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- [00:06]
Weston Hendricks
Welcome to season three of Empower your. And I'm Weston Hendricks, the owner and host and this is my team.
- [00:11]
Augustus Sexton
Hey guys, I'm Augustus Sexton. I'm the co host and supervisor of the podcast.
- [00:17]
Quinn Hartley
And I'm Quinn Hartley, the social media manager as well as another co host of the platform. With that said, season three comes with change. Every Friday, a new episode is released with sneak peeks on our social medias out the day before.
- [00:32]
Augustus Sexton
Our goal is to be consistent, competitive and Christ like. We as a team strive for excellence in all that we do and want to gain knowledge from industry leaders and expand on trends of the industry and what they offer.
- [00:47]
Weston Hendricks
Our priority is to empower you as an individual in the livestock industry and to gain knowledge and confidence while consuming it from some of the most influential people in our industry. So, as always, enjoy the episode and here's to empowering you. Well folks, it is the start of season three. This is episode three, Crazy Enough. And so for today's episode we have Ms. Alyssa Walsh. She is a Cyclone graduate and Iowa native and has recently set roots in Kansas with her husband Daniel. Being located in the Flint Hills, Alyssa is surrounded by the pulse of the cattle industry which fuels her inspiration daily. Together her and her husband operate Regal Cattle and Operation. It's an operation focused on equipping the youth with tools to succeed in the ring for a season and then genetics to build for business of generations to come. With that said, Alyssa started Sweet Briar Creative from the ground up during her time at Iowa State University. And the original goals of that business was to display her self taught videography and graphic design skills to future employers. As that business grew, she learned on God's calling of her life and took it as a full time after following graduation. And then she took that initiative to move to Texas where the business truly had a chance to grow from a college portfolio into a uniquely specialized marketing agency. And so then Sweet Briar Creative now serves clients all across the country and even worldwide from the depths of the Flint Hills. And so what I'd like to say is, Alyssa, thank you for coming on. It's a true honor. You've made a huge impact in this industry. But one of the reasons I decided like this would just be an absolutely phenomenal episode is we don't get to have very many women on and we need someone to speak to the young women who do listen to us or the elders. And you by far have an absolute huge inspiration to many. And so to be able to have you on is an absolute Honor and me and Augustus are very glad to have this opportunity. So with that said, if. I mean, obviously, I did an intro, but I'd like you to introduce yourself and let everybody know, get to know you a little bit.
- [03:02]
Alyssa Walsh
Absolutely. Weston. Well, yes. Thank you. It is an honor and a joy to be here. I am pumped to represent the ladies. I will say that I have a phenomenal group of young women and older ladies that I have looked up to. And so I think that there are wonderful women that have gone before me in this field. And, yeah, I'm just pumped to kind of represent them and hopefully pave the way with the struggles and challenges I faced for any young men or women that are wanting to go out and learn these skills and serve the industry that feeds the world in this way. So pumped to be here. Like you said, you touched a lot of my bio, so I don't really have much more to add. I'm loving the Flint Hills here, newly located, and just really excited to see where Sweet Briar will pivot. The business was founded on that foundation of, you know, growing those videography and graphic design skills. And I still love serving those clients. But as every business does, I have begun to find ways that the business is going to pivot. And one of those ways is an education component of how do I. How do I pass down these skills to other people that want to learn. And that's how the digital course sector of my business really, really started. And so that's been fun to kind of lean into. And as you mentioned, my husband and I started another business on the side as well. So we're always just looking for ways to grow and learn. By no means have I perfected any part of the business, but just always looking for that next PIV and chances to learn and grow.
- [04:46]
Weston Hendricks
Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [04:49]
Augustus Sexton
Well, I just want to echo what Weston was saying that we're so proud to have you on here and look forward to digging into this episode.
- [04:58]
Weston Hendricks
Well, all right. So, Alyssa, what I'd like to do is start. Let's start from the beginning in your journey. Originally from Iowa, and then you got your degree there at Iowa State. So what led you to build Breyer Creative? And then how did you approach it? What were the goals? What was the initiatives and all that jazz?
