah, so like parts, right? Yeah, yeah. So if you broke something, they're broke something, but if you're there shopping, you're either buying food or you're buying apparel. And it was the um Proving Grounds themselves selling their merchandise. There was another tent with your typical um apparel that you would see at a Ferrer festival. At a Fara Festival, right? And then there was a screen print company doing stuff right on site, and then there was us. So like plenty of competition, plenty of opportunities for your money when it comes to apparel. And we were probably the highest priced. Uh no, no, compared to might have been a little bit more, but their name is on so it's different. Then you know what I mean. Like I feel like if you go to a concert, you're buying, you know what I mean, that that artist apparel.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Their t-shirts were the same price, their sweatshirts were a little more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

But when it comes to the other people, I think we were almost twice as much.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, their sweatshirts were like $25 and we're $55 and $65. Yeah, like I know their little kid sweatshirts were were $25. So I don't I mean, maybe their sweatshirts, adult sweatshirts, were $50 as well. I don't really know. I didn't I didn't really give a good look. I only went in there just to get the baby's headphones. Yeah. Um, but um, I know that the little sweatshirt, because there was a small little monster truck sweatshirt that I looked at for the baby, um, because I thought it said proving grounds on the and it didn't, so I didn't end up buying it, but it was $25. And it was just a small little sweatshirt. Um, and I think that like the little t-shirt to go with it was like $17. So I would say that their prices were a little bit were definitely cheaper, but it's also yeah. Yeah. And it's also you have to remember the quality of that sweatshirt. Because some of their stuff, a lot a lot of their designs were made with a cricket.

SPEAKER_04 25:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Um, so like I could tell because I have a cricket that like some of the stuff was already like lifting. Um, so some of they had some koozies and they had some t-shirts and sweatshirts and stuff that were just your standard like two-stroke makes me horny. Sort of like t-shirts kind of five.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

I think they didn't show up until Saturday, actually. Um, or maybe it was later in the afternoon on Friday, a screen printing company.

SPEAKER_01 25:42

Oh, Saturday morning.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Yeah, Saturday morning, so the big day. And you came over and said, Oh, that one might actually hurt. There's a screen printing company popping in. And I saw the wife come by and peek at our stuff and keep going. And then you and the baby were out for a stroll, and I was sitting towards the back of the tent, like stole watching the track. And I saw the husband, who was obviously, you know, they're the owners, peeking in the tent, looking, and I'm and I didn't know if he was just sneaking to peek and not seeing, you know, just what's competition or what the scenario is.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

I mean, it's valid. We do the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

He's walking by and he doesn't see that I'm sitting there, and I go, Hey, how's it going? And he stops and goes, Man, you've got some great looking stuff in there. And I was like, Hey, well, thanks. I really appreciate it. He's like, No, I'm serious, man. Like, your your designs are great, the quality looks great, your presentation's awesome. Like, that's some great stuff, man. And I was like, Hey, thank you. Like, it means a lot, comes another business, you know?

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Another apparel business.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

Yeah, yeah. And then um, shortly after his wife comes over, introduces herself, starts talking to me, starts asking me questions. They're asking about our display, about our tents and stuff. I talked to this couple three or four separate times apiece throughout the day.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

I talked to them like once or twice. Yeah, because the baby was walking around and I was over there. Right.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

And so I talked to her.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

She had come in at one point and said, She's like, I just can't get over your display. She's like, My husband came in and said, We have to step up our game. And she's like, What do you mean? He's like, Go down there and look. She's like, and I just wanted to come in and look. And I was like, Well, I'm flattered, like, you don't appreciate that. And she's like, How long have you been in business? And I said, Six years, and she was blown away and said that they've been in business, or he's been doing it for over 40 years. And there's a lot of self-reflection here because a week ago before that, we're sitting down and I'm showing you another business that started the same time I did. Right. And she's a hundred times further ahead when it comes to selling online, having a storefront. Um, and I was comparing myself to that and saying, wow, I can't believe how much faster this lady's growing than me. To have somebody that's been in business for 40 something years look at me and be like, Wow, dude, you did all this in six years. It was a paint yourself full circle type of type of moment, you know.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

