Welcome to the Side Hustlers podcast. I'm your host, Carla Marie, and I am obsessed with small businesses. That's one of the reasons why I started this podcast two and a half years ago. It was also started because someone told me that everyone has a side hustle, and I panicked because I didn't. I started learning that a lot of people around me did have side hustles, so I started talking to them and interviewing them and just having conversations about their passions and their dreams. And it's been an incredible ride for me and I've learned so much from them, and I didn't realize it was going to prepare me for this moment of my life. I got let go from my day job as a morning show host here in Seattle, Washington about three weeks ago from when I'm recording this, and it's been scary. But at the same time, everything I have learned doing this podcast is helping me right now, whether it's actual technical and logistical things to just taking the time to find what you love and diving into it. It's incredible what this community has taught me. And if this is your first episode, you're probably what she talking about. Go back and listen, because every single human that has been on this podcast is inspiring and their drive is incredible. You are going to be motivated to dive into a passion. You don't have to make it a business, but you'll be motivated to dive into a passion. And before I tell you about the incredible guests I have this week, I gotta let you know what I'm about to do. I am in the middle of a road trip, driving across America to go see my family in New Jersey who I haven't seen in eight months because of quarantine. And along the way, my best friend and former morning show co host, Anthony and I are doing a podcast and a video stream in every city that we stop in. We could be coming to your city, so check out our Instagram Carla Marie and Anthony it's below. You may be able to find us in your city, which will be super cool. But we are streaming on Twitch, Twitch, dot tv, Slash Carla Marie and Anthony also below, and we are podcasting with our My Day Friday podcast, which I have been doing for six and a half years at this point, also linked below. It would be really cool if you can support just by following along checking us out on Instagram and doing all of that stuff. Because now I guess that that's my side hustle to this podcast. Maybe who knows. I appreciate your support. Thank you so much for being a part of this crazy ride with me. This week's guests are Brandon and Jeff. They are full time teachers who are married, and their side hustle is a soap lotion candle company called Jacob h Plus. Now. They have a really cool reason as to why they started the side hustle this year while in quarantine. They want to make enough money to be able to adopt a baby domestically and start their very own family together. So you've got to listen to this episode because how they do this and how they work together, it's just it's truly incredible. This is Brandon and Jeff's story for a lot of people. You know, why are you wait? Do you know what you want to do and this is something you want to do, you don't about and do it. I'm a hustles sho do it. I'm a hut do it. I'm a hustle. Come on ask about me, yo yo. It's the side Hustless podcast we call at Root Okay, So today I've got Jeff and Brandon here coming to me from New Jersey. Hi, guys, I okay, before we get into the house and the wise, tell everyone what Jacob H Plus is as a company. Back of H plus is a company that we named after our initials and our pets initials. So we're Jeff and Brandon, and then we have two dogs and two cats, so it's Jeff, Arthur, Coda, Ali, Brandon Henry. And then the plus is plus a new baby, which is the hopes for our business. So our business is I'm a home and body business for products such as soaps, candles, body butters, lip bombs, bath bombs, all homemade in our basement, laboratory and everything. And we sell everything on Shopify, Facebook, and Instagram. So people can go to Jacob h plus dot com and I put the link below so you can check it out right there to see everything that we're talking about. You guys got a blog up there. You've got a ton of different things for people to look at. I'm a fan of a good acronym, so I love the name. But let's talk about your why. So the two of you decided to create this soap lotion body business. Why yes. So we decided to create this as a revenue stream to help us in our adoption journey. So we are looking to become parents, and we wanted kind of something outside of like a traditional like quote unquote fundraising idea. So and I'm always kind of one that is looking for like a new project. So when I do, and I don't know if you could see the face that Jeff made me was like, well that's Brandon Love's projects. Like during quarantine, our dining room became like a jungle because he decided he wanted to get into planting. And I was like, oh, and now he wants to learn how to knit. I'm like, let's just stay one lane for listen. I think, friend, and I get it. I I think the way that you think. I have a lot of failed hobbies collection around my house. This one has not failed. This one has been amazing. Ye. And that's how I got Jeff on board for that hobby was this, But we wanted to do it instead of just like a hobby and really try and push it into like a business because it's not only our hopes to help fund our own adoption. But when we were really kind of thinking about adopting and kind of the resources that are out there. It's still not an industry that is overly filled with resources for lgbt Q plus families, so we really wanted to be a resource as well. So our hopes is after we found our own adoption, is to continue that along and a portion of our proceeds will go towards supporting that's incredible. Yeah, you often see go fund means for heterosexual couples all the time. We spent the beginning of Quarantine like doing a lot of research with like how we wanted to expand our family, and when we decided that we wanted to do you know, domestic infinite adoption, like a lot of the grants and everything we're for like Christian couples or through like you know, Christian agencies, and we're like, oh, well, that's not gonna help us. So we got to kind of help ourselves, which amazing on your part for being able to do that and then think of other people in the future. But so the adoption cost, which when you guys texted me and messuged me this number, I was like, what dollars? Is that really what it calls? Yeah, that's the average. That's the average, and that's honestly kind of playing it a little bit safe even because something thing is kind of can pop out of nowhere unexpectedly. But that's like what they tell you to be prepared for. And most of that is like, you know, the legal fees and the paperwork and all that. So it's not like a lot of times people think, you know, when you're paying that. It's like people say like, oh, well, how can you buy a baby, And it's like, not like that because the birth mother and doesn't really get any money, Like it's all the legal issues behind it. So you know, in a sense, like at first we were kind of overwhelmed by it, but then we were like, you know what, like this is put in place to make sure that these children are getting like the best possible, So if we have to do that, then the better for our baby. And to make sure that, you know, everything is done legally and properly and everyone feels comfortable and safe and all that. So this is eye opening to me because I had no idea how much it costs. I had never really thought about the fact that there were grants specifically for certain types of people to adopt babies. So for anyone listening right now, this is probab probably very eye opening for them too, So thank you for sharing your story with us. But you guys are both your day jobs are being teachers. So Brandon you are a high school teacher, Jeff elementary school. Correct, yes, yes, it's no surprise. We know that teachers don't necessarily get paid what they should be paid, so that I'm assuming is what made you guys say, Okay, well we can't adopt a baby. You can raise a baby with a teaching salary. You know, plenty of teachers have kids, but you can't be one big chunk. Is it's almost impossible. That was the biggest thing. We were like, okay, like we know we like we're both teachers, Like I've been teaching for this will be my eighth year. This would be Brandon second because it's his second career. But we have you know, we're really good, like I'm really strected about bills and making sure that we are on a budget and everything like that, so we're really good with money. And then just seeing that number that was like, oh, you need to have x amount ready garry when a birth mom picks you. We were like, oh, okay, well we have you know, we have savings, but we don't have that much saving. So we knew that like our support system