(theme music) - [Announcer] Additional funding is provided by the friends of KTWU.

- Welcome back to another episode of Working Capital, when life gets away from us, we sometimes need a bit of therapy.

On today's show, we take a few deep breaths, find our zen spot and swing for the green.

Stay with us, as we explore greener pastures, it's all about business on Working Capital.

(upbeat music) Imagine a beautiful green meadow overlooking a pond, the breeze washes over you as you listen to the birds chirping and cows mooing.

You take a deep breath while you pose in downward-facing dog, then a friendly goat jumps on your back or nibbles at your hand, relaxing?

Let's find out about Goat Yoga and its ups and downs with Kristen and Brinley Hentges.

Kristen and Brinley, welcome to Working Capital.

So, Goat Yoga.

I mean you have the land for it, you have a herd of goats, I mean, how did this come about, whose idea was it?

- [Brinley] Yours.

- Yes, it is my idea, it just came to infatuation one day when I rented a community center building, and I had nine baby goats ready to play and it just came together.

- I was around these goats, I mean, they just take to people so well, but also, you aren't a yogi, so part of this is though, I mean, you are making this a business, you're finding yogis who wanna come in, and kind of have this dual business with you.

- [Woman] Absolutely.

- Tell us, how do you form those kind of partnerships?

How do you find someone who's like, yes, I will take my zen moments and I will add this distraction to.

- Yes, well, social media is huge, you know, I have a friend base, not so much a huge following base quite yet, but, those people I reach out to them and they threw a few names around, and Heather Beggs from Alma Kansas, she owns Flint Hills Wellness, she took it on a whim basis and she came to the class, and we had the best time, and she and I have been working together now, we've had four classes, and we have another one on the books.

- That's fantastic.

So, I mean, this is a brand new venture, so.

- Brand new.

- Have you had any, how are the ups and downs so far?

I mean, is it finding the people, is it the marketing so far, just because they're so new with it?

- Yes, right now we just create simple events on our Facebook page, and we ask people to share them, I put it on my own Facebook page and I ask friends to share that, I have been slipping in a little bit of an algorithm to find folks who are interested in the country, who are interested in livestock, health and wellness, yoga, it's amazing, the words, the hashtags you can use to get those people to see your business page and the events.

- Is there something you offer to a group on at some point?

I mean, what are the outlets you're looking for, for marketing wise, and is anyone else helping you find these channels?

- Yes, so far there is nobody helping us find those channels, it's kind of a, let's do this and see how it goes, but we haven't made it to where it could be an everyday event, we did put on a Sunday yoga session, and then we're also gonna be putting on a Thursday evening yoga session coming up.

So we're gonna try to expand on our days, not always the same time, and hopefully get the word out by word of mouth too.

- And, I mean, you have a working farm also, so this isn't your only thing, 400 head of goats?

I mean.

- There's around that number.

- So, with that, why would you want to come out?

You know, why would you wanna to put more work on your shoulders basically, and add something else to the farm?

I mean, what kind of reward do you get from this?

- Well, the yoga babies or the goat babies, that participate in the yoga class, they're all hand fed, bottle raised, in one way or another, they were unable to stay with their mom or their siblings, and so, sometimes within an hour of them hitting the ground, they're down at our house for us to try to either warm them up, give them back to our right temperature and keep them healthy.

So it's gonna be a job that we do anyway on the farm, so why not reach out to friends and family and their friends and family, who don't get that experience every day, of either bottle feeding a kid or just even getting to hold and cuddle it, 'cause, you know, they like to tuck their neck into, and so it just gives that additional opportunity.

- And for a lot of people out there, I mean, when you do bottle feed an animal, whether it's a goat or a cow, I mean, they do take to people a lot more, so it's kind of, they're different, they don't exactly work in a normal herd anymore, is that part of it also?

- It is, it's like they make their own herd, and you can't really walk anywhere, if they are out of their, you know, little required establishment 'cause they know you are their source of food and nourishment and all that.

- You're mom and dad, I mean, you're the leaders of their flock.

- Yes absolutely.

- How have the experiences been for these first four classes?

What have you heard from the people attending these?

