Hey guys, welcome back on today's episode of the You'd Be Surprised podcast.We are getting to know Chelsea.Yay!
Exciting, but could be boring.
I always feel like when you talk about yourself, it's not exciting, but to listen to other people's stories is so much more exciting.So it's true.Let's dive in.Where are you from?
I grew up in Wellsville.I lived the first couple of years, I think till I was five in Logan, and then we moved out to Wellsville and we've lived there ever since.After I got married, I moved several different states.I think I moved 12 times.
What was your childhood like growing up? I had a really great childhood.I feel bad saying that because I know a lot of people did not have a great childhood for one reason or another, but I am so grateful and thankful.I had a really good childhood.
My parents are still married.I have an older brother who's seven years older than me.My mom was married before and had him, got divorced, and then married my dad.And my brother didn't know his biological dad so my brother always lived with us.
He's always been like my full brother because he's always lived with us.My mom and dad had me and then they had my little sister who's two years younger than me.Just the three of you?Just the three of us.
I feel like when you grow up you're kind of oblivious to parent struggles or Totally.Whatever, like I'm sure they had struggles.I'm sure they fought.One thing that my parents never did was fight in front of me and my sister.
When I first got married, that was one really hard thing for me.I was like, we should not be fighting because I had this standard that married couples don't fight.Yeah, just happy and bliss.Yeah.
So I think that was probably the only thing that I wished my parents had done different was fight in front of us.
Or just have a discussion.Yes, or a disagreement.
Yeah.And maybe they did, and I just don't remember that.My parents, they both worked.My dad worked full-time at Kimberly Clark, and he had a very... And what is that?So it's a diaper plant.That's where they make all the Huggies diapers.
So if you had a baby during the last 20 years, my dad probably helped make those diapers.
It is cool.We did not know that.We toured his plant a lot.So where was that at?It's in Ogden.
That was one thing that was hard when I was little is he had a very odd schedule.He would do days and then nights and then swings.If he was on days, it was great because then he was home for dinner.
But if he was on nights or swings, we never saw him and he would sleep during the day.And I remember funny things like you couldn't flush the toilet. Because it was so loud it would wake him up.Just funny things.
That was hard because we always had to be quiet when he slept or we didn't see him as much as we loved.But other than that, he's retired now.My mom worked at USU for the CPD, the Center for Persons with Disabilities.
She worked there for years and then she's retired now too.So they're both retired and they're just loving life.They're just living it up.They had good jobs.We always had our needs provided for.
I had great extended family that we always did stuff with.I had cousins.That's so fun.Yeah, it was really good.
So what was your favorite family vacation that you guys went on?
Hmm.There's two that stick out to me.So our first trip to Disneyland, that was way fun.Me and my sister were preteens in that awkward stage.I had braces and a fedora.I wish I could show you guys an image of this because it was hilarious.
Maybe we need to post one.I'll have to find it.But that trip was so fun.I remember that trip.One of our favorite places to go was Puerto Vallarta.We love Puerto Vallarta. And we went there a couple of times and then we always went camping.
I had so many great memories camping as a child and that's just rolled over into my adulthood.Although it's a lot more work being the adult to go camping.It's so much work.
And so I really, yeah, I didn't realize how much work it was because it was always just fun when I was a kid.But we had so many great memories.My grandpa has land in Island Park.So we always had somewhere to stay and it was, it's, it was so fun.
Do you guys still go up there?Okay.
I mean, I know you go to Island Park, but I didn't know if you went to his property.
Yeah, so my grandpa has passed away, passed away about 10 years ago.And he left land to all of his children and divided it up.
So anytime we all go to Island Park, we have our own little spot within his land where we can pull our trailer and then a common area with a fire pit and a little cabin.
Oh, that's so cool.Yeah, it's fun.Okay, so what was high school like for you?
Oh, high school was really fun.My middle school was kind of difficult.
I had a friend who went blind when I was in seventh grade and she was in eighth grade and that took up a lot of my middle school mentality because all I really remember is her getting sick.She was my best friend.
We had our backyards touched and she got really sick and then after she went blind, I had to go over every single morning and do her hair, get her dressed, walk her to the bus, walk her to school, and it literally consumed my 7th grade year.
And then when I went into 8th grade, she went into high school, and so then she wasn't in my school.
And I really kind of found myself and my friends that year and I started playing volleyball and that's kind of what saved my Mentality because I was so shy because that previous year I was just friends with her any break I went in and visited her.
Yep.Mm-hmm I learned braille so I could write notes back and forth with her on the brailler.Yes.
Like, so I was so consumed and I wouldn't change that for anything.I loved helping her.
She actually sent me a text a couple of weeks ago and she was like, I, you know, I've just been thinking about our middle school years and how much you helped me and you came over and did my hair and she's like, I just want to thank you.
