Get ready to ride shotgun with us as we take a road trip through the world of entrepreneurship, social media savvy, and the charming chaos that is family life with our fantastic friend & Instagram star, Carla Bushey. You an follow Carla on Instagram at @Carla.Bushey
Hit us up on Instagram and give our hotline a call at 864-982-5029. Happy listening! And remember to leave us a rating and review.
We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales on Sundays and Thursdays at 8pm est. Use Code Fig10 for 10% Off.
Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @Farmshenanigans. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Use Coupon Code Fig10 for 10% Off Your Purchase. Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
Get ready to ride shotgun with us as we take a road trip through the world of entrepreneurship, social media savvy, and the charming chaos that is family life with our fantastic friend & Instagram star, Carla Bushey. You an follow Carla on Instagram at @Carla.Bushey
Hit us up on Instagram and give our hotline a call at 864-982-5029. Happy listening! And remember to leave us a rating and review.
We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales on Sundays and Thursdays at 8pm est. Use Code Fig10 for 10% Off.
Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @Farmshenanigans. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Use Coupon Code Fig10 for 10% Off Your Purchase. Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
Well, jump in, let's get on the road. Oh you, ready to get to it, ready to go Got things?
Speaker 2:to do, people to see, let's go. It's time for another episode of who's Driving. Welcome to who's Driving. I'm Wesley Turner and I'm Stephen.
Speaker 1:Merck. We're two best friends in entrepreneurship.
Speaker 2:Who's Driving is an entertaining look into the behind the scenes of our lives, friendship and businesses.
Speaker 1:These are the stories we share and topics we discuss, as two best friends would on a long road trip.
Speaker 2:Along the way, we'll check in with friends and offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media and all things home and garden.
Speaker 1:Buckle up and enjoy the ride. You never know who's driving or where we're headed.
Speaker 2:All we know is it's always a fun ride and on this week's episode we have a hitchhiker joining us a good old ride along. One of our favorite friends and Instagram creator, influencer Carla Busce, is going to be joining us Small business owner.
Speaker 1:She's a little bit of everything, Mom wife.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm looking forward to talking to her because she's kind of from a social media standpoint, like me, where she does influencing but she's also in, has a business, so she's selling her own products plus doing influencing, you know.
Speaker 1:Has brick and mortar.
Speaker 2:Right. So it's kind of the whole package there of that. As far as relatability not to discount anyone else it's just like we talked about in a previous episode. Sometimes you're just an influencer or you're just promoting your. You know your own business.
Speaker 1:So I'm looking forward to being Carla's just amazing. I mean, she just she does it all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she does it all very well, yeah, and though she's grown her account a lot the last year, so I want to talk to her about that she's just an impressive person. She be posting like every day.
Speaker 1:I'm like how, every day? And how does she come up with these damn recipes?
Speaker 2:I know all the time.
Speaker 1:Oh, everything's different.
Speaker 2:I look at.
Speaker 1:I mean I've quit messaging her because every day I see something I'm like oh, I like that.
Speaker 2:Well, you got a messenger because that's engaged, I know.
Speaker 1:I do. I like it, it's calm you know, but you know, it kind of pisses me off because they're in New Jersey and I wish they were here, because I'd be like, hey, could you drop that off.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, hey, I'm gonna swing by and get that off your hands.
Speaker 2:Before we pick up, carla, though I have a little, I have something I feel like we need to discuss.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:You know what. I am so tired of what and I just wanted to get your opinion on it. Maybe, maybe it's just me, maybe you noticed it too, but when are we going to stop, we collectively as a universe? I feel like blaming like every day, like everything. On COVID, do you know what I'm talking about? Like I feel like we went through COVID, which was a thing not discounting that but then everyone now takes responsibility for nothing and it's all COVID's fault.
Speaker 2:Like it's like oh we can't get to that because it's COVID. Oh, we're short-handed because it's COVID. Well, our service sucks because it's COVID Like. Are we ever like?
Speaker 1:I agree, but I think it's. I think it has gone a step further than that and it's. It's worse because now there is this weird acceptance of laziness.
Speaker 2:It's just the way it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's how I feel we're out of that's out of stock and it's not like there's a rush on it. You don't even get the excuse now, due to COVID. Yeah it's just like it's out.
Speaker 2:We don't know it's like we went through that whole period with the COVID and it did cause major interruptions and is if anyone should know we do business owners, when we couldn't even get product and it was like hunting or like can you send me anything? What do you got in your warehouse?
Speaker 1:Let me know it's like it's no big deal when it's not available. Yeah, it's, but like everything every building stuff like because I'm going through like today's Is that the word Like so days ago?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going through a remodel with clients designing their home, and I just feel like, you know, I don't want to call anybody out there here, you know, here in Greenville, so I don't want to say anything. But I mean, it can be whatever, what, whether it's you know, again, I don't want to call anybody out, so I don't want to say what it but it's like, yeah, that's not in stock, we're not going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh yeah, that was broken. That's not going to be an until May. Yeah, it's like there's no accountability and no rush ownership yeah.
Speaker 1:No one. I feel like no one gets in a rush. It's like going to McDonald's to. You know, you can go to McDonald's down there and now there's one window open, yeah, instead of two. Or one of the lanes is blocked off and they don't have help. And I get it, I know, but I get there's not enough staffing, but all that started with COVID and it's just gotten more. Where the hell are the people? Yeah?
Speaker 3:Where do they work? How?
