Junior Takeover — Angus Entrepreneurs Build Relationships, Businesses and Skills 

Starting a small business is no small feat, but doing so while also juggling schoolwork and cattle work? That's a challenge that these podcast guests have proven they’re ready to tackle. Corbin Russell, Paxico, Kan., and Kasey Meyer, Blue Hill, Neb., both grew up in the National Junior Angus Association, so they had a feel for managing chores and schedules, but they also have another thing in common: entrepreneurship. Corbin talks about starting his leather work business, while Kasey gives insights from her custom tagging and show heifer ventures. Their advice for others ranges from “try new things” to the importance of building relationships.  

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman, Mark McCully,  

GUESTS:  
Corbin Russell, Paxico, Kan., is the son of Stephen and Dixie Russell, and he will begin his junior year of high school this fall. Corbin started doing leather work at age 7 for a 4-H project and currently takes custom orders through his business CK Leather.  

Kasey Meyer of Blue Hill, Neb., is the daughter of Brandon and Kami Meyer. She’s been involved in the National Junior Angus Association since 2015 and recently finished her associate’s degree in agricultural sciences from Central Community College. She has recently started own custom tag engraving business KLM Engraving and has developed a show heifer enterprise. 

CO-HOST:  
Suter Clark, son of Gretchen and Timothy Clark, comes from Virginia. He's been involved in the National Junior Angus Association and the Virginia Junior Angus Association since 2014 and is pursuing a degree in animal science with a minor in construction management at Oklahoma State University. Upon graduation, he hopes to return home and help his family with their show cattle operation as well as the family business. 

SPONSOR: Ready to see how Vermeer can help you get more done in a day? Visit Vermeer.com/angus to learn more and find your local dealer. 

Miranda Reiman (00:02):
Welcome to the Angus Conversation. I'm your host Miranda Reiman with my co-host, CEO of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully and Mark, we're in Tulsa.

Mark McCully (00:11):
We're in Tulsa, the National Junior Angus Show, and it's a little hot and humid, but everybody's having an awesome time. We're off to a great start.

Miranda Reiman (00:19):
Yeah. Today has already been a busy day. This is Monday, and these junior takeover podcasts will actually air the end of the week, but we started out with a busy day with a new showmanship contest.

Mark McCully (00:33):
Yeah. Yeah. We actually, I mean, things were going on yesterday. We had even the carcass steers were headed out. We've got showmanship going on. The new showmanship contest that's going on here today. We have it over 400 kids coming through two rings at the junior and intermediate divisions. We've got extemporaneous speaking contests, lots of contests. Anybody that's ever been to one of these knows that there's a contest or something to participate in every day, every day. And the barns are full. And we got, I think, close to a thousand heifers and bulls and steers here and to compete over the next few days.

Miranda Reiman (01:15):
Very good. I was just going to ask if you knew those numbers off the top of your head.

Mark McCully (01:19):
Well, I don't, but Caitlyn shares 'em with me so I can break it down into all the details, but that's not what you're asking, was it?

Miranda Reiman (01:26):
So back by popular demand this year we are doing the junior takeover edition where we've got juniors coming on to both help us co-host the podcast, but also deliver kind of three rapid fire podcasts where we can delve into just different aspects of what's going on in the Angus juniors' lives.

Mark McCully (01:43):
Yeah, these are going to be a lot of fun. I mean, we've got so many great young folks to be able to talk to. They've got such great stories. We've got kids from all over the country, some that are kind of early on in their show career and first or second times here, and then there's some of these kids that have been coming eight, 10 more years.

Miranda Reiman (02:05):
Well, and we've got three very focused themes that we're kind of working from this year. Angus entrepreneurs, so folks that are working in business, we've got some people that have done some really cool international travel. So Angus goes global, I guess we'd call that one. And then folks that are going to come in and talk a little bit about how they found their community in Angus. So today we started out with those Angus entrepreneurs.

Mark McCully (02:27):
Yeah, two young folks that have started their businesses and they talk about where the ideas came from and how they're growing their businesses today and where they're going with them in the future. So some great takeaways.

Miranda Reiman (02:42):
So Juniors, if you are listening to this podcast, I would say you can learn something from 'em and maybe get some ideas of your own. If you've got that entrepreneurial bug and parents and others in the industry that are listening, I would just say this is your call to go support those young business people either in your community or across the internet.