It's been years, but her mom, bless her mom's heart, she didn't know anything about hair and makeup and going into middle school, you're already self-conscious.Yeah.
So did she lose her sight over, like how quick was it?
It was a couple of months.She got poisoned by her acne medication.And so as it was poisoning her blood, she would get really sick and then she'd stop taking her medicine because she was sick.So she'd get better.
And then when she was better, she'd start taking it again and she'd get sick again.And so over time it was continually poisoning her blood, which caused water on the brain, which caused pressure.
And so slowly it was building pressure in her brain until one day she passed out in the bathroom. And she was hearing snakes and drums.And all of this time, her parents were taking her to the hospital like, what's wrong with her?
And they're like, nothing, she's fine, go home.And so by the time she passed out, they took her to the hospital and they're like, we're not leaving.But by the time they got her admitted, her eyes were like golf balls on the outside of her head.
There was so much pressure pushing her eyeballs out.So by the time they got the water drained and the pressure relieved, it had already cut off her optic nerves. And so it had been like months of buildup and it was scary because she was sick a lot.
She was in the hospital a lot.
And such a young age too.
Yeah.And I remember going up to the hospital and visiting her and I was scared.She couldn't see at this point but she was crying constantly.
My dad went with me and her dad was standing out in the hall and was like, you can't go in, like to my dad because she's terrified of men because all the men that were doctors would come in and hurt her.
not on purpose, just doing their job with needles or pushing on her head and anything that would cause her pain even though they were doing their job.So she was terrified of men in the hospital.
And I went up there and she didn't even really remember who I was at that point.She was so out of it.And when they life flighted her to Salt Lake, by the time I got down there to visit her, she had already lost her sight.
Yeah.It was literally the craziest time at such a young age.And so.
Such a young age.Like I don't, I often wonder, would it be harder to have your eyesight and then have it gone or just be born blind and not know?
I ask that all the time and I've asked her that and she's honestly grateful that it happened the way that it did because you could say this is red and she knows what red is.Okay yeah.
Or I know this is what you can see you know what the sky is but if you try to explain the sky to someone who's never seen it that's scary.Yeah.It's like nothing like yeah there's nothing so literally it's it's yeah so
I mean, that's what I would choose and she would choose that over again.But yeah, that was a huge part of my middle school and... Was helping her.Was helping her, which I wouldn't change it.I love her to death.We're still best friends.
So then when I went into eighth grade, volleyball really saved me because I was so shy.I didn't talk to anybody and then I found friends.
Which honestly shocks me.
I know. Knowing me now, I'm not shy at all.But it really, yeah, it helped me.And then I went into high school.I played high school volleyball.And then I had a tumor in my knee.So I had to have surgery on it to have it removed.
And after that, I tried to play my junior year, but my leg just couldn't do it.And so I couldn't keep playing, which kind of sucked. And then, yeah, I mean, I just, I dated.I had fun.I hung out with my friends and high school was so fun.
I loved it so much.It was full of great high school memories.
Yes.I feel like you either love high school or you hate it.
And I, I, you know, if I could go back, I would do it different because I had serious boyfriends.
So I had a couple of serious boyfriends.I didn't really like just hang out, date randomly and have a lot of dates.I just had serious boyfriends, which with serious boyfriends comes a lot of drama and yes, hurt.
So if I could go back, that would probably be the only thing that I would change is not to have a serious relationship and just have fun.But other than that, it was still, still so fun. I'm still best friends with my friends from high school.
I love that.Yeah.Okay, so then how did you meet Steve?
I was dating one of my serious boyfriends, and he had left to go on an LDS mission.And I went with my friends to one of my other friend's birthday parties at a hotel, and Steve was there.
And I just went to hang out, and Steve was there, and he was so interested in me.But he knew that I was waiting for this boyfriend now.
And we talked a little bit.I don't remember a whole lot. about that, but I remember that he was there and he was just like, Oh, she's still not interested in anybody else.
Okay.So this, were you in high school at this time?Yeah.And he was in high school.How far apart are you two?So he's two years older than me.Okay.So was he in high school?
I think I probably a senior maybe, or maybe after, I think he would just graduated.Cause I think I would have been a junior. So I think he had just graduated.And then, so then we didn't talk or anything.
And then I didn't have my missionary boyfriend anymore, but then I jumped into another serious relationship with somebody else.
And then I saw Steve at the Wellsville Founders Day and we started talking a little bit and I invited him over to my house and we did hang out.
We did start dating, but then this was my senior year of high school, and I was like, I don't want a serious boyfriend.You're like, I've been there, done that.Yes.And so then I broke his heart, but I really did love him.
And that's why I broke up with him, because I was like, I'm scared I could marry you.But I didn't want a serious boyfriend.When you're like a senior in high school, you're like a baby.And at this point, I was like, and this was Thanksgiving.