around us would help us. But doing it this way through the business. I mean we have gotten orders from all over the country, like people we don't even know how are they finding you? I guess word of mouth and social media. I mean we started this all on June first, yea, so this is just like yeah, so we do yeah. So literally, we we used the time during quarantine to like research, like you know, what to do and how to do it, and Brandon taught himself how to make all these products. So we used that time and then we decided, okay, let's start on June one. Like so we started by just kind of posting a picture of us and our pets with like a sign saying that we were planning to adopt, and we wrote like a little blurb about like you know, how we came to the to the decision and what our business was. And we started a website and a blog. And it's that first day like exploded, like we living we living allingswo, New Jersey, which is right outside of Philly, and there's like a group on Facebook for the town, and I had posted our story in there, and like in that one thing, we got like a thousand likes, We got like a hundred orders just from the people in our town, and then you know, it just kept getting shared. Yeah, and those people know people other places and then they give them with things. And I've seen it happen with plenty of people have been on this podcast or just things that I've come across on my own. I'll give it to someone as a gift and they're like, hey, where'd you get that? I want to give it as a gift and that, and it spreads. But obviously you have to have a good product for people to want to read gift. And you somehow have taught yourself how to do this. I mean, it's crazy. What when you actually focus on something like you I don't want to I'm not dumbing down at all what I'm about to say and what you guys do. But really anyone could do this, but it takes someone who actually wants to do it right. And I had Dreamy Sud's Missy on this podcast. She's local here and I got to connect you guys. She does and made her reasoning was a friend who was sick and going through chemo, I believe, realized there were so many different things in our regular soaps that we're making her even more sick. So she helped her friend and the same thing. People started saying, I want this, I want it, and she taught herself and now it's her side hustle. But it's the same thing. There's so much to it. It's a little bit of a science when it comes to soaps. And definitely it's not just something that smells good. It has to feel good and have a purpose. It has to clean you and do all the things. So yeah, and that's we get that a lot to like, oh, well, what's in it, and we're like, like maybe three things, Like it's very like, yeah, it's natural and it's good and we've we've got a lot of positive responses. So and it looks great too. When I see you guys on Instagram, which is below for everyone to check out, there was a gold one and I was like, oh, that was great. So we name most of our products based on our two favorite things, which are The Real Housewives and Ship's Creek and so so like the gold one is are a little bit a Lexus, okay, and then we have like a candle that's called I'll tell you how I'm doing that well, But I saw that. I love that, and I think it's it's great to be able to put a little spin off like of who you guys are into this and have a personality and give your business a personality. You guys are really having fun with it. But how much did you research leading up to this, Like you said, you know, once you got into quarantine, which I guess was March ish and then you launch in June. I mean there are people that sit on ideas for years just because but you guys you jumped it in. I mean, this is something that's always kind of been in the back of my head of stuff that like I've been that I like and like obviously like like Farmer's Markets, I'm like sniffing every Frmer episode for me for me and stuff like that. So like I mean, but I mean, once it actually was like Okay, maybe we could do this, it was probably still like a solid like month of research. And then even again, like you said, it's kind of a science, So even as much research as you put in it, like literally my first batchup, so like turned to like you, and I'm like, oh crap, Like what did I just get myself into. So like there's still that like trial and error of stuff too, So I mean there was that, which is why we like only certain stuff comes out at certain times because obviously sometimes that doesn't work out as well as I would like it to be. So Brandon, that happened in your first batch and you were just like all right, we'll just do another one, or were you like screw this, I'm not gonna be able to do it so well, he he was like that, and I was like, okay, it's just your first I was like, it's your first batch, like like a little bit way perfection. Yeah, like when you do new things, you're gonna mess up. And I was like, that's okay, just keep going and do the next bat. That's the elementary school teacher and you're right there. Yeah. So we really play off each other because like Brandon does, he makes everything and then I do like all the packaging and shipping and stuff like that. So you know, I made sure that he doesn't overwhelm himself and then he takes breaks and because you know, when we first started, he would be in the basement for like twenty four hours making soaps and that kind of stuff. Really like, yeah, I was like, you need to take a break. I was like, because if you don't take a break and you go crazy, then the end results just gonna be you being miserable. So I was like, we can't have that. So we've kind of gotten into a rhythm now, and you know, we do Facebook live sales and our our moms come over and help us and you know, so that yeah, so um, we've really like go on our family involved and stuff. So it's it's been fun. But like when you were talking about research, like Brandom would watch YouTube videos on how to make soap like all night long, Like I would be like I would be up in bed and I would hear like the TV soll on, Like he bought like a premium YouTube subscription so we didn't have to watch the ads and like, and would just spend hours watching these videos and and they did. They are kind of addicting just to watch the episode was made. I'm sure it's relaxing. But Jeff, when it comes to shipping that side of the business, I have heard from so many thought hustlers how it is torture going whether you're going to the post office or doing all of that at home. So what is your process for labeling and shipping and packaging, Like, what is that like for you? So we started the business on Etsy and then right now we've moved to Shopify, but both of them are good where you can print the invoices that people order. So what I do is like I usually like I'll print, you know, all the new invoices that we get. If it's you know, a delivery, I'll set up a bag. If it's shipping, I'll do a box and then I'll put the invoice in each one. And then I'll go around our basement which we have set up like a little score, and I'll get you know, whatever they ordered, I'll put it in the box. Um, and then we have to weigh them and put them with the packing peanuts and the printing. Um. So I'll spend some time doing that and then yeah, the post office knows me by name probably now I hear that often. But even behind the mat yeah, like and with all the with all the precautions coronavirus, like usually there's like a long line. I just go right in. I dropped them off, I'm like, I don't need a receipt, just chipped them and I'm on my way. The shipping isn't as bad as the delivering or like we have people do like porch pick up, so like that's hard to like negotiate with people, like oh, what time are you gonna come over? Because you can't believe candles and soap outside in the middle of And one time we were going away for the weekend and someone said they were gonna pick it up within an hour, and I put it on the porch and then we got back after the weekend and it was still there, and I was like, oh my gosh, it's probably Welton. People have been really awesome and we put like little handwritten cards in each bag, like banking people looks crazy. For on all of our labels, we put like all proceeds go towards adoption, and we put like our website and our Instagram. So that's been like pumping spread the word a lot too. So we've actually also gotten quite a bit of people interested in stuff for like showers, wedding showers and stuff like that, so for like favors, which has been really helpful as well because then that's like the people that have been so generous in doing stuff like that. Like we just had one yesterday that we did and she had message just saying how happy people were and that she was kind of telling people about them and stuff like that. So that's another way that we've been kind of getting the word out there