And um we were meant to be there.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

It's all yeah, God's divine timing.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

We had multiple conversations and it just made me feel good coming out of the weekend in general. And we just met a lot of great people. We met a lot of great customers. Um, some people met and knew us from fairs and they were excited to see us there, asking us if we would be back. We met a lot of new people. And um, on the business side of life, I just want to say that I came out of there extremely encouraged by a new customer base and by the success we had over the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 28:35

Yeah, for sure. For sure. It definitely like opened our eyes. Like we always talk about, you know, when people ask us, like, oh, where's your next event and stuff? And we always talk about it like, oh, you know, anything redneck, like we're there. But we really weren't.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

We're missing one of the biggest ones we could have.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

One of the biggest customer bases is dirt track.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

We've talked about I put this theory in my head that I needed to have the bus to do this event, and I was gonna sell off the side of the bus like a concert. Right. And I just imagine everything getting dirty. Yeah, you know what I mean? That wasn't the case.

SPEAKER_01 29:08

I mean, there was a little bit of dirt, but not that big of a deal. No different than us going to like a horse arena and you know, so the fair. Right, right. The way that we set up that, you know, it blocked most of the um dirt was was good. I think it was a different layout and it was good traffic-wise, like you could come in one side and go out the other, and there wasn't like a like a log flu.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

It's a total different layout for us.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah, but it worked though. I thought it was great. Like normally we keep the whole front open so that if you're walking by you can see, but like we didn't have that foot traffic. So for people to be like up on the hill and looking down, like it ended up working out really well. Um it was different, but it also helps us kind of keep our open mind on setting up differently versus just the standard way every time.

SPEAKER_02 29:55

I you know, I had a map, and I'm like, I'm gonna go in and I'm just gonna bang it out exactly this way. And then when I got there, I'm just like, oh, wait a minute, no.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Yeah, you FaceTimed.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Three doors open. I FaceTimed you have a meltdown, trying to figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

So um and then the guy that was supposed to be across from us that they kept told us to keep the door open, they moved them. So we're like, oh god, now we're really not gonna get any traffic over there. But I thought I thought the layout worked out really well, and it gave people the opportunity to kind of move around freely but not feel boxed in. Yeah. Um, like they had the chance to kind of look at everything without us like standing there, like hounding them. And we also had space for our rounders, which sometimes we don't like sometimes it's like it worked like even with that layout, like sometimes you feel a little closed in because you only have like the two front doors and everything else is kind of yeah. So to me, it worked out really well.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

I think it was such a refreshing weekend. New display, new layout, new event, new customers, new promoters, new everything.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Like it was there's a breath of fresh air for sure.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

On the business side of life, very encouraged.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

Just feeling like we belonged and were welcome. And yeah, um, like it was something that to me, like it felt like something that we were missing in our heart. I agree. Like that's it, it was weird. Like it, like we belonged there.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Like it just disappointed it took me so long to do it. Like I was like, I can't believe I had this wall up about doing this. Like, what's what's my problem here? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 31:27

We were all just so comfortable, including the baby, that it was just like, why did we wait so long?