- They have enjoyed it, it's kind of just a piece of quietness and the heat of the day or in the morning, you know, they get to be outside, it's something that's not restricted to, you know, a brick and mortar building, where you're not getting that fresh air, and then the baby goats, I've had a few women and even men bring their children, and they just, they find one and they love it, and they question, can I take this home?

And you know, so it's fun to see those people want to expand their livelihoods based off of a small animal for an hour and a half of their day.

- And I mean, to me this is also just a great way to try out yoga for the first time.

- [Woman] Yes.

- Because you're not in that quiet setting, you know, it's something where, if you fall over, if you have a little giggle or laugh, you're not messing up the class, because everyone's always smiling, giggling because of the goats, so I mean, it's a great first opportunity to even get involved with that.

- Yes.

- How many goats did you have at the first event?

And I mean, did you keep adding, how are you finding your way along with these first four events, and with the new ones in the future?

- Absolutely, so we started out with nine that were on the property, and so the first yoga event there was only nine, and that one was indoors and it was, you know, they were pretty small, so it was a very hit and miss whether they would participate with the jumps and things like that, that's where Brinley and I really came in and allowed them to, you know, set one on top of somebody, and then it would stand there, and they got to participate in that, as they've gotten older, we've got about 26 that are part of the yoga group, they have all been hand raised, bottle fed, and so, yeah, there's about 26 of them.

- That is fantastic.

Well, it's time for a short break.

- [Woman] Okay.

- When we return, we'll find out if you're good to go, we'll be right back, you're watching, Working Capital.

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

So we're just talking about, kind of how the herd has grown for the yoga classes.

What kind of goats are these?

- Yeah, our family raises Kiko meat goats.

So they can range anywhere from 100 to 250 pounds, the dose, they have babies once a year, and yeah, we just raise those babies up, a lot of them become replacement does or your backyard friendly pets and things like that.

- Are these goats also, are they a dairy goat or are they just strictly a meat goat?

I mean, is it something people, are there cheeses or anything if someone ends up really falling in love with these breeds when they're out there?

- Absolutely, we only have one dairy goat.

Yeah, we have utilized her to help supply milk to those who are in need, in respect to the bottle babies, and then other than that, everything else is really just gonna be focused on that Kiko meat goat.

- Now, Brinley, you're like the master handler really out on these, I mean, you're helping get stuff set up, you're taking care of the goats, you're helping to them back in, they're falling you around, you're making them milk.

Tell me a little bit from your perspective, how helping out with the goats and then also seeing them kind of around new people and with this new yoga experience, tell me about it from your eyes.

- Well, I see it's like going out along very well, and sometimes they can like get a little wild and run around, but when, sometimes after we, like, they've been locked up for a while and we let them out, they go crazy and they run all like everywhere.

- So you have your work cut out for you?

I mean, being a kid who lives on a farm, I mean, like it or not, you're gonna be a hard worker, so it's good to see you're kind of taken to that.

What's your favorite part of those days?

I mean, is it just seeing the people interact with the goats kind of how you get to.

- Yeah, it's funny how like the goats will walk up to the women, how they're like in a pose, and they're not expecting a little goat to come up and nibble on their like stuff that they brought, or their ear or some part of their body.

- Yeah, I did notice I was out there shooting some B roll of one of your events and yeah, I noticed them sneaking drinks and little snacks here and there, and it's pretty cute, so.

I know, you'll kind of will tell me there might be other plans in the future for your goats, I mean, possibility of even renting out a few goats, to organically mow your yard.

- Absolutely.

Because the goats are of a larger nature in size, they're eventually going to be too big to participate, I mean, they could always walk around and snack, I mean, let's face it, they're greedy, hungry animals.

- Yeah.

- But what I would like to do is the opportunity to rent them out to folks who need to have, you know, a brush clearing projects completed, or, you know, a small landscape area completed before they wanna divulge into that project, and so I think that once they are retired, as the goat yoga babies, they're still gonna be calm, they're still gonna come to me for their food, and so they'll be more of an easier guided project through those landscaping needs.

- And just on the docile point, I mean, how good of pets would these make for someone who may be in the country?

I know you probably don't want one in the middle of the city, 'cause people might look at you a little funny, but I mean, for someone who has a little bit of land, I mean, compared to a dog, I mean, how nice and how gentle, how therapeutic is it just to have one of them as a pet?

- Absolutely.