as well, which is really cool. That is awesome, especially like I know my niece is pregnant and my sister is probably coming up with favors for the baby shower, and how awesome would it be for favors at a baby shower where you're helping fund someone else's baby, And it's just it's a cool idea to be able to give someone life while you're celebrating that and in and of yourself, especially in the world right now where it's hard to celebrate things and just you know, yeah, small things like that put a smile on someone's face. So it's cool that you guys are finding different ways to spread the love and and get the family that you guys want, all through a business that you actually care about. I want to get back to the business kind of things for a second. The labels, they look great aesthetically, like even the website, your logo, like I was drawn to it. I love it. I love what you guys are doing. It doesn't seem like you just slapped your standard label on anything. So the aesthetic of the labels, where do you? How do you do that? Who designed that? So I did that? And so a friend of mine, actually another teacher, actually made our logo for us. I kind of was like, this is what I'm thinking, and I'm not that great with like that sort of stuff, so, but you are so again like reaching out to kind of those resources around us. But then the labeling itself was through a YouTube video and just learning how to set up like the template and stuff like that within like a word doc and stuff like that. But then we really wanted it to feel like are fun with like our names and stuff like that. But we wanted, uh, kind of like a more rustic feel like it. We wanted a candle I would sit in any environment and feel like it belonged there, and then if you looked at it, you saw that it had a fun name. So I felt like we were really kind of conscious of like the colors and stuff like that, of like the craft paper um that we used and stuff like that. Thank you. Yeah, And it's funny because you mentioned like the website, Like I'll tell you when we first started, like I had a nervous breakdown about the website because I also made the website, and like we were using WordPress, and I was like, oh my gosh, I've never used this before, like and I'm usually pretty good at technology, but I was like, oh my god. I was like, I can't figure this out. I forgot a website and I can't do this name do this. And now now I can like go on in like ten seconds and you know, switch things around. But that was definitely learning curve. It's a lot. I mean, listen, if this were easy, everyone would do it, everyone would have their own business. And yeah, and eventually that may happen if we have enough time alone and quarantine. But it's not easy. And that's why when you practicing and keep learning, like your first batch of soap. I'm sure plenty of people gave up after their first batch of so I'm sure there are hundreds of people who did, but you didn't, and you keep pushing through and you keep teaching yourself. And I'm assuming your background also as teachers and people who are teach are probably also great at learning and when it comes to this kind of stuff, even though you may have to remind yourself a few times, like, hey, we can do this, but you started in June when I'm assuming school was winding down. So we're getting back to the school year. Now we're recording this, it's August. What's going to happen when it's school again and your day job kicks back in. It's more of an issue as far as like production uh comes up because obviously we can't do like we did when we were starting and kind of overwhelmed by the orders and spend thirteen hours in a basement making stuff. So we've been trying to get better at making larger batches of stuff. So my dad actually made us soap molds out of bigger one. Yeah. Yeah, so we can do larger batches of that because that was part of the reason to So it's really not that difficult if you know how to use like a saw and screwed, I'm not all that handy with a saw. It looks like a breadpan, almost like a long bread almost like a drawer, yeah, like some people use like a drawer. Um, so yeah, he just made me ones that like on three sides were secured and on one side could tighten and loosen so I can get the soap out of it once it is solidified. We've already made stuff that will come out next month already Pumpkin spice. Oh yeah, I'm labeling spice. I labeled it yesterday. Yes, prum cake, which is like amazing, you heard here first. I'm fun. I'm so excited. So we're also both really organized, Like I am like a stickler about like a schedule and being organized and like getting stuff done. Yeah, so we're both like I think, you know, we're gonna say, like okay, like Saturday mornings from this time to this time, we're gonna do our shifting every week. And then you know, Brandon already has all the stuff for fall made, so you know, by the time September bowls around, we'll be doing Christmas stuff. So you know, we're both really organized in that aspect. We also get help from you know, my mom will come over and sit in the basement with us for like hours and she'll do a bunch of stuff for us. So just relying on the people around us and you know, asking for help and sticking to like an organized schedule. We actually when we first started, like multiple people would ask us like they thought we were like outsourcing our products and they were like, where did you get these like and we're like that's yeah. But also them being like just because they were like the labels and like even some of are like some of our more fancy soaps, we like shrink rap before we mail them out to make sure they don't like nothing falls off of them. So my one good friend lives in Vermont, she's like, oh my god, that's Sopain. It was shrink wrap. She's like, you guys were really fancy, and it's the little things that you'll start learning. Like I know you guys did this. Your reason was you wanted to raise money to be able to adopt, to be able to start your family. But you aren't just half asking this. You are doing the little things that are so important from a business point of view. And I commend you guys for that because it's not it's not easy, and there is an investment that goes into creating a business. Like I'm sure you're you were in the red or probably could. I don't know. I don't need to know the finances. That's not all this podcast, but there's stuff that you have to buy to start a business, and a lot of people expect the money right away, but you have to invest in yourself and that can be stressful too, because again, like obviously sympathize with anybody who's listening to this and who's started a small business or thinking of starting one. Obviously, Beside it's like the learning that there are going to be tons of trial and error stuff and that is has got to be okay. It also is a really tough adjustment to figuring out what you need and when you need and stuff like that. And also yeah, like also like at the beginning, like I was producing so much soap and then it was like, okay, maybe we need to scale that back a little bit, just because maintaining that sort of a pace of putting out like so many new soaps every week just is not realistic. And it also they work like that, like how many bars of soap can you go through in a day, Like, yeah, it's it's not something you're you need new every week exactly. So like also kind of learning that too is helping us with obviously being able to scale up things appropriately. I think is important to like um, and also paying attention to what is actually sell Yes, that is what you may personally have a desire to make. Like he has the most fun making and designing the soaps, but our best sellers are candles and our body butters, so yeah, they're while they're easy to make. He gets bored making and he's like, I want to just design is cute soap And I'm like, yeah, but that candle is gonna sell for fifteen dollars, so I'm just like, let's pour out wax. I love you, guys, I love this. Okay, So are you going back physically to school? Are you going to be able to peace it right now? Yes you are, Yes, yes we are. So the kids. The kids have the option to be remote to do virtual if they want, so we'll have smaller class sizes, um, and our schools are taking like a lot of precautions to make sure, you know, everyone's safe and all that. So, so we will be going back and that and itself will be an adjustment because it won't be like teaching as we've ever talked, or you have to plan extra. I feel just you know, your your day job also isn't just a nine to five they're planning. That comes with being a teacher. So that's the time that people don't realize. Like a lot of people who I don't know start to say, someone starts to soap business, but their day job is just you leave it at work. Teachers don't do that. Teachers not and sure where you leave and that's it. You do have to come