Speaker 1:do they get money? Yeah, I need to know, I need to sign up for whatever they're doing, but it's like there's no, it's. The world is just different now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm ready for it to get back to being like a sense of urgency in anything. I feel like we moved to the Bahamas have you ever visited the Bahamas. I've never been to the Bahamas. Well, let me tell you they don't get in a hurry for anything, don't give a shit about anything and it's just yeah, I'm on. I mean literally. And I feel like that's where we are now, but even there's not like you can't get like a car yeah.
Speaker 1:Like you know in November and you know, I went in literally to get my car serviced and I walked into the showroom in the car that I bought was in the showroom and I didn't know this. You know it was just there, I didn't know. It was the only one at the dealership that it had just gotten in that day.
Speaker 2:I didn't know that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was just like. I like that car, I want to buy that car and I get there. You know, I leave and I call and we make the deal over the phone and I get there to pick my car up and there's two other people wanting my car and I didn't know this.
Speaker 2:Oh and selfish. They were very Only child over here. They were angry. Oh were they.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I didn't know. I didn't know what was going on, I just was like God, these people keep lurking and they're looking at me. I guess they were like waiting if I were going to pay for the car or not, and they were going to get it. I don't know. But I'm like why in the hell is there only one? Yeah, like what happened to the day you went to the car lot and you had 12 to choose from.
Speaker 2:But what happened to all the cars? How do they stay in business with just one car at a time? I don't know. I don't know where they are and how many salespeople are there still, Like you get the next car. I mean, it's just.
Speaker 1:I feel like it's everything. You know a friend of mine wanted a Rolex watch and you know it was a special thing. We go to the Rolex store in Charlotte and there's these beautiful Rolex Explorer that he wants right there, right there in the glass box, yes, you can try it on.
Speaker 1:And I was like, oh, it's beautiful, yes, you should get it. Sorry, it's not for sale, what? And we were like it's not. No, that's just for you to see, we don't have them. And we were like, well, can you get on like a waiting list? You have to go to your hometown and get on a waiting list there.
Speaker 2:Why. Hell if I don't know, but why was the watch? Just for you to see?
Speaker 1:I don't know. They have exhibit only.
Speaker 2:So how to get the?
Speaker 1:watch. We came back to Greenville and went to the drawer here in Greenville that it's a Rolex dealer got on a waiting list. Yeah, they located a watch and got it and I don't know like it's just weird, but like he could have gotten a used Rolex Explorer and it would have been like $3,000 more Than a new one, than a new one, I don't know. But it's like watches, cars. I feel like you know everything you go to get, like car parts, everything like are we ever going to get back?
Speaker 2:to where we used to be. That's exactly what I was wondering how, how do you feel about this as a listener? Do you run into this problem too? Or are we just in a bubble where we have this problem? Yeah, Do you have this problem where you feel like it's all just eh?
Speaker 1:Cause, like a refrigerator, you might wait three months on a certain refrigerator.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so let us know on our hotline. It's 864-982-5029 and it's also below in the show notes.
Speaker 1:But and if it's not that way where you live, let me know where cause we may be located. But I just feel like everyone's attitude is just eh, it's just changed, well, it's kind of like Hawaii, not to pick on any anybody, but you know Hawaii is very laid back and that's why you like to go there and vacation, Right, I feel like the entire mainland of the United States has just got laid back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which, to an extent, for certain things, is Good, but there's gotta be a balance.
Speaker 1:There's gotta be a balance of you know it used to not be acceptable. Right, at all, it wasn't acceptable before COVID and now it's acceptable. Yeah, it's just kind of weird. It's just weird, I don't know.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:I mean, maybe it's just gonna stay this way.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean it maybe it is Just a little shift and we'll get used to it. But, it's kind of one of those things, that's just. You know I'm more. It's kind of so surprising to me because everything has been like I want easy access to the net, like I don't really ever go to Walmart or anything, but you know, like they used to be open 24 hours. They're not open 24 hours it's like. It's like things used to be convenient and now it's gone.
Speaker 1:The other way it's like, yeah, it's not even restaurants.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:McDonald's were open 24 hours. A lot of McDonald's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or 11 o'clock. Now they close at 9 o'clock.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh. Like it's like what and when you really notice. When I notice it even more is when I'm on vacation like. Dylan and I were in New Orleans for New Year's.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And everything closed at like 9, 10 o'clock and you're like what? And I'm like, and I've been there before and I'm like what in the hell? And you know me, yeah, I say what in the hell?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And they, you know, they said well, since COVID, everything's changed. I'm like that was four years ago.
Speaker 2:Right, it is crazy. It is also crazy that that's been like four years ago. It is.
Speaker 1:But it's like they're like the city that you know. The people at the hotel told me the city just changed after COVID and you know they can't get the employees. Yeah, and they're just is not open all night like it used to be. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's just crazy. I feel like things were convenient and like we lived in a world where it's like oh, I can get this access to pretty much anything like right now, no matter what time, even even us living like in more of a rural area than, say, New York city or something you could still, like I said, get access, and now it's like it swung the exact opposite. Yeah, it's like it.
Speaker 1:it's just weird to me. It is weird, and I mean even like and I'm talking like in New Orleans even like the Shake Shack closes early and like restaurants, restaurants late night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they closed. And I was saying, you know the bars are going to be closing at 10 o'clock.
Speaker 1:Well, it was next to it. I mean, it's a good thing. I'm not a wild partier, I know it's crazy.
Speaker 2:All right, let's pick up. Carla, you want to pick up?
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm excited to talk to her. You get her in the car?
Speaker 2:Yeah, All right, let's do it. Oh, we picked her up. We have Carla Bushey in the car with us.