And, you know, we just recently purchased a goat to go along with our yoga herd and it is a fainting goat, he doesn't seem as scared as you would think, so it's kind of cute to just watch him, but he was a little bit wild, and so we put him in the pen with the bottle babies and he was able to, you know, kind of take that and calm him down.

So as you have herds and you bring in a baby, that's been bottle fed, you know, it is so much easier to acclimate that to a group.

- Now your ranch is located basically in the Southwest corner of Shawnee county.

- Yes.

- Near Harvey Hill.

- Yes.

- It's just absolutely beautiful, so, I mean, you kind of started this section of your business a different way, you already had the land, you had the goats, I mean, it's this beautiful spot to share.

How do you come up with the rest of your business plan?

Like, you know, how are you judging when to have your events and that, you know, even, are you settled in a name yet?

I mean, how are you working through this, through the beginning?

- Absolutely.

So, SWSC stands for Southwest Shawnee County, and as you said, we do own just the little perfect piece of country there in the corner of the county, and, you know, having the animals readily available, it's nice to offer the opportunity for folks to come out and experience that peacefulness, to experience maybe a 360 degree view with no sirens, no lights, no car sounds, except for the occasional farmer who has to check on those cows, you know, it's just a little piece of the countryside for them.

- That's fantastic.

It really is a great experience, I mean, when I was out there, so peaceful, I mean, it just, even not participating, just being out there and being able to breathe, it's a wonderful spot, so I think you guys are onto something out there.

- Thank you.

- [Jay] Hope it keeps growing.

- Thank you.

- So thanks for being with us today, both Kristen and Brinley.

- We appreciate it so much.

- It's time for another short break.

When we return, we hit the virtual links for some green therapy.

Stick around, you're watching Working Capital.

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

If you're a golfer, what do you do when it's too hot, too cold or too wet?

Watch golf on TV or play a few holes on PlayStation, Matt VanderPool crafted a better solution to cure your green fever, 8 Iron Therapy, a unique golfing experience.

Matt, welcome to Working Capital.

- Thanks Jay, I'm glad to be here.

- So really you have a very unique business in Topeka, you know, it's not just, it's not like arcade golf, though, you know, someone that's picking up could go in and play, but, tell us how 8 Iron Therapy really works.

- So, the technology is actually above the golfer, and so, the system actually captures the club head, and the ball.

So the readings are very accurate.

The monitor itself is mapped to a piece of software, so you can mimic golf courses, you know, you can play over 100 different courses, ranges, chip put, after every shot, there's a screen of tiles that come up, so it gives you all those metrics, and I think really what sets us apart is the software is actually cloud based, so if you play under a profile, all that data is actually stored up to a cloud instantaneously.

So you can do things like resume a round, if you're in the middle of a round, you can come back later, you can go home and actually look at dispersion charts, look at all your score cards, look at all your stats, so it's a very cool piece of software we use.

- Okay.

So, speaking of that, besides club speed and all, and you say it's from top down, so, I mean, is that even telling you save a bad slice, is that telling you, you know, every time I contact I'm five or 10 degrees turned, so, you know, you might wanna adjust your hands on it before you start, I mean, is it going that in depth?

- It's pretty in depth, in the center of those tiles it actually shows a club head, it's not your club head, but it shows a club head with basically a wedge, so it is basically, are you closed, are you swinging inside out?

So from that, that's how it knows if the ball did slice and as a golfer, if you slice the ball you know it, and so you can't get away from that even in an indoor golf.

- You started out on the greens, but if you were starting out now, would this be an easier way to kind of get used to the game of golf before you get out there?

'Cause I golf on occasion, I have a horrible slice, so, you know, I'm chasing down the ball quite a bit, so, it's not as much fun to starting out, you know, getting used to the technique.

What would you say to a new golfer, would this be a great start?

- Yeah.

So we get plenty of new golfers in there, usually someone's there to kind of help that new golfer out, show them the basics, another good thing that we're doing is we have pros that actually affiliated with us, so that's a good opportunity to say, hey, you know, we have Jane E, which is a local LPGA, you know, classic instructor, you know, she's a golf coach for Shawnee Heights, you know, that was one of the first things I did before we even opened was, let's find those pros, you know, to help those that need help with golf, and she's great with kids, you know, we've also partnered with Marcus Miller in the first tee, first tee program, we've trained their coaches in the wintertime.

