(upbeat music) - The thing I'm most proud of is starting my own business.

This is the first thing that I have started and grown from scratch by myself.

(upbeat music) The weirdest thing I've thought about creating is a live stream for our bird feeder in our backyard.

I turned 30 and got really into birds.

(upbeat music) One quirky thing people don't know about me is I have 57 houseplants.

(upbeat music) -[Crew] Is that where we're going to end up.

(upbeat music) In 20 years, I hope I'll have done well enough in life that I can retire early and become a librarian.

(upbeat music) -[Mike] How The Shiloh Farm is a social media marketing business and meet social media content entrepreneur Emily Kassmeier Rothe.

(upbeat music) What If!

(upbeat music) - Hey there.

How about a half hour of funny chicken videos?

Just kidding.

No chickens.

Just me and my little camera for this episode of What If... Today, we're featuring entrepreneurs who found success as marketers in the world of social media.

We start with the story of a farmer whose main crop is content.

(upbeat music) At The Shiloh Farm, they grow flowers, fruits and vegetables, raise chickens, sheep, and a bunch of other animals.

(sheep baaing) -[Noah] Hey.

(sheep baaing) -[Mike] And none of this pays the bills for Noah Young and family.

This is the moneymaker.

- Here's five things that should never be planted together.

(quirky music) Cauliflower and cucumbers are both heavy feeders, so if you plant them together, they're going to be fighting over nutrients like two toddlers over a juice box.

So by planting them together, you're basically creating a fungal-free for all.

(gentle music) My name is Noah Young from Kenesaw, Nebraska, and I'm a first generation farmer slash rancher and I do social media for a living.

-[Mike] Millions of people around the world follow The Shiloh Farm on social media for funny educational videos about Noah's farming journey.

- Doug.

(gentle music) Where is he?

Oh, there he is.

(gentle music) Doug, you're the star of this one, buddy, (gentle music) and he wants nothing to do with it.

(gentle music) Doug.

(gentle music) Child actors and animal actors, you know.

(gentle music) little bite.

It's like our family tradition.

First strawberry of the year.

We always share it, otherwise we fight over it.

(kids laughing) -[Mike] This started in 2020 when Noah and his wife, Sierra, decided to turn their small five acre hobby farm into the foundation for what you might call a marketing business.

-[Noah] I wanted to keep education at the forefront of everything, but I also just love entertaining people and making people laugh.

So I think I tried to blend those two together and it just worked.

Tomatoes and potatoes are in the same family so they can share diseases like college kids share Netflix passwords.

I need to pause longer.

What I always try to kind of explain to people who don't understand social media income is that we're in marketing, we're creating advertising.

And so just like companies are willing to spend millions of dollars on a Super Bowl commercial to reach millions of eyes, they can do the same thing by coming to an influencer like myself, who reaches millions of people every month, and we get paid by brands and companies to create advertising products for them.

Oh, yeah.

Tons of drama llama.

(gentle music) (chicken caws) What state are you all from?

- Kentucky.

- What is your number one ag commodity?

- Soybeans.

- We sell $1.4 billion worth of soybeans last year.

-[Mike] Noah also gets paid to be an influencer at events plus gets income from the platforms he posts on.

Depending on the amount of traffic for each video.

- Here's a real simple way to hypnotize a chicken.

All you have to do is draw a line straight out from their beak.

-[Mike] Chickens were kind of the start, right?

- Yes, sir.

Those were my first videos.

I started on Tik Tok doing chicken fact of the day are chickens really 364% larger than they were 60 years ago?

Yep.

These chickens have grown faster than the pile of dishes in my sink.

There's drama in the garden.

Oh yeah.

-[Mike] This video about things you shouldn't plant together.

778,000 views on TikTok and 438,000 on YouTube in just a week.

-[Noah] Do you ever wonder how.

-[Mike] 23 million people saw a video he posted a while ago about seedless watermelons?

And this odd set of chromosomes will result in the fruit being sterile and not producing any seed.

- Perfect and cut.