Speaker 1:Helling from New Jersey.
Speaker 2:New Jersey hey girl.
Speaker 3:Hello, hello.
Speaker 2:How's it going?
Speaker 3:Very good, very good.
Speaker 2:What is the weather like today up there in New Jersey?
Speaker 3:It's beautiful. Today it's like 50 degrees sunny.
Speaker 1:Hell. It's better there than it is here.
Speaker 2:No, it's cloudy.
Speaker 3:I know.
Speaker 2:But it's probably about 50 degrees.
Speaker 3:No, it's been great this week. I can't complain.
Speaker 2:Oh good, so if you don't follow Carla, we'll go ahead and give you a little shout out, because you need to follow Carla at Carlabushey B-U-S-H-E-Y right, yes, On Instagram. So Carla has become a good friend of ours. I would say I don't know how we let her up in our little circle, but she got up in here stalking us. That's what it was. She stalked us at market.
Speaker 1:It was awkward and then we just said, you know, let's just let her in the circle.
Speaker 3:I actually have to say that it was the other way around.
Speaker 2:No, we absolutely love you, but if you don't follow Carla, then definitely give her a follow, and you may if you've been following her for a while or talked to or been heard us talk about or have listened to our podcast. We interviewed your husband, rich, back at the, I don't know, last year or sometime. Yeah, but y'all also have Oak Hill Farm. So, other than being an Instagram influencer, big time gal, y'all also have your farm and your farm store.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, and I do have to say that my feelings were a little hurt, that my husband was one of the first people on your podcast and know me what.
Speaker 1:Honey, we love Rich a little bit more than we love you. No it just, it just had to be that way, yeah.
Speaker 3:She's very lovable, I get it.
Speaker 2:So one thing that I had never thought about. Or to ask you, how is your farm and farm store close to your house, or is that two different places? Two different places.
Speaker 3:Yes, two different places, but I leave five minutes from the farm.
Speaker 1:Okay, so your farm's just like you didn't know that I didn't know, I thought it was the same, but Carla told me, like this past year, it's two or maybe Rich did Two different properties.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:So is that better for you, being a little separated? It has to be, yeah.
Speaker 3:Definitely, definitely. I think I wouldn't be able to disconnect if I actually live on the property, right, so it allows me to. Okay, this is it. The day is over. And now I have to do family things not even family things, because I come home to film or do things for like, sometimes it's still the farm or all the work that we don't like to do. But you know, bills, payroll, all that kind of stuff in my home office, but at least it's not on the property.
Speaker 1:Right and I get. Our listeners can probably pick up because you have this sexy, sexy action that you are. You're not originally from New Jersey, you are Peruvian. That's right so and when did you come to the United States?
Speaker 3:I was 19 when I came here and I'm 42 now, so I've been living here for longer than I've been living in.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're only 42.
Speaker 3:I thought you will say. I thought you will say something like girl, I thought you were 32.
Speaker 1:So you've only been here for 10 years, right? No?
Speaker 3:That's right, that's funny.
Speaker 2:So how did you get on Instagram? Like, how did you originally start on Instagram? Because you started. When did you start on Instagram and what made you start?
Speaker 3:I don't even remember when I started. No, I remember, because I was a maternity leave with Alexandria, so I just had the baby. Alexandria is going to be eight this August, so I've been on Instagram for seven years.
Speaker 2:So we started we're not started about the same time then. So that was back before. Influencers were really a thing. Yes, yes.
Speaker 3:It was like all about community and I started as a home decor account and it was just something like I need a little outlet besides taking care of a baby, because I'm very active and I have a lot of energy, as you guys know. Right, thanks for watching. So I was, I just had the baby I had all this time. I was off from work and I was doing a lot of things in my house, redecorating. I was shopping a lot. So my husband was like, okay, so you have to do something besides shopping. Yeah, we're going to go broke with you at home.
Speaker 3:So so I opened I never heard from Instagram and I don't know how something popped and I said, oh, you know, I found an Instagram account.
Speaker 3:I opened an account not thinking of anything, just to follow, and then I said, well, I can do this too, like I like to decorate my house and I see how they're doing it.
Speaker 3:So I opened an account, not thinking anything of it, and I started posting pictures of my living room and my dining room and little ideas and all of a sudden, I started growing, yeah, and I said, oh, okay, this is fun and you find a lot of friends and you find a lot of like people in the same community. At the time he was home decor, like I said. So it was like really nice to be able to talk to someone that like the same things, because sometimes you have friends but they don't get it. They don't get like social media or they don't get what you like or why you are on social media. So finding people that it was super fun and after when I started growing is when we started thinking about oh, let's do something bigger and better out of these. You know, like why do I have followers? And you know, like in people that really like what we do, if we're not going to do something out of it. So that's how we started our business too, yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's how you started the farm, your farm store.
Speaker 3:Well, we started the farm on a different for different circumstances. First, like Richard and I, we were together and we bought the house and we started farming in the back just for us. And when we started sharing with like friends and family the products that we were getting like rich, doing the beekeeping as a hobby and I was doing candles and like things from like the goats, the milk and from the beeswax and things like that I started making products. And when I share it, people said, like you have a really good product, I mean you should like. A lot of people can benefit from it, so you should share it with others. And that's when we started like selling it and I will do Instagram lives when life just came on on Instagram and whatever I will put, I will sell Right and I said OK.