So now it's spring and summer, they can get out there, and run all the things they do at First Tee, so.

- That's fantastic.

And tell me a lot about the pros, you know, working there and all, you're not a pro golfer, I mean, and you do have a full-time career, tell me how that.

- [Matt] I do.

- You know, tell me a little tiny bit about your full-time career, but then you kind of thought of this on a whim, you know, at your desk, so.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- [Matt] Tell me what you do, and how this came to be?

- So I've been in technology for a long time, ever since 1998 when I graduated high school I wanted to go into the IT field, had an older brother in the IT field, been very blessed work at Capital Federal as a technical services manager, so I help with their IT team and lead that team, but you know, in the wintertime, it starts getting a little cooler, the leagues kind of just stop, you know, and so, the first concept was, you know, what if we were able to badge in like a 24 hour fitness, get your swings in and then go about your day, found out that model isn't really good for this market, maybe the bigger cities with more people downtown, but, you know, the concept kind of stuck with me, and I started building that business plan, I started reaching out to the different models all over the United States, there was one in Pennsylvania called the Scramble House, found out there was a completely a membership model, people could badge in and out, a former pro actually runs it, you know, and their membership got to the point where they just stopped taking members, you know, it was up in Pennsylvania and a big golfing community up there.

Then there was one in Ohio called the Ranch, every time I reached out to these businesses, they were very forthcoming, very transparent, I got to learn from their mistakes before I did anything, and then from there it was, you know, looking at different technologies and landing on one that I felt was good for our business model.

- How many different technologies did you try out?

I mean, how many companies are out there vying for this virtual golfing space?

- Yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot.

So we did start with a company that promised us an overhead, this was one of those growing pains of starting your first business, and so it didn't work out, but we quickly adjusted before the busy season, this was a brand new concept to Topeka, and we really wanted to take the risk and do it, you know, and jump out there, but we did land on True Golf, which actually makes the software as well, the software could work with 20, 30 different launch monitors, we just happened to land on the one that's also builds the software.

So, E6 connects name of the software, we have over 100 different courses you can play, and they drop in new ones on us every so often, and it's an overhead with the three cameras above you, and a light bar and some sensors, and it's really a cool experience.

- That's awesome.

Well, we'll talk a little more after this break.

Time for another short break, we'll find out if the drive's has been straight or have there been a few mulligans.

We'll be right back.

(upbeat music) Welcome back.

So, over 100 courses all the time, some new ones dropped in on you, but then again, you need clubs.

So can I bring my own clubs in, are there demo clubs to use there, how does that work?

- So, we would definitely highly recommend, you know, bring your clubs in, but we have some available, and we don't charge for them, some people play out of my bag, my wife's, so we got lefthanded clubs, children's clubs.

So, you know, my wife and I are very customer service driven and we just wanna make sure they have a great time, and yeah, if you don't have your clubs, not a problem, we have you covered.

- So, how many bays do you have for rental?

I mean, tell us about the setup in there, is there a putting green?

What all can you expect when you walk through the door?

- Yeah, so we do have, three of three bays, three swing bays.

You can go online and book those anytime.

You can walk in, especially this time of year, the wintertime we got very busy, so we definitely, we'd had to turn some walk-ins away, which was unfortunate, but.

So we have a drink counter, we have a liquor license.

We also, we've been trying things, one thing that stuck was a bourbon club, so we run that every other Friday.

So, you know, we meet twice a month, we get a couple allocated bottles from around the city, and we get to play some golf and then try some bourbons too, so, that's been fun.

The putting green, we have a 12 foot by 18 foot putting green, that we actually just transitioned to our ice cream side that we haven't talked about.

- A different type of therapy, yes.

- Different type of therapy, which has been great, that was my wife's idea, I wasn't for it at first, but seeing those kids up there after they've finished their ice cream or even during it, we've got these tables there, and these kids can come over and just putt, and they just have the blast with it, it's a lot of fun to see.

- That's awesome.

So let's jump into that then.

So, you open up 8 Iron Therapy in July of '21, so we're almost, you know, we're just at a year anniversary of it.

Are you now serial entrepreneurs?

I mean, you now have an ice cream shop right next door, I think you made a hole through, so you can give them both.