Mark McCully (03:01):
Absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (03:04):
So our guest co-host today from the National Junior Angus Board is Suter Clark, Suter, you're from

Suter Clark (03:10):
Gretna, Virginia.

Miranda Reiman (03:12):
Very good. And this is your second year on the board. You're the events coordinator?

Suter Clark (03:16):
Yes, ma'am.

Miranda Reiman (03:17):
Very good. So tell us a little bit about what the junior board will be doing this week. You guys have a lot of responsibilities here at the show.

Suter Clark (03:23):
So at the beginning of the week, we checked in all the cattle, and today we're doing the junior showmanship competition. And then throughout the week,

Mark McCully (03:31):
First ever junior showmanship competition. Right.

Suter Clark (03:34):
Yeah. Junior showmanship.

Mark McCully (03:35):
This is a big decision you guys made as a board to kind of break from tradition a little bit and to introduce the showmanship competition. And we're getting to watch it kind of right now from the

Suter Clark (03:44):
Yes, sir.

Mark McCully (03:45):
 Congratulations. It's a successful event so far

Suter Clark (03:47):
Thank you. I think it is going very well.

Miranda Reiman (03:50):
Yeah. Talk a little bit about your guys' decision to bring that. What led you to say we want to add this to the show?

Suter Clark (03:57):
So a few of us have attended the other junior nationals, and we've seen what a positive impact that has on those families and just overall enjoyment factor of it. And we as a board made a recommendation to the adult board that we were in favor of adding this on as a contest.

Mark McCully (04:19):
I think 400 and some kids will go through the ring today.

Suter Clark (04:23):
Yes, sir. That's correct. It was

Mark McCully (04:24):
Very well received.

Suter Clark (04:25):
I think so, yeah.

Mark McCully (04:27):
And you're at Oklahoma State?

Suter Clark (04:28):
Yes, sir.

Mark McCully (04:28):
In Stillwater. Back home you were telling me this summer in your family business that maybe you plan to maybe head back to at some point?

Suter Clark (04:37):
Yes, sir. Yep. I'm getting a animal science degree and a construction management degree as well from Oklahoma State. And my family has a medium sized general contracting firm. And yeah,

Miranda Reiman (04:51):
The general contracting firm to pay for the cattle. Is that the way it works? No,

Mark McCully (04:55):
It's the other way. Around's the other way around.

Miranda Reiman (04:56):
That's right. I got it. Very good. Well, that's part of the reason we asked Suiter to be the co-host here today because we're going to talk a little bit about business with some Angus juniors that we have

Mark McCully (05:08):
Entrepreneurs.

Miranda Reiman (05:09):
That's right. We've got some young entrepreneurs with us. And I guess I'm going to let you maybe introduce a guest or two that we have here.

Suter Clark (05:16):
Okay. Well, first off, we have Kasey Meyer. And

Miranda Reiman (05:21):
Kasey, you're from Blue Hill, Nebraska.

Kasey Meyer (05:23):
Yes, that's right.

Miranda Reiman (05:24):
Yeah. And tell us a little bit about your, so I guess you've got a cattle operation there. What are you doing here this week?

Kasey Meyer (05:31):
So I'm from Blue Hill, Nebraska, and I recently finished two years at the local com,munity college, central Community College where I had, got an associate's and an agricultural science degree. And I'm going back to our family farm, helping out with that, staying in the cattle business. And I'm also kind of branching out and doing my own show heifer sale, working on that. And I've been lucky enough for the Dal Porto family to invite me onto their sale and have a few heifers on there. So I have that. And I also am doing my own tag engraving business that I recently started on the side as well.

Miranda Reiman (06:09):
Excellent. Well, we look forward to learning more about that. We're going to introduce our other guests here so that we've got Corbin Russell from Paxico, Kansas.

Corbin Russell (06:18):
Yep, that's right. Northeast Kansas. Go cats.

Miranda Reiman (06:21):
Nice. Very good. And tell us about your journey.