Speaker 3:So I see the need and people really like it, so let's take it to the next level. Then we started going to markets locally, like those farm markets and you know things like that, and then people started buying everything we brought. So we got, little by little, in a conservative way, to the next level and the next level and the next level. So from an Etsy shop to our own website to like online sales on a bigger scale, and then to the farm.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which is so cool, because that is, it's so cool to hear how, again, businesses get started and that sort of thing. And the two key points that you've already talked about is one if you, if someone wants to start on Instagram and maybe their long term goal is to become like an influence or something and I've said this before but, like how you said, you get on there and first develop why you're there, like if you're a home decor account or what you want your account to be, and then you make all these friends and it does become a community and then out of that you can review like, well, where do I want to take this, what, what can I do? Exactly, these people who connected, but then also on a small business level, like how you started at your house and then you just make those little baby steps. Then you start, like you said, going to farmers markets and then you take it online and then next thing you know you have a big store.
Speaker 1:Mm, hmm, and you have such a beautiful store. Yeah, you're gorgeous. Your barn store is just gorgeous.
Speaker 3:Thank you, and I have to give credit to Rich Fra because he really I have the vision. Once the place is kind of like built, or when, like when we have to change the decor seasonally, I can only have to see the store put together for me to say, oh, this is going to go here, this is going to go there, and I started my decoration and my vision. But he's the one like that's why we team up so great. He's the one who can get like from zero to like building whatever.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we know who. The backbone of the business.
Speaker 3:No, like you know, it always happens like that. I have to tell you, when he was building the barn is at 2800 square feet barn and when he just had the marks of how big he's going to be, I kept saying this is more than our living room. This is never going to work out. If he's like, just trust me, trust me, it's going to be fine, it's going to be tall, it's going to be like everything's going to be great, and we got like fights over like this is too small and when everything was built it was just perfect. But I don't have that vision. Well, he does, and sometimes he just like you know let me do my thing on the second part and he just tries to process.
Speaker 1:So you know, it's just like our business. Both of us have our roles in our parts, in our strengths and differences in it.
Speaker 2:It just works, like you're saying, like one can picture one thing, one can picture the other part of it, and we have to also trust the process in each other that OK, he knows what he's talking about. We're just we're going to trust this, and then it you guys make a great team. It really do, mm hmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just like you guys, and it's. It's great to know other people that they actually rely on their partner, on their business partner, because it is so important. You cannot do it all, so once you have that other person that you can count on, it's just like amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really is.
Speaker 1:And now in in the past year, your Instagram has phased from really more about Oak Hill farms.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because they have its own Instagram.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you were, you kind of phased it, and now you have Carla Bushy, carlabushy.
Speaker 2:She leveled up. Yes, first of all, we need to congratulate her because she just recently hit just your. I mean now you're over 400,000 followers. Damn, you got girl, mm. Hmm.
Speaker 1:Well, that was a huge growth.
Speaker 3:You. It was a huge, huge growth last year.
Speaker 1:You work so hard and I always say this to Wesley. So I want to ask you and I did not ask you when we talked offline because I wanted to save it, I wanted it to be real how in the hell do you come up with all those different recipes and different things you do Like? How do you come up with all those?
Speaker 3:So I think it's a combination, number one, and what Wesley was saying before you just get started and you start like, like you said, like baby steps, and when I started as a home decor account, it was a way to just let my creativity go. But then you go back to really like your real niche, right, and for me, I went to culinary school, so for me, recipes always are something that I cook every day. I can whip anything like at any time and that's what comes so easy and so simple to me, like for some other people. Yeah, it's very natural, it's something that I don't have to put a lot of effort into it and that's what we talked about you make it look easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we talked about that in previous episode is being genuine to yourself and so that when you write those recipes comes very genuine and easy, and then it doesn't. It's not. I mean, it's all work, but it's not as hard as work and that's why, for me, like decorating is not. It's genuine because it's what we deal with every day.
Speaker 1:And I think that's why I like being at the plant the garden store, because I'm going there when we finished here today and that is a very comfortable place for me. Yeah, so I'm excited today to even put that in my stories, because that's just genuine second nature.
Speaker 3:Yeah, mm, hmm, yes, and when it comes natural to you and you stay true to who you are, it just works. So I think that's what I saw a lot of growth last year just doing the recipes and for me it's also so important that I share something that people can do that is relatable to others, and I have so many husbands that come to their farm and they said I just wanted to thank you because now my wife cooks and I never did before. That's a huge compliment to me, because you know it is a huge compliment and I'm like, OK, now is your time to let her go and spend all her money Because she's cooking for you, you know. But but it's like really what I want to accomplish? I want to.
Speaker 3:I grew up in a house where family was everything and we value that so much and you guys know us personally and I think people on Instagram see it like the love that Richard and I have for our family, for our children, for what we do together is like the number one thing. So food brings people together and for me to share like something that you're going to spend a little bit of time cooking, but that time with your family, engaging with them, listening to your children or to others that gathering together, that is so important, so I put a lot of focus on that, like easy recipes that will bring people together, and that's just like my purpose.
Speaker 2:Right, it's so awesome. So, like I mentioned, you had a real blow up last year. A blow up, a blow up on social media. What do you think was the secret sauce in that? What do you think it like if someone out there is trying to get into it or you know, what advice do you have? And what do you think kind of made that happen? Was it you posted every day? Because I think you post it seems like you post every day and I'm always blown away Like oh, a new idea she does.
Speaker 3:Yeah, do you ever miss a day?
Speaker 2:What's your advice?
Speaker 3:So I think what I did different last year than others was consistency. I was very consistent and it took me a while because I was always so focused on my business and growing my own brand and what I did. I think I took the right steps and that was my main focus and I did it. But once you have that business like that is running, you can rely on people. My team is amazing. So I just let go of that, because I do have to say I'm very controlling. So I let go a little bit of that because I knew I had aces in places.