(gentle music) It's totally wild.

Like the idea that people from all around the world have seen my face, or the fact that I have more followers than there are people in Nebraska.

It's just wild to me.

It's truly hard to comprehend.

- We were walking around somewhere and they'll come and like, whisper to me and be like, "is your husband The Shiloh Farm guy?"

Like, yep.

I mean, you can go talk to him.

He'd love to talk to you.

(gentle music) - Somebody will stop me at a grocery store and they'll be like, oh my gosh, I love your videos.

(gentle music) -[Mike] So what do people say when you tell them that, oh, our family business is being influencers and social media stars?

-[Sierra] Yeah, it's kind of awkward sometimes when people are like, "Oh, you guys are big shots."

Where really this is just everyday life for us.

(gentle music) -[Noah] Looks great.

(gentle music) -[Mike] For Noah, Sierra and their four young kids (kids screeching) who are also very involved in the operation.

-[Noah] James come here.

-[James] Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh.

(gentle music) -[Noah] She's got a little baby.

-[Girl] She has a baby.

(kids chattering) -[Mike] What do you think of your dad's videos?

- I like them.

- I like them too.

- The roots are all soggy and the plants like.

I don't know how to swim.

-[Mike] Is he silly sometimes?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- You know what else doesn't go with carrots or peppers, for that matter?

Is beans.

Good one.

There's one handful left, so you could have done it one more time.

but you did great.

(slap sound) -[Mike] There's a process to the silliness.

Research and planning.

A lot of people probably don't understand that influencers script.

- Yeah.

Yeah, well.

- But you do.

- Some are really good at just going right off the cuff and pulling out their phone.

I'm not that way.

I need a little bit of time to craft my jokes a little bit.

- You're not being overwatered.

You're just misunderstood.

- You're not being dramatic.

You're just misunderstood.

-[Mike] Especially if Noah adds a guest to one of his videos.

- Why are you like this?

- Mike, what's the deal with this plant, man?

- I don't know.

I don't know how to read a plant.

- Today we're going to figure out how are.

(fingers snapping) (quirky music) How did I start that last one, though?

-[Mike] Uh oh.

- Just like.

See plants aren't hard, you just need to check for signs before drowning them in love or abandoning them emotionally.

(quirky music) - There's a line coming, isn't there?

-[Noah] And then you'll say.

-[Mike] Just like parenting.

- I still want them to feel like they're included in the video and not just.

- We're talking to them.

- Yeah.

But at the same time, it's weird.

If I'm talking to you and I'm never looking at you.

- Yeah.

- Even though all plants have different watering requirements, there is a general green rule of thumb.

Mike, go ahead and probe your finger into that soil about one inch deep.

(quirky music) Go on, probe away.

Are we good?

We're still in frame.

All right, Mike, how much water do you drink in a day?

- Yeah, half a gallon or so.

- Okay, add a gallon, Convert that to Sprite.

And that's what I drink.

Because plants, just like people, have different water requirements.

- What about giving them Sprite?

Sprite might work for this one, but not for that one.

Now I'm gonna have people that are like, where's the Sprite video?

If it feels wet about an inch down, then you don't need to water.

But if it feels dry, then it's a good idea to go ahead and water.

(upbeat music) That's a brown finger.

(upbeat music) Cut.

That's a video.

-[Mike] That's a video.

- From The Shiloh Farm.

(gentle music) -[Mike] It's a business making choices about what to raise based on what's good for content creation.

- Yep.

Go ahead and put it in.

-[Mike] But they also consume and sell their product.

Just as important, it allows the young family to spend time and create something together.

Including content Noah hopes, is a positive thing for the millions who follow his adventures.

(chickens clucking) (water trickling) So what do you hope they get out of it when they see what you're doing?

- I want them to be, feel upbeat and feel like it was worth their time to watch my video and that they actually walked away from that either laughing, feeling better or learning something.

(gentle music) I hope to just inspire people to look at farmers in a different light when they're eating their food in New York City, and they have no idea where it came from.