home and you plan and prep and and everything that goes into the next day or a week or months. So there's a lot of time that you do have to spend at home and people don't realize that. But it'll be very interesting for you guys, I think just going back to school aside from owning your own business. Also, yeah, I've been teaching fourth grade for about eight years now, so I really know the curriculum and all that, so I spend a lot of time, Like even this week, I've been spending a lot of time like creating like a virtual classroom for those kids who are going to be at home and adapting everything you know that I do to make sure it can be done on the computer because even in the classroom, like we want to use as little paper as possible, um, you know, to reduce transmission or anything like that. So I think it's just again, it just goes back to making sure that we know how to manage our time well, which is something that like, I really pride myself on. I you know, a lot of times, I have so many friends and our teachers, and you know, they are like, we don't know how you don't. We don't know how you like stay sane and you know, manage your time well. And I don't really know how I do it either. I'm just like a siler making sure that I, you know, set aside time for things and that I get my stuff done in that time. For me, so, I had had a business previously, so I kind of have an awareness of the value of my time, even though I still want to kind of people please um, But I think that it's important for people to understand too, there's more value in you doing less better than there is doing more half acts. Yeah, I'm in the middle of learning this myself right now. I actually just got the book The Joy of Missing Out. I haven't heard of that, so I've literally just read like the intro and it's about being like this word productive and what's the difference between busy and productive and if it kind of in the same tune of what you're saying. Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're getting anything done. You have to be productive, And like I suck, So I'm like envious of you guys. This whole thing everything's happening in the world sucks. But Quarantine actually let us like slow down and really realize, you know what using our time well, And like Brandon said, you know, he used to own a CrossFit gym. The amount of busy that he was before is like nothing compared to because his gym used to be in Pennsylvania, so he would have to drive from here in to Pennsylvania every day like four in the morning before going to work. I feel like this almost seems like a piece of cake. Yeah, now down to my base. Yeah, how do you go from a CrossFit like slinging weights to making so I mean, we all have to happen. I love that we travel about everything. Hey, it's amazing, Brandon. This really has nothing to do with the side hustle. Before we started recording, you started telling me about your curriculum for the school year, And I think this is so cool as a podcaster, as someone who has a love for podcasts. I think what you're doing as a teacher is incredible. So explain what your curriculum for the school year is with your freshman year literally in your students, I have Freshman English. I feel like education can be a little behind the times and as enlightening as Shakespeare can be, and even why one of my favorite books is Tequila Mockingbird and I have the pleasure of teaching it. But um, we've started pairing that sort of stuff with more modern texts and even different mediums of storytelling like podcasts. So last year was my first year, so I trialed pairing the Toe Kill a Mockingbird book with Cereal the podcasts, and the students loved it, and it was just like again, And I mean it happened to be before all of the stuff that we're talking about with the justice system. Now, Um, it's fit right in because we were looking at them as two different types of injustices whether and both obviously involving race and the justice system, so looking at it through a couple of different lenses. So I mean, it really was kind of amazing how it fit into today's society as well. So just kind of in incorporating those modern things. It helps the kids connect to it too, because yeah, so I remember even when I was in high school reading to Kyleen Mockingbird, I was like, I don't I don't get this, like but now like him like teaching it that way, like the kids were so invested in for obsessed and he even got parents into it, like it was really cool. Yeah, my parents were listening to it and everything too, So it was really cool because like they would have conversations at home and it's like, think about how much you prepared those kids for right now without realizing it. And we need that because we like we're as a world right now, we are relying on this next generation to not suck. So thank you for doing that and preparing them. And it's amazing that you were able to do it before. And I'm curious to see how they react this this class reacts now after going through all this stuff and your point of view as a teacher, what their feedback is like and do they are they going into it knowing, oh, I get what injustice is now without you having to fully explain it and diving into it differently. It'll be very interesting as a teacher to see what it's like comparing. Yeah, I know's nothing to do with the podcast, but you guys are incredible and I want I wanted people to know about that. But going back to your business and your website, I was on there and I noticed you guys are doing something with a puzzle. So j k H plus dot com for people to check it out again. Link is below. What is this puzzle that you guys are doing? So a common adoption fundraiser that people do UM is called a puzzle fundraiser, So we thought it would be a fun thing to do next to our business. Kind of maybe if there was someone who didn't want to buy any soap or anything like, you can still help us this slack. We took a picture of our pets with a sign saying planning to adopt UM and we got it made into a puzzle from Shotterfly. We are like selling each piece as kind of like a fundraiser. Whoever purchases the piece, we put their name on the back of it UM and then once we sold all the pieces, we're gonna put the puzzle together. We're gonna put it in a double side and clear frame and hang it in our future babies room so that they know bring a piece of that who helped bring a piece of them home? That is so It's like putting all the pieces together is so cool. I also need to know how many dogs did you say you had? We have two dogs and two cats. How is it so quiet right now? Is your recording this? They're all sleeping Okay, they're all around us, next to us, and I got one here and when we right there, I get it when you held it up like, how it so cool? I hope I hope you get all the pieces to your puzzle. And obviously the most important piece of the puzzle is we'll get a baby home to you guys. And I'm excited that the side Hustler's audience gets to be a part of this with you and help support all. The link is below to everything and I want everyone to support. And they can't don't want soap, Maybe they hate soap. I don't know. They can buy a piece of the puzzle, so that is really cool. And just spreading the word and sharing our story is really important to us. And I'm glad you said that because I do preach that often in the intro and outro of this podcast. I don't necessarily talk to people about it, but sharing and liking and following on social media when you maybe can't afford to do something right now. It's huge. It is so huge, so go follow them on Instagram. Um like all the photos, share them with friends. You guys do a great job on Instagram. I love it. I see you each modeling things on your own so it's great. So I saw I thought that five as well. Brandon Jeffrey, thank you both for being here today. I appreciate a good luck with everything. Thank you so much for listening to side Hustlers. All the links are below on everything you need to support. Go to their website so you can buy some soap or a puzzle piece. Follow them on Instagram, check out their YouTube channel. It's all below. Go support them and they're amazing reason for starting this business. I've also got all the links below on how you can support me and my best friend and Cole with Anthony on this crazy journey as we road trip across America and then back again across America because after we stay in New Jersey, we're coming back out to Seattle. So it's gonna be a wild ride. Probably going to be in a city near you, but you can watch our road trip, and you can listen to our road trip, and yeah, it's gonna be chaos, but it's all below. Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate you being here and supporting all of these small business owners and their dreams. This podcast has been produced by Houston Tilly And until next week, keep hustling and be a good human