And I remember I texted him, and I'm like, I don't want a serious boyfriend, because I want to go off to college.And I broke his little heart.It was so sad.He was so heartbroken.
And then right after that I went back to a different boyfriend and he still gives me crap for this because I dumped him and said I didn't want a boyfriend and I went back to another boyfriend.
And anyway, and then I ended up dating both of them at the same time.Don't recommend.
For a minute.I had multiple boyfriends at one time.Don't recommend.And then I broke his heart again and then I had texted him several times saying I'm so sorry.I sent off another missionary. Oh boy.I sent off another missionary.
All those missionaries.I know.And then I text him and just told him I was so sorry.And the night that I send off that missionary, we met in a parking lot of a restaurant and we kissed.And then we dated from then on out.And the rest is history.
The rest is history.And so I've always had serious boyfriends.And he was one of them on and off.And we dated for a year.And then we got engaged and then got married.
OK.And so did you end up going to college?
I didn't go to art real college.I went to trade schools.So I did go.Yeah.So I did go to CNA school.Okay.And this was right after we got married.And then I worked as a CNA at a nursing home in Brigham.So I worked at that.
And then while I was working there, I did go to nail tech school in Brigham.
And so did you guys live in Brigham?Okay.So you traveled?
So yep.I did CNA and then nail tech school.
And how long did you do CNA stuff for?
Only two years, I think.I actually hated it.
Because then you got into Nells.Yeah.And then that's kind of like when we met.So you owned Batz Kids, which was also a milestone company.And tell me how you got started in that.
Okay so it was kind of by accident I was pregnant with my third son and I wanted a way this is right when Instagram started to come out and so I was like I need a really cute way to document his milestones
And I had this idea of what if you lay him down on the ground on a blanket, but it has the numbers on it so you can see his growth and his size compared to the numbers throughout the year.And I looked everywhere.I looked on Etsy, on Amazon.
I looked on independent sites.I looked everywhere.I couldn't find one.So I was like, OK, I'm going to make one.So I went to Joann's.I bought a yard of muslin fabric.I bought iron-on numbers.
And I ironed them on in my mom's living room, which I actually burnt her carpet, didn't I?Because I didn't use an ironing board underneath.Pregnancy brain.Yep.And I still have that blanket.Steve actually framed that for me, the very first one.
Yes, it's hanging in your house.
In my office. had it and I started like sending it to people and being like, is this cute?I needed validation of, is this dumb?And everyone that I sent it to was like, oh my gosh, this is genius.I want one.So cute.
Cause at the time all my friends were having babies.So everyone wanted one.So I was like, okay, well I'll make you one.And it just dominoed after that. and knowing me I couldn't just go halfway.
I had to set up a photo shoot which I set up in my friend's house who is now the owner of Maybe Baby.
So this is before Maybe Baby and she let me use her house because she has the best taste and style and she had the cutest nursery and it had good lighting so she let me come.I had five different baby models come, took all their pictures.
So when I launched, I had good quality pictures.It really documented how you could use it so people knew how to use it.And then I opened up my Etsy shop and the rest is history.And this is a huge blessing was because Instagram had just started.
That it took off and Instagram it pushed my content.
It's so different than today today Instagram tries to like Hide businesses unless you pay for stuff, right, but it wasn't like that It was if you posted it came up on everybody's feed and so it was pretty organic to just the way Instagram was yeah, and so the more you're posting you were showing up in people's feed and
Yep.And so I had just organically grown from zero to 10,000 followers in four months.
I remember so quick and I could not keep up, but I was making them by hand and I was seven, eight months pregnant and I was buying fabric. cutting fabric, washing fabric, ironing fabric.
I ended up taking them to a guy who's locally screen printed all the numbers on for me.I would get them back.I would hem the edges and then I would fold them up and ship them.And it like that was so much work.
I remember I was so pregnant and I was sitting at that sewing machine for hours and hours sewing these blankets by hand.
And not only that, but you had two other little boys running around too.
Yeah.I was so crazy busy.And at this point in our life, my husband did door to door sales and he was doing security systems and it just ended up that he transitioned into solar.
And right as I was starting this business, eight months pregnant, he got a job selling solar in New York, but it was a permanent.So it wasn't like he was traveling.So now I started a business.I was eight months pregnant.
He moved to New York and, or he stayed until I had the baby.Then he moved to New York and I stayed for two more months, continued to sew.I had him in a baby wrap on me as I was sitting at the sewing machine. for hours.And then I moved to New York.
So when all of this was going down, orders kept coming in like crazy and I could not keep up.I was so stressed, had a baby.
Did you just have Etsy at this point?Just Etsy.
Okay.Yep.So all my orders on everything on Instagram filtered to Etsy.And at this point I was like, I can't do it.I either have to quit or I have to figure out something cause I cannot sit for hours at my sewing machine.