Corbin Russell (06:24):
So started doing leather work at the age of seven, going into junior. So I'm 16 and just enjoy it. And I also helped dad at home occasionally work a few other jobs, mowing grass and working outside spraying pasture and whatnot. And this week I'm participating in contests. So we unloaded the carcass steers last night, can compete in extemp earlier today, we'll do team sales skillathon quiz bowl and livestock judging, cow judging.

Miranda Reiman (06:56):
So we're going to get you on the podcast before you're talked out at the end of the week.

Corbin Russell (06:59):
Yeah, that's right. That's right.

Miranda Reiman (07:00):
Very good.

Mark McCully (07:01):
And you just finished extemporaneous this morning, right?

Corbin Russell (07:04):
Yeah,

Mark McCully (07:05):
Very good.

Miranda Reiman (07:06):
Have you got a feeling how that went?

Corbin Russell (07:08):
I could have done better. There's always room for improvement.

Miranda Reiman (07:11):
No, that's the mark of a good competitor, right? Yeah.

Mark McCully (07:15):
And Kasey, you were telling me you brought a bull and three heifers. Did I get that right?

Kasey Meyer (07:18):
Yes, a bull and three heifers.

Mark McCully (07:20):
Okay, awesome. All owned heifers or bred and owned?

Kasey Meyer (07:23):
I have two owned a PG heifer and then bred and owned bull.

Mark McCully (07:28):
That's right, yep. Okay, very good.

Miranda Reiman (07:29):
So you're busy a lot of the days.

Kasey Meyer (07:31):
Yeah, I have one every day. Yeah. Nice and spread out

Miranda Reiman (07:34):
Except today.

Kasey Meyer (07:34):
Yes.

Mark McCully (07:36):
Very good. And in showmanship?

Kasey Meyer (07:37):
Yes. I'm doing the National Showmanship Contest.

Mark McCully (07:39):
Congratulations, qualifying for that.

Kasey Meyer (07:40):
Thank you

Mark McCully (07:41):
You. Yeah, so we're glad we were able to find a few minutes to time for you guys to all join us because you've got really busy schedules.

Miranda Reiman (07:49):
We did have to pull Suter out of the ring though, and we don't know if Caitlyn knows that we stole you yet, so

Mark McCully (07:54):
I think she'll be all right.

Miranda Reiman (07:55):
Yeah, that's right. Hopefully somebody else is picking up the slack down there. So I guess to jump into today's topic, just maybe whichever one of you wants to start first, just tell us a little bit about how you got your start, what got you interested in pursuing that entrepreneurial side?

Kasey Meyer (08:11):
First off, for the show cattle, I'll talk about that and selling that business, I've always shown cattle as long as I could, and my sister was older than me, so I always watched it and I've loved it, and I just always knew that that was something that I wanted to come back to. And luckily this association has brought many connections for me, and I'm very thankful for the Dal Porto family on helping me get started with selling the show heifers and inviting me onto their sales. So that's what got me started there, and hopefully I can branch out and have my own someday. Then the engraving, I kind of wanted something just of my own to do that's still related to the cattle and everything and something that is needed that many people always need and something.

Mark McCully (09:00):
So did you just kind of discover that as a need, which is the gift I think entrepreneurs have. They go out and they find a need and then they go pursue it.

Kasey Meyer (09:08):
Yeah, I kind just have heard a couple people doing it around and just looked into it more, did some research and on the machines and everything and thought that that was something that I could pursue.

Mark McCully (09:20):
So was there quite a bit of startup and equipment or can you do it pretty easy with some hand kind of tools or what's it all take?

Kasey Meyer (09:26):
No, the equipment's pretty

Mark McCully (09:28):
Intense.

Kasey Meyer (09:28):
Yeah, it is pretty intense and takes some learning for sure, because a diamond cut drilling thing, but it was fun to learn and interesting, so that's for sure.

Mark McCully (09:41):
So did you have to go to the bank and take out with a business plan or

Miranda Reiman (09:46):
Sell a few heifers?

Kasey Meyer (09:48):
Yeah, there was some investment into it for sure, but I think it'll all pay off. I was very busy this spring doing it. That's kind of when I started it. We have our spring bull sale and that's where I launched it and got a lot of business there. So

Miranda Reiman (10:01):
...so they can see your work kind of on display.

Kasey Meyer (10:04):
No, it's been going really well.

