Moments of Growth: Rural Mastermind

Hey friends, on this episode of the Growing Small Towns show, we are featuring, um, both the participants and some of the support people that, uh, two of the participants of a program that we launched, um, in 2023. It was a year-long, um, rural mastermind program. So again, as myself being a person that was actually like, my life changed as a direct result of being a part of a national mastermind program. And I talk a bit about that in, in the conversations. Like, I literally was in a mastermind group for 2 years with 7 women from around the country. And it was their presence, it was their love, it was their support. And that regular getting together with them that they're a huge part of why Growing Small Towns exists as an organization and that we, that I have found the courage to and the, you know, kind of the tenacity to just take on the building on Main Street and what I wanted to see happen. These women became like my ride or dies in a business, from a business perspective. And so I always felt like I wanted Growing Small Towns to have or to potentially create a model for that, for rural entrepreneurs. And so this is one of the programs that we hope to become I guess I would call it like a flagship program because we just so deeply believe that the backbone and one of the hearts of a small town are local small businesses. And so we interviewed a few of the participants just to talk about the experience and then the support people. In this case, one of the episodes that you'll hear shortly is actually two moms of the participants because in the cohort here in Oakes. So this, this pilot project or program, again, 12 months, we ran it with 9 separate entrepreneurs. 5 of them were from our community here in Oakes, North Dakota, and the other 4 were from the Wahpeton, like the Wahpeton, North Dakota, Breckenridge, Minnesota. They're like sister cities if you're not familiar with our state, just right across the river. So from that area. And so we interviewed just a handful of them, but a lot of the participants, at least especially the Oaks group of the cohort, are very young entrepreneurs. And so it is really fun to anchor into and to just literally show up and be such a support for young people starting businesses. I actually think it's one of the things that makes our, our community stand out a bit is that we have a lot of young people that have returned to start businesses. I think that's something that everybody in their community wants. And so Without further ado, listen in on our Mastermind program. And if you have an interest, especially if you think this is something that we should bring to your community, or you know some, you know, of an organization that might want to put this on or fund it as a part of their work or their services, all you gotta do is let us know, and we would love to have a conversation about that. If you're a small business owner, let me just say thank you. It certainly isn't easy, and having a strong support network can help. Hey, Kim, welcome to the show.

Oh, thank you, Rebecca.

Oh, it's always so good to see you. I'm really excited. You're one of the folks that we brought into the Rural Mastermind program as a mentor. And as we look to the kind of the Rural Mastermind 2.0, that role and hopefully that involvement will look a little bit different. But I so appreciate you being willing to share just what that experience felt like for you, having been in the game for a long time. Like, you've worked with a lot of people, you've had businesses yourselves. So whatever you feel like sharing, it's— the floor is yours.

Oh man, and, and it is a big floor. And, you know, the— yeah, I've been in this game for 30 years, whether it's owning my own business or coaching other people, but it's always What was different about the Mastermind is the level of dig, the level of getting down to what really matters. I've written thousands of business plans. I'll just tell you, I can't tell you that 1,000 businesses happened and were successful. Oh no, probably less than 10% of them. Now that might sound really like really bad numbers.

Yeah, like bleak.

Oh, so why would you keep doing this? Well, because there's a certain group of people that will push beyond the limits for sure. And they're not, they're not sitting there. They weren't born and they got that. They weren't just popped out of the womb, so to speak, and were that person that can tough it out the whole way. They were nurtured. They accepted mentorship. They were willing to address hard questions. They were willing to say, what I've been doing might be wrong. And evolve and create. And they were willing to do that in the face of rejection, in the face of naysayers. Those are the 10% that make it right. And when you invited me to be part of this mastermind, you know, we talked about, well, let's talk about cash flow, let's talk about accounting. But what really happened is let's dig in and answer those very tough questions about how I feel, right? What does this make me feel? What am I allowing to impact? What am I allowing in? What am I giving out? I mean, everyone I've gotten to work with, we start out talking about cash flow. We talk about the numbers, we look at them, and then there's this very big pregnant pause. Speaking of popping out of the womb, we'll just keep that metaphor.

Yeah, that's good.

It's a very big pregnant pause. And I don't say what's wrong. I am that mentor, and I, I'm not patting myself on the back, that has learned to allow and grant safe space. Mhm. And if I were to drill anything down about the Mastermind is I felt that whether I was working with somebody individually or we were talking to the whole group, that there was truly a safe place, a safe space to say, you know what you just said? I didn't get a dang bit of it.

Great.

I've never heard those words. I've never seen it. And now I feel really bad because I'm supposed to be a business person and know all this stuff. And the beauty of it is, no. Yeah, no, you, you— that, that's a fallacy that you're supposed to know everything. You're supposed to be willing to learn., and allow yourself to step into those safe spaces where that will happen.

Right. I love that. That's beautiful. I love that. That's one of your primary kind of reflections on it because I actually believe in my heart of hearts that psychological safety is one of the things that is missing for a lot of people. And I will even go a step further and even surmise that a lot of people in rural communities don't necessarily have psychological safety, or it's not as easy maybe to carve out and find. A, it may be because culturally it's not really something that is celebrated on its face. And again, not to like— it's not— this isn't a disparagement. It never is. It's just kind of calling a spade a spade, right? That it's not— if you have a really, active inner world, you, you do need, like, you do need psychological and emotional safety. You need places and people that can create that for you. And so I guess for me as a business owner, that is one of the primary things that my mastermind of 7 women from around the country a handful of years ago, you know, before I started Growing Small Towns, they, that's what they created for me. However I showed up with them was fine. There was never this— there was expectations, sure, and accountability to do work together and whatever. But in terms of how I brought it, I could be open, I could be honest, I could cry, I could laugh, I could whine, and they would call me on it. You know, it was like I— they were just— they just held me. And so that's a— it's a really important aspect of this for me, right? Because business ownership is lonely.