- [05:19]
Alyssa Walsh
Great question. So Sweetbriar Creative was actually started as a portfolio at first. So I was an ADCOM student, learning all the different things that are at our fingertips as Ag Comm. Students. And I had lots of opportunities to figure out which skill sets I liked, which Things maybe I didn't like, which things I was kind of good at and which skills I wasn't good at at all. So that's truly what college is for, regardless of your degree. And for me, graphic design and video just slowly rose to the top in terms of a skill set that I found that came somewhat naturally. But more importantly, skills that I was excited to learn, skills that I felt like could really make an impact to the people and businesses around me. So I started just raising my hand for different opportunities, whether it was in the classroom or at different clubs. Saying yes to maybe making an ad design, a T shirt design, really low risk, low pressure scenarios where it's okay if you mess it up. No one's going to talk about that crummy T shirt design for more than a couple months. So, yeah, just really trying to learn those skill sets there. I had no intentions of being an entrepreneur. I love people, I love working on a team. And entrepreneurship looked pretty lonely to me. So I avoided that at all costs for the first year and a half of starting what is the business. And it wasn't until the second semester of my senior year where I was applying for jobs and trying to figure out what that next step in my life was going to look like, that I realized that this portfolio that I had built were full of businesses and people that trusted me with huge parts of what made their operation and their business work. And I was given trust and responsibility to perform in more ways than a lot of these entry level jobs were giving me the opportunity to do that. And among a lot of other reasons and a lot of guidance from my family and friends and mentors, I decided to start the business full time. So right after graduation in May, I moved to Texas, as we discussed previously, and really grew the business from its midwest roots to those those southern states, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
- [07:44]
Weston Hendricks
The great state of Texas.
- [07:45]
Alyssa Walsh
The great state of Texas.
- [07:47]
Augustus Sexton
So what brought you down to Texas?
- [07:50]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, I get that question a lot. So, you know, as I was born and raised in Iowa, loved my time in Iowa and Iowa State, but I always yearned for just a change as a young adult. I think some can relate to that. I just wanted to leave home for a little bit and try out a new area. And I encourage young adults to always, to always think about that because you can always come back home, but there's few times where you're truly removed from the responsibilities and the roots of one place. So I knew that during these young adult years I wanted to go explore. And when I decided to take the business full time. I realized that I could truly live anywhere as long as it was going to be benefit me in terms of close to clientele and close to an airport. And so Fort Worth really intrigued me as an area that was close to a major airport and I could reach like South Texas and Kansas and Oklahoma in a day's worth of driving. And I joke with people, I probably should have paid rent at the DFW airport instead of my apartment in Fort Worth because I spent more time there. But I loved my time in Texas. I think it really pushed me outside my comfort zone. I'm not a city girl, so living like in that concrete jungle was a lot for me. But I'm so glad I did it. I will never regret those years I spent down there. And it brought me to my, my Texas family, my Texas clients that I will always hold dearly. And now I get to serve those clients within a day's drive as well. So it worked out.
- [09:23]
Weston Hendricks
That's awesome. That is awesome. So with that said, you moved to Texas, but beforehand I would like to know, how did you teach yourself to do the videography and graphics? What were the challenges within that time and what brought upon it?
- [09:44]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, I like to joke that I graduated from the school of YouTube, like University of YouTube, but in all honesty, that was, that was very much the reality. As an Iowa State Ag Comm student. We don't have a lot of the classes that a lot of these universities provide in the ag department in terms of actually learning these programs. So I just knew that I wanted to show employers, you know, I can do this for you. I am just as knowledgeable as Ag Comm students graduating from these other prestigious universities around the country. So for me, it was a matter of carving out time in my schedule as a college student to sit down and not only watch those YouTube videos, but more importantly, put them into practice. You're never going to get better at anything in life. You know, whether it's graphic design and video or livestock judging or a sport, you have to practice that skill and work that muscle. And so for me, it was just saying yes to some of those like low risk projects that we talked about. I actually started learning video through saying yes to doing some wedding videos. And that's kind of a crazy story. We don't have to get into that fully, but if you've heard the story, you know, like wedding videography was nothing that ever intrigued me, but it was a door that opened that allowed me to learn how to put a story together. And I attribute so much of the emotion that is in my videos back to, like, learning that skill there. If you're learning how to put a video together for the most important day of someone's life, you quickly learn how to capitalize on the emotions and kind of watch things that you, I guess I wouldn't have normally watched around me. And I think that's why my videos and films have that sort of impact.
- [11:26]
Weston Hendricks
Yes, ma'am.
- [11:28]
Augustus Sexton
That's really neat, getting thrown right into it and saying, okay, we gotta buckle up and do this to the best of our abilities. And so you talked about you move from Texas up to Kansas now with your husband. What has Breyer Creative grown into now that you have moved?