Oh my gosh, especially three little kids.There's only so much time in the day.
Yeah, it was so hard and when I had my baby, I had so many orders to get out that I was in the hospital and I have pictures of my mom and her six sisters sewing in my grandma's house.
They were fulfilling orders sewing for me while I was having a baby.
I was so thankful for them because it took so much stress off of me because I was so stressed.
At this point this is when we looked into manufacturers and we looked and looked and looked for a USA manufacturer and to do that it was going to cost us four times the amount.Isn't that crazy?
So we did end up getting a manufacturer through China and it was like a third of the cost and it saved me.And at this point in time we didn't have a lot of money because we only had
you're like you just had another baby just had another baby my husband was just switching jobs and so we invested moved to new york yeah yeah so we invested five thousand dollars and we're like we're gonna just try it it was a risky thing because neither one of us had worked through china before never done a bulk order anything like this
And Steve, my husband found this manufacturer that he actually, I sent him all the designs, the measurements of each number, like spaced it all out so he could get it just right.And he did send us a sample and the sample was perfect.
And it was just like an answer to our, our questions and our prayers.And so we're like, okay, we're going to do it.And it was scary at the time, like $5,000 was a lot to us.
Especially when you're just sending it to China.Yeah.Cause you do, you hear horror stories about that happening and you just hope like, okay, I hope I get my product in return.I'm giving you all this money.Yeah.
It was super scary.Then I remember I got my first big box and I opened it and I like cried. I was like this is the best thing ever because then all I had to do was ship and it was incredible.
So then we moved to New York and I moved away from family, moved away from everybody that I knew.We rented a house over there and honestly it was wild.I was getting probably at least 2,000 orders a month.That is crazy.
And yeah, we were ordering like $10,000 worth of blankets at a time every three months.Oh my gosh.And it just continued to grow and grow and grow.
At the peak, I could have probably sold my business for over $2 million with just the value of the income that was coming in. And it was, it was still hard because I was by myself and I still had a newborn.
I still had two little boys now in this new place where I couldn't just send them outside or send them to my mom's.Like I had to.Like it was just you and Steve.Yeah, well and Steve was out knocking doors.True.So he wasn't even home.
So it was really just you.It was so incredibly hard.And then months continued and I, we were just raking in the money.Like, I can't even tell you, I've never in my wildest dreams thought we would have that much money.
But we didn't do anything with it.Probably we're in like so busy that we didn't have time to do anything with it anyway.And then we were making so much money that we're like, why are we here?
in new york in new york steve was doing great but he wasn't doing as good as i was so you were the breadwinner at this point yeah and i was like why are we here we can go home and continue this and you don't have to work be around family so we did end up moving home after
Let's see, we moved there in January.We moved home in September.So we weren't even there for a full year before we're like, this isn't worth it anymore.So we did move home and it was a lot easier in some aspects and then not some other aspects.Yeah.
So what were some of the biggest challenges you faced with BATS kids?
The biggest challenge we faced, my manufacturer that we started with was great for a while and then he would change the font on us or he would send us blankets and I did not have time to open every single one to inspect them all.
But he assured me that they were inspecting them but then I would get emails from customers of like the numbers would be skewed or turned
or too far down or too far up, and so the numbers were sewn into the hem so they weren't centered on the left side like they're supposed to be.
Which was okay for here and there, but it got to be so much that I'm like, okay, I gotta find a different... Like I'm losing, yeah, I'm gonna start losing money.Yeah, I gotta find a different manufacturer.
So then we tried a couple, and they could never get the font right, they could never get... So we went through a couple batches where I'm like, these aren't even my original design, and I hated them, but I already had them, I had to sell them.
And then we did end up going back to the original one because he was making so much money from me that he continually emailed me like, please come back, we'll fix it.He's like begging.Yes.
And because I couldn't find anybody else to do it right, I did end up going back.And then it was much better after that because I think he realized we've got a quality check a lot more.And so it was a lot better after that.
The second biggest thing is after we moved to New York, so I had really great success for probably from October until January, February.And then people started copying me.And the copiers just got out of control.And people took my ideas.
They started their own through manufacturers from China, doing the same thing that I was doing, knocking me off. undercutting, so selling them for way cheaper than I was.And I was like, how are they making any money?
Because I didn't even charge that much for them.And then it got to the point that we hired a lawyer in New York.We started the patent process, and it was incredibly hard.It cost a lot of money.
We probably spent over $10,000 between attorney costs, legal fees, filing fees.And he basically was like, you could probably do this.
but it's going to be a long haul not just easy because they would come back to us and be like you're basically trying to patent a calendar like it can't be done you can't patent like it's just a blank numbers on it and he's like we can get around it but it just got to the point that i'm like i cannot
And then as this goes on, it's not like it's a fast process.