Often.

And it doesn't matter whether you have a couple employees through 315 or whether you're a solopreneur, right? It's lonely for a beautiful reason. I'm gonna do the whole pregnant analogy again because taking your idea from between your ears and maybe it's felt deep in your heart, but pushing that out into the world. Yeah, it's like giving birth.

It is. Well, and it is so close.

It's personal. When I wrote the book, Rebecca, I said business is personal. It is. And it's personal to the level of, um, of want, of just a deep longing to see your ideas through or to test your mettle. Uh, I've started businesses that were just simply, well, I don't know if I can do that. Well, let's see if I can, right?

Yeah.

And just ride that roller coaster to prove my mettle, to prove to myself, not to anybody else, to prove that I can. And that's the unique spirit of the people we get to work with, is they have a little bit of that and that competitive nature.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

And can be a problem. It can be a problem socially, especially in those small environments where yeah, no, don't get above your raisin, or who do you think you are comes up maybe a few too many times, or felt, maybe not even spoken, but felt.

Exactly. And that's just it. It usually is kind of subversive or covert, but it's a feeling, right? And then when you feel those things, especially, I would say, gosh, that's such a big one, that especially the who do you think you are, when you feel something that dances on the edges of that and you don't have anyone to reflect it or like help you hold it and maybe question it or reframe it or anything like that, can be so isolating. Because then what? And then you're, you know, your tendency then is to be like, okay, well, I need to dial back or slow down or dull my shine or whatever. I mean, like, whatever it is that's causing that reaction or that feeling. And sometimes we just need to be like, oh God, I feel like that all the time. There is something so powerful in the holy— I feel that. I feel that too. Right. And then you just go, oh, I'm A, not crazy, and B, not alone. And C, like, I don't have to bear up under all of this all alone. Like, so I just appreciate so much that that's one of your primary—

well, and when you think of it, I I imagine I see life in images. So some people read and learn. I see the world through images. And I think that's the other thing. We all see this differently. So when we approach business in this one size fits all of filling out a form or writing the standardized business plan or even what the business looks like, I mean, right. How is there's no way. That, that entrepreneur, that, that person with that idea that is just bursting at the seams, the squish it into a box again, for gosh sakes. No, let it, let it find its space and let it breathe.

Like, let it breathe.

Maybe like, you know, being— we're talking pictures. Maybe like the octopus. You can imagine, you know, that tentacle going out there and going, okay, yeah, I think I'm going there. And then, oh, Nope, that's not gonna work. And, but you can choose that. You didn't have anybody stick you in the box. And, um, but to be able to have a space back to that, that mastermind, my first business, very first business that I call it my first real business, cuz I started small businesses when I was a kid and did some dabbling here and there and kind of got my, well, I became addicted. Okay, to, to doing this, uh, I put my first business, I had this small circle of friends. There was Fast Freddie and there was June and there was, oh, can't remember his name, but he was an older, older gentleman, uh, salesman, just totally traditional. But the 3 of them mixed in the room with me as I was designing that business. And giving me an atta girl just every now and then. Yeah, I was 24 years old and these were seasoned people. And they would also say, why are you playing small? Yeah, they would ask me those hard questions or what's stopping you from this? Or frankly, I went through a lot of personal trauma during that first business of 6 years. They were there for that too. You know, when I was laying in bed waiting for the birth of my child for 3 months, they sat on the edge of that bed, literally. And that is what we need to do for each other. It, it is. It's not, oh, how's your cash flow, right? How you doing? How you doing? Because your cash flow will be great if your brain space is not clouded and taken up by all of these other things.

Yeah.

Maybe something— fear, worry, second-guessing.

You need—

of all the occupations in this world, we need that safe space where we can just brain dump. Like you said, you would whine and they'd call you on it, but they'd let you whine for a second. Maybe there was a timeline on, okay, you can whine for the next 10 seconds. We'll take that. But now what are you going to do about it?

Now let's move on. Right. There was always space for it and always the construction of you don't need to stay here and we're not going to let you and we're here to help you.

Yeah.

And that's what we're trying to create with this. And so seriously, thank you. Thank you again so much for being a part of our pilot, helping me as the creator of this thing figure out, you know, some of the tweaks that we need to make when we roll out our next cohort. And, um, and also just to, you always affirm that there's value in this for, for not only for the participants, but for the communities in which they're operating. And because again, this, this premise that when we get better, everything gets better, these business owners are impacting us far beyond just the economics of the value, the financial value they're driving to Main Street or to the broader community, right? That's not, That is not the magic of entrepreneurship. It's so much deeper than that. They're, they're changing and shaping who we are. They're adding to the culture, they're adding to the vibe of our community, like, and that's the stuff somebody has to honor them for. And it can't—

it—

so it can't all just be numbers and sets, right? It can't be.

No.

So I, I just want to thank you again for your time in the cohort, your time today. Sharing your perspective. I'm just so grateful for you.

I have been, you know, participants. I'm grateful that they've found value from the work I've gotten to do with you and in this first cohort. But I'll just put it out there. This seasoned person who has seen a lot of all of this and gets to coach them every time I coach a new group. I'm a willing learner too, and I learned— I, I have learned from this group, and I have been valued. It's just an incredible value to be part of the circle. So, um, I'm in, and I will be, you know, I'm— yeah, I'm a fan.