- [11:49]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, good question. So, you know, the move didn't bring a ton of change for sbc. I moved after getting married to my husband Daniel. He's originally from Wisconsin. We met at Iowa State together. He transferred in and joined the judging team as a junior. And so for a long time, we were doing long distance for a little bit, 16 hours, when he still worked at his family's operation up in Wisconsin. Then he moved down to Kansas to begin his career as an embryologist. And then we were about six and a half hours apart. So our goal was obviously when we get married, to join forces and live together. But for us, the Flint Hills really just resonated with so much that we hold true in our hearts currently and what we plan for ourselves in the future. And so the move was truly more about, like, our personal lives and also Regal, our second business that we had started. But it didn't change a lot about sbc. I feel like the major thing that changed with Sweet Briar came with just loving home more. When I lived in Texas, I loved my apartment, but it was a tiny one bedroom space that I lived and worked out of. And if you ever have to work in a home that is that tiny, when you don't even have room for a desk, you quickly understand that you don't love to be home when you can't really separate work and life. And so I feel like the biggest change has just been really enjoying our home here, really enjoying being by our cows and figuring out, how do I, how do I just change that dynamic? Work life balance is kind of a funny topic and everyone has their own take. And I'm someone that believes, like, my work life balance can and will look different than yours. I think we all kind of have to set that for ourselves. But in this season of Life, I know that I don't want to be on the road, you know, 20 out of the 30 days of a month. So I have pivoted the business a little bit more to do less travel. And I'm just trying to equip my clients with the knowledge that they need to do this on their own because I have full confidence in their ability to learn it. And that's kind of where these digital courses began. Right. I just cut out the fluff. We don't care about terminology. I'm truly just trying to teach my clients or other young creatives this is what you need to learn to succeed at these skills. And so the first couple digital courses that we put out were about making logos and about making ads. But we've got stuff coming for the video sector as well. I'm just trying to empower, to use your guys word, empower them to do these skills on their own.
- [14:36]
Weston Hendricks
That's awesome. That's awesome.
- [14:38]
Augustus Sexton
And so going off of that, could you expand a little bit more as to what Yalls goal is currently and what you're doing on a daily basis?
- [14:49]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, yeah. On Sweet Briar creative side, I would say our goals are pretty split. I still really enjoy serving my video and graphic design clients. I love traveling to meet their needs, focusing on, you know, high impact emotional based storytelling, films that grab attention and that truly convey the message your audience needs to hear. And then I also have these goals of building out this library of skill sets that either young creatives or creatives young and old, I should say eager to learn creatives or my clients can take those skills, learn them and you know, save money and do those skills that they were hiring out in house. So on the SBC side, those are our goals. I can talk more about our goals with Regal Cattle if you want or we can kind of stay more focused on sbc. It's truly up to you boys.
- [15:53]
Weston Hendricks
Well, I do want to talk about Regal and the goals for that, but with what you had just said, I personally like would love to know what is one of your favorite projects that you've done through Briar or Sweet Briar Creative?
- [16:09]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, I get asked this question quite a bit and my answer changes. It's really hard. It's really hard to pick just one. I think that what makes a project special to me is the people. And I know that sounds cheesy, but I've gotten to film in some really beautiful locations. I've gotten to see God's creation all around the country and in different parts of the world, which has been amazing. But I Think the videos specifically that truly make the most impact on me are ones that I can just tell that they make a difference in that family or in that program to the people that are working non stop in the operation. And I think that one that comes to mind tonight, we're talking about my Texas family. When I first moved to Texas, actually just for a summer before my senior year, we kind of bypassed this part of the story. But I was actually in Texas for just a summer, the year of 2020, when my internship canceled on me because of COVID the crazy covidness. So I just went down to Texas for a couple months to see if I could, you know, make some money for myself through sweet Briar. And I had started doing some wedding videos, but I hadn't had anyone, you know, take a chance on me for an actual livestock video project. I had no portfolio in that realm. I had no last name that tied me to cattle. I truly was going into it completely helpless in a way and cold calling producers in a state that I had no ties to. And I had five clients take a chance on me that summer and let me start that livestock video portion of my business. And one of those families was the Bush family down in Texas. And I remember coming to their home, they opened up their home for me. I got to stay there with them and really just get to know them. And, you know, years later, when Kyle passed away, I remember Keaton reaching out to me with that video and telling me that they still play it and they still watch it. And that was one of the first videos I had ever done. So quality wise, I hope my skill sets have gotten a lot better since then. But just to know that they have that physical, like, almost time capsule of their dad to look back on is something that, like, I will never take lightly. And, you know, all these videos I make are fun and they're. They're hype focused and they're. They're fast and they're action paced, but they're. They're honestly truly so much more than that. And, you know, fast forward to this fall. I got to do another film that was more of like a heritage piece for another family in Texas, the Browns. And we were just reminiscing on the past 50 years of them holding an annual sale, and they. They took out all of these different pictures and catalogs from the past 50 years. And I just kind of captured them looking through it as a family. And I think both of those videos are a really beautiful example of why I love my job and just the, the sweet moments that I get to capture, and those are truly my favorite memories or my favorite projects that I get to work on.