Welcome to the Side Hustlers podcast. I'm your host, Carla Marie, and I am obsessed with small businesses. That's one of the reasons why I started this podcast two and a half years ago. It was also started because someone told me that everyone has a side hustle, and I panicked because I didn't. I started learning that a lot of people around me did have side hustles, so I started talking to them and interviewing them and just having conversations about their passions and their dreams. And it's been an incredible ride for me and I've learned so much from them, and I didn't realize it was going to prepare me for this moment of my life. I got let go from my day job as a morning show host here in Seattle, Washington about three weeks ago from when I'm recording this, and it's been scary. But at the same time, everything I have learned doing this podcast is helping me right now, whether it's actual technical and logistical things to just taking the time to find what you love and diving into it. It's incredible what this community has taught me. And if this is your first episode, you're probably what she talking about. Go back and listen, because every single human that has been on this podcast is inspiring and their drive is incredible. You are going to be motivated to dive into a passion. You don't have to make it a business, but you'll be motivated to dive into a passion. And before I tell you about the incredible guests I have this week, I gotta let you know what I'm about to do. I am in the middle of a road trip, driving across America to go see my family in New Jersey who I haven't seen in eight months because of quarantine. And along the way, my best friend and former morning show co host, Anthony and I are doing a podcast and a video stream in every city that we stop in. We could be coming to your city, so check out our Instagram Carla Marie and Anthony it's below. You may be able to find us in your city, which will be super cool. But we are streaming on Twitch, Twitch, dot tv, Slash Carla Marie and Anthony also below, and we are podcasting with our My Day Friday podcast, which I have been doing for six and a half years at this point, also linked below. It would be really cool if you can support just by following along checking us out on Instagram and doing all of that stuff. Because now I guess that that's my side hustle to this podcast. Maybe who knows. I appreciate your support. Thank you so much for being a part of this crazy ride with me. This week's guests are Brandon and Jeff. They are full time teachers who are married, and their side hustle is a soap lotion candle company called Jacob h Plus. Now. They have a really cool reason as to why they started the side hustle this year while in quarantine. They want to make enough money to be able to adopt a baby domestically and start their very own family together. So you've got to listen to this episode because how they do this and how they work together, it's just it's truly incredible. This is Brandon and Jeff's story for a lot of people. You know, why are you wait? Do you know what you want to do and this is something you want to do, you don't about and do it. I'm a hustles sho do it. I'm a hut do it. I'm a hustle. Come on ask about me, yo yo. It's the side Hustless podcast we call at Root Okay, So today I've got Jeff and Brandon here coming to me from New Jersey. Hi, guys, I okay, before we get into the house and the wise, tell everyone what Jacob H Plus is as a company. Back of H plus is a company that we named after our initials and our pets initials. So we're Jeff and Brandon, and then we have two dogs and two cats, so it's Jeff, Arthur, Coda, Ali, Brandon Henry. And then the plus is plus a new baby, which is the hopes for our business. So our business is I'm a home and body business for products such as soaps, candles, body butters, lip bombs, bath bombs, all homemade in our basement, laboratory and everything. And we sell everything on Shopify, Facebook, and Instagram. So people can go to Jacob h plus dot com and I put the link below so you can check it out right there to see everything that we're talking about. You guys got a blog up there. You've got a ton of different things for people to look at. I'm a fan of a good acronym, so I love the name. But let's talk about your why. So the two of you decided to create this soap lotion body business. Why yes. So we decided to create this as a revenue stream to help us in our adoption journey. So we are looking to become parents, and we wanted kind of something outside of like a traditional like quote unquote fundraising idea. So and I'm always kind of one that is looking for like a new project. So when I do, and I don't know if you could see the face that Jeff made me was like, well that's Brandon Love's projects. Like during quarantine, our dining room became like a jungle because he decided he wanted to get into planting. And I was like, oh, and now he wants to learn how to knit. I'm like, let's just stay one lane for listen. I think, friend, and I get it. I I think the way that you think. I have a lot of failed hobbies collection around my house. This one has not failed. This one has been amazing. Ye. And that's how I got Jeff on board for that hobby was this, But we wanted to do it instead of just like a hobby and really try and push it into like a business because it's not only our hopes to help fund our own adoption. But when we were really kind of thinking about adopting and kind of the resources that are out there. It's still not an industry that is overly filled with resources for lgbt Q plus families, so we really wanted to be a resource as well. So our hopes is after we found our own adoption, is to continue that along and a portion of our proceeds will go towards supporting that's incredible. Yeah, you often see go fund means for heterosexual couples all the time. We spent the beginning of Quarantine like doing a lot of research with like how we wanted to expand our family, and when we decided that we wanted to do you know, domestic infinite adoption, like a lot of the grants and everything we're for like Christian couples or through like you know, Christian agencies, and we're like, oh, well, that's not gonna help us. So we got to kind of help ourselves, which amazing on your part for being able to do that and then think of other people in the future. But so the adoption cost, which when you guys texted me and messuged me this number, I was like, what dollars? Is that really what it calls? Yeah, that's the average. That's the average, and that's honestly kind of playing it a little bit safe even because something thing is kind of can pop out of nowhere unexpectedly. But that's like what they tell you to be prepared for. And most of that is like, you know, the legal fees and the paperwork and all that. So it's not like a lot of times people think, you know, when you're paying that. It's like people say like, oh, well, how can you buy a baby, And it's like, not like that because the birth mother and doesn't really get any money, Like it's all the legal issues behind it. So you know, in a sense, like at first we were kind of overwhelmed by it, but then we were like, you know what, like this is put in place to make sure that these children are getting like the best possible, So if we have to do that, then the better for our baby. And to make sure that, you know, everything is done legally and properly and everyone feels comfortable and safe and all that. So this is eye opening to me because I had no idea how much it costs. I had never really thought about the fact that there were grants specifically for certain types of people to adopt babies. So for anyone listening right now, this is probab probably very eye opening for them too, So thank you for sharing your story with us. But you guys are both your day jobs are being teachers. So Brandon you are a high school teacher, Jeff elementary school. Correct, yes, yes, it's no surprise. We know that teachers don't necessarily get paid what they should be paid, so that I'm assuming is what made you guys say, Okay, well we can't adopt a baby. You can raise a baby with a teaching salary. You know, plenty of teachers have kids, but you can't be one big chunk. Is it's almost impossible. That was the biggest thing. We were like, okay, like we know we like we're both teachers, Like I've been teaching for this will be my eighth year. This would be Brandon second because it's his second career. But we have you know, we're really good, like I'm really strected about bills and making sure that we are on a budget and everything like that, so we're really good with money. And then just seeing that number that was like, oh, you need to have x amount ready garry when a birth mom picks you. We were like, oh, okay, well we have you know, we have savings, but we don't have that much saving. So we knew that like our support system