I'm hoping that whether it's my face or some other farmer that I've introduced them to, I hope they think about the personality behind the plate and what they're eating.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) -[Mike] Hey, who knows, maybe we'll go viral for this What If episode.

By the way, did you know we only use original music by Nebraska creators in our stories?

Like the song you're hearing now and all the songs you heard in the previous story.

If you make your own music, send it to us anytime.

(click) If you follow Omaha Guidebook, you know Emily Kassmeier Rothe, she's the entrepreneur, creator of the social media presence that has tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms.

(upbeat music) - Hey, I'm Emily.

I post really detailed content about spots to visit in or near Omaha.

The main thing I do is post guides to local places, where to park, what to do once you get there, how accessible the location is, how accommodating they are for food allergies, where the bathrooms are.

All those details.

(upbeat music) -[Mike] Well, Emily's here with us now.

Thank you so much for for coming down.

-[Emily] Thanks for having me.

-[Mike] I love your, uh, Omaha bestie way of describing what you do?

So with that in mind, tell me a little bit more about Omaha Guidebook.

- Yeah.

Omaha Guidebook is a resource that I created back in 2023 to give more detailed information about places in Omaha, things to do in Omaha.

So the thing that sets my content apart is that I go into a greater level of detail about these places, telling you where to park, how to navigate the space once you get there, all of that just to try and make it easier for people to get out and enjoy what Omaha has to offer.

- What led you to launch this?

- Yeah.

So I had a conversation with someone, um, back in 2023.

We were talking about how we love getting out and trying new things around town, going new places.

Um, but we sometimes felt a little uncomfortable just not knowing what to expect once we got there.

And we wish that there was somewhere we could go to get that kind of information beforehand to know where should we park?

What should we do once we get inside?

How?

Umm.. How friendly is the menu towards special dietary needs?

I'm gluten free, so that always matters to me.

Umm.. And I didn't think that a resource like that existed yet.

And so I kept thinking back on that idea afterwards, and I couldn't let it go.

And I wondered how many other people would find that kind of thing useful too.

And so I decided to find out and I created Omaha Guidebook, started posting a few videos, and it just took off really fast.

-[Mike] I mean, it started as just kind of a fun thing to do on the side, right?

It wasn't meant to be a business originally.

- Yeah, that's exactly right.

Yeah.

I just was doing it as a side project, and I wasn't expecting it to take off the way that it did.

-[Mike] So at what point did you realize, hey, I can make a business out of this thing?

- Yeah.

Businesses started reaching out to me asking me to come feature their location.

And so eventually I thought I could make this more sustainable for me by turning it into a business and doing these sponsored partnership packages where businesses can partner with me to have their location featured to my audience.

It's a win for them because they can get their business in front of my followers, and it's also a win for my audience to get that information about these places.

And it's a win for me as well, because it helps me again.

It makes it more sustainable for me to do this for the long run.

-[Mike] Yeah, we're going to look at a little more of your content now.

(whoosh) (gentle music) (swoosh) - Here are 13 budget friendly things to do in Omaha this week.

Buckle up.

There's a whole lot of cool stuff happening.

On Tuesday there's a poetry workshop at Radial Arts Center in Benson.

Here's your guide to Omaha Central Library.

I'm so excited to show you this.

I know a lot of us have been looking forward to this new library branch opening, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint.

Anthem is now open in Omaha.

The drinks, food and atmosphere are so good I already can't wait to go back.

Let's first talk about how to find it.

Anthem is in the old market on the corner of 12th and Howard.

Here's the food menu.

They have vegan and vegetarian items marked, plus you can scan the QR code on the menu to see their gluten free menu.

I had the shrimp tacos from the gluten free menu and they were delicious.

Smash Park just added a brand new activity.

Batbox is now open.

It's not quite a batting cage, not quite an arcade game.

It's a new, fun way for anyone to enjoy baseball.

There are different modes for batting and pitching.

You can set your own speed and ball height per person.