Speaker 3:I was able to focus on Instagram a lot more and that was consistent.
Speaker 3:For the very first time where I knew my audience was expecting Carla to show up every day at 8 pm, sundays at 6 pm, and that's what got me more of a loyal following and a lot of growth, because it was every single day. I do have to say I post every day, fridays. I am not much on Instagram ever, but like Monday to Thursday and then Saturday and Sunday and every single day last year I posted religiously, even if I was going away, because we travel quite a bit. I make sure I have my content set up and ready to go, even when I was away, because that's my job, like I'm going away but I still have a job to. I'm not present at home or what I have to post, but I can do it remotely. I was very mindful of that and that consistency. Through batching I can cook recipes and I did that for three recipes or four recipes in one day to be able to batch it and have it ready for when I was away. But yeah, consistency was key for me.
Speaker 1:And you don't sleep a lot.
Speaker 3:She does. I do not sleep a lot, I don't, I don't. I say I'm an early riser and I'm a night owl too, which it works for me, but it doesn't work for many people. But it could be simple things Like if they're in home decor, they can do a little decoration or they can share like a product that they found, or like simple things. I don't think it has to be very complicated, I just think it has to be on a regular basis.
Speaker 2:Consistent. I need to be a little more consistent. The key for me that I feel like and I want to ask you, is being, like you said, batching things is more, I guess we would say, being prepared. How far in advance, like right now, how many videos do you have recorded for, like your reels for recipes, like how far in advance are you working?
Speaker 3:So I try to work a week ahead. If I'm going away, I try to have a week and a half possible. So right now, for example, I have all my work done for this weekend up to Monday. And I am going to film tomorrow to have it ready until next Friday.
Speaker 2:Okay. That makes sense yeah that makes total sense and that's what I need to do more on with like stylings and that sort of thing, and I'll get on it for a minute and I'll batch a few and then I'll be good to go. And then you know, next thing, I know works in the way and I'm like chasing my tail.
Speaker 1:Before you slip all day.
Speaker 2:That's a lot. That is a lot. No, you call me and get me off track that I got to go do something else and I was like I was planning on just decorating and filming. But okay, so you film. So basically you have, you know, try to have like a week's worth. But do you keep a notebook of ideas, like, do you have recipes or ideas planned out beyond that, or do you just kind of jump one down as they come along? How does that process work?
Speaker 3:So what I do is right now. I use my notes on my phone a lot.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:I think I have 554 notes right now from everything from the farm, from like like house, from past was from everything but my content. I have like three big notes. One is the content schedule, which right now I have three weeks worth of content Like from like I have until end of February, of all the ideas that I feel like I'm going to have like day by day, except Fridays, day by day of what I want to be sharing. Yeah, and this year I said I want to have a little bit more home decor, so easy decorating ideas, or like easy crafts, like I shared one of those yesterday.
Speaker 1:Yes, you did a tarotata vase.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes. So I'm trying to get easy things like that. That actually worked for me very well last month with like, even if it's like I share, I think, valentine's basket. But it was a different idea for children, because I have kids and I know many moms can relate to that too. So a little things like that, at least one or two per week. So I have my content of what I would like to share, if everything works out and all the stars align until end of February, yeah. But then I have the other note when I have ideas, have that.
Speaker 3:I mean, I have all Easter things that sometimes I see on TV or I see on Pinterest, or I was browsing something or rich sense my way and I'm like, oh, this is really cool. One thing I do is like I never do it as I see it. I always put my own twist Right. Otherwise I'm just like resharing something that somebody else did. I always try to put my own twist on things.
Speaker 3:What works for me is that when I see a recipe finish, if I see a picture, I don't have to go and look at the ingredients. I know from my background what I have to be putting in. So it's actually my recipe because I choose to do it my own way just from seeing the picture. So that works on my advantage. But I have those notes and the other note is the actual note of my grocery shopping, my supplies list, that reach, or my Gianna now because of Fias in college, but Gianna is a senior so she drives, so she tries to help me out and be like Okay, mom, what do I need to get for you today?
Speaker 1:Okay, I have those three main list. Yeah, I have another question Do you and your family actually eat all of the things that you prepare Like?
Speaker 3:we do like no, yes, that's like a very question that I get all the time. What do you do with all the food? Well, up to before, my mom still live with us and we were a family of six, so it's a lot of people that eat. If I'm making a taco word, everybody's eating that for dinner. If I'm making a breakfast when I'm at night, everybody's gonna have that for dinner. That's just how it works for us. A lot of things I save and I have for lunch or I have leftovers, and I do send a lot of the food, the treats that I make, to the farm for people to just have.
Speaker 3:And I also have, yes, and I also have a girl that works with me every single day and she has two hungry boys that are like older, so she takes a lot of my stuff too. So we always we never throw food out and we always eat it, or a lot of things like, for example, for Christmas time there's a lot of like streets and things like that I reuse on many of my boards. So I make sure that when I'm recording, even if I'm gonna split that content in three weeks I am using the same things on one board, or three recipes, and then you know I'll just give it up, but I try to be mindful of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's, that's, I just wondered, because you're very health conscious and very fit too. So I was like what do you do with all the food?
Speaker 3:I do involves a lot, but I do run a lot too, so I run between five and eight miles a day.
Speaker 2:So you're off setting, you're eating.
Speaker 1:And how many hours do you sleep? A day Four.
Speaker 3:Yeah, four or five maybe. Yeah, that's crazy, not alone.