Suter Clark (10:06):
So is this the online platform?

Kasey Meyer (10:08):
I do have this online. I am on Facebook and Instagram. KLM engraving,

Mark McCully (10:18):
Nice.

Miranda Reiman (10:19):
And Corbin, how'd you get into the leather

Corbin Russell (10:21):
Seven, you started seven? Yeah, so got started through 4-H, but one day my dad dropped me off at a local boot and ... repair shop and it just kind of took off from there. I don't really remember that far back, but obviously I enjoyed it enough. So the first main goal was just to make items for me that I could use every day that I liked. You don't want to go to the store and buy a cheap junkie belt. I see those and kind of just cringe at it. And then after that I started making gifts for people and whatnot. So I made a wedding sign, for example, and then I realized, oh, people want to order items. So I think 2020 was the first year I said I came in business and started selling items and whatnot. So they're mainly custom items, and so that comes with some challenges down payments and whatnot. But right now it's just kind of call me up and I'll do a project.

Miranda Reiman (11:16):
What's the strangest request you've had? Or maybe most unique, we won't call it strange in case they're listening.

Corbin Russell (11:24):
Just different designs. One kid wanted a dragon on a coaster, so that really isn't my cup of tea. It's mainly just doing belts, wallets, checkbook covers and whatnot.

Mark McCully (11:40):
So Kasey's business took quite a bit of front end with some equipment. Can you start in the leatherworks with some hand tools or does it have some up startup to it as well?

Corbin Russell (11:52):
It has quite bit of startup. Luckily I have a neighbor that was close by that was willing to help, but I used income from other businesses like me and my sister and I work and raise bulls for a bigger cooperator. So I've gotten money from through steers and some bulls and whatnot. But you can buy hand tools for relatively cheap, but if you want to buy a sewing machine, they're $1,500 if you want to get a decent one and they go up from there.

Miranda Reiman (12:20):
And if you don't have a sewing machine, that limits what you can create

Corbin Russell (12:23):
Kind of. Yeah. There's a fellow on YouTube, Aaron Heizer. Every video that he makes, he says you don't have to have a sewing machine. So he always hand sews in his videos. He doesn't want to exclude all people, but so it takes some startup costs,

Miranda Reiman (12:39):
Just like you don't have to have a riding lawnmower, but doing it with the push mower the whole time, not as much fun. Yeah, very good. And Suter, when you think about your guys' family business, how did you get interested in that and want to maybe pursue a degree that you think you want to come back to it?

Suter Clark (12:54):
So I've always been around it and really enjoyed building things and working with my hands. And I've done it, you could call it an internship, but summer help for probably the last five years of my life.

Miranda Reiman (13:08):
Is that a paid or unpaid internship in the family?

Suter Clark (13:11):
It is paid

Miranda Reiman (13:11):
Oh that's good. You got a sweet gig.

Suter Clark (13:14):
That's right.

(13:15):
And so now that I've kind of gotten a bit of education in the field, I am no longer doing as much laboring. I'm doing a lot more office work and learning everything that our business has to offer.

Miranda Reiman (13:31):
So that's a good point. I mean, you guys, you started out with what I would say was a hobby for yourself and then turned it into a business. Probably the show cattle operation would be much the same. It was a hobby for yourself. And then how do you transition from hobby to I'm going to make money at this. So those are kind of two different things.

Corbin Russell (13:49):
For me, it was kind of a drive like, oh, I can make money off of this. Let's do this, but run into a lot of time management problems and that's what I'm into right now and also get dried out. And I haven't touched any leather tools in about a month because I'm busy and gone. But yeah,

Kasey Meyer (14:05):
I would say with the show cattle, I mean when we're younger, our parents do a lot for us and obviously we love coming to shows and hanging out with friends and then going and showing. And as you get older and realize you want to do this long term, you realize there's a lot more that goes into it. There

Mark McCully (14:21):
Was expenses you didn't even know about

Kasey Meyer (14:22):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And just kind of realizing that and transitioning into doing that and figuring it all out.

Miranda Reiman (14:30):
For sure.

Kasey Meyer (14:31):
Yeah.

Miranda Reiman (14:33):
We're going to pause just a moment as we hear from the sponsor of the junior takeover.