You probably can tell when my swing that I'm no baseball pro, but this was a fun time.

No matter what your skill level is, you can make your reservation for Batbox through the Smash Park app.

(gentle music) (swoosh) (gentle music) (swoosh) - So we talked a little bit about this earlier, but describe your business model.

- Yes.

So for Omaha Guidebook, businesses can partner with Omaha Guidebook to have their location featured to my audience.

I have a few different sponsorship packages available depending on what they're trying to promote.

If it's a physical location or if it's an event that they're wanting to promote.

Um, so there are a few different sponsorship packages that they can choose from.

And so they pay me and I will feature their location.

If it's a good fit, I'll feature their location.

-[Mike] How hard was it to figure out how you build a business like that?

What's the what do you charge?

Who do you reach out to?

How do you market yourself?

Was that a hard thing?

-[Emily] Yes it was, yeah, it was so much research and even just on setting up the business, the admin side of it, um, navigating that was really interesting.

I've never started a business.

I never created an LLC before.

So there was just a lot that I didn't know, took a lot of research.

Um, I tried to take advantage of the free resources available to me.

I met with a business consultant through the Nebraska Business Development Center to ask those kind of questions because there was just a lot I didn't know.

I didn't have that experience yet.

- And you said you're kind of careful about who you partner with.

- I am.

Yeah.

- So what's what's sort of the parameters.

- Yeah, yeah.

I try to be very selective about the the businesses and the brands that I partner with, because I want to make sure that it's a good fit for my audience, that it's something that they will really be interested in, and that makes it a better partnership for the business too, because that kind of content performs better.

So what I typically look for is if it's a place that my audience has requested before, I know that they're interested in it.

Um, if they have a physical location that I can come and show, um, that makes it a good partnership.

I don't typically feature kids content like events and, and businesses that are specific to kids.

I don't have kids.

So it's just not a life experience that I have.

And so I focus on, I try to focus on the things that my audience is most interested in.

- That's kind of my next question is just about the brand and staying true to the brand.

And how did you kind of figure out early on what the Omaha Guidebook brand is and what the Emily brand is?

- Yeah, it took a lot of a lot of trial and error to navigate that and to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be and what kind of content my audience wanted to see from me.

So it was a lot of experimentation.

And I think that's honestly what a lot of marketing is anyway, is just experimenting, seeing what sticks and then iterating on that.

- Yeah.

And the importance of authenticity in terms of what you do.

Talk about that.

- Yeah.

I think as a creator, it's really important to stay true to yourself and true to your audience.

Um, building trust with your audience is such an important thing.

So anytime that I post sponsored content, I want to be transparent about that, that it is sponsored.

Um, and so that's really important to me.

I think it's, it's always a balance between, um, posting content that my audience is interested in and posting content that performs well on social media.

And also how do I make this sustainable, the business side of it.

So it's always a balance between those and the best at at the best times.

Those are in in balance.

Because if I post something that my audience is interested in, then it performs well on social media and it's a win for the business in the end.

- You also, I mean, you do a decent amount of stuff that you're not monetizing, right?

- Yeah.

- Why do you do that?

- Yeah, I think it's important to have a mix.

Um, there are so many places around Omaha that are amazing.

And I want to share that with everyone.

And not every business has that kind of marketing budget to spend.

Um, and that doesn't mean that they aren't that they shouldn't be featured.

So I want to share that with my audience and, um, yeah.

- Is that a way for you to, to also dabble in some things that are maybe more personal passions?

- Yeah, I think so.

Yes.

-[Mike] Give me an example.

- Oh, um, (rustling) I don't know that I have a good one.

-[Mike] Libraries?

- Yeah, I guess.

Um, yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

I'm a big reader.

And so yeah, being able to share about the Omaha Public Library is, is a really great opportunity.

- So what's it like to do this sort of business on a day to day basis?

- It's really busy.

(laughs) Yeah.

I honestly can't remember what I did with my free time before this.

Um, I spend a lot of time on it every week.

Um, it takes a lot of hours.