Speaker 2:I need a little more sleep. I'm a night owl, but I need a little bit more sleep.
Speaker 1:Which, for health purposes, you're supposed to sleep eight hours a night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so but I've been doing better in the new year. I've been trying to make myself go to bed earlier and getting up early.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that usually you try to do that the first.
Speaker 2:I get it there for like the first quarter, until some busy holiday season comes along, then it's all gone. And then it's all gone Because it is Like right now there's a little bit more steady. I wouldn't say downtime, but it's a little bit more steady versus holidays. It's normal. Yeah, oh, totally it's normal this time of year.
Speaker 1:You know how it is when you're, when you work all night. Retain, yeah, then your whole.
Speaker 2:It just gets all out of whack. Yeah, it's hard to get it back on track too.
Speaker 1:Well, I've hit that age. I'm just going to go ahead and tell you about 50. Is that age where those all-nighters really take its toll? It's hard. I used to be able to just pop up after a day and a half and I'm back. No, all-nighters are really not good for me to do anymore, because it throws me off so bad.
Speaker 2:I just get in that. What happens is, when we get really busy, I get in the habit of staying up later and later, because I can get so much more done, because no one's bothering me. It's not, you know, it's just totally different. And then that's where my schedule gets off. But I'm trying to get it back under control.
Speaker 3:I agree. That's why I go to bed late too, because everybody sleeps and I get some work done, and then I get up earlier, before anybody wakes up, so I can also have peace and quiet and get all their work done. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:So I will say I will never get up early enough to be up before everyone. So even though. Here's the problem, though, that my internal problem is, I'll get up earlier, like, oh, I'm getting up earlier or whatever, and then I get nothing done, because people are calling and texting and this and that and that, and so then I'm like well, I got up early, for no, I didn't accomplish anymore than if I would have just stayed up late and got it all done.
Speaker 1:But I will tell you this because you're eight years younger than I am. I used to be able to sleep so much yeah, I was about three million hours, for sure, when I was younger.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 1:But the older you get the sleep it doesn't come as easy.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:I don't know what that is. My mom says that I was really annoying as a child and as a baby because I never slept. That's crazy, like I always slept very little and I always had this amount of energy that she just couldn't keep up with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you are all of energy. So back to influencing an Instagram. How much time? Because you're batch filming things. But I've talked about in a previous episode how it's not just what you see like the real and people don't understand. Like that real, that 30 second reel can turn into hours worth of work by the time you go get the product, you set it up, you film it, you edit it, you do a voiceover or you add a caption. How much work really goes into just those videos. Plus, you're doing things in stories which are totally different. You're doing daily content as well in stories. How much time are you spending, would you say, working on Instagram?
Speaker 3:a week, all right. So, like between editing, posting and then when you post, you cannot just post and ghost, right, you have to post and engage, right. So that is a good solid hour of posting and engaging from like eight to nine, nine, thirty, and I started at six thirty. So I have a three solid hours at night that I am on Instagram or like editing and posting. So that's three solid hours Plus in the morning. I want to say a good solid hour, like I want to say about six hours a day that I spent on Instagram and I think I should spend more because I just pop in here and there but I don't give as much as I should like with other accounts and engaging as other people who can see more back. Do I hear people saying like they spend eight hours, twelve hours of the day? I don't, but I want to say I spent about five to six hours and that's just on Instagram, but that doesn't include the like, planning and getting the products and all of that.
Speaker 3:No, which is no, it doesn't.
Speaker 2:I was saying in a previous episode, is people. I feel like sometimes influencers get a bad rap or some people think it's a negative thing and are like, oh, they're just playing, it's not a real job. But people don't understand how much it's a real job, like how much time goes into it and there's real job money there too.
Speaker 3:Yes, and it is actually. It is actually a very real job and people put a lot of hours for it. So I really hope that people start seeing it that way, because, just like you go to work nine to five or you work for yourself and you have to be very disciplined, right, I think that takes a lot like very disciplined to get up on time to do your work or to go to bed really late, putting your hours, but you do it for yourself when you work on your own or if you go punching, clocking or clock out whatever the job is, people who are influencers. They also put a lot of time behind the scenes between getting products, like sharing the product, cutting it, editing, filming and doing everything else, and putting the time on social media to also show kindness to other accounts. That's a long day.
Speaker 2:It really, is it really?
Speaker 3:is yes.
Speaker 2:So what advice would you have? If someone is wanting to start, maybe they already have a side, you know, like a hobby and they're like, well, I want to get on social media so I can promote my product, or maybe they just want to, you know, eventually be an influencer. Do you have any advice you would give to someone starting out on social media?
Speaker 3:Yes, I don't always feel like I like to see people who are authentic. So a lot of people don't put themselves out there because they're afraid. Because they I get a lot of people saying like, oh my gosh, I am following you and I do have an accent too, and I always was afraid to put my face out there. But now that I follow you, I feel like I can do it too. So that comes back to authenticity. It doesn't matter if you have an accent, it doesn't matter how you look today. Like, just put yourself out there because somebody is going to relate to your story, and it doesn't matter if it's one or 10 or a thousand or 10,000. Like, if it's one, you're still influencing somebody else to be able to do it right. And that's how you start. Get started and I actually learned that from you guys. Like it is like one is better than none. So that's a start. Like, don't be afraid. And the growth comes with time. So patience is another thing. They have to be patient. They don't want to see growth overnight. I didn't see growth overnight Last year after.