And so every time you submit something, it takes so much time for them to get back to you that by this point, there's 10 other vendors, 20 other vendors that pop up that have already copied me.
And so we finally decided when we moved home, like this isn't worth it to us anymore.And all I can do is try to stay one step ahead and be better than them somehow. So is that when you started coming out with new designs?
Yes, my original blankets, I continued those.
But then I found a local company that was about two hours south from us that it was really cool how they had it set up that I could create a design and I could send my design to them and they would print it and ship it for me.
So it did cost me more, but I didn't have that overhead cost.I didn't have the inventory cost.And it was cool because I could come up with any design.I could print one of something.So then it opened my ability to do custom blankets.
So if anybody wanted names, yeah, if they wanted a certain name on it, or if they wanted a certain nursery theme, or if they wanted a certain color, I could customize it and they could order one and done.
And I didn't have to order 20 of them or a hundred of them.So that was great.That was such a lifesaver for me. And then as times change, it kind of went on into the wooden markers that you have now, so the wooden milestone markers.
So it kind of went away from blankets a little bit.But you always kept the blankets.I always kept the blankets, yep.Then that's when, because there was so many copiers, and then Target, they got them in their dollar section.
I was like, there's no freaking way that I can make a blanket for a dollar.No.And it got to the point that I was like, this is dumb.And it was so disheartening because everything I had built and everything that the success that I had seen.
And I remember a specific conversation with my aunt.I'm really close to my aunt.She's not married, doesn't have any kids.So she's like a second mom to me.I was talking to her cause we were talking about moving home from New York and she says, well,
what happens when this isn't a big thing anymore?What happens when this trend or this fad is over?And I was so naive.I was like, oh, it never will be.
This is- Because that's how we live life.
Yeah, like this is it.This is what is meant to be.And nobody, like this is such a good idea.It will never fade away.And so I was very naive in the fact to think that this would always be around.
And so then I think that was the hardest thing for me was when blankets started to kind of go away, I had to figure out what to do.Like what was next?What was next?What can I come up with?What can I do to stay relevant?The top milestone baby company
And so then I'd ended up buying a woodcutter, started making our own wood and milestone sets.And then it just got to the point that I had had another baby.
We had been through so much in my marriage because my husband had a really hard time coming home, not being the breadwinner.He kind of went through a depressed Anxiety stage and that was really hard on our marriage.
We went through so much and it was more heartache and more stress than it was fun anymore.And we talked a little bit about we're so crafty.We love to come up with things and make new things and be crafty and do crafts.
And this, what started out as a hobby for me and fun, it was no longer fun and it was draining and it was exhausting. I had reached the point that I'm like, I can't do this anymore.And so that's when I went to sell it.
I tried to sell it to a couple of different people and to sell your, your business.Yep.And I wanted to sell it as a whole because I felt I had so much time into certain things that I didn't want to break it apart.
But it just got to the point that I was like, I don't even care anymore. And then I was doing your nails and you knew all of like the people that were trying to buy it and things were falling through.
I know you were telling me and then one day I was just like, well, I was pregnant.I think I can do this.Like I want to do this.
And it was such an answer to me.I'm like, yes, take it. You can take what, like, you don't have to do it all.
I came and picked up all the stuff when, oh my gosh, was I eight months pregnant?Yeah.Yeah.I think I was probably a month away from having my baby and she came three weeks earlier, too.
But I just remember being like, holy shit, we're really doing this.And Caden told me no.Yep. He was like, I don't think you should be doing this.I think you're crazy.And I'm like, I'm going to do it.And I am going to prove him wrong.
Yeah.And you did.You're like, you watch this.
It has been, it has been a labor of love, but honestly for me, yeah.It was such a blessing.
Well, I think it was a blessing for both of us.I love that I could sell it to somebody that I know that will do a phenomenal job.I trust you.Like our tastes are the same.Our ideas are the same.
And honestly, I'm so happy that it was you because you've taken it and done so much better and so much more with it than I ever would have.What you've done is incredible.Like your designs, your ideas. everything is so good.
It's been so fun.It's been so fun to take something that you originally created and designed and like be able to put my own spin on it.Yeah.
I think it all worked out exactly how it was supposed to.I agree.And I've just been so happy to watch you grow with it and become like, it's, it's so good.
What is something you have learned the hard way in life?
I think business is a big one because I didn't go to school in marketing or business or even finance when my business was at the peak and I was making more money than I knew what to do with.
I wish that I could have gone back and gone and talked to an investor or talked to somebody and be like, what do I do with this money?
right take my money so I'm not spending it and do something with it because I feel like we would be so much better off now because we literally we blew it yeah and and when I say blow it it wasn't like we were going out on vacation yeah and going on all these vacations I mean we did go on a few but it was more like Steve Quota's job and
And then you have to live on that.Yeah, we have to live on that.And so I just feel like if I could go back, I would have done it differently to make my money work for me instead of letting it go to waste kind of.