SPEAKER_02 31:34

And I know that like when I look at it, this for proving grounds in particular, they do a lot of holiday weekends. We're always at fairs, yeah, right? So one of their events in July, we're at Ozby Valley Fair.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:48

Um, their events in September were in Windsor. I think they do in October one, and we're in Freiburg. So um, they're really tough for us to make those work. Yeah, and then the other one was Bentley Saloon, and we've been at Bentley's Memorial Weekend ever since we started our business. We've been grateful and thankful for that. You know, it's hard to leave that for the wide unknown.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

For sure. Yeah, your comfort blanket. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Because ironically, I left the comfort blanket for a scenario that was unfamiliar, but in some sense, feels even more comfortable. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Well, it's because you grew up there, it was in your blood. Like it was just like Ossip fairgrounds. Like we were like, well, you know, we want to start going to the fairs, but like, where do we start? And you're like, Well, I want to do Austavy. Like, let me try that. Like, I grew up there, that's where I belong, and that's how we started the fair circuit. It was like, you know, so full rounded circle. Like, here you're stepping out of your comfort zone for something that's comfortable without being comfortable business-wise.

SPEAKER_02 32:55

So we're so comfortable. Like, if you think about that full circle moment with Osmi Valley, I can't wait in the next, you know, let's say two to five years when we have our America Fest, Freedom Fest, Loud Proud American Festival to take place at Osprey Valley Fairgrounds. It's gonna be a blast. No, it's gonna be fun. I think about that. And that's open house is an inspiration for us to have our own event.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Yeah, I think it'd be great. If we could just get it on the books and get it happening.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

Money, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:26

I know.

SPEAKER_02 33:27

Um we talk about the I'll do one more thing to finish on the business side of life for people obviously they want to know,

Sales Wins Despite Rain

SPEAKER_02 33:38

right? Like we basically did our entire memorial weekend from 2025 just on Saturday.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

And um Sunday wasn't great because of the rain, and it rained straight through, and you know, we also didn't have to be open on Monday. And uh it's crazy to think that typically it's Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. And we basically beat that number on just Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

So um unfortunately, like on the last couple of Memorial Days, it's always rained. So, you know, you end up losing those days anyway, the Sunday and Monday, the last couple of years.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

People if it's gonna rain all day Monday, people start leaving on Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

Yeah, and I mean when you're at a biker bar in the parking lot, if it's raining, you're not gonna get any traffic because nobody's gonna ride in on their motorcycle. If there's like a question of rain, you're not gonna get anyone to go there. The nice thing about like where we were at is these rednecks are going out back to their camper, like they will walk in the rain to go out back. Like, you know what I mean? Like Sunday was slow, there was only one event that happened, but we had hit our number on Saturday. So basically it was just like now, whatever's up, it's just extra.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

I've sat in a very sunny parking lot for much longer, yeah, for way less than what we made on a Sunday in the rain.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

And what I was gonna say is that like normally, like on um Memorial, it it's a lot of sitting around on your hands. It is in the parking lot. On this last weekend, like there was something going on like nonstop. Oh my gosh, non-stop, like the whole time entertainment was incredible, yeah.

Family Fun And Mud Trucks

SPEAKER_02 35:31

As we move away from the business side of this conversation and get into the family side of this conversation, my heart was so full from this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

So full, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

It was such an incredibly refreshing weekend.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Like we were working, but it didn't feel like work.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

No, this was so much fun. Yeah, it was so much fun this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Yeah, and what I think about, so it was funny because the entire time I'm thinking about when Brian and Christy come down and run the tent for it's probably the same vibe. Right. Like they're down there, they're working, but they're having so much fun. Yeah, right. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 36:10

Like that's how it's different for them at a change of pace. And this was different for us.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Exactly, exactly. Like it was work, but it wasn't work. Like it didn't feel like we had been sitting around all day waiting for that event to happen. Oh no, like from the moment we got there to the moment we left, like it was just like go, go, go, go, go, go, go. Like it. And it was like Russia people and then not a rush of people, and then like events going on, and like, but you know, even if there was not a rush of people at the moment, like you could watch a couple of the events, which was really cool.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

It was so much fun, and I was so fearful of how the baby was gonna handle the loud noises and whether she was gonna keep her headphones on.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Yeah, me too. Me too. We've unfortunately unlocked a whole new obsession.