Speaker 3:The consistency that I put into the work that I do is when I started seeing a big growth. But but just stay true to who you are. That's my number one. Don't try to because it works for somebody else. Don't think it's going to work for you. Right? If that's not what you do, people are going to notice it. So do what you. Stick to the things that you know are successful to you, that you enjoy. Let's say to your niche right, right and be consistent and don't give up, right? That's number one. How many times we get post that just like don't do? Well, that are like oh my gosh, it's so like embarrassing, like should I leave it up?
Speaker 2:Leave it up, leave it up and let it go, but it's always the one that you're like. Sometimes you're like, oh, this is going to be the good one, everyone's going to love this one. And you posted and it's womp womp. And you're like, damn, I did all that and it was a womp womp. But you know, sometimes it's not you, it's not the content, it's just the time of day, the algorithm, algorithm that you know. Just it didn't work out and that's okay. You just have to keep going and move forward.
Speaker 1:It's that way with everybody. You look and look at somebody and you're like you look and this reel is going viral and you're like why in the world did that go viral?
Speaker 2:Yeah, sometimes it's the opposite. You think this is like sometimes I have. You know, in last year I too tried to be more consistent with reels Not as consistent as you were, but it did pay off for me. So from like last March to the end of the year, I think I grew like 75,000 or more, which is the most I'd ever grown in such a short period. But again, I think it was being consistent, and I need to get back to doing that. But sometimes, in being consistent, I would post not that the content wasn't there, it was just the one that I thought, oh, it's good, there's information there, but it's nothing special per se, and then that would be the one that would take off and get millions of views.
Speaker 1:That one reel we did at the home store was, I would say, one of the weakest reels of the entire year on your Instagram.
Speaker 2:Where I just did a basket with, like, the pumpkins in it. Yeah, I mean, that was. It was just super super simple.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I'm saying it was a lot weaker compared to the time and energy that went into it compared to others. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then it went crazy, and then it went crazy. So you just never know. You have to, just like you said, stay consistent and keep moving forward, even if it does, or?
Speaker 3:doesn't. Yeah, exactly, that's very important, because people get defeated right away. The other thing and they start taking it personally, like oh I suck, oh I don't do well, oh my content is not good enough. No, it's so many other things that get involved with these apps. It's not you like. So many times, like, just like you guys, something so silly. I'm like even embarrassed, like should I post this? Like that's really like too simple, like too silly, and they go viral, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's what it is. It's like, it's too like. Why am I showing this? Everyone knows this, and then that'd be the one that yeah.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's, maybe you know. But thinking on the other side of it, maybe it's because it's so simple, so meaning people relate to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's true, so yeah, so I grew last year being more consistent in that sort of thing as well, and I think that's, you know, what everyone has to keep in mind. But the other thing is, if you're starting out, you have to it goes back to what you were saying being authentic and not like emulating or imitating someone else on social media. If you try to keep up something that's not your authentic self, it becomes exhausting, like you can't. It becomes a job and you can't keep up. That's why, like you were saying, it's easy for you to come up with the reels and do that every day, because that's authentic and something that's natural to you, because you have the culinary background. And I felt like in the past I've seen influencers. They pop up and they'll usually start getting a good following but then they disappear because they can't keep up, because they weren't, they didn't start out true to themselves. They started out, you could tell, inspired by another influencer and it was fake.
Speaker 1:It wasn't genuine. Yeah, then that's the ones that I, you know, that I pick up on and I'm like hmm, so that's my again.
Speaker 2:My biggest advice is someone starting out. Be you from day one, Show your natural self, Don't filter yourself and you're not for everyone and embrace who you are.
Speaker 1:If you're, if you're Peruvian and you have a beautiful accent, embrace it. If you're from Podunk, South Carolina, like me, I embrace it yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because some people are going to connect with you and some people are going to connect with her, Some people are going to connect with me and the small percent might connect with all three but it would be exhausting to try to be somebody else.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Absolutely, because you want your true followers right. You want loyalty, so the ones who really connect, they will stick around. So that's what you want Exactly.
Speaker 2:Well, before we wrap it up, do you have anything exciting happening in 2024? Any anything you want to tell us about and you may not.
Speaker 3:Well, I feel like I always have things exciting. I always have things like in my brain and projects and things like that. So, rich and I, we started with our Airbnb last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm staying there in two weeks, dylan, and.
Speaker 3:I are staying there for a minute. That's right.
Speaker 2:I can't wait for you to see it.
Speaker 1:That's. The only reason we really let you on the podcast is because I was like you know I'm staying at their Airbnb. You really need to let her.
Speaker 2:That is not true, that's right.
Speaker 3:Listen, everybody knows Stephen now Like you know, so like I don't take anything like that, so I know. But I said, you know, don't listen to Stephen. Like you know he's joking. Right but they put a request for me to be in the podcast since last year, but I just like I was like take a ticket and I'll let you know, Right, yeah?
Speaker 2:You were like I'll do it one day, so how is your?
Speaker 1:experience going with the Airbnb, because we've talked a lot about it, you know, before you did it.
Speaker 3:I mean, like any project that you start, like any business, you know any new venture is always like it's not like we had one before. We rely on you guys a lot for like all the advice that you guys gave us. Rich and I we did a lot of research but we knew the area where we wanted to be and at the beginning you know, like any business, if you don't see something like you know, like your Airbnb fully booked right away, don't get discouraged. You have to have that business mentality with that when you start a business. It might not take off right away, so you need to have, like, your money put aside to be able to cover all the costs right, like any business.