Right.To learn how to invest it so that you could enjoy it later too.
Yes.And so I think that is one thing that we learned really the hard way was We have no we had no idea what we were doing and I wish I had been able to Do something different talk to someone different have do something different.Mm-hmm.
So do you guys invest your money now?Yeah, okay Yeah, maybe in another episode.We'll chat about yeah, what's with your money when you make millions of dollars?So if you won the lottery, what would you do with the money I
oh gosh, talking about investments, would probably invest it.
Yeah.We've done a couple flip homes, bought investment properties.There's been talks of buying more.But I mean, you definitely, I feel like you have to make your money work for you.Yes.
And I think selfishly, a part of me would, OK, well, let's buy a bigger house.Let's go on vacations, which those things are great. But it doesn't bring long-term success or anything.
And so, I mean, I think I probably would buy a few things, even a few more hydro jugs or something.You and your hydro jugs.I know.Yeah, probably.I'd probably invest it, which my husband would be so proud of me for saying that right now.
I know.Do you feel like your 18, 19-year-old self would ever be saying like, oh, I would invest my money.
I wouldn't be spending it.
Oh, heck no.Yeah.Because when we were first married, Steve was always like, we're going to buy a house and flip it, and we're going to live in it while we do it.And I'm like, heck no, we're not.Absolutely not.
You're like, you're living in a different world, buddy.I did not give into that at all.And now I'd be like, yeah, sure, let's do it.So your mindset changes.
But you wouldn't live in it now.
I might.Really?That's the only option we had.With four kids?You complete a couple rooms, and I'm not saying it would be easy.I'm not saying it would be easy.
I think it would be hard, but.I am here to say that home renovations is no longer for me.I'm over it.
Oh, for sure.But if you had a million dollars, And you could hire it out and get it done quick.
True.My problem is my husband does it all.That's true.And he works a full-time job, so it makes it harder.Oh, for sure.That's hard.Okay.You do make a good point.Okay.So what is something that your whole family enjoys doing together?
We love anything summertime.Yeah, we go camping a lot.Me and Steve love everything summertime, like boating, hiking, camping.Kids don't?They do, but they also love winter and Steve and I don't. So last year... What did they love about winter?
Snowboarding and skiing.Oh my gosh.Last year we bought season passes to Cherry Peak as a family.Okay.It was the worst night of my entire week.We went skiing every Friday night.Just to know you have to go up there?Yes.
Every Friday night I dreaded it.I was like, oh my gosh, we have to go skiing.I dreaded it.I tried to come up with any excuse that I didn't have to go.
So do you ski or do you just hang out?I ski.Okay.
Because I, yeah.Oh, it was awful.And I was like, never again.But now, like, my kids love it.Luckily, my dad loves it.My dad can take him.So he can go.He can take him.That's perfect.I'll buy him passes, and he can take him as much as he wants.Me, no.
But we do, as a whole family, just anything outside.My kids play a ton of sports, so we're always outside. Anything, summer is our jam.Boating, playing on the beach, swimming, any like picnics, anything out in the summer.
It's like the prime time around here.Oh, it's the best.Okay.So you owned Batz Kids for 10 years, this years.Now what are you doing?
Now I, so when I ran my business, one thing that I wish I had had, was somebody to do my social media.All the time, Steve would tell me, you need to post more, you need to post more.Because the more I posted on old Instagram, the more my sales go up.
But I was so busy running the actual business, I didn't have time.I did not have time to pick up my phone and post.Or even take good pictures or anything like that.And so when I sold my business, I was like, OK,
what can I do with the skills that I have without creating another business that takes inventory or anything like that?Something that I can, cause I thought, well, maybe I'll go get a job somewhere, but I'm like, I am not a nine to five girl.
And after you worked for yourself for so many years, it's like, no, I don't want to have to mold my life to fit this schedule.Plus with kids, that's the whole point of,
being your own boss and having kids is so that you can do what you want when you want.
Yeah, exactly.And so I actually transitioned my business Instagram page into my influencer page.And I have almost 90,000 followers now.And I mean, influencing is a full-time job, essentially.The more you make, the more followers you get.
But I don't love to say that I'm an influencer.I don't think anyone does.Well, it's cringy, kind of.
You're the content creator.
So based on what I was doing and I was doing that for a while and I knew how to do reels I knew how to piece things together how to find the trending audio how to do all these things That all my friends are like, I don't know how to do that.
And so people say that I'm like Are you living under a rock?
That's how I feel sometimes because I
It just, I guess for both of us, but for us it comes easy.But yeah, you just do it or you figure it out or you YouTube it or you Google it.
Yeah.Then I started thinking, you know, like I should do this for businesses.This is what I need.And I specifically thought videography, right?Like anybody can post something if they have content.