- [19:39]
Weston Hendricks
That's awesome.
- [19:40]
Augustus Sexton
And for anyone listening this, they can certainly hear your passion, your voice, and it's crazy how you're able to take a video and capture a moment and make it so sentimental. Make that last is something that's truly special, and you are top of the line of doing it.
- [19:59]
Alyssa Walsh
Thank you for saying that. That means so much.
- [20:02]
Weston Hendricks
And so with that said, like, you obviously, like, love what you do. You're passionate, you want to empower, I guess, anybody that you can. If you could give any guidance to the people who are trying to do the same, specifically young women, because that's what they love and help them benefit to their future, what advice would you give them?
- [20:30]
Alyssa Walsh
Great question, and it's a heavy question. I, I don't take lightly the platform that I've been given and the, the people that watch what I do. It's a really, it's a new feeling for me. It's something that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to. To do is to speak to young women and young men about chasing their dreams. But it's something I've grown really passionate about. And I would say if you're, if you're looking to start a business, regardless of the type, there's no better time than now. I think that action breeds clarity. And oftentimes when you're about to start something big, it can be really scary and really confusing. But if you just take the first step, that will open up more doors and it's going to lead you where you need to go. When I'm coaching young students, I like to remind them that there's no need to build that huge wall in just one day. I think we can all get overwhelmed with our to do lists in life, and even I fall victim to that. I have a to do list that's never ending. But if you just, if you take that goal, whether it is starting a business or maybe it's achieving that next step in your career, take that goal and then take your calendar out, whether it's on a paper planner or your phone, and every single day write something that's going to bring you one step further towards that goal, whether it's starting that llc, calling a mentor, starting that Instagram page, making your first post. They don't have to be huge tasks, but once you start scheduling one thing that moves the needle forward every single day, you're going to step back in a couple months and see the goal that you've been dreaming of right in front of you. Just take action. I promise you, it's not as scary as you think once you get into it, and you two boys know that just as well as me. You just need to start.
- [22:31]
Augustus Sexton
That's one thing I've always. Yeah, the journeys. It always looks very daunting. But, you know, the hardest step of any journey I found is just getting started, taking that first step. And once you get into it, you figure out a rhythm, figure out how everything works, and it all seems to fall into place.
- [22:53]
Weston Hendricks
Tack on the fact, if anybody has listened since day one, you can realize how good me and Augustus flow back and forth from each other nowadays.
- [23:05]
Augustus Sexton
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- [23:33]
Weston Hendricks
But no. So we're going to bring up a new talking point, and it's one that is truly inspiring because I love the way that you all run your cattle business. But Regal Cattle, it's new, it's fresh, it's something that's obviously working. But what I'd like to know is what's the background on it and what are the goals as of now and just kind of give us what y'all do.