SPEAKER_02 37:07

Oh my god, she is a little mud demon.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

It is the cutest thing.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

This kid had the most fun she's ever had any of the events we've done. We've been all over. We're at fairs, we've done agriculture stuff. She gets to play with animals, she's gonna bike rallies, watch parades, she does all she's been, she's seen everything.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Fireworks, she's been doing music vendor events since she was two months old.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

She loved every second of this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Oh my god, she could not get enough.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

She would not take a nap. She was so fired up.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:42

She thought it was the greatest thing ever.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

She took like a three-hour nap after all the events were done.

SPEAKER_02 37:47

After the events were done, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

Like she held out the entire time. But that girl sat on top of the hill with Jen Lance, uh, myself, you sometimes, and was glued to the to the deep bug deep mud. Deep bud, deep mud, yeah. Yeah. Oh my god. And then like the big monster trucks, like girl was zoned in. Like loved it. I I have a couple of videos, and she's just like mowing down on chicken nuggets and just like zoned in on the big trucks. Like, and uh, so the whole weekend, like we're just shouting like go, go, go, like, dig, dig, dig, and like, so that's all she's doing. All she's saying it now, like, truck, truck.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

So Friday we didn't really get to see anything because it was our yeah, we saw we saw them like rolling in the room. Yeah, but she didn't get to take in the races. Saturday she did, and she loved it.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

To the point where Sunday morning she wakes up and she's like, truck, truck, broom, broom. And I get her in bed, giving her a bottle, and uh said, Do you want to go see the big trucks today? And she just started cheesing so bad and grinning from ear to ear.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

And she was just when we got there on Sunday and it was raining, she could hear trucks, and she just she just wanted to get up on that hill. She knew where she needed to be.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

But before that, like that night, after all the trucks had stopped, she took like a three-hour nap. But then we packed her in the cart because they were doing one last run, like down on the back track on the straight track, and we're like, all right, let's you know, pack up. And she just sat in the cart and was so miserable because she could hear them and she wanted to be there so bad and see them. And we ended up missing the race because I lost my keys. But the trucks were like driving by us as we were going back to the straight track, and she was like, she was happy as a clam. Yeah, like just seeing those trucks.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Like I was like, oh my goodness, like every day since Saturday, she has woken up and asked to see trucks. It's to the point now where our child has us surfing YouTube for mud runs.

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 39:55

There's an actual competition between watching Bluey and mud trucks.

SPEAKER_01 39:58

I was just gonna say, she's always always has Bluey on, like loves Bluey. Bia wakes up in the morning, Bia, Bia, Bia, and uh now it's truck, truck, yeah. Uh, you're just like, oh my gosh. And and we've talked about it on the podcast before, like how your dad, like, definitely like this is him for sure. This is his baby, like, you know, and you can't tell me that that's what I think this weekend was so much about my dad, it was incredible. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

And the joy that I saw in her for the things that my dad used to do for me. I could I could see it. Yeah, you know, that was that was me as a child, but I was looking at my dad as like a superhero. And when I gave my dad's eulogy and I I called it hero shit, and and I was talking about that because for me as a kid, that's what I grew up in, and my dad was my hero for seeing him do those things. And uh the kids are gonna make me build a mud truck, you know what I mean? It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

It was pretty cool that she did uh talk about Papa while we were there. Yeah. To you, I wasn't there.

SPEAKER_02 41:05

I was holding her, and um just me and her in the tent, and out of nowhere, she just says, Hi Papa, and uh I said, What is Papa here? And she pointed and she's like, Yep. Yeah, and uh, you know, like I just I I knew that's where he would be, anyways.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

You could just feel it, yeah. Like she was zoned in, like she was all about it.