Speaker 3:Like when you move to a new house, you know you have to have like your mortgage kind of like for a few months just in case something happens, or money aside on your savings. So same thing with Airbnb, so, but we are like fully booked like all this month March, part of April. So we're seeing the return now. We knew that also when we started. We were going to be like going into holiday season. A lot of people just stay home, receive people that are not going to be traveling for like the holiday. So much, Right. So we're seeing it and it's been a great experience.
Speaker 3:It was great to like renovate that home. So this year probably we're going to be like looking at another place. So I think that might be something that we'll be doing this year. Like Rich and I, we have chats about it and you know what? We've been trying to open a coffee shop for a very long time, so I don't know if it's in the books for this year. We're hoping to maybe towards like September, October, so we'll see how everything turns out, but like we would love to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I too want to open a coffee shop today.
Speaker 1:You know you, both of you, who need to talk to me a long time because the restaurant business is.
Speaker 2:But a coffee shop is different than your McDonald's restaurant.
Speaker 1:It is, but not as much as you think it is. That's what you don't realize.
Speaker 3:No, I know I know what you mean, because I come from that industry and I never wanted to have a restaurant. Rich thought about opening a sub shop, like a sandwich shop too, and I was like I want nothing to do with restaurants. Like you know, like I worked that industry for many years, so like, but like we already kind of like have a coffee bar at the farm and we wanted to grow that and maybe make it into something else. No, I think it can work.
Speaker 1:I think it can work, especially when you're growing it like off of your existing business. Yeah, I think where it gets really tricky is when you're bringing in pastries and and food and croissants and sandwiches and other items like that, because that's a whole new level. You know, because you've got toasters and you've got equipment, yeah, and you know, it's just not the coffee and you know, coffee isn't cheap to.
Speaker 3:No, no, it's not cheap. Nothing is cheap anymore.
Speaker 1:No, the machines are expensive. It's just, you know, it's not like, oh, I'm just going to open this, it's going to be, yeah, it's not. You know, and that's what people said when I sold McDonald's why did you sell McDonald's? That's just like you're just bailing money. I'm like if I was just bailing money I would still own them, right, like it was a lot of work, but you bailed a little bit, I bailed a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got a little bit yeah.
Speaker 1:But you know, I do think you know we've talked about opening a coffee shop next door to our home store. I think it could work. I just think you have to go in really eyes wide open, especially with what you're putting in with it, because that's what complicates it, yeah.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And you know that from your culinary background.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's really hard. That food industry is really hard.
Speaker 2:It is. I'm glad to hear that you're loving the Airbnb process, and everything you said is true because our first one, I was like oh my God, Wesley, nobody's booking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Nobody's booked.
Speaker 2:Well, it's like anything. Like you said, you got to treat it like a business If you're not using it, as basically we've talked about this and we did a whole Airbnb podcast one time. But you can treat Airbnb as two different ways. You can treat it as your vacation home and that you're going to make a little bit of money off of an Airbnb, or you treat it like a business, and we treat our rentals like a business, and that's the way you're treating the one that you have in Charleston. And it is scary when you first start it because it takes time, I mean because people aren't booking. You don't put it on the market and then the oh, I'm booking for next week. They're booking months in advance usually.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:And so it takes a little bit of time to see, to get that ball rolling.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, like anything else, like any business, like Instagram, like in life, do not get discouraged. You just have to continue to be patient and just looking forward to a better outcome. Right, that's what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is God Steven's over here coughing Sorry.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's like dying there.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that wraps it up. Unless you have anything else you'd like to tell us, we're going to kick you out of here.
Speaker 3:All right, no, guys. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Thank you, karla, it was so fun as always it was so fun to watch you and on a personal level it's been so fun to watch you grow and see you take it to the next level.
Speaker 1:Yes, you're very inspiring to us.
Speaker 3:You are, oh, you guys are very inspiring to me and you guys are the best friends. Like, honestly, I can always count on you, and Rich and I we're so very blessed to have you.
Speaker 1:Well, we love both of you, you're great.
Speaker 2:If you don't follow Karla on Instagram, check her out Karlabushy on Instagram and I will put her Instagram handle and everything down in the show notes as well.
Speaker 1:She's super, smart, creative, and she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out. Oh, stop. Don't let that go to your head.
Speaker 2:Thank you guys.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be mean again tomorrow, so don't let it go to your head.
Speaker 3:Thanks for joining me. I'll take it today. Thank you, guys.
Speaker 2:Thank you, now get out. Bye, okay, bye, she is so funny though, and so creative.
Speaker 1:Like I love to give her grief, you give her so much, I do. I love it because she is so fun with it, because she dishes it right back Y'all are. She gets very feisty oh she is, but she is such a. She is such a worker.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I truly think you and I are very hardworking people, and Daniel and Dylan, but it's rare that I look at somebody else and you're like they're doing it, they're hustling yeah, she's a and you know the work that we from doing what we do, know the work that they're doing to do what they do.
Speaker 1:And yeah, especially when you have a brick and mortar business and you're doing all this up, I know. And what we don't, what we really don't know, personally, is she's juggling a gaggle of children, right, and I mean it's a lot. And animals and bees and-.
Speaker 3:The whole thing yeah.
Speaker 1:She does a good. They make it look easy too, they do Well.
Speaker 2:I think that wraps up this week's episode of who's Driving. Remember to check out the show notes below for everything that we mentioned. You can see Carla's handle down there. And just your friendly reminder one share us with your friends so that they can enjoy our personalities as well every week right here.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:At who's Driving and also leave us a review wherever you're listening to us. We highly appreciate it. Yes, thank you, and we'll see you next week. Thank you, guys. Bye.