- [24:02]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, good question. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about it. I love SBC and love where it's taken me, but right now, Regal is just something that truly lights me up. My husband and I have always talked about owning cows together. Like I mentioned before, he comes from a family operation. His brother Clayton and him both showed heifers growing up and built a cow herd based on that foundation and have gotten to see some success in that space. But Daniel and I have always talked about wanting to do that for ourselves and to kind of start it from scratch. And although that's intimidating to do, it's been a goal and a conversation of ours ever since we started dating. And before we got married, we kind of stumbled into the opportunities to purchase two Angus females. And right when Daniel moved down to Kansas is kind of when that came into fruition. And instead of turning the opportunity away because of obvious reasons, you know, no land, no barns, no truck and trailer, let alone the fact that he just had moved it to a new state. We decided that, you know, God was opening up this door for a reason. It was a dream and a passion that was placed on our hearts, and this was going to be our opportunity to start. And so we purchased those two females before he had purchased the ring, which was very risky. Obviously, it worked out, got the ring, got married. But those, yeah, go Daniel. He did a great job. But, yeah, just kind of starting in an unconventional way has truly just laid the foundation for us to be able to take jumps or just make decisions that are a little bit untraditional to the traditional cattlemen. And I think that because we're okay thinking outside of the box in those realms and kind of just pushing the needle in other directions, we can find ourselves in situations where we make mistakes. We come across challenges that most producers probably don't face, but we also find opportunities in areas that others might overlook. And so, yeah, that's kind of where the business started. We now have three foundation females, those two Angus females that we first purchased. And then this past winter, we added a main donor to the program that we're really excited about. We started small. All of our offering so far has consisted of two calves. We had a fallborn offering, and then we just finished our springborn sale a couple weeks ago. And so by starting small, we truly can really lean in on what we're producing, but more importantly, like, truly give to our clients and to our customers. I think that's been the most fruitful part. We're really focused on, like you mentioned in our bio, we're truly just focused on producing something that will give success in the show ring for that season for a customer. But more importantly, we really aim to provide the genetics to build a foundation for them to start their business off of. We believe that heifers need to make cows first and foremost and not as an added bonus. And I think because we align our priorities in that way, that really makes us different from the traditional show cattle producer. We. We like to think we. We kind of get the best of both worlds in that aspect. We really enjoy, like, cheering on our clientele in the ring, being there with them and presenting that animal to the highest degree. But we know their best days is not that final show. We believe that pretty cows should and can exist in the pasture, and we know that those cows are going to look just as good, if not better. Two, three, four, even 10 years down the road for our customers. That's what really, really gets Us excited. And as you heard, you know, we're new, and so we're. We're right in the thick of that with our customers right now, Getting to cheer them on, getting to talk about their breeding decisions for the next year. But that's really what lights us up and makes us different. I don't know if it always works all the time. Like any other business, we encounter challenges. We have to pivot. Nothing's perfect, but it is. It's been a wonderful, wonderful little slice of heaven for us to explore right now.
- [28:45]
Augustus Sexton
You know, Ms. Walsh, I think I'd like to see you and your husband judging some shows down in Texas.
- [28:51]
Weston Hendricks
Oh, my. You have no idea. You preached the gospel. For the last minute and a half, Daniel judges.
- [28:59]
Alyssa Walsh
I've only gotten to stand by him during showmanship. I don't think. I don't know if you could get me in there for anything beyond showmanship, but that's what we believe in. And I know that there's others that truly put their priorities there, too. But, yeah, it needs to be emphasized more.
- [29:16]
Weston Hendricks
It does. It does. It truly does.
- [29:18]
Augustus Sexton
And I think with y'all having that mindset towards raising show cattle that they need to be good cows first, I think y'all a blast in the cattle industry for a long, long time.
- [29:28]
Alyssa Walsh
I appreciate that.
- [29:30]
Weston Hendricks
Absolutely. So, from what I've noticed, and I've watched y'all for the last, oh, I'd say three or four months or so, y'all have an application process. What's crazy about this is I've only heard of the application process once. It's because I went through it with Mr. Colton Thigpen back when he was doing Heart of a Champion.
- [29:52]
Alyssa Walsh
Yes.
- [29:54]
Weston Hendricks
There's nothing like it. No one does it.
- [29:57]
Augustus Sexton
Why?
- [29:57]
Weston Hendricks
I have no idea. Because I think it's super, super beneficial to not only the family, but also the cattle that you're offering. But I want to know is why y'all made that decision and also, what are the challenges within it?
- [30:13]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah.
- [30:13]
Weston Hendricks
But also, what are the benefits?