Nick Jorgensen (14:40):
My name is Nick Jorgensen. I'm the CEO of Jorgensen Land and Cattle here in Ideal, South Dakota. When it comes to getting forages put up, the most important thing for us is getting it done as possible, and that's largely dictated by the equipment that you're using. So we've really focused on looking out in the industry and finding the best, most efficient equipment that we can find out there. But if you don't have equipment that's reliable and that runs well, when you get it in the field and stays running, you're going to have a hard time. Vermeer products are a big reason that we can get more done in a day.

Speaker (15:12):
See how Vermeer helps Angus producers do more at vermeer.com/angus.

Miranda Reiman (15:20):
We thank Vermeer for their support of the coverage from junior show. And now back to that conversation and with the custom cattle tags, how did you figure out what you could have as a breakeven or a price point that was going to work?

Kasey Meyer (15:34):
Yeah, we've gone through, when I first started, I just kind of had a startup price and stuff that it was pretty breakeven at that point. And now that I've gotten more into it and gotten some business, I did some deals to start with to just get business and get my name out there, but now I'm kind of figuring the price and everything. And we've changed prices some, so just growing the business but still trying to stay profitable and everything.

Mark McCully (15:59):
Sure,

Kasey Meyer (16:00):
Yeah.

Mark McCully (16:01):
So when you guys think about your business, I mean, any business has all different kinds of pieces and parts, right? It's got a production piece, it's got a sales piece, it's got a marketing. Is there any

Miranda Reiman (16:12):
Logistics.

Mark McCully (16:12):
Logistics, right? Customer service, I mean, it's got all these different pieces and parts, and as an entrepreneur with your own business, you get to do all of them, but is there one or two that you like doing the most?

Kasey Meyer (16:25):
I think I really like just interacting with the customers because it's a lot of cattlemen around here that I get a lot of business just from word of mouth and people that I may not even have heard of or anything. So interacting with them and making those new connections has been a really fun part. And I like the social media side as well, and promoting the

Corbin Russell (16:46):
Business marketing and exact same thing here.

Miranda Reiman (16:48):
Same part of it that you like the most? Yeah. Well, and especially where you are working on something that's so unique for each customer, it's customized to them. I mean, I suppose that end goal of that they're happy with your product is really fulfilling.

Mark McCully (17:04):
What's the biggest mistake you've made in your business so far? Or

Miranda Reiman (17:09):
Are you going to admit it on the podcast?

Kasey Meyer (17:12):
I don't know if I've, I kind of just started in March, so I haven't had any, I mean, I'll definitely mess a few tags up, but other than that, I don't know if I have anything huge yet.

Corbin Russell (17:25):
Oh, it's probably time management for me. I really need to get better at it. And organization also, sometimes I go around the shop looking for a tool. If I would've cleaned it, then maybe I would've known exactly where it's, so I save some time there. But people do say if you have a clean shop, you're probably not working very hard. And then also I got

Miranda Reiman (17:46):
Don't say that. That gives my dad an excuse.

Corbin Russell (17:49):
Also gotta dis on the postal service here. I don't like mailing stuff through them.

Miranda Reiman (17:52):
Oh, that's fair. Angus Media, we're shaking our heads with that too. We've had some major misses that aren't even our fault because of that. That's a great point. I thought maybe you were going to say your biggest mistake was taking on the dragon client because you had to learn how to draw a dragon.

Corbin Russell (18:07):
I turned that down. I turned that down

Miranda Reiman (18:09):
That's right. That's funny. So how much of it do like, I mean, both of you guys have a creativity aspect to that too, I assume. I guess maybe. Is there a creative aspect to the tags?

Kasey Meyer (18:21):
There's a little bit of design when people bring brands or logos. Some of the brands I just have to design, but I usually have stuff to go off

Miranda Reiman (18:30):
Of. Sure. And you get to do quite a bit of the creative work then how you're going to fit their vision into what you're

Corbin Russell (18:36):
Doing. Yeah. Fortunately and unfortunately, but mom's pretty good on a computer so she can, and she knows some folks that can. If I get a PDF of the brand, then it's pretty simple there, but do have to go back one step. One of mistake that I made is not getting into the floral tooling and carving sooner where a lot of people, and I still need to learn how to draw. You can buy patterns and whatnot of floral. I just need to work on that quite a bit for

Miranda Reiman (19:06):
Belts and purses, wallets,

Corbin Russell (19:08):
That kind thing. If you can draw floral, you can do

Miranda Reiman (19:10):
Anything. Is that right? Yeah. That's super interesting. So how did you guys first find a market for your services?