around us would help us. But doing it this way through the business. I mean we have gotten orders from all over the country, like people we don't even know how are they finding you? I guess word of mouth and social media. I mean we started this all on June first, yea, so this is just like yeah, so we do yeah. So literally, we we used the time during quarantine to like research, like you know, what to do and how to do it, and Brandon taught himself how to make all these products. So we used that time and then we decided, okay, let's start on June one. Like so we started by just kind of posting a picture of us and our pets with like a sign saying that we were planning to adopt, and we wrote like a little blurb about like you know, how we came to the to the decision and what our business was. And we started a website and a blog. And it's that first day like exploded, like we living we living allingswo, New Jersey, which is right outside of Philly, and there's like a group on Facebook for the town, and I had posted our story in there, and like in that one thing, we got like a thousand likes, We got like a hundred orders just from the people in our town, and then you know, it just kept getting shared. Yeah, and those people know people other places and then they give them with things. And I've seen it happen with plenty of people have been on this podcast or just things that I've come across on my own. I'll give it to someone as a gift and they're like, hey, where'd you get that? I want to give it as a gift and that, and it spreads. But obviously you have to have a good product for people to want to read gift. And you somehow have taught yourself how to do this. I mean, it's crazy. What when you actually focus on something like you I don't want to I'm not dumbing down at all what I'm about to say and what you guys do. But really anyone could do this, but it takes someone who actually wants to do it right. And I had Dreamy Sud's Missy on this podcast. She's local here and I got to connect you guys. She does and made her reasoning was a friend who was sick and going through chemo, I believe, realized there were so many different things in our regular soaps that we're making her even more sick. So she helped her friend and the same thing. People started saying, I want this, I want it, and she taught herself and now it's her side hustle. But it's the same thing. There's so much to it. It's a little bit of a science when it comes to soaps. And definitely it's not just something that smells good. It has to feel good and have a purpose. It has to clean you and do all the things. So yeah, and that's we get that a lot to like, oh, well, what's in it, and we're like, like maybe three things, Like it's very like, yeah, it's natural and it's good and we've we've got a lot of positive responses. So and it looks great too. When I see you guys on Instagram, which is below for everyone to check out, there was a gold one and I was like, oh, that was great. So we name most of our products based on our two favorite things, which are The Real Housewives and Ship's Creek and so so like the gold one is are a little bit a Lexus, okay, and then we have like a candle that's called I'll tell you how I'm doing that well, But I saw that. I love that, and I think it's it's great to be able to put a little spin off like of who you guys are into this and have a personality and give your business a personality. You guys are really having fun with it. But how much did you research leading up to this, Like you said, you know, once you got into quarantine, which I guess was March ish and then you launch in June. I mean there are people that sit on ideas for years just because but you guys you jumped it in. I mean, this is something that's always kind of been in the back of my head of stuff that like I've been that I like and like obviously like like Farmer's Markets, I'm like sniffing every Frmer episode for me for me and stuff like that. So like I mean, but I mean, once it actually was like Okay, maybe we could do this, it was probably still like a solid like month of research. And then even again, like you said, it's kind of a science, So even as much research as you put in it, like literally my first batchup, so like turned to like you, and I'm like, oh crap, Like what did I just get myself into. So like there's still that like trial and error of stuff too, So I mean there was that, which is why we like only certain stuff comes out at certain times because obviously sometimes that doesn't work out as well as I would like it to be. So Brandon, that happened in your first batch and you were just like all right, we'll just do another one, or were you like screw this, I'm not gonna be able to do it so well, he he was like that, and I was like, okay, it's just your first I was like, it's your first batch, like like a little bit way perfection. Yeah, like when you do new things, you're gonna mess up. And I was like, that's okay, just keep going and do the next bat. That's the elementary school teacher and you're right there. Yeah. So we really play off each other because like Brandon does, he makes everything and then I do like all the packaging and shipping and stuff like that. So you know, I made sure that he doesn't overwhelm himself and then he takes breaks and because you know, when we first started, he would be in the basement for like twenty four hours making soaps and that kind of stuff. Really like, yeah, I was like, you need to take a break. I was like, because if you don't take a break and you go crazy, then the end results just gonna be you being miserable. So I was like, we can't have that. So we've kind of gotten into a rhythm now, and you know, we do Facebook live sales and our our moms come over and help us and you know, so that yeah, so um, we've really like go on our family involved and stuff. So it's it's been fun. But like when you were talking about research, like Brandom would watch YouTube videos on how to make soap like all night long, Like I would be like I would be up in bed and I would hear like the TV soll on, Like he bought like a premium YouTube subscription so we didn't have to watch the ads and like, and would just spend hours watching these videos and and they did. They are kind of addicting just to watch the episode was made. I'm sure it's relaxing. But Jeff, when it comes to shipping that side of the business, I have heard from so many thought hustlers how it is torture going whether you're going to the post office or doing all of that at home. So what is your process for labeling and shipping and packaging, Like, what is that like for you? So we started the business on Etsy and then right now we've moved to Shopify, but both of them are good where you can print the invoices that people order. So what I do is like I usually like I'll print, you know, all the new invoices that we get. If it's you know, a delivery, I'll set up a bag. If it's shipping, I'll do a box and then I'll put the invoice in each one. And then I'll go around our basement which we have set up like a little score, and I'll get you know, whatever they ordered, I'll put it in the box. Um, and then we have to weigh them and put them with the packing peanuts and the printing. Um. So I'll spend some time doing that and then yeah, the post office knows me by name probably now I hear that often. But even behind the mat yeah, like and with all the with all the precautions coronavirus, like usually there's like a long line. I just go right in. I dropped them off, I'm like, I don't need a receipt, just chipped them and I'm on my way. The shipping isn't as bad as the delivering or like we have people do like porch pick up, so like that's hard to like negotiate with people, like oh, what time are you gonna come over? Because you can't believe candles and soap outside in the middle of And one time we were going away for the weekend and someone said they were gonna pick it up within an hour, and I put it on the porch and then we got back after the weekend and it was still there, and I was like, oh my gosh, it's probably Welton. People have been really awesome and we put like little handwritten cards in each bag, like banking people looks crazy. For on all of our labels, we put like all proceeds go towards adoption, and we put like our website and our Instagram. So that's been like pumping spread the word a lot too. So we've actually also gotten quite a bit of people interested in stuff for like showers, wedding showers and stuff like that, so for like favors, which has been really helpful as well because then that's like the people that have been so generous in doing stuff like that. Like we just had one yesterday that we did and she had message just saying how happy people were and that she was kind of telling people about them and stuff like that. So that's another way that we've been kind of getting the word out there