- [30:16]
Alyssa Walsh
Absolutely. And I'm so glad you brought that up. Years and years ago, Daniel actually saw that Colton was doing it and kind of just made a note to himself that he thought it was neat and thought it carried some value and tucked it away. Like I mentioned, Daniel and his brother have been putting on some online sales for years and years, and so he's no stranger to that space. But when we started producing calves and started to talk about our first offering, we just knew that we had to do something different, I guess, like from my perspective, with my background with Sweet Briar, I have a ton of clients that are frustrated, to be honest, with the online sales system. Whether they're burnt out or just feeling like they're not connecting with their customers, they felt like something needed to change. And so when I'm connecting with, you know, my clients on the video and design side and I'm hearing their frustration from that aspect, that kind of turned us off from probably doing a traditional online sale right out of the gate. Private Treaty always has intrigued us from the aspect of just being able to set the value of those cabs ourselves. We're really not in this to make a boatload of money. Our business does have to cash flow. So that is a factor in our mind in terms of making sure that things are in the positive. But we're not trying to get the highest price of these cabs. We. We set their value based on what we feel like they're worth to us and truly the type of clients that we want to work with, to be honest. And so Daniel, one day we were out to. Out to dinner, just kind of brainstorming, and Daniel brought up the idea of the application process and kind of explained how Colton has had done it in the past. And we were just kind of intrigued. I would say since doing it, we did it for our fallborn offering and then we did it this October. There are some challenges, right? And the number one challenge is just teaching whatever that saying is. You can't teach a dog, an old dog, new tricks. That has been like a hurdle we've had to overcome. People are so used to the traditional sale formats of a live sale and an online sale that it is hard to get them to not only trust a brand new operation, but trust in a process that's a little risky in terms of like, you're putting yourself out there in a very vulnerable spot and you might not get chosen. And so that's definitely a hurdle we've had to kind of jump over. And we're still working on it, to be honest. Like, our website stats and analytics are crazy high. I know we're reaching our audience, but there's still a large number of people that will open up that application and not fill it out. And so if I'm being completely transparent and honest, after year one, like, there are still so many things that we have to either revamp or pivot on just from the aspect of getting people to understand that there are benefits of doing it this way and more truly, like who we are as people. And that like what we're offering as well. Because obviously, I don't take it lightly that this is our first year offering cabs, and people still have to kind of scope that out as well. But in terms of the positive side of the application process, to me, the list goes on and on. For our customers, it gives us a chance to really get to know them, get to know their goals, get to know what areas outside of the show ring they want to focus on. We've talked to kids about different clipping and fitting goals. We've talked to kids wanting to get into vet school, talked to kids who want to become an embryologist. Obviously talk to kids who are excited about video or design. It really just gives us a chance to get to know their specific goals. And we never want to just combine our customers into a box almost and just assume that everybody wants to go out and win the same show where everybody wants to go out and do xyz. So it really just humanizes the process for us and reminds us why we're doing it. And because we only have two, so far, our offerings have consisted of two calves. It allows us to help so many more kids even beyond that offering. So if we just offered them private treaty or if we put them on an online sale, so we really would have no way of getting to know any of the contending bidders. And this process allows us to work with those kids, form a relationship with them regardless of if they're chosen to get the calf. And so far, there has not been hurt feelings. Everyone that applied for the offerings has been excited to either apply again or has talked. Talked about how they want to do it in the future. To my knowledge, it's been positively received. Every kid gets a gift and multiple phone calls. And the process is truly, like I've been saying, just designed for us to get to know them. So, yeah, it's been really, really fun. I'm not going to lie. It's been challenging. Sometimes I'm kicking myself, like, man, we could have just offered these things on an online sale and just, you know, opened our hands and let the Lord do his will. But I think in the long run, it's really going to pay off. And I. I also never want to say that it's. We're going to be doing it this way forever. We're truly just going to listen to our audience and, you know, if. If our customers are saying, no, we don't like this, like, we. We want to purchase cattle via an online sale or we want to purchase them live, we're going to respect that. That's like the number one thing for us as a business owner right now. We're making this these decisions with their best intentions in mind. But if we have our customers telling us that that's not how they want to purchase cattle, we're going to pivot, we're going to change and we're open minded to that.
- [36:37]
Augustus Sexton
I love how y'all truly care about Yalls clients and even potential clients and that you'll want to invest in them. And you and your husband obviously have a wealth of knowledge that y'all care about. Passing that on to the next generation is truly unique.
- [36:54]
Alyssa Walsh
Thanks for saying that.
- [37:01]
Quinn Hartley
Big House Show Cattle is located in Iola, Texas which is your premier stop for Charol show heers genetics and customer service promoting breed leading bulls like Brightside Big Game Hunter and the national champion super Puncher. Braden and Nicole House have built a reputation for charolais pedigrees that have the look and quality to win more than just their breed. VHSC is fully committed to the Junior show experience and strives to build and maintain the team atmosphere. Their added services entail a successful project both during after a heifer show career. Reach out to Braden at 979-676-1450 about scheduling a herb visit and joining the house party for yourself.
- [37:55]
Augustus Sexton
So one thing I want to hear is can you maybe for listeners who are confused as to how exactly Yalls application process works, can you walk me through the steps of how Yalls process works?
