February 24, 2020 • 29 mins
FYI!!! Carla Marie is no longer the host of a morning show in Seattle but she is still supporting small businesses in every way possible. She’s even started her own small business with her radio cohost and best friend, Anthony. All of the links below will help you stay up to date!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Side Hustlers podcast. I'm your host from
my Heart Radio, Carlo Marie. Each week I talked to
someone new following a passion outside of their day jobs.
Sometimes these people take that passion, that side hustle, and
they turn it into their full time job. I've been
doing this podcast for almost two years, and this past
weekend I celebrated the one hundred episode with a live podcast.
(00:24):
We've never done a lot podcast before and it was amazing.
Now you're not gonna get to hear that episode for
a few more weeks when it is in the spot
of the one hundredth episode, But this is what happens
when you do things live. You gotta do it with
the calendar and when you can get people there. So
it was a lot of fun. I'm really excited to
share that episode with you. If you came, thank you
for checking it out. If you didn't, you'll still get
(00:45):
to hear it. This week. We actually have two guests.
Annie and to Nay are friends who created their own
organic dog treat company. They each have their own day
jobs and by night they are making dog treats in
the kitchen. Check them out Barko dot com. This is
the story of Barco Bite for a lot of people.
(01:06):
You know, why are you wait? Do you know what
you want to do? And this is something you want
to do and do it. I'm a hustle side side
hustle do it. I'm a hustle side side hustle do it.
I'm a hustle side s huslove. Come on ask about me,
yo yo'. It's the Side Hustless podcast we call the Roof.
(01:26):
Joining me today are Annie and Tonay and you guys
are in Florida. Correct, Yes, we're in Fort Lauriada, Florida.
Nice where it's I'm sure much warmer than it is
here in Seattle. Yeah, and you're we're super far, which
is really cool. But the cool part about your company,
barco Bite, is that people from anywhere can order and
(01:47):
and give their dogs all the love. So one of
you explained to me what barco Bite is. So, barco
Bite is an organic dog tweet company. We really pride
ourselves on our ingredients, so we have the freshest ingredients.
We really care about what is going into our animals
as well as other people's animals, so it's really important
(02:08):
that we make sure that what we're putting in is
not just with love, but it's actually like of the earth,
and so that's like really key for us. So when
I see organic at the store and I'm buying bananas,
I know exactly I'm getting organic bananas. But how did
that friendsly into dogs and dog treats Because when I
see organic dog treats, I would never even think that
(02:29):
was a thing. It's becoming a bigger thing now than
it was before. I mean, more people are very conscious
of what they feed their dogs, the ingredients that they're
giving their dogs, because there are more dogs that have
a lot of health issues and you want to combat
that with giving them the healthiest ingredients. And to add
(02:50):
to that, it's like when you're going to a store,
you're concerned about what you're putting into your body. That's
why we're so passionate about what we do, because equally
they should be eating what you know what, right we listen,
I've got two cats that are literally my children at
this point, and I get it. So then question, can
my cats eat what you make for dogs? Well, actually,
(03:10):
there is a treat that we just came out with.
It's our jam and salmon jerky, So basically city strips
wild caught salmon, peas, just all the good stuff. You've got,
organic parsley. We've put vitamin E in there as well,
just health Rosemary extract is our main source of preservative,
(03:32):
so it's all natural, organic. Everything is super awesome for
your pets, so cats can actually as well. Yeah, okay,
so this is obviously a side hustle for both of
you guys. Now, I don't think that you guys grew
up wanting to have a do you call a dog bakery? Like,
what do you call Barco Bite? I just call it
a dog treat company. Yeah, so this wasn't something you
(03:54):
grew up wanting to do. So let's get into how
that heck this started. First of all, how do you
guys know each other? I'm usually from California. I moved
here and I had an internship at a creative studio
here in Florida, and Annie had started working shortly after
that there and in accounting, and so we met each other,
but we didn't really know each other, and it wasn't
(04:16):
until after I left the company that we really connected.