There's a lot of work that goes into it on the back end, um, that people don't get to see.

And so it's, it's pretty busy.

-[Mike] I mean, people do you get a decent number of people that think you're just running around and, you know, talking to a camera and things like that.

-[Emily] Yeah, probably.

I'm sure that's what it looks like from the outside and that's a good thing.

That means I'm doing my job well.

Um, but yes, there is so much work that goes into it on the back end.

-[Mike] So talk a little bit about process.

So maybe walk me through something beginning to end.

- Yeah.

So before I film a location guide, um, I will do a lot of research on the place.

I'll look up their website, look them up on social media.

Um, I'll look up their Google business profile, look at the reviews and see what people are saying about them.

And I'm making notes, um, in Notion, that's where I keep all of my, my notes at, um, to see what things I want to feature and what content I want to create once I get there.

So I kind of have a checklist in mind when I go visit the location.

So when I show up there in person, then I'll usually scope out parking first of all to figure out what are the nearby parking areas.

Um, and I'll look for bus stops nearby as well.

And then once I get inside at the location, I'll go through the normal process that a typical customer goes through.

And I'm just filming my experience along the way.

So my content is hopefully it feels like, um, they're there with me in person that they're experiencing it with me and it can kind of take some of the unknowns out of "What will it be like when I go there?"

Well, they've already seen it, so they know.

- But done in a very strategic way.

- Yeah.

- It's not, it's not an accident.

- Mhm.

Absolutely.

- Filming in public.

Is that something you're comfortable with?

- I've had to get comfortable with it.

Yeah.

At first it felt really weird because I never want to get up in somebody's face with a camera.

I try to respect people's, um, respect people's space.

Um, but yeah, I've had to overcome that fear a little bit and get used to it.

- So talk about becoming an entrepreneur.

It's not something you envisioned, right?

- No, no, I never would have thought I'd be doing this now.

I think there are a lot of entrepreneurs that were born to be entrepreneurs, and I was not one of them.

I think there are plenty of other people who stumble upon an idea, and that just changes the trajectory for them.

And that's how it was for me.

- Yeah, but you're doing this at the same time that you work full time.

You've also spun a marketing content creation separate business off of this, right?

So you're pretty entrepreneurial.

(laughing) - Turns out I am.

-[Mike] Yeah.

Um, I think you told me when we talked on the phone earlier that Omaha Guidebook changed your life.

-[Emily] It did.

Um, yeah, I never would have thought I'd be doing something like this.

And my life looks very different now, and I'm really grateful for that.

I've had a lot of fun growing it into what it is now, and I don't remember what life was like before it existed.

(laughing) -[Mike] So it's a positive thing.

- It is.

Yes.

Absolutely.

Completely positive.

- So if you were going to give advice for somebody else that wanted to enter this world that you're in, of being a social media content creator entrepreneur, what would you tell them?

(deep inhale) - I would tell them to find their unique angle.

Everyone has something unique that they bring to the table, and there's no one else who has your exact life experiences, your interests, your dreams, your fears, your goals.

There's no one else that has that unique combination of things, and there's gold in that when it comes to your content, too.

So find that unique angle and find how you can use that in your content.

There's no shortage of content being posted on the internet right now, and so finding a way to make your content stand out is really how you can find success.

(deep inhale) Um, (rustling) and I think finding that unique angle, the unique thing that you bring to the table that no, no one else can tell that story as good as you can.

That is how you can find success with your content.

-[Mike] Yeah.

And probably it takes some research to get to that point, right?

-[Emily] Absolutely.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It goes back to that experimentation.

A lot of marketing is experimenting.

And so you kind of have to go through different cycles and see what works.

And then when you find something that works, keep going with that.

And that's what I did with Omaha Guidebook.

- So in a broad way, as an entrepreneur who never thought she'd be an entrepreneur, what advice would you have for anyone, no matter what they're thinking about starting in terms of being an entrepreneur?

(rustling) - I would say stay true to yourself.

It's easy to lose the vision that you have.