Kasey Meyer (19:17):
I feel like, well, the tags I'm doing are permanently engraved tags and a lot of the people around us anyway use either just markers or are doing their own that take a lot of time and then they end up wearing off. So I feel like once you promote that, that some guys may come order just some for their replacement heifers and then realize, oh man, these are nice. They don't wear off and then come back and then you have a customer every year and they didn't have to do it. Yeah. You

Mark McCully (19:47):
Try to focus more on show cattle with maybe more of a premium tag or some of these just herd management tags.

Kasey Meyer (19:52):
A lot of the ones that I've been doing so far are kind of just ranch, just ranches, herd management ones. But I am also going to be, I definitely will promote that a lot more in the fall and during sales and stuff

Miranda Reiman (20:07):
Suter. We're not giving you a chance to ask any questions. As you can see, Mark and I are both into this business topic. Any other burning questions on your mind here that we're,

Suter Clark (20:16):
So you guys spoke about relationships a little bit, and would you say that that's probably one of your biggest selling points is the relationships? You have a lot of repeat customers and a lot of word of mouth?

Kasey Meyer (20:27):
Yeah, definitely. That's probably been the biggest way that I'll get business is. As I said, I've launched this during our bull sale and some of those guys ordered and then I would get calls. My friend told me, this guy told me blah, blah, blah. So that's definitely how most of my business has been started.

Corbin Russell (20:45):
Lots of word of mouth. There's been a few repeat customers, so I thank them for that, but I can't get everything done.

Suter Clark (20:51):
Yeah. And what do you see in your guys' near future or in the far future with both of your businesses? Do you think that those relationships will continue to grow? And do you guys have any plans on how ways you could expand and get bigger or

Kasey Meyer (21:07):
Yeah, I think those relationships will continue to grow. I'm kind of just hoping that this fall, summer's a little slow because most people already have ordered tags. But this fall again for sales, and once those start up again, I'm hoping that it continues to grow well and get more and more business.

Miranda Reiman (21:26):
Cool. Same, although I heard the time management in yours, and I'm wondering if that's also, you're also a student, you're also doing these other jobs. You probably have a certain level

Mark McCully (21:35):
You're a junior in high school, right? Yeah. Okay.

Corbin Russell (21:40):
I want to grow and expand, but it'll probably be a one man show for the new coming future. It's definitely not going to be my full-time job when I get out there, but it'll always be a side hustle

Mark McCully (21:51):
Do you have some friends that you can recruit and teach them and you can scale your business?

Corbin Russell (21:54):
Actually, I do. So I currently have two students. I thank them for coming, but I have, I'm going to get their ages wrong, but I think a 10 and a 12-year-old. So cool. They're both pretty cool, but yeah. So maybe you could recruit them and come work for me, but yeah,

Miranda Reiman (22:08):
That's great.

Corbin Russell (22:09):
That's

Miranda Reiman (22:09):
Awesome. Yeah, that is great. Very good.

Corbin Russell (22:11):
But if I'm putting my maker stamp on, I kind of want it to be my quality, my specs, but other shops manage that as well, so

Miranda Reiman (22:20):
Sure. I'm sure that's something Suter you guys deal with in the construction business too, just keeping good people hired and Yes. And live up to your standard of work and

Suter Clark (22:30):
Yep. We've been around since 1911, so relationships are what we are built on. Yeah,

Miranda Reiman (22:34):
Absolutely. And the Angus business, I'm sure you guys are making some relationships here this week that you can continue to carry on in your businesses.

Kasey Meyer (22:44):
Yeah, definitely.

Mark McCully (22:46):
How many junior shows have you been to?

Kasey Meyer (22:49):
My first national Junior Angus show was here actually 10 years ago. So this is my 10th one, and next year will be my last one.

Suter Clark (22:58):
Okay. See, I think this is my 11th.