Thank you so much, Kim.

Thank you, Rebecca.

Hi, girls.

Hello.

Welcome to the show. Today we're talking about the Rural Mastermind Program. So big deal, um, long commitment, right? We'll talk, you know, in our intro here we'll have told kind of everything about what we're doing. But for you, and again, I want to, I want to reiterate, for Growing Small Towns, um, the reason we do some of the specific programs we do is because we genuinely believe that when people get better, everything gets better. Like, without good humans, stuff doesn't get better.

Ever.

So if we can invest in the people, and in this case we're talking about small business owners, um, it makes our community grow, makes our community better. So why don't we start with you, Haley? Um, you're again kind of— I don't want to say pre-startup, you're absolutely in startup mode, but a lot, a lot of runway because of the type of business that you run. What do you feel have been some of the key, like, the key takeaways or the biggest benefits to you being a part of the Real Mastermind program?

One of the biggest things for me was overall being around like-minded people that were centered around the idea of running a business, either scaling it, you know, keeping it going, or just being in the mindset of entrepreneurship in the first place. I think that's really hard to find. There's not many people out there like that. So for you to go and gather us all together and essentially put us in one room, it was really refreshing. Even, even if I wasn't necessarily answering my own problems, it was being able to hear other problems like mine and how like we as a group were kind of thinking our way through those. So that was probably one of the biggest takeaways. While I liked all the sessions and information there, like, like you said, I have a huge runway, so I have a lot of time to study all of those things over a long amount of time here.

Right.

So I think one of the nicest things for me was just being around like-minded people.

Yeah, it's, it's actually— so again, like, that was my experience, right? I think I shared with you guys that I was in a mastermind group for 2 years, and I talked to those women every day. I mean, like, every single day practically we talked to each other, and we met once a month just like you guys did. And it is— it changes everything because it's kind of weird, you know, you got— we've got business owners all over in this town, but they don't come together and help each other solve problems. It's, and I don't know why, I think we could, and I'm hoping that we can continue to kind of nudge that idea forward because, and you're also young, right? And I love that about you. You're, you're, and you're, so you're bringing a fresh energy back to our community. And so just to continue to foster that, it's like, I think it's kind of where the best of life is made is in connections like that. How about you, Addison?

Um, I kind of felt similar, uh, like I guess it, it kind of makes you feel like you're not alone too in the struggles of being a business owner. Um, but then also I think one of the biggest things that I gained is just, I guess, confidence. And that kind of went with, um, you know, feeling like there's other people that are going through the same things, but confidence in like going to a customer and saying, you know, this is my price and that's that, instead of feeling—

we have a lot of those conversations for you. Yeah, it's hard. That's— it's very hard to do. And then it is like a muscle, right? The more, the more you stand firm in your pricing and you own, own your value, the, the easier those conversations get. And then you'll find you have them less and less. Yeah, that's awesome.

Yeah. And I think just all around structure my business because as creative person, that sometimes is the thing that's lacking. So, um, that's just been a huge help, right?

So, um, when you guys think about, um, other communities, you know, like small towns, this, this is something, um, our funder— this was the first kind of program like this that they had funded. What would you say to other people like you in their communities? Like, if they don't, if they don't get invited into an opportunity like this, What are some ways do you think that small towns can either help their entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs can help themselves?

I would honestly go, like, go talk to other business owners in the first place. Go walk in their door and introduce yourself if you haven't already, and just start talking about your business or ask about theirs. Because I think even then, just that connection there, like, maybe it turns into coffee after that. Right. Maybe it turns into a friendship after that, but at least you've made the introduction in the first place. And I really struggle with a lot of that as far as introductions. Sure. I like a structured environment where everyone's brought to the same place, not by me.

Yes, exactly.

So that would be great.

We like to structure our social interactions around here. Yeah, pretty much. I think it's great advice though, because again, I think it's weird in a town like the size of Oaks, right? It's 1,800 people, just about. You would think that— I think people have the assumption that these interactions naturally occur and they really don't. Somebody has to be the catalyst to like move it in that direction. And so I think if you are, if you can kind of get over like that weird feeling, like I'm gonna go into this business and introduce myself, but to do that, it's a huge deal and someone kind of has to go first. And so I think the reason I love that answer is because you're as the entrepreneur saying, what I can do this, What can I do instead of saying, what is everyone going to do for me? I want our community to be the kind of community that gives young startups this exact opportunity because I think it's super important. But if you don't have somebody doing that in your community, it's a good first step. What do you think, Addison?

I guess kind of going off that, one thing I noticed, it seems like we've all kind of, um, after this, just commented on each other's social media. Like, you could just comment, hey, I love that idea, or something like that. And it's, I guess, a good start to making a connection with someone. And, you know, sooner than later, then they're commenting on your stuff or sharing and saying like, this is so awesome. Or, you know, it's just encouraging to have people supporting your business, um, you know, not just in person but on social media too.

Right?

So that's the last thing I wanna ask the 2 of you is what opportunities for collaboration have stirred up in your brain? Like, because of this opportunity, because that's— I'll tell you, like, I get so excited about it. I'm just like, oh my gosh, when Haley opens, you know, like, when the vineyard and the winery is up, we've got a butcher, we've got a baker. I always joke, not a candlestick maker. That's my cheesy joke. Sorry, it's terrible. But like, very clear, awesome ways for collaborating. So let's just talk collaborations that you don't think would have come up at least as organically, right? They maybe would have eventually, but now you have an in because you know each other.