SPEAKER_02 41:27

I feel like she sat on that hill watching mud trucks with my dad all day long.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Oh yeah, you know, oh yeah, for sure. Like there's no doubt in my mind, like that's one thing that they like definitely like sh share together. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

Yeah, it was an incredible weekend, and um so much so that we're trying to manipulate our schedule and we're reaching out to people to see if we can add some more of these to our calendar for this year's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

I mean, this one was like a trial run to see like how the baby was gonna do, and you know, if it would even be our demographic. And you know, the biggest like checkbox was will the baby handle it? And hands down, like she wants to be on four wheels and driving.

SPEAKER_02 42:16

I would say even if we did horribly, we would have to go back because she loved it so much, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 42:21

Seriously, I'm already thinking about like when the monster trucks come to the civic center for God's sakes. I'm like, and when they go to the what is it, Windsor Fair, they show up in the arena?

SPEAKER_02 42:30

Like, do they do some of that? I think they do once in a while, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:33

Yeah, and like the tricks, like how she's gonna hear those things, and we're gonna be in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

She's gonna say all the nights that I'm at Freiburg and they have like the you know dirt bike trick stuff going on. You're gonna have to go watch it.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Forget it. I've never seen it.

SPEAKER_02 42:48

She's gonna be watching truck poles and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Mm-hmm. Yeah. She's gonna want to see all of them.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

It just opened up a whole new avenue.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Um you can't tell me that this girl isn't being phrased right on the farm.

SPEAKER_02 43:02

My gosh.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

In the dirt. I mean, she's all about that tractor out there and that mower, for God's sakes. Like anything on four wheels, she's gotta go.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

She loves it. She wears herself out with it.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

Yeah. It was all around a good weekend. It was a different vibe.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

Everything about it, I just I came away from this weekend feeling fulfilled and refreshed.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

And um my cup was full.

SPEAKER_02 43:30

Yeah. I'm just hoping that we can continue on this. And we were we managed to take two weekends back to back, three separate events, and make them all successful. It's a great sign for this year. For sure. As nervous as we've been, as tight as things are is a great sign.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 43:52

And um I'm encouraged, I'm encouraged by that. And I'm I'm eager to straighten out my schedule finally and figure some things out because There's so many moving parts and so much uncertainty. It's fun to roll into some things, but it's also creates a lot of stress when you don't have things kind of locked in. So I'm looking forward to ironing those things up. But I'm so incredibly grateful for this weekend. And I know people are listening and they're like, oh, this whole thing you guys just talking about business and this and

Only Stuck If You Stop

SPEAKER_02 44:21

that. I want the lesson here to be that we have a tendency to naturally resist what's unfamiliar. We're using an example of business and us taking a chance, leaving something we've done for six years for something that we've wanted to do but have never done. That uncertainty rewarded us with an amazing fulfilled weekend. That lesson can go into anybody listening in any area of life right now. The constant resisting of things that are unfamiliar is holding you back and it's making you stuck.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

Yep. You have to get uncomfortable and bet on yourself.

SPEAKER_02 45:05

Absolutely. I was when I was mowing the lawn tonight, I was listening to a book from uh Pastor Steven Furtick, and and um one of his like mantras, one of the like affirmations he tells himself all the time is Um, you're only stuck if you stop moving. And we often feel like we're in these ruts, and I often feel like my business is stuck, and I'm financially stuck, and we're in these ruts. You're only in them. You're and and I think this analogy is so fitting after a mud run weekend, right?

SPEAKER_01 45:38

I was literally just my wheels are turning like could that be a t-shirt? You're only stuck if your four wheels stop moving.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

Makes sense. But it's the truth. You're only gonna get stuck in that mud if you don't keep going.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

And and what's the baby say? Dig, dig, dig.

SPEAKER_02 45:54

Dig dig. And I just think that sometimes we just have to keep we just have to keep going and we have to stop resisting things that are unfamiliar and start trying new things, stepping out and stepping into the new version of you. And I think that I want that to be the lesson for anybody listening today that you know that do the thing you've been thinking about doing, but you haven't been bold enough to do.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

I am on Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

I was gonna cue that up for you at the end here, but now that you're already there, the clock is ticking.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

Oh, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

You ready? Are you nervous at all?