Corbin Russell (23:01):
11th,

Kasey Meyer (23:02):
I think so,

Corbin Russell (23:03):
Yeah. This will be my fourth. We messed up not coming here back in 2020.

Mark McCully (23:07):
That was a crazy year. Yeah, that

Corbin Russell (23:09):
Was a crazy year. But we've been going to state shows and local Angus shows for quite a few years, so yeah,

Miranda Reiman (23:16):
It's only my third Mark, so I'm the novice here.

Mark McCully (23:21):
We need to get you out more.

Miranda Reiman (23:22):
Yeah, that's right. Good. So talk a little bit about what you're doing in your businesses. I mean, has that carry over into your cattle project at all, or are there things you've learned from your cattle enterprises that have helped you as you launched other businesses?

Corbin Russell (23:38):
Yeah. Yeah, I'd say so. I'll think of something here.

Kasey Meyer (23:43):
Yeah, I think so for sure. I think just being a part of the National Junior Angus Association and doing all the contests and coming to these shows and making connections and putting yourself out there, doing it from a young age really helps you. And as you grow older, you realize how important those connections become within your business and growing it and starting it.

Miranda Reiman (24:05):
Sure. Especially where you've got such a cattle focused business as well

Kasey Meyer (24:08):
Yes, for sure.

Corbin Russell (24:09):
Yeah. And for me, I'd say it's extent because it's the most real life thing that you can get to because you got your problem, you got a short amount of time to do it, and then you got to present.

Mark McCully (24:17):
You got to figure it out

Miranda Reiman (24:19):
Yep, gotta fix it. Think on your feet. Yeah, that's a great point. Yeah. Very good.

Mark McCully (24:23):
Have you been able to use your work and your businesses also in you guys like in FFA or been able to do other things with these in terms of some of the proficiency awards class projects?

Corbin Russell (24:38):
Yeah, so I did my first SAE in the spring, and so I submitted that. So we'll improve off of that next year and we'll see where that goes.

Miranda Reiman (24:48):
Those SAEs kind of build on each other too, so you'll have the opportunity to grow and submit. Yeah.

Kasey Meyer (24:53):
Yep. Same here. When I was in high school, my SAE project was also with the cattle.

Miranda Reiman (24:58):
Very good. How about, did you do, what did they call the work at SAE or were you not an FFA, Suter?

Suter Clark (25:04):
I did not have the opportunity to be in FFA

Miranda Reiman (25:06):
I feel your pain. I was the same way. We didn't have that. So I'm still learning all of that, but I do know that there's some people that put in quite a few hours too, doing the definitely SAEs where they work for a business. So yeah. Very good.

Mark McCully (25:18):
And I want to brag because Miranda won't brag on her kiddos, but Carson, your oldest, also an entrepreneur, started a potato business how many years ago?

Miranda Reiman (25:29):
That is true. Yeah. He started when he was eighth grade to ninth grade year. But that is probably what got me

(25:34):
Interested in this topic is that he at a young age took on planting an acre of potatoes, and now he's up to, I dunno, he sells something like 10,000 pounds of potatoes. Sorry, Carson, if you listen to this, I've probably gotten it wrong, but does kind of big sales in town where he'll sell five to 600 pounds at a time and has a 1945 potato harvester. That was his first thing he learned was that digging 'em by hand was a lot of work. So we had to get some mechanization involved. But yeah, it's been a really fun project and he's learned a lot about marketing through that too. Also has a Facebook page and has his Reiman Spuds business. Yeah.

Mark McCully (26:14):
Well, and just the business fundamentals of knowing what your costs are, knowing what you've got to sell it for to make a little money. I mean, early on, as you talked about, sometimes you got to prime the pump and maybe give some of that business away a little bit, but to get some of that, but knowing what your expenses are and your costs and be able to make a margin and a profit and time management and marketing and all the cool things that you guys are learning,

Miranda Reiman (26:39):
A lot of supply and demand and

Corbin Russell (26:42):
All the income that comes into the business goes right back into it. So I haven't taken any money from it, so thankfully the cattle side and mowing side has propelled me through this, and I've been able to take out loans for myself. So my different bank accounts owe each other quite a bit of money. But yeah,

Miranda Reiman (26:59):
Carson did learn his very first year. A lot of people pay him in cash when they come to the, so he had all this cash and he thought he was doing really good, and then it was time to order seed potatoes and he had to order his spray and get drip irrigation and all that. And he said, all my money's gone. Everything I made last year, it's all gone. And I said, that's how you're real farmer. You're a real farmer Carson

Corbin Russell (27:21):
Does it take out any crop insurance?