- So we've had the hole there, it was actually what we called the batters box for a year, and that was great, I mean, teams got to come in and use our, we had a 50 foot tunnel, we had a pitching instructor, a mound for swing stations, so the teams, it really was well, but you know, it was very seasonal, so we were looking at something to pivot, but I think I'd rather call it a midlife crisis, not a serial entrepreneur right now, but, we are having a lot of fun with it, and my wife is not a golfer, but she loves me, and she knew I was passionate about opening something, and both businesses were there to serve the community, and how we land on ice cream, people want more food options on that side of town.

- They do.

I mean, yeah, there's not a lot over there, especially for, I mean, your treats and that kind of, you know, the special place to go with your family, so.

- [Matt] Exactly.

- That's fantastic.

And the way I kind of look at it, you know, with your golf, you say your busy season, you know, is really winter?

- [Matt] Yep.

- So you have some money coming in per square foot all the time.

Maybe ice creams year round, but it may trade tape off a little bit in the cold season, but then.

- Absolutely.

Yeah.

- Summer hits, you got that perking up the sales, so I mean, it's a pretty good business model to run.

- I think the cons, they play out well off each other, and we've already had some spillover, where they're like, hey, we didn't know this was here, you know, we came in for ice cream, and all of a sudden the family is playing golf on the bays, so it's actually worked out very well so far, so, we're excited to be in Southeast Topeka, we're Southeast Topeka family, we got kids from Shawnee Heights elementary all the way up through high school now.

So, yeah, we are there to serve the community, and we take the feedback very seriously, and it's a great product that we're producing over there.

And you are producing the ice cream, I mean, you're not buying this, you're not getting it off the shelf somewhere, you guys are making it in house, how'd you settle on your first flavors, and where do you go with with that?

- Well, it's exciting, so we landed on a great company called Emery Thompson, they kind of wrote the book on batch freezers and ice cream, they put Häagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's in business, until they got so big, right.

But we had that little batch freezer in our kitchen, where we had to remodel and put bathrooms in, and all that stuff, and so we got to dial in those recipes, they have websites and YouTube videos we watched, and even with the business model, for example, we took one to heart, and that is to keep it simple, so you come in today, you get, we got seven flavors, we'll have some rotating ones, but you pay $4 for two scoops tax included, you can't get any simpler than that, no sizes.

Some people would say, I just want one scoop, I said, well, you gonna get two, just I'll tell you what, if you don't like it, just throw it away, but I guarantee you're gonna like it.

So, they're gonna get two scoops.

So again, the business model is very simple, we're gonna grow it organically, it's a very labor intensive today, but as we become profitable, we'll start looking at the bigger machines that they produce.

- Yeah, it's always easier to grow your, I mean, when you need to grow it's easier to expand your business as opposed to I gave 15 offerings.

- [Matt] Yeah.

I pulled back, your favorite flavor is not here, and you make someone mad.

So, I mean, you guys really have a good flow going with that.

Where do you guys go from here?

I mean, with these two business, where do you see yourself in two years?

I mean, how do you see the growth here?

- So in the ice cream industry, there are some markets, so there's wholesale, we already had a local restaurant asking for some vanilla, that they already buy locally from a grocery store, so there is a wholesale distribution part of it, we like to get into some pints, some grab and go kind of things, I think for now over the next year, it's really gonna be just focusing on those flavors, you know, and the falls coming up.

So you're gonna see an apple pie, you're gonna see a pumpkin, maybe a pumpkin spice latte or something, right?

- Yeah.

So we wanna keep it fresh, we wanna keep customers coming back to try those flavors, and it's an exciting time.

- Well, I'm glad you guys have started this, I'm glad you're in area Topeka, that really needs these kind of outlets, so, thanks for being on the show.

- Thanks Jay, appreciate it.

- Well, that's a wrap for tonight's show.

I'd like to thank Kristen and Brinley Hentges from SWSC Goat Yoga, along with Matt Vanderpool from 8 Iron Therapy, and The Sweet Tea.

If you know of an interesting business or management technique, we wanna hear from you, so give us a call, drop us an email or send us a letter, we look forward to hearing from you.

See you next time and thanks for watching.

It's all about business, and you've been watching, Working Capital.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Additional funding is provided by the friends of KTWU.