But a lot of times people are like, I don't have the content to post.And so I started offering videography for social media, which is different than videography like photography.It's different.
And so this, you know, I would come to photo shoots for my friends who had businesses.Dulce Baby, she let me come to a couple of her photo shoots and I would do video.
of her flat lays or of her babies or more like behind the scenes but also product videos.So she could throw up a product video of her Christmas onesie or she could throw up a behind the scenes video.Anything that you could use for real.
I started offering those videography services as well as social media content management and It honestly has been the best thing ever because it kind of goes love it Oh, I love it.
It kind of goes hand in hand with Influencing because I can kind of do it whenever I want right now.I do seven eight businesses.I run their social media and
All locally, yep.One of them I do full-time videography for too.
He's a contractor and so they have several different houses that I film and a lot of them are from the ground to finish which is really fun because I can see I have progress videos of these houses being built.
But then I use them all for his social media management which makes it really easy on my part because there's a couple of businesses that I manage for that I don't have any content from them and I haven't filmed anything for them and so it makes it really hard for me to post anything when I don't have anything to post.
So you're managing their accounts too, not just going and doing filming and videography. but you're actually managing it.
Yeah.OK.Yeah, so it's really fun.I love it if I can have my videography for them.And so I started offering an hour of free videography for any new accounts that sign up because it's beneficial for me to have content.To post, yes.
Yeah, and it shows them how beneficial it is and how good it is for me to do it.And so they see the value in that if I give them a free hour.Otherwise, they don't see the value in it.They don't know what they don't know.
So, honestly, it's been so, so fun and I can do it when I can and schedule it.It's the best.I love it.
Yes, and you're so good at it.
Do your kids know that you have a social media following?
Are they aware?Yes and no.And what do they think?They know how many followers I have on such and such, but they don't really, like, they don't really care.They're not old enough.Do they have social media?
And my oldest is in middle school, he doesn't have social media.
the most that they've been involved is I will ask him to do videos for Instagram occasionally here and there and they like it okay no they hate it so I don't ask him that much it'll bring though he's so so fun yeah he doesn't he's getting to the age that he minds
a little more now yeah but they're good sports and they they like to be involved my tiktok is growing like crazy and they love to be involved in those but they don't have a way to scroll and actually see what the content is they just know oh our mom has a lot of people to follow her yeah and that's about it that's all they really know and they will watch the videos that they help me make but it's not like they see everything
Are they interested in having a social media?No.No?
No.All boys, I think, is way different than girls.
Yeah, because my girls want a YouTube channel.They want an Instagram.And I'm like, no.
See, my boys want a YouTube to play Minecraft, to stream. It's the video games.It's the video games.And so other than that, they don't care.
You know, we've talked to them quite a bit about social media and how harmful it can be and stuff, but when they have it themselves, they don't care.They don't care to have it themselves. That's good.
And that may change, but right now my middle schooler, he just has a Gab phone, so he can text his friends, he can call his friends, he can play a few little games, but he doesn't have access to any of that.To the internet.
Yeah, and he doesn't care, too.He doesn't.His friends will send him Instagram links.What I like about Gab is it'll come through on my phone and alert me you have a flagged message, and I can click on the link and see what it is.
but on his phone he can't even click the link for it to open, which I love.So it's like super monitored.So then can you approve or deny it or he just can't see it at all?
He can't see it at all, but if I wanted to show him on my phone he could see it and his friends will send him Instagram links of a bunny hopping.They're still really stupid and dumb.I just know things pop up, especially on TikTok this last two days.
You would not believe.My husband has shown me some things full-on widespread.Okay, use your imagination.Use your imagination, people.And I was like, holy crap, he would show me.But this is the danger with TikTok, right?
Like he screenshots it to show me and then reports it.And so then it blocks it.But Instagram still is like, oh, he screenshotted this.He's interested in it.Wait, Instagram or TikTok?TikTok, sorry.
or if he stays on the video for too long and more videos keep popping up.And so I was like, just quit showing me, just block it and report it.But I got on TikTok this morning.
He showed me this yesterday and I got on TikTok this morning and there are other women accounts that were saying the exact same thing of, my husband just showed me this, my husband, like,
the the way that instagram and tiktok will allow pornography but they will not allow you to say certain words oh don't even like i cannot and so making these rules well and that's the thing is i think they're doing it on purpose
totally right and totally anyway so the fact that all these women are validating exactly what he went through like their husbands them themselves they're all seeing this and they've made a big enough fuss that i think tiktok started to take them down but you could report these accounts everybody was reporting these accounts and they wouldn't get taken down so they're meaning to have these things on there it just shows me how
anything innocent, right?Like my kid could have Instagram.Anything innocent can turn dangerous in a split second.Yes.And it's not worth it to me.Not to mention their kids.They need to be kids.Oh, for sure.