Well, for instance, with the bakery and Brittany, Brittany being a trained chef and a phenomenal one at that.

Ain't she though? Really?

I probably never would have really talked to her even though she's a couple of years older than me in high school. We weren't friends or anything like that. So there is no connection there.

Right.

So for her to come back here and be a part of the group and actually getting to sit down and talk with her and learn more about her business and the idea of like the winery being able to have like chef-sponsored like dinner meal or where you buy a ticket and you're being able to go out on a property and enjoy wine and have like a 4 or 5, 6-course meal, whatever it may look like.

I can't wait. I can't handle it.

I love the opportunity thoughts surrounding that. And then you take it a step further. If we want some of the best cuts of beef, I think I know, I think I know a butcher and a bunch of cattle people, right?

Right. So it's, it's so, it's so special because there again, I think one of the things that small town businesses don't, aren't naturally given to is that kind of collaboration. Um, not because they see each other even as competition, they just get really busy. That's the truth. People are busy. It's hard to think like that, but there is going to be awesome opportunities for just cross-promotion of businesses and making things more special by engaging other, other parts of the business. Okay, that's awesome. Addison, how about you?

Um, honestly, I, I think I probably have more ideas for collaboration maybe outside of my current business.

Right.

That's so cool. Yeah.

Yeah. Even with— I think about like my family raising cattle and, you know, maybe there's some different ways we can work with Dalton at the butcher shop, or, um, you know, just maybe thinking down the road about, um, trying to sell more like retail meat to people. So that's an idea. And I guess I worked with Dalton too, you know, designing his logo and that kind of thing. So there's always those kind of opportunities, I guess. And, um, you know, I— and I was surprised too how much Jake and I's business had in common too.

Yeah, for sure.

Just with how we interact with our customers. So that was really fun too.

Well, and Jake's been— he's a little more established, just he's been running his business a bit longer. And so that's the other thing too that I think I want to encourage everybody listening to this, like, you don't have to run this exact program, but try to find a way to bring people together because What's so cool about the Mastermind experience is that you don't have to come in with like, we need a marketing— you know, you have to do marketing, right? But like, we need a— we need a creative marketing person, and then we need a numbers person, and then we need it. Nope, you just need people to show up as they are, because like everything that the two of you and the entire group, everything you've been through, gives you a perspective that only you can lend to each other. And so to open yourselves up to say, okay, this is what I'm struggling with, and get the opinion of you know, 9 different people to put their brains on your stuff, you're absolutely going to come up with something that you wouldn't have come up with on your own. And whether you decide to try it or not is always up to you, right? But just, that's the power of people. And you don't have to have specific experience, um, as long as it's a moral willingness to show up and help each other and come at it with that collaborative spirit. So it is, uh, it is so— it has been such a fun year, and I have absolutely loved it. It is for me, it's super fun because obviously I get to see the two of you because you pop in for coworking every now and again too. We're lucky to have you. And thank you first of all for saying yes to being a part of the program, for working so hard, for being our inaugural class, and then just for what you continue to do, not just for Oaks, but for me. It's so, so fun. Thank you again for sharing your experience with us. You two are great.

Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

Well, hey ladies, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So we're here to talk about the Mastermind. So you each are the— you're the respective mothers of two of our participants, um, and I just thought it would be fun to have your perspective on this. Like, you know, the Mastermind was a pilot program. You guys knew that it was a whole year And these participants, and I, it was hard for me not to always call them kids because you're, you're two are kids to me, right? But they really, they invested a ton of time in this. And so when we first got our funding, we kind of did a little thing and, you know, they could bring their support people and you guys have been their support people. So either one of you can go first, doesn't matter. But when you just think about what what difference it made, you know, what was the— because we really hope that we can continue to offer this program, you know, widen out the scope, help more people, help more small business owners in small towns. And I think sometimes having— yeah, Kim, you're gonna go— she raised her hand. That's amazing.

I appreciated this, this program a lot because we can talk to our kids till we're blue in the face, but somebody has to say it differently and from a different person for them to really listen to it.

Yeah.

And your brainstorming with these kids was a huge benefit to them staying in the business mind and, and focusing when they're a business of one. Who collaborates with a business of one, right?

It's so lonely. Yeah, it is so long.

You don't know what you don't know. So bringing them together and working on each individual's issues opened up the door for all of those things, for all of those businesses.

And made them realize they weren't alone. I mean, I heard that and, you know, she's probably going to not be happy with me, but I heard that a lot.

Like, I have this problem, but I don't know who to go to.

I don't, you know, I'm in this, like you said, in this business by myself. And a mom can give all the feedback we want, but that doesn't mean— yeah, it's— yes, they appreciate us and they appreciate our perspective, but it is so much better coming from a professional.

Yeah. Or from each other.

Or from each other. Right. Right. I think what's also interesting is, so your, your daughter in particular, and she, she will be named. I'm sorry, like, you, we will know who we're talking about here. But she, one of the things I think, even the process of having to ask for help, it's like a muscle. You get better at asking for help because it, you know, and again, she's, she's a perfectionist by nature. A lot of people have that. Some people don't, right? But when you do, you, the last thing you want to look like is like you you don't know what you're doing or that you're doing it wrong, or that even to ask a question, you're like, I feel like I should know this. I don't know how many times she said that. And I would be like, hey, if you don't know, you don't know, right? Right. So it's even just— it's forcing everybody to realize that, like, what is the worst that can happen if you ask a question and you, you know, you feel what, like you look dumb?