- [38:10]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad you brought that up. So far, how the process has worked is we present our offering, we stay really active on social even before kind of sales season picks up. We post photos, videos, cell phone content of calves as babies growing up. We raise everything we offer and we want our customers to see see that and to see those calves go through those transition phases of life. So after that and when we get closer to sales season, when people start advertising for their sales, we will open up basically a page on our website and it will walk our customers through the process and so it tells them the date that the applications open, the date that the applications close. And then it's also the home base for any photos, sale videos, cell phone content, any extra information that they may need on the cabs. That's all found on our website and the reason for doing it that way. Someone once told me don't build a business on rented ground and I think about this all the time with even SBC as well. But social media truly could be taken Away from us anytime. I'm not big into conspiracy theories, but I do. I don't take lightly the fact that, like, I want to have a way to communicate with my clients beyond social if something were to ever happen with that. So just building a landing page of our own is training our customers to find us there versus on social. And so the applications will open on a certain day, let's say hypothetically on a Friday. They open the applications. Questions. It's short. I think it's around 10 to 12 questions. But the questions are just designed to get to know them. There's no questions about, tell me how many shows you've won. Tell me how much money you put into your wash rack at home. There's none of that. We truly don't care about any of that. We just want to know what are your goals? What are things you enjoy with your heifer project outside of the show ring? Do you have any, you know, business goals for your herd in the future? Questions that kind of steer towards that direction? The junior will then fill them out and basically mark a box at the end of the application that if they were to be chosen, they agree to pay X amount of dollars for the heifer that they picked. And then once the applications start rolling in, we review the applications. They close about three or four days after the applications open. All of that is advertised. So once the applications close, Daniel and I sit down, we read through them, we call every single applicant, talk to them for close to an hour most times, and just get to know them, get to know their goals. And then at that point, we normally have an applicant chosen. So we tell them the good news. That's always a fun conversation to have, and just line up all the fun things that come for after that. In a nutshell, that's how it works. Let me know if I, like, skipped over anything important.
- [41:28]
Augustus Sexton
No, I think that's plenty sufficient.
- [41:32]
Weston Hendricks
Absolutely. Just thinking about this, like y'all talking about your application process. I remember my first time.
- [41:38]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah.
- [41:39]
Weston Hendricks
I actually went and backed and looked at the video today, and me and my roommate were driving over to go clip some heifers and such, and he was like, what was that for? I was like, it's an application to buy a calf. He says, I'm from Louisiana. That's not how that works.
- [41:55]
Alyssa Walsh
Oh, that's so funny. We have tossed around the idea I might have to pick your brain about how your experience was. We've tossed around the idea of doing a video. We ended up not doing that route for this year, but we've always kind of talked about it.
- [42:10]
Weston Hendricks
Yeah. And the way Colton did it, I guess it. My experience with it was awesome. It's. I mean, I guess because I lived two minutes away from Colton's house. When I found out the good news, it was because he surprised me at lunch at Shalotsky's downtown. And so just me going into my 8th grade year or. Well, it would have been freshman. Okay, it would have been my freshman, just already knowing him. But the way that he approached me, telling me the good news, you know, giving me the satisfaction of, hey, you did this. This is what you get. And feeling close to him, knowing he cared about what I was trying to do. My goals for those stick cattle, I think that's a game changer. I think we need more of it in this industry. There's. I mean, I'm not saying that, you know, online sales and private treaty sales aren't right.
- [43:08]
Alyssa Walsh
That's.
- [43:08]
Weston Hendricks
I mean, cattle operations thrive off of that kind of stuff, for sure. But I believe. And the conversation me and my roommate had today in the truck was, well, he's like, being a new business, how are they supposed to trust you? How are they supposed to know you and all this stuff? And I said, you got to go through the app, the application process to understand it. The way that they word it, the way that they support you and give you the opportunities should just give you the initial thought of they are in this for the real deal. There's no, there's no, you know, bluff about it. So.
- [43:44]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah. And I think there's shady people in every space. You know, you encounter shady people through every. Every avenue of selling, unfortunately. So. Yeah, that's very true.
- [43:58]
Weston Hendricks
So with all of that said, what I would like to do is ask you what your favorite quote or Bible verse is. And it's something that we've done in every episode up until this point. And I guess we're going to keep doing it because the people love it and I love it.
- [44:13]
Alyssa Walsh
Love it.
- [44:14]
Augustus Sexton
Oh, yeah.