as well, which is really cool. That is awesome, especially like I know my niece is pregnant and my sister is probably coming up with favors for the baby shower, and how awesome would it be for favors at a baby shower where you're helping fund someone else's baby, And it's just it's a cool idea to be able to give someone life while you're celebrating that and in and of yourself, especially in the world right now where it's hard to celebrate things and just you know, yeah, small things like that put a smile on someone's face. So it's cool that you guys are finding different ways to spread the love and and get the family that you guys want, all through a business that you actually care about. I want to get back to the business kind of things for a second. The labels, they look great aesthetically, like even the website, your logo, like I was drawn to it. I love it. I love what you guys are doing. It doesn't seem like you just slapped your standard label on anything. So the aesthetic of the labels, where do you? How do you do that? Who designed that? So I did that? And so a friend of mine, actually another teacher, actually made our logo for us. I kind of was like, this is what I'm thinking, and I'm not that great with like that sort of stuff, so, but you are so again like reaching out to kind of those resources around us. But then the labeling itself was through a YouTube video and just learning how to set up like the template and stuff like that within like a word doc and stuff like that. But then we really wanted it to feel like are fun with like our names and stuff like that. But we wanted, uh, kind of like a more rustic feel like it. We wanted a candle I would sit in any environment and feel like it belonged there, and then if you looked at it, you saw that it had a fun name. So I felt like we were really kind of conscious of like the colors and stuff like that, of like the craft paper um that we used and stuff like that. Thank you. Yeah, And it's funny because you mentioned like the website, Like I'll tell you when we first started, like I had a nervous breakdown about the website because I also made the website, and like we were using WordPress, and I was like, oh my gosh, I've never used this before, like and I'm usually pretty good at technology, but I was like, oh my god. I was like, I can't figure this out. I forgot a website and I can't do this name do this. And now now I can like go on in like ten seconds and you know, switch things around. But that was definitely learning curve. It's a lot. I mean, listen, if this were easy, everyone would do it, everyone would have their own business. And yeah, and eventually that may happen if we have enough time alone and quarantine. But it's not easy. And that's why when you practicing and keep learning, like your first batch of soap. I'm sure plenty of people gave up after their first batch of so I'm sure there are hundreds of people who did, but you didn't, and you keep pushing through and you keep teaching yourself. And I'm assuming your background also as teachers and people who are teach are probably also great at learning and when it comes to this kind of stuff, even though you may have to remind yourself a few times, like, hey, we can do this, but you started in June when I'm assuming school was winding down. So we're getting back to the school year. Now we're recording this, it's August. What's going to happen when it's school again and your day job kicks back in. It's more of an issue as far as like production uh comes up because obviously we can't do like we did when we were starting and kind of overwhelmed by the orders and spend thirteen hours in a basement making stuff. So we've been trying to get better at making larger batches of stuff. So my dad actually made us soap molds out of bigger one. Yeah. Yeah, so we can do larger batches of that because that was part of the reason to So it's really not that difficult if you know how to use like a saw and screwed, I'm not all that handy with a saw. It looks like a breadpan, almost like a long bread almost like a drawer, yeah, like some people use like a drawer. Um, so yeah, he just made me ones that like on three sides were secured and on one side could tighten and loosen so I can get the soap out of it once it is solidified. We've already made stuff that will come out next month already Pumpkin spice. Oh yeah, I'm labeling spice. I labeled it yesterday. Yes, prum cake, which is like amazing, you heard here first. I'm fun. I'm so excited. So we're also both really organized, Like I am like a stickler about like a schedule and being organized and like getting stuff done. Yeah, so we're both like I think, you know, we're gonna say, like okay, like Saturday mornings from this time to this time, we're gonna do our shifting every week. And then you know, Brandon already has all the stuff for fall made, so you know, by the time September bowls around, we'll be doing Christmas stuff. So you know, we're both really organized in that aspect. We also get help from you know, my mom will come over and sit in the basement with us for like hours and she'll do a bunch of stuff for us. So just relying on the people around us and you know, asking for help and sticking to like an organized schedule. We actually when we first started, like multiple people would ask us like they thought we were like outsourcing our products and they were like, where did you get these like and we're like that's yeah. But also them being like just because they were like the labels and like even some of are like some of our more fancy soaps, we like shrink rap before we mail them out to make sure they don't like nothing falls off of them. So my one good friend lives in Vermont, she's like, oh my god, that's Sopain. It was shrink wrap. She's like, you guys were really fancy, and it's the little things that you'll start learning. Like I know you guys did this. Your reason was you wanted to raise money to be able to adopt, to be able to start your family. But you aren't just half asking this. You are doing the little things that are so important from a business point of view. And I commend you guys for that because it's not it's not easy, and there is an investment that goes into creating a business. Like I'm sure you're you were in the red or probably could. I don't know. I don't need to know the finances. That's not all this podcast, but there's stuff that you have to buy to start a business, and a lot of people expect the money right away, but you have to invest in yourself and that can be stressful too, because again, like obviously sympathize with anybody who's listening to this and who's started a small business or thinking of starting one. Obviously, Beside it's like the learning that there are going to be tons of trial and error stuff and that is has got to be okay. It also is a really tough adjustment to figuring out what you need and when you need and stuff like that. And also yeah, like also like at the beginning, like I was producing so much soap and then it was like, okay, maybe we need to scale that back a little bit, just because maintaining that sort of a pace of putting out like so many new soaps every week just is not realistic. And it also they work like that, like how many bars of soap can you go through in a day, Like, yeah, it's it's not something you're you need new every week exactly. So like also kind of learning that too is helping us with obviously being able to scale up things appropriately. I think is important to like um, and also paying attention to what is actually sell Yes, that is what you may personally have a desire to make. Like he has the most fun making and designing the soaps, but our best sellers are candles and our body butters, so yeah, they're while they're easy to make. He gets bored making and he's like, I want to just design is cute soap And I'm like, yeah, but that candle is gonna sell for fifteen dollars, so I'm just like, let's pour out wax. I love you, guys, I love this. Okay, So are you going back physically to school? Are you going to be able to peace it right now? Yes you are, Yes, yes we are. So the kids. The kids have the option to be remote to do virtual if they want, so we'll have smaller class sizes, um, and our schools are taking like a lot of precautions to make sure, you know, everyone's safe and all that. So, so we will be going back and that and itself will be an adjustment because it won't be like teaching as we've ever talked, or you have to plan extra. I feel just you know, your your day job also isn't just a nine to five they're planning. That comes with being a teacher. So that's the time that people don't realize. Like a lot of people who I don't know start to say, someone starts to soap business, but their day job is just you leave it at work. Teachers don't do that. Teachers not and sure where you leave and that's it. You do have to come