That's—

if that's the worst, but you get an answer that helps you figure something out, it's just— that too is, I think, an interesting skill. That can get developed through something like this.

Well, the other thing I noticed too was just her attitude about getting so excited to come, like when they knew, when she knew it was happening and then call me afterwards and I'd be like, and how, oh my gosh, you know, just so excited to have that. Because I think when you're a business owner by yourself, you kind of like, who am I going to celebrate with or who, you know?

Yeah.

And have that conversation with, like, like you said, whether it's a question or whatever.

But it's very lonely. It's very lonely, right?

I loved the focus on business too. Instead of just doing the busy work of your, your place, you focused on the business and like the growth. Where am I going to see growth at? How can I do this? The collaboration and your collective power together, like getting the grant for his lighting out there. Yeah, huge, huge amount of communication and talking and sharing resources. I thought that was by far one of the best things he got out of the program.

Right.

Well, and I think too, it was kind of fun that there was, there was a really widespread of kind of maturity of businesses in this group because it was our pilot group and they were hand-selected. Right. There's some things that we would do differently just to kind of make it so it's not quite so broad because it was tough sometimes.

Right.

Sure.

But I think even asking those questions like, especially because some of them are so young, they're, they're given to just doing whatever people tell them they ought to do, you know, like, hey, have you thought of— like, so we've got a couple people that make products to be like, you guys should really, you should really do this. And we would just say, do you want to do that? And nobody, you know, and they don't, they don't, they don't have enough time under, you know, under this tension to even think to ask themselves if they want to. So some of it was really fun to help them see, like, you don't have to, you don't have to do everything people tell you you should do it. It doesn't matter. Like, it doesn't matter how much older they are than you. It doesn't, it doesn't matter. It's your business. So also just building them up to have that confidence to run it the way they want to run it. Yeah, I was special to me because I just— helping some of them fire clients, or like, literally, like, are you enjoying working with this human? And it would just— you ask those questions and they're like, oh, I hate, I hate everything about it. Okay then, and it's your business, so let it go. You don't have to, right? So Some of those things I thought were kind of fun too.

Well, and then the learning offsite from that program too, when they got to use the funds to go grow further in their business, that was huge. I mean, that he learned a pile.

You're busy. You're a busy person. And I agree with that.

And Addison picked Kim.

Kim.

Yes.

Huge benefit because she's creative. She does not like going into the numbers.

The numbers, right?

Yes, she is my daughter. Yeah, that's really— but Kim, you know, found a way for the two of them to look at that. Is— and like you said, do you need to— can you get rid of that client that you don't like? Yes, you can. Here are the numbers.

Yeah.

And it was fun. What's fun is like your, your two, um, kids have wildly different businesses, right? As far as what they do. So we had people that had, um, were more service providers, um, you know, like very little overhead. And then we had people like Chris with a massive freaking building, right? And, right, and like real hard stuff that you gotta figure out.

It's—

and yet what's cool about it is you bring people together, and we kind of said this to them right away, like, you are not just your business. You're like, you're the, you're the collective of all the stuff that you've experienced. And so we actually asked them to say like, what are some things you think you are really good at doing that maybe aren't at all connected to your business? Because then they kind of knew what they could ask each other for. It's interesting how, you know, like totally different businesses can provide really interesting perspective. You don't have to— I just don't think a cohort of like all people running the exact same business would actually be all that interesting.

And what about for their, um, their themselves to provide help to somebody else lifts your spirit and your, um, what's the word, you know, like self-esteem, your self-esteem and everything, because you help somebody else where you were stuck with this, they helped you, but you help them and everybody gets raised up.

Yeah, it's very, very give and take. And I think what we hope to create within this group of 9 people, and we have our celebration, um, just next week, so that's going to be really fun, and then they'll bring kind of their support people along and we'll all celebrate together, but That's what I want small town, the small town business community to look like. And I think we have a long way to go because we just get really, you know, we put our blinders on, we put our heads down, we go to work. Like, I get it. But you start thinking about how much better we could be if we would, you know, sometimes maybe lift our head up, look side to side, help each other out.

Right.

And the other thing that's cool with the Oaks kids or the Oaks business owners, there's going to be so many cool collaborations that are going to come down the road from this. And those could have happened without this, but I think this makes it easier. They now know each other. They know where they can help each other.

They have a professional relationship together. Then that makes it easy to use a facility of Chris's because you know them and you're going to ask.

Exactly.

Yeah.

It's not scary because you've had that, like you said, you've seen these meetings went into some pretty scary things for some topic-wise, for sure. And you've seen them at their worst and at their best. And so now you do feel comfortable going, okay, I have this problem, can I still reach out to my group? I bet yes, they are still going to do this even after this is over.

Yeah, there's been even, you know, now that we've officially stopped, you know, meeting regularly, even the texts that'll come, like the— what, there's a guy from Wahpeton, you know, there was a few from the Wahpeton area, right? Um, one will come down here and he like literally just takes pictures of the sausagey pies from Dolan's, right? Like, it's stuff like that where you're just like— he goes, and I never would have— I wouldn't have sought that out, right? And sometimes those things seem meant like not that important, but this— there's also just a huge ripple effect down the road for all of them. You never know when they're going to come back around and need each other or help each other, and I just think it's really special.

So yeah, just getting him outside his box is huge, a huge deal, right?

Well, I really want to thank the two of you for taking the time just to share this perspective because I think it's special I, and it's also really specific for small towns. Like I, you know, I think you guys see, you see where these people show up in other ways and this experience makes them better people, not just better business owners, right? It's like now everything that they volunteer at or they're a part in, they're thinking differently about their role in Oaks as a town. Yes. Um, and the two of you are, you know, huge advocates for everything in Oaks. Um, so I just appreciate you taking the time to share.