And there are so many other things we could go into with like mental health and bullying and all those things that I'm just like, it's, you need to be a kid.You shouldn't have to worry about any of that.I agree.Yeah.
We need to circle back to the framed blanket.Oh my gosh, okay.
This goes into troll comments, okay?Okay.If you have a big account in any way shape or form, you're gonna get haters.It's just inevitable.And I learned with my business, I had to grow a tough spine.I just had to not let things bother me.
Things do not bother me anymore.
You are so good at that.Sometimes I am like, How do you deal with it?Sometimes I see people commenting on your stuff and I want to defend you but then also I'm like, I am not going to get involved.
Yeah, and I wouldn't, don't.Because all it does is bring attention to them, right?That's what they want.
No, and half the time when you click on their profile it's like they... No picture, pictures of their cats.
Yeah, no posts, no pictures.I don't like to bring attention to them.I just let them, because that's what they want.They want you to fight with them.They want to have some sort of conversation. And so I typically do not engage with these people.
I had one Instagram go viral.It was about Daylight Savings last year.Oh my gosh, I remember this.This one, you guys, it was, let me see how many it is sitting at.People were like ripping you apart.It is at 20 million views.20 million views.
And they were ripping me apart because I said Daylight Savings with an S. They're like, it's not daily savings, it's saving.Just like stupid, stupid things.But somebody on this Instagram, you can see my framed blanket in the background, right?
Could be a little weird if you don't know what it is.But some guy got on there and was like, oh, what if I was an influencer and thought I had a number 1 through 12 hanging behind me.Went off on me about my blanket that was hanging in the background.
And I was like, I just, yeah.Anyway, so this guy has no idea the history behind this blanket.And this blanket has so much sentimental value to me.I was like, you freaking asshole.But I didn't feed into him, okay?Oh, I would have.
Oh, man.It would be hard not to.
At some point, you're going to break.
Sometimes.You're going to be like, OK, listen up, jackass.Yeah, sometimes.So there's this other one that it had me laughing.And I sent this to you because I was like, we have to talk about this.I recently made this.
this Instagram post about how it says chips and salsa are more important than pumpkin spice and I'm willing to lose friends over it.Okay, it's a joke.
People, if you want to like pumpkin spice, oh my gosh, you would not believe the comments of like, why can't we have both?I mean, they would go off on me that they can't have both.I'm like, I never said you couldn't.Enjoy it.
Dip your chips and salsa in your pumpkin spice.I don't care.Like it was a joke.Anyway, this one person, She commented, and she said, very stupid comparison, but it got you the attention you're desperate for.You go, girl.And I was like, thanks.
You seem nice with a laughing emoji, because it doesn't bother me.She's totally going out of her way.Again, she has no profile picture, nothing.Of course.And so I just was like, you seem nice with a laughing emoji.And she goes, I am.
Not attention seeking, though.It's pathetic.
oh my gosh okay i'm i mean my account is relatable but it's also for fun you know and it's just for fun i could care less if i get any more followers don't do it it's just getting you more views yes at this point yes and anyway so i it's it is so funny to me because the trolls are
Outrageous on any platform you're gonna get it and I heard this once from somebody is You post a video and you take that five minutes of fame if it goes viral take that five minutes of fame Enjoy it, but then turn it off
And don't go back to it.Don't read any more comments on it.Don't respond to anybody, because anything that comes after that is not important.Right.So you take that five minutes.You enjoy it.You soak it in.
And then put it out of your mind, because all those people want is attention.That's all they want.And they want your response.They want your reaction.And it's not worth it.So turn it off.
Right.They have nothing better to do than to sit and scroll social media and leave nasty comments, which I don't get.Get a life.
Yeah. Seriously.So anyway, that's one thing that I'm just like, it's not, it's not worth it.So you just, you just ignore him.You don't see him.Sometimes I respond to him and then I'm just like, whatever you have your, your evil moment, but anyway.
Well, thanks for chatting and sharing all your stories with us.
Yeah.It was fun.Again, there's so much compact in here that everything could have its own episode, but.
And I feel like I knew you before.Even some things I'm like, okay, I did not know that.
So that's about me in a nutshell.We've had a foster daughter.We've tried to adopt.Nothing's really working out.So I'm not really sure what our future holds, but.
But you feel like there's one more.
Oh, I think there's at least one more.I don't know how.At least one more.I don't know how.We're still open.We still have our license to foster.We're still trying to adopt, but nothing's happening.So we're just kind of... I know.
And we're going to get into your fostering story in a different episode.Yep.So we can kind of go more in depth on that because I think it's a story worth hearing.
Oh, there's so much in foster care.
Oh, we can have multiple episodes on foster care.
We probably will actually.I want to bring on some social workers to chat because I think there's just a lot to unpack in foster care world.Thanks for listening.Catch us on the next episode.
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