- [44:15]
Alyssa Walsh
Awesome. Well, I just. Yeah, I love that this is a part of your episodes. I've enjoyed listening to what others have shared. And I think, like, a verse that I have continually just found myself going back to is actually from the book of John. And the verse goes something like, Jesus answered him. What I'm doing now, you do not understand, but soon you will. And I think that, like in that parable, it's actually a really, really great chapter to read. If you haven't opened up your Bibles in a minute, go to the. Go to John 13 and just read that. But I think it's a verse that I like, continue to find myself going back to, especially in harder, more challenging seasons of life. Just knowing that, like, I might not understand what the Lord is doing, but someday I will. And someday doesn't necessarily have to be here on earth. And just trusting that the Lord has a plan for our lives and has a plan for this business and knowing that we aren't always guaranteed an answer to what's happening right now, that's just something that I. Yeah. Continue to find myself going back to.
- [45:32]
Augustus Sexton
And that's John 13:7. It's definitely a very empowering verse that just keep trusting in the Lord. And I mean, things happen to us all the time that we ask God, why? Why is this happening? And trying to approach with a wise mindset of, okay, what are you trying to teach me through this? How can I learn from it? And sometimes you might not see what there is to learn, but just keep trusting the Lord and keep moving forward.
- [46:05]
Alyssa Walsh
Absolutely. Absolutely.
- [46:11]
Weston Hendricks
Ranch House Designs is America's rural marketing hub. They're a proud sponsor of Empower Use new and improved website. We couldn't be more grateful for their efforts in helping us build a brand. But with that said, they can do the same for you. Creating and backing some of the biggest brands and websites in the industry. Trust the process and Visit them@ranchhousedesigns.com and so I guess with all that said, we are going to ask our foundation of a question. I love the perspectives that we get on all of them and there's definitely my favorites. But Ms. Walsh, what empowers you as a person, caretaker, operator or customer to be better than who you were before?
- [46:54]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah, I love that you asked this question. I spent some time thinking about it today as I was prepping for this podcast. I would say, like, what truly empowers me day to day, whether it's as a business owner, as a caretaker for our cows, as a spouse, as a friend, is truly just reminding myself that at the end of the day, I'm a servant. I had a business owner once approach me and actually was a fellow videographer. And he said, alyssa, you know, at the end of the day when you're working with clients, we are no different than a plumber or an electrician. And I kind of laughed. I was like, that's not really the field I signed up for. And he was kind of reminding me of this when. When thinking of, like, frustrating situations. But I think it applies to so much more. We're here to Serve. We're here to serve the Lord first and foremost, but we're here to serve each other too. And I think when I'm in challenging situations as a business owner or if I'm struggling with a person in my life, I just have to remind myself, you know, I'm no different than an electrician or a plumber. I'm here to serve. I'm here to get a job done to the best of my ability. And yeah, it just kind of. It takes pride and ego and it just throws it away. Right. It humbles you and it just really reminds you where. Where your priorities should lie. And so that. That empowers me every day. I lean on that more than you guys probably know. But yeah, that's. That's truly what. What fuels me day to day.
- [48:40]
Augustus Sexton
I love that. And one thing that we like to do as well is like to end out all of our episodes with a verse from the Bible. So this episode's verse is Isaiah 41:10. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
- [49:04]
Alyssa Walsh
Wonderful.
- [49:05]
Weston Hendricks
Thank you. Sent that one to me the other day and I was like, that's pretty good. I like that.
- [49:10]
Alyssa Walsh
Yeah.
- [49:10]
Weston Hendricks
But I figured it'd work out real well for this episode because you're a very mind driven person and you persevere from everything that I've seen and obviously we've heard throughout this episode. And so with that said, Alyssa, I want to appreciate and tell you that we couldn't be more grateful to have you on and for what you do for this industry. And thank you for trusting us to represent you and Yalls businesses and allow us to be better people and grow and help drive our mindsets to be a better. I guess we said business what we are, but more so than anything, trying to be better people and serve our industry to the highest degree that we can. Thank you so much for coming on. It's meant a lot to me.
- [49:54]
Augustus Sexton
Thank you for your time.
- [49:55]
Alyssa Walsh
It was a pleasure. Yes, thank you both. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing where season three goes from here.
- [50:02]
Weston Hendricks
Oh, me too. Well, with that said, folks, this is empowering you with Ms. Alyssa Walsh. Thank you for tuning in.
- [50:13]
Quinn Hartley
Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @empowerupod for episode sneak peeks and merchandise updates.
- [50:23]
Augustus Sexton
But also go take a look at our new website, empowerupod.com where you'll find our team's story, sponsor updates, and much more. Once again, we just want to thank you all for tuning in and please follow us on Spotify or Apple Podcast and leave a five star rating. If you like what you hear, have a blessed day.
- [50:44]
Weston Hendricks
SA.