Well, we appreciate you taking the work that you put into that program and into the kids, because as an advocate for them, that's a big deal too. So thank you for this program.

It was my absolute pleasure, and I, I just hope that we can find the right funding partner to help us do it again. Yes, absolutely, because there isn't really anything quite like this available, you know. It wasn't— I, we didn't want to just be a workshop provider where, yeah, you know, that, that all those things are great and those can be resources, but to bring people together and actually dig into their businesses. There's not a lot of stuff that's, that's out there that looks like that.

And I realize it might be hard to quantify.

Yes. What you've done for them, right?

But I think, yes, we're their advocates, but we're also their mothers.

So we—

it was a big— it was a huge deal.

Yeah.

I mean, I think of where she was before the program and where she is now in her business itself, and it is amazing.

Well, she is amazing. He is amazing. They're, they're doing really, really important work. And I, again, I think it just shows— it shows everybody what's possible. And I think like, if we don't champion young people coming back and starting businesses, then like, what are we doing? What are we doing here? Yeah, where are we going to end up? And so yeah, all the more that we can continue to be a place where people like that can come and get help. That's what we're here to do.

Well, thanks for the time and the effort because, you know, that is not an easy, easy thing to do to line up all of that stuff. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that Rebecca does and for these programs and kids, and we truly appreciate that.

Well, I appreciate you guys. Thanks so much for taking time today. Hey, Jake, welcome to the show.

How are you today, Rebecca?

I'm doing so good. It's so great to see you. And it was great to catch up real quick on the status of all things business. Because you have a lot of stuff going on over there. So thank you for taking the time to chat with us.

Not a problem.

Appreciate it so much. So you were one of the 9 participants in our original OG. You're the OGs, by the way, cohort for the Rural Mastermind Program. You also, I think in terms of overall business experience and the number of years in business, I think you and Amanda both were in it for a while, but I think you even maybe edged her out a bit in terms of just the length of time that you had been in your business. So you were the most established business owner and you definitely brought a lot of really good reflections, a lot of the local folks to us because you were in a neighboring community. A lot of our local business owners were— age isn't the thing— newer business owners. So they weren't just younger, but they were newer, right? So I want to thank you for everything that you contributed just to the dynamic of the group. You made a huge difference. And so with that, what was, you know, again, being, being a more seasoned business owner, what was kind of for you the thing that you felt like you took away from the program?

Yeah, good question. You know, if I'm being totally honest, I would say some days when I was there, I got more out of the feedback or the back and forth with the other business owners, being able to have conversations and talk about the challenges that we were having. Mm-hmm. Some days it wasn't my challenge. Some days it was a challenge that another business was having.

Mm-hmm.

But being able to sit and have that conversation and think it out and a lot of my previous work history was, it was almost nostalgic for me to be able to listen to some of the challenges. Like Addison was one of them that a lot of the challenges that she had were things that I fought with early in my career. And so it was fun to be able to provide hopefully some value to her.

Oh, 100%. Yeah.

Yeah. And so that was really enjoyable. I would say as far as takeaways for me, probably the relationships was a pretty big one. As we all know, I mean, anytime you're in business, the relationships, your networking, who you know, it really matters. And people that you can have a meaningful, genuine relationship with, not superficial, not just what can you give me? And that, that was probably the most fulfilling from the group. I liked that I was able to come to the group and be open. I don't— as other business owners would know, it's difficult to sit down with family or friends and have a discussion about something that's a challenge within your business because it's really hard for them to relate. Most most people are employees, and that's not a bad thing. But as an employee, the challenges are different. And so it's, it's hard to sit in and find somebody that can actually have a meaningful conversation with you that you can be totally open with.

Right.

And have them feel like we can give a back and forth rather than making someone maybe feel jealous or maybe making them feel overwhelmed or making them just completely confused with, with what you're talking about. So That was huge for me.

You know, for you, Jake, if you think about it, and again, like, I, as we, as we continue to kind of develop out and maybe tweak this program a bit for kind of what our second cohort is going to look like, it isn't that I, I think anybody could come into this program and have their thought about what a specific goal is. But one of the things that you, that you did over the course of the year that we spent together was you went from not having a support person to having a support person. And if you remember, like, that was— we had a big conversation about that because you had kind of two directions you could go with who this next hire would be, right?

Right.

And that I just remember. And so I'm not at all to say that, like, you hired the person you did because of this program, but it was a place for you to come and just really clearly ask the question and get multiple perspectives, right? And so I do think there's something to that. What's also really special about it, it's like even though a lot of the cohort were newer business owners, the value that people bring to a conversation, it isn't just based on their current job or their current role, right? It's like it's entire ways of thinking, it's entire ways of being. And when we're in a situation like that where you can bring up a challenge or whatever, something you're wrestling with and get all those perspectives given in good faith like you said, right? Not from a competitive standpoint. They're literally not there to do anything except to, to help you. That is different, right? It is different. That doesn't really exist for us outside of an intentionally built program.

I mean, I would say it's very fair to say that, that challenge that I had early on as to I knew I needed to hire, but I wasn't sure what that looked like.

Right.

That challenge bringing it to the group, definitely I gained clarity with, you know, what direction I needed to go and also my ultimate decision of how I hired. And then second of all, I would add to what you just said also by bringing it to this group, the people that are in this group, they don't have any dog in the fight, like they don't have a buy-in to my business. And so the opinions that I get back from people in a group like this, they're unbiased.