home and you plan and prep and and everything that goes into the next day or a week or months. So there's a lot of time that you do have to spend at home and people don't realize that. But it'll be very interesting for you guys, I think just going back to school aside from owning your own business. Also, yeah, I've been teaching fourth grade for about eight years now, so I really know the curriculum and all that, so I spend a lot of time, Like even this week, I've been spending a lot of time like creating like a virtual classroom for those kids who are going to be at home and adapting everything you know that I do to make sure it can be done on the computer because even in the classroom, like we want to use as little paper as possible, um, you know, to reduce transmission or anything like that. So I think it's just again, it just goes back to making sure that we know how to manage our time well, which is something that like, I really pride myself on. I you know, a lot of times, I have so many friends and our teachers, and you know, they are like, we don't know how you don't. We don't know how you like stay sane and you know, manage your time well. And I don't really know how I do it either. I'm just like a siler making sure that I, you know, set aside time for things and that I get my stuff done in that time. For me, so, I had had a business previously, so I kind of have an awareness of the value of my time, even though I still want to kind of people please um, But I think that it's important for people to understand too, there's more value in you doing less better than there is doing more half acts. Yeah, I'm in the middle of learning this myself right now. I actually just got the book The Joy of Missing Out. I haven't heard of that, so I've literally just read like the intro and it's about being like this word productive and what's the difference between busy and productive and if it kind of in the same tune of what you're saying. Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're getting anything done. You have to be productive, And like I suck, So I'm like envious of you guys. This whole thing everything's happening in the world sucks. But Quarantine actually let us like slow down and really realize, you know what using our time well, And like Brandon said, you know, he used to own a CrossFit gym. The amount of busy that he was before is like nothing compared to because his gym used to be in Pennsylvania, so he would have to drive from here in to Pennsylvania every day like four in the morning before going to work. I feel like this almost seems like a piece of cake. Yeah, now down to my base. Yeah, how do you go from a CrossFit like slinging weights to making so I mean, we all have to happen. I love that we travel about everything. Hey, it's amazing, Brandon. This really has nothing to do with the side hustle. Before we started recording, you started telling me about your curriculum for the school year, And I think this is so cool as a podcaster, as someone who has a love for podcasts. I think what you're doing as a teacher is incredible. So explain what your curriculum for the school year is with your freshman year literally in your students, I have Freshman English. I feel like education can be a little behind the times and as enlightening as Shakespeare can be, and even why one of my favorite books is Tequila Mockingbird and I have the pleasure of teaching it. But um, we've started pairing that sort of stuff with more modern texts and even different mediums of storytelling like podcasts. So last year was my first year, so I trialed pairing the Toe Kill a Mockingbird book with Cereal the podcasts, and the students loved it, and it was just like again, And I mean it happened to be before all of the stuff that we're talking about with the justice system. Now, Um, it's fit right in because we were looking at them as two different types of injustices whether and both obviously involving race and the justice system, so looking at it through a couple of different lenses. So I mean, it really was kind of amazing how it fit into today's society as well. So just kind of in incorporating those modern things. It helps the kids connect to it too, because yeah, so I remember even when I was in high school reading to Kyleen Mockingbird, I was like, I don't I don't get this, like but now like him like teaching it that way, like the kids were so invested in for obsessed and he even got parents into it, like it was really cool. Yeah, my parents were listening to it and everything too, So it was really cool because like they would have conversations at home and it's like, think about how much you prepared those kids for right now without realizing it. And we need that because we like we're as a world right now, we are relying on this next generation to not suck. So thank you for doing that and preparing them. And it's amazing that you were able to do it before. And I'm curious to see how they react this this class reacts now after going through all this stuff and your point of view as a teacher, what their feedback is like and do they are they going into it knowing, oh, I get what injustice is now without you having to fully explain it and diving into it differently. It'll be very interesting as a teacher to see what it's like comparing. Yeah, I know's nothing to do with the podcast, but you guys are incredible and I want I wanted people to know about that. But going back to your business and your website, I was on there and I noticed you guys are doing something with a puzzle. So j k H plus dot com for people to check it out again. Link is below. What is this puzzle that you guys are doing? So a common adoption fundraiser that people do UM is called a puzzle fundraiser, So we thought it would be a fun thing to do next to our business. Kind of maybe if there was someone who didn't want to buy any soap or anything like, you can still help us this slack. We took a picture of our pets with a sign saying planning to adopt UM and we got it made into a puzzle from Shotterfly. We are like selling each piece as kind of like a fundraiser. Whoever purchases the piece, we put their name on the back of it UM and then once we sold all the pieces, we're gonna put the puzzle together. We're gonna put it in a double side and clear frame and hang it in our future babies room so that they know bring a piece of that who helped bring a piece of them home? That is so It's like putting all the pieces together is so cool. I also need to know how many dogs did you say you had? We have two dogs and two cats. How is it so quiet right now? Is your recording this? They're all sleeping Okay, they're all around us, next to us, and I got one here and when we right there, I get it when you held it up like, how it so cool? I hope I hope you get all the pieces to your puzzle. And obviously the most important piece of the puzzle is we'll get a baby home to you guys. And I'm excited that the side Hustler's audience gets to be a part of this with you and help support all. The link is below to everything and I want everyone to support. And they can't don't want soap, Maybe they hate soap. I don't know. They can buy a piece of the puzzle, so that is really cool. And just spreading the word and sharing our story is really important to us. And I'm glad you said that because I do preach that often in the intro and outro of this podcast. I don't necessarily talk to people about it, but sharing and liking and following on social media when you maybe can't afford to do something right now. It's huge. It is so huge, so go follow them on Instagram. Um like all the photos, share them with friends. You guys do a great job on Instagram. I love it. I see you each modeling things on your own so it's great. So I saw I thought that five as well. Brandon Jeffrey, thank you both for being here today. I appreciate a good luck with everything. Thank you so much for listening to side Hustlers. All the links are below on everything you need to support. Go to their website so you can buy some soap or a puzzle piece. Follow them on Instagram, check out their YouTube channel. It's all below. Go support them and they're amazing reason for starting this business. I've also got all the links below on how you can support me and my best friend and Cole with Anthony on this crazy journey as we road trip across America and then back again across America because after we stay in New Jersey, we're coming back out to Seattle. So it's gonna be a wild ride. Probably going to be in a city near you, but you can watch our road trip, and you can listen to our road trip, and yeah, it's gonna be chaos, but it's all below. Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate you being here and supporting all of these small business owners and their dreams. This podcast has been produced by Houston Tilly And until next week, keep hustling and be a good human