Um, once you kind of get in the mix and there are so many different opinions coming at you.

If you're putting things on in the internet, people are going to have opinions about it.

Um, but stay true to the, the vision that you had for it at the start.

Um, take the feedback in, but stay true to what you thought from the start.

-[Mike] Okay.

That's a good place to end.

Emily, thank you so much.

-[Emily] Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

-[Mike] You bet.

(upbeat music) Emily had some good advice for entrepreneurs.

Here's more.

Innovator Insights is another part of our What If project.

Short web videos with advice for young innovators.

Created with the help of Nebraska Public Media's education team.

Here's a sample.

(upbeat music) - Hi, my name is Macy.

What does it mean to take risks?

(upbeat music) - I think the most important (upbeat music) skill and characteristic about any human is their confidence.

And in my theory, confidence is not built from doing things and succeeding.

Confidence is also built from doing something.

It not going well, and then you're still okay afterwards and you actually learn something and it's a positive experience.

So I think for especially young people, risk taking is important because it shows you that you can try, you can fail, and it's okay.

And secondly, what better, You know, rush of enthusiasm than something you didn't know if it would work out and then it works out.

If you only do things you know you will succeed at.

Those are pretty shallow achievements, typically.

You need your own surprise in life too, and that's how you get that is by taking risks.

(upbeat music) - Hi, my name is Evenie and my question is what excites you?

(upbeat music) - I'm really excited when my friends or the women that I work with figure it out.

Because in entrepreneurship in life in general, (upbeat music) you kind of don't know what you're doing half the time, and a lot of things you try aren't going to work out.

And that's part of life.

And so when you continue to try and something works out for you, it's even more of a celebration because you can you can think about all the times that it didn't work out.

in the past.

- Hi, my name is Ava.

What's one thing from your youth that still influences you?

- When I was a teenager, I was really interested in food and thought I wanted to be a food inventor.

I didn't really know what that was, so I thought I would be a chef.

When I started to explore becoming a chef, I also really wanted to do chemistry.

So that spurred the idea of becoming a food scientist.

(upbeat music) Now getting into candy was a little bit different.

I just really like candy and there's some really cool chemistry around it.

So putting together my love of food science together with candy, which I personally love, really just mapped all together to being a candy scientist.

(upbeat music) - Hi, my name is Madyson.

What's your best advice for young innovators?

(upbeat music) - Don't stop.

You got to give it more than a year.

More than two.

More than three.

Learn to love the journey.

It's about the destination.

But it's where you see you know what you're made of, right?

(upbeat music) - Hi, my name is Rodrigo and what advice do you have for kids who want to try new things?

(upbeat music) - You know, advice to anybody that wants to try something.

Get out and do it.

The worst thing you can do is not do it.

I wouldn't be where I was today if I didn't try something new.

I've been in construction world all my life.

I wanted something different.

An opportunity came in front of us and we took it.

Or I can just sit at home and watch TV all day.

So don't do that.

Get off the couch, get out there and find something.

If you want to do it and put your foot down and do it.

- Hi, my name is Elizabeth.

What's your best advice for young creators?

- Follow your dream.

Do something that you love.

(upbeat music) Do not worry how much you're going to get paid.

Do not worry about the money.

Worry about you're going to be doing for the next 30, 40 years.

Is that something you really love doing?

Do what you love and always explore other areas in your life.

(upbeat music) - Look already three likes.

Guess that's maybe the crew.

(upbeat music) That's it for this episode of What If?

Check out all our shows, stories, and Innovator Insights on our website.

And speaking of social media, you'll find What If.

On Nebraska Public Media's YouTube channel and follow what we're doing on social media at #WhatIfNebraska.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) - On Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms.

(squeaking) (upbeat music) It's okay.

I think I finished just in time.

Everything okay over there?

(upbeat music) -[Emily] One quirky thing people don't know about me is I have 57 houseplants.

(upbeat music) (clatter) (upbeat music) (laughing) -[Mike] We're a professional operation (laughing) (upbeat music)