Right.

They're, they're telling me from their perspective versus knowing my business or having a tie to my business or something like that.

So being married to you or you being their son, you know, that's where family, that's where family, it does get challenging. And I, and families are great, like, right? We need our families and most of us have supportive, like a lot of business owners have supportive families. Um, but they also have that, it's complicated because they're intertwined. And they're— and the decision has an effect on them a lot of times, right? And so we talked about that kind of from the start, like, you can go to your family, but all they want to do is keep you safe.

Yes.

And safety and risk mitigation, we don't live in safe, right? They don't necessarily go together.

So this world inherently is not safe to most people.

Yeah, exactly, exactly. Well, I, I think, um, again, as we look forward to the next cohort, we make additional tweaks and kind of just structurally some things. I, again, I can't, I can't thank you enough. It was a huge ask to be a part of this program. You guys drove over from Wahpeton for most of the sessions, and you really did make the group smarter. You added, you were very, very generous and gracious in your giving, and I just, it's been so great to get to know you. I'm And I'm always in your corner. I think that's the other thing too. Not just me. You have the other 8 participants truly are in your corner. And going forward, you could reach out. And what's kind of been fun too, like occasionally there'll be like a random text thread that'll still come through, right? Where somebody is sharing something and you're buying each other's products. And it's just— it's exactly to me what small community, small businesses should feel like. And you'd think it would happen organically and it doesn't. And so sometimes you need a catalyst, right?

Yeah, that's been a lot of fun, actually. That, that part's been a lot of fun. When I bought Dalton sausage and then threw that out on the, on the chat screen that we have, that was pretty fun.

It was.

But I also want to say, well, first of all, thank you. I appreciate the words and don't downplay your role in this as well. You know, I feel like another huge value for me personally is going to be the relationship that you and I created, because it's just fun when we run into each other now and we're outside of the mastermind and you just— we've already got this connection. And plus, you brought a lot of value to the table. And I think over time you're very well known and connected as well, that even, even later, if I have an issue, you're a person that I can, I can lean on and ask questions. And there's a lot of value there. As well. And so thank you for everything you did.

100%. It's true. You can call me anytime and I will do everything I can to help.

And that's how I feel.

Yeah, good. And I'm glad because that's exactly how I want you to feel. So it was super, super fun to have you in the group. Thanks for taking the time today. Yeah. And don't be a stranger or I'll hunt you down.

Sounds good.

Because I know where you live, Jake. No, I don't. I know where you do business. I'll just knock on your business door.

There you go. Yeah, I'm here. I'm here more than I'm home anyway.

So I know. Okay, thanks So much, Jake.

All right, take care.

Hey, yo, what up? Welcome to the show, friend. Wow, I know. Hey, yo, that's how we do things. Yeah, so we're here to talk about the Mastermind. So how, how was it for you? What was it like? What was your favorite part? Maybe let's start there.

I think that my favorite part was just getting to form this network of people. And like other small business owners, right?

Yeah, because like seriously, I— there's— so there's 9 of you in this group, and I think everybody has kind of said that like you obviously the 5 of you that are here in Oaks would have eventually crossed paths, but yeah, there's a different level of support and like celebration and sharing each other's stuff. Don't you feel like that than there would have been if you hadn't spent this time together?

Absolutely. And it kind of like gives us the confidence to pitch ideas to each other that we wouldn't have had before.

Right, right. What, um, what do you think you gained? Well, what do you think you gained the most? Like, if there was something— when you think about when you came in to where you were, because we were—

we did—

it was a whole year we spent together. Obviously you've got your network, super important.

Yeah.

But what else on the personal side, maybe for you as the person running this business?

I think it kind of helped me put in, like, put things in order of what I need to prioritize. Like, with Kim, it was like, know your numbers, you need to look at your books like almost every day, right?

Right.

And it's like, I'm not—

I'm—

I look at my bank account almost every day now.

Yeah, where you didn't before. Yeah, so I think that's really important, Brittany, because like It's fun. You, you and I, like, our origin story now has been kind of widely told, right? The fact that you're from my community, you and I had never met, you walked up, introduced yourself, and I was like, hey, you should maybe come and think about doing this thing. And you come home here and you do this thing, which is, you know, you own our bakery, and you're— you have the talent, you have the skills. That doesn't necessarily mean you knew anything really about what it was going to take to run a business. And that's no small thing. And I knew that when I asked you to consider it, right? And I just think, and I have felt this way, and this is why I think this program is so important, is that I think if we can equip people like you that have a really specific skill that our town actually needs, right? Like, we—

I—

and again, when I was, um, trying to get people to understand why I would like why I would recruit you, or why I would try to get you to do this, or why I would want you to do this. It's like, well, do any of you know how to cook? And the thing is, a bunch of people in this town, we know how to— there's people around here that know how to run businesses. Yeah, right. There's just core skills, like skills that we can, we can show you and teach you. We can't necessarily learn how to make food the way you make food. Yeah, you know what I mean?

I do.

And so for me, it's just like, this is super important. It's super important to the vitality of a town like ours. That we can support you with a really specific skill to actually make a business out of it.

Yeah, it, it's kind of crazy.

I know it is.

I get questions, or I get asked quite a bit, you know, why don't you do a cooking class or something? And I'm like, I'm a terrible teacher.

I know, literally, like, I can appreciate that so much. Your food is so good, Brittany. I mean, it is. Like, I think in, in the article for the Forum, what Tammy, the writer had asked me was like, what do you think, what do you think she's meant to the community? And I was like, I think she's opened up our, our, like, our palates, like our sense of adventure food-wise.