Miranda Reiman (27:22):
Yeah, no, and that was the other thing. I mean, you could learn real quick about the risks of a business too, but the one good thing about potatoes is the cash crop is underground so they can withstand quite a bit of weather and still come back. So that's one thing that's different from maybe a wheat field or soybeans or something like that. So very good.

Mark McCully (27:41):
So if young people are riding home from the junior show listening to this that say, I want to start a business, what advice do you guys have for them? Where do they get started?

Kasey Meyer (27:55):
I got started into looking into something that interests me and fits into my lifestyle at the same time, and something that I know would just, I could do long-term too, and has a demand for people around me, and that will be helpful.

Corbin Russell (28:15):
Find a problem that you enjoy, a problem's not something that you should enjoy, but fix it. Go find a problem and fix it. So go for it.

Miranda Reiman (28:23):
That's

Suter Clark (28:24):
I agree with both of you guys. I think that if you don't enjoy what you're doing, it's really not really not worth doing. And solving problems is very enjoyable. I agree with you. Yeah, absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (28:36):
How about any advice that you would have for younger junior association members as they kind of think about embracing their career in the junior program? I know you're kind of nearing towards the end and you're kind of right there in the middle of yours, but do you got advice for students as they embark on the journey through the junior program,

Kasey Meyer (28:56):
Make those connections and there's a million different contests to do whatever fits you. Go out, find it, do it, make those connections because by the end, they pay off and can help you with your business. And in the long run

Suter Clark (29:12):
Definitely. Don't be afraid to try something new. I mean, you can try it one time. If you don't enjoy it, you don't have to do it again. But if you love it, you'll probably do it again a hundred times if you could. So really just take that leap and try it out. Amen.

Miranda Reiman (29:28):
I'm just going to dito all with that. Very good. Well thank you guys so much for taking time out of your very busy weeks with the contests and the animals you've got here and all of that, and your junior board responsibilities to visit with us today for the podcast and share a little bit about your journey. Before I sign off though, you mentioned that you had Instagram. I want you to repeat that. This is your time for free advertising. Yes.

Kasey Meyer (29:52):
Yes. I have Facebook and Instagram at KLM Engraving and also a show, the Show for sale with Dal Porto Livestock this fall.

Miranda Reiman (30:01):
Okay, excellent. And you got a,

Mark McCully (30:03):
We're going to bill Dal Portos for that though.

Miranda Reiman (30:06):
Free for you. That's right. We're just giving you the, sorry, David.

Corbin Russell (30:10):
Yeah. And then you can find me on Instagram. ckleather.corbinrussell, Russell's Got two Ls by the way.

Miranda Reiman (30:15):
Very good. And Corbin with a C?

Corbin Russell (30:17):
Yep. Corbin with the C.

Miranda Reiman (30:18):
Okay.

Corbin Russell (30:18):
Working on getting some other platforms. Alright,

Miranda Reiman (30:21):
Very good. So if any of you out there listening are in the market for custom engraved tags, show heifer, maybe

Corbin Russell (30:28):
Need to get yourself a belt.

Miranda Reiman (30:29):
Yeah, get yourself a belt or a wallet

Mark McCully (30:31):
Not one of those crappy ones.

Corbin Russell (30:33):
Don't go to Penny's and get one.

Miranda Reiman (30:33):
Yeah, that's right. So very good. Well, we look forward to watching you guys' success and your businesses grow in the future. And thanks for visiting with us today.

Kasey Meyer (30:41):
Thank you for having us.

Corbin Russell (30:42):
Thank you

Suter Clark (30:43):
Thank you

Miranda Reiman (30:44):
Thanks for listening to the first in our three part series of the Junior takeover of this podcast. For all the results, behind the scenes stories, and extra photos from Tulsa, be sure to pick up your September copy of your Angus Journal. Not a subscriber? Visit angusjournal.net to learn more. This has been the Angus Conversation, an Angus Journal podcast.