SPEAKER_00 46:30

Not at all.

SPEAKER_02 46:32

People that don't know what the heck we're talking about, what might it be?

SPEAKER_00 46:35

I'm getting baptized.

Baptism Plans And Taking The Leap

SPEAKER_02 46:36

Sunday. 11 a.m., right?

SPEAKER_01 46:38

Mm-hmm. East Point Church. Yep. Be there or be square. I'll be in the hot tub. Yeah. Hot tub time machine.

SPEAKER_02 46:49

I'm going to leave it in the water. It's a what a whirlwind month. You know what I mean? When you think about everything that we've done this month and to go from uh mud trucks to baptisms and it just shows our life and and and um what we do and how we do things.

SPEAKER_01 47:07

Our life is a dumpster fire.

SPEAKER_02 47:09

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 47:10

But it's fun.

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Yeah, the kid loves it. She's definitely gonna be growing up like that. She's definitely our kid. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 47:19

She's definitely not gonna be a shy kid, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

No. It's funny because she is she is shy. Yeah, you know what I mean? Sometimes I was too as a kid. I was really shy as a kid, actually.

SPEAKER_01 47:30

Yeah, but she's not like that, like give her like five minutes and she warms up. Like she is not completely shy. I think it's just like she wants to feel you out and see if you're like a good person.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

I often think about how pure the world is in her eyes, you know, and how amazing some of her experiences have to feel. Right?

SPEAKER_01 47:57

I can't wait to hear her tell stories about all the places that she's been and things she's done.

SPEAKER_02 48:03

I just like I a little bit inside hurts for me to think of her having to grow up and accept the reality of life not being as amazing as it is. You know what I'm saying? Like sometimes it just eats like when you see like a bad story on the news, you hear you know, an you know, a sad story and you know, and a negative thing, and you're like, man, it hurts me inside that that pure beautiful girl is someday gonna have to realize that this world's actually full of a bunch of assholes. You know, and um my parents have just been trying to keep them away from me.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:40

But uh mud trucks to look at life so innocent and so excited, you know. You think about it and say that we were all that way once, right? But our life, our experiences, this world hardened us and it changed us.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

For sure.

SPEAKER_02 49:02

At some point, we have to get back to that version of us to fully appreciate all that's left of us.

SPEAKER_00 49:09

I can only hope I can do that in the water.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

Maybe. Maybe that's what it takes. Maybe after that you won't find your husband eating ice cream very annoying.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

That's unlikely. I have that I have that tism. Whatever it's called. Where you hear people eating food and it irritates you.

SPEAKER_02 49:42

Well, on that note. Stare in contrast, go. It's not at all what I do. It's absurd. Also absurd. Also things that you do.

SPEAKER_04 50:03

Now go wash your hands.

SPEAKER_02 50:05

You feel the savage. Thank you for supporting American Dream. You put that part in first.

SPEAKER_01 50:15

Thank you for supporting Paisley's Monster Truck Dream.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Oh, she's having one right now, actually. Shifting gears. Throwing mud.

SPEAKER_00 50:25

Mud slinging.

SPEAKER_02 50:26

We appreciate y'all. Thank you for supporting American Dream. Go wash your friggin' hands. You feel things a bitch? That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls.

Where To Follow And Final Goodbye

SPEAKER_02 50:48

If you're a Loud Proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American Face Page and I'm a color. If you're a fan of the Graham Crackin', you wanna find me on Instagram for all the kids, the tickety talking on the TikTok, you can find me on both of those at loud underscore proud underscore American. Big old thank you to the voice of the Gus Truckers for the background beats and the theme stop your podcast. If you are enjoying what you're hearing, please track down the gust truckers on Facebook Just Sir Gus Truckers. Give that motherfucker a like. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.