Yeah.

And I think that's really— I think it's cool. So, but I can also see how you're very much— well, why don't you talk about your process with putting food together? Just because I think it's kind of rad. Why it would be hard for you to like teach a bunch of people how to make food the way that you do.

So the way I approach it is I kind of use what I have and I focus on what is available to me. So I try to get as much as I can locally, and then I just buy whatever else I need to. And then I kind of just go off the wall when I have to make a lunch. I'm like, what do I have? What needs to be used up and what will go well together?

Yeah. And it's almost like a daily episode of Chopped is how I feel about it with you. Like, because, you know, it's like you open a mystery box and you're like, Well, these 3 things, what do I do to put it together? And that's an— there's an innate skill to that. I think there's an innate creativity that you have to, to make food like that. Some of it's training, right?

Yeah.

Some of it, like you— and I don't know if you, if you want to talk about the other places that you worked where you maybe picked some of that up, um, but I can see how— and that's what I think is cool about it. Food is an art. Yeah, right?

Yeah. Well, I think one of the biggest, um, uh, things in a restaurant is just knowing how to get multiple uses out of one product, right?

Yeah.

Um, just to increase like profitability, you know. Um, and so that was one big thing that I learned. And then I learned that at Mezzaluna, I learned that at Nicole's. Like, what can I do to use up this pastry cream, right? You know, what can I make to use up these egg yolks?

Yeah.

Or even at Burn Bombs with the daily greens, the egg in the day, the vegetable quiche. It was always finding things we had on hand that went together, right?

Yeah, I think it's a really cool way to approach food, and I can— again, I can see why it'd be hard for you to teach a bunch of us how to do it. But I think, I, you know, again, the point of this is that with this mastermind, um, I hope you feel I hope you feel more capable. That's what I really hope for you. Like, you came back and took a huge risk to buy this building, to start this business. Already was— I mean, you did it. You stepped out, you did it. And now, in my opinion, I'm like, why wouldn't we all do everything we can to help you soar? Like, yeah, you know, and I get that not everybody has that outlook. That's fine. But I do. And this program was meant to to give you access to people and to maybe some knowledge points that would have been harder for you to access on your own. Do you feel like that we accomplished that?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think, you know, just having people there to talk to who know, like, like Dalton at the Butcher Shop, you know, we can talk about the best sale to run or if we want to collab on a project or something. You know, we have that connection and we have that now.

Yeah.

Well, I— it's been— I know it's been hard, Brittany. I know. And I'm just so proud of you.

I know.

I'm so proud of you. I love having you down the street. By the way, folks, she did bring me a cookie, so I'm going to eat that when we're done here because it's a good pick-me-up for me. But I also want to remind everybody and make sure you know this too. And I think I said this when I was interviewed about you. I think they asked me about you. Um, that it's not just that you fill a business here. For, for me, like, that's, that's important and that's wonderful. It's that you bring something, like, you, your personality, who you are, the way you show up for people. It adds something to our community. And I, I encourage everybody that's going to be listening to this to think about that. Like, what does your town need more of? And what would it look like if you invited those people back home?

Yeah, you know, it's kind of funny. I was talking to an old classmate, um, a couple— this was probably a couple months ago— and she's like, yep, you're just as weird as you were in high school. And I'm like, yeah, but you know what, it's led me to some really great things, and I'm not a boring person, right?

You're not a boring person. And I, I, I love Again, like, if we're gonna call you weird, like, fine, I guess. Like, I literally say to my daughter, like, why wouldn't we— why wouldn't you want to be your own brand of weird? Like, yeah, you know, I don't, I don't think you're weird at all. I think you're quirky. I think I'm quirky. Like, yeah, right? And I, I just think, um, that's— there's so much we can learn from embracing people.

Yeah.

In their individuality, in their uniqueness, and make room for them. Yeah, right. And I hope that— I know there's been— I know it's challenging, you know. I know you've actually said like, I just missed some of my weirdos, right? Like, you're the people that you got to see every day in downtown Fargo, which is very eclectic and different from what you're seeing every day here. There's no doubt about that. And I don't think I ever was like, oh no, it'll be exactly the same, don't worry, you'll feel exactly— like, that'd be lying, and I'm not a liar, right? But I think you are shaping us And I, and I think that's special, and I think it's cool, and I think we all need to make a little more room.

Yeah, you know, it— if when there's somebody who comes in regularly at the shop, they kind of know what to expect from me. Like, I'm a tsar. I'm gonna yell at them from the back.

Yeah, be like, yo, what it do?

From the back. And if they can hear me.

Yeah, right. And it depends on who's walking.

Yeah.

You know, and usually if it's someone who hasn't been in there quite a bit.

I'm a little more normal, right?

Yeah, you dial it back a bit. Sure, a little bit. But yeah, we're just happy to have you, Brittany. I was happy to have you in the program. Um, and I just hope, again, I hope that more people think about asking for— first of all, just ask. Ask the talent. Like, if you want somebody back in your town, ask them, because we really don't know where people are at. And it feels good to be wanted. It does, you know, when you feel a really specific, interesting, and important need in this town and It's just been so fun to get to know you. So thank you for coming on the show and talking about this whole experience. And yes, everybody come to Oaks and visit Brittany.

Yes.

She'll yell at you from the back.

Yeah. I'll say weird things to you.

Yeah.

It's a full experience. Yeah. Thanks, kid.

Appreciate you.

Appreciate you.