Annie has an amazing background and like culinary arts, so
like her expertise, and then my background in business and
marketing communications sort of just like meshed together and one
day we were in her kitchen and we're like, we
both have been passionate about like entrepreneurship. It was just
(04:37):
a matter of identifying what that would be, and so
that's sort of how it happens. It's funny a lot
of people say that, like I knew I wanted to
do something. I knew I wanted my own thing. I
mean that was even me with this podcast. For a while,
I knew I wanted a podcast, but I didn't know
what I wanted to be about. And ironically it has
now become my side hustle. So it's cool to have
(04:57):
and I understand and have that need and want to
have your own thing and that that entrepreneurship. But did
you guys know you would work well to get there
in something like this. We were good friends, so we
knew that, Like naturally, it was sort of organic upun
intended for us to just become good friends and then
working together. It just sort of naturally happened, and it
(05:19):
wasn't an issue. It was more of like an inspiration
in this like creativity and like, oh gosh, what we're
gonna do next? Let's try this, like we had nothing
to lose because we were just doing what we love. Well,
now you said something about a culinary background. In my mind,
I never would think you would need a culinary background
to make dog treats. But it makes total sense, like
you're saying, yeah, well, I mean technically, I think it
(05:43):
makes an important It does say that I did the
actual baking you would not want me to do, because
there's like a certain science to the shape of the treat,
the thickness. So like her understanding measurements and understanding and
green and understanding food, food science, food, you know, food safety,
(06:05):
like all those things matter as they would for us,
you know when we're eating our food as humans. But
any you obviously you had a love for culinary and
culinary arts, but that's not what you were doing. So
when did that kind of switch. I've always had a
love for the culinary arts. Like even as a child,
I would be in my parents kitchen making cupcakes, just
(06:25):
you know, getting into it, making their dinners to the
point where my mom was like, all right, I'm going
to take a step back. That's awesome. You know, we
all take the safe route sometimes in terms of you
with your your career, and that's what I did. But
then I was just like, you know what, there's something
in me that's just not happy. And the minute I
(06:47):
enrolled and I did my first class, I was just
in love and just getting to learn the techniques, just
learning how different ingredients benefit your body and how do
you make things beautiful? Want to play? It just click.
So when you were doing culinary classes, you weren't doing
that full time. You still had your day job while
you're doing the corner I still had my day job,
(07:09):
and I did that night. I saw all my culinary
classes were done at night. So as soon as I
left work, I put my chef costume on and I
I was out. Okay, so and so, and you're the
one that's doing all the cooking to Nay, you said
people aren't gonna want to eat your treats. So then
what explained what your role is for Barco Bite? So
my role is more of the marketing communications PR set
(07:32):
of things as well as business. So I think of
me on the back end. So you know, doing things
from our website are all marketing, um, you know, communicating
with vendors and things like that, and just sort of
having an idea in terms of like my experience with
design and just understanding visually the aesthetic and what you want,
(07:52):
and understanding like a white bag looks good versus a
yellow bag, and like just the little subtle details that
someone who do not have that experience would it, you know,
consider it to be important and relevant. So it's it's
more of that. Well, I do want to compliment you
on the packaging, because when I first saw it, I
was like, oh, it's pretty, and like, that's not normally
(08:12):
where my brain goes and I'm looking at a streets.
So seriously, it really it makes the difference. And you
are right. You do have white packaging and it it's
kind of like that refreshing look and it pops. And
I do have treat bags that are yellow, and yours
do look prettier. So it's funny that you said that,
so great job on that. I really it does look great.
(08:34):
But it's funny that you guys really have very separate
roles because there's a lot of creative people that I'll
talk to in this podcast, and there's the side that
Tonay that you do that they're like, it was so
hard for me to do that. You know, you have
this passion, you have this creative thing that you love.
Oh but it's a business and there are numbers and
all of this and marketing involved. So it's cool how
(08:55):
you guys have kind of meshed together and really done
what your best stat and just go with that. Yeah,
it's crazy. Have you ever had a point where and
I don't want this to get awkward, but has there
ever been anything where you guys have disagreed on and
how have you handled that? Because I know it's hard
to work with a friend, Trust me, I get it.
I know it's definitely. I think with any business or
(09:16):
any opportunity that you come together with someone, yeah, that
you're going to have your challenges. You're gonna have your
road bumps back into the day. If we understand that,
like what is our purpose? What was our goal? Business
is business? How are we helping our consumer and our
customer at the end of the day, That's what matters.
So we have to put our issues or whatever challenges
aside and just focus on. Okay, we may not agree
(09:39):
that this looks this way, or we may not agree
that this treat is like the one, but we have
to understand, like, all right, we're gonna test, we're gonna learn,
we're going to grow ultimately, you know, we want to
drive the business. So that's our main concern. Well, you
said you always wanted to have a business, But then
why did this click? Like why dog treats? You were
(10:00):
in my kitchen as we are actually just sitting at
this very tae awesome as we usually do, and I
had a backtop cheets and something that I was interested
in getting into it anyway, and we were just look
looking at it and then we're like, you know what
we could do? Yeah, So that's how that came about.
(10:21):
So we just took off running. We came together. We
were like going through names, we were shouting out bark
but like it was crazy journal journal, We're just writing
everything like into our mind. And we actually accomplished so
much in one night. Yeah, the whole like rough draft
(10:41):
of a business by the end of like that one day.
And by the next day we were like, all right,
we're doing this thing and there was no turning back
at that point. It's crazy what you can do in
one brainstorming session and when you actually focus, when you
got someone to bounce ideas off of and not just
be alone in your thoughts. It's wild what you can
get done. So from that day when you guys said, hey,
(11:02):
we want to do this to the day you officially launched.
How long was that time period? Yeah? Four weeks? Four
or five weeks? Yeah, and like we didn't have everything
in order, like we weren't. It wasn't like you know
where we are today, but like understanding and that's that
business side, like understanding that just get it out there
and then from there you're going to just build it
(11:23):
and make it better. Right, Like things are going to change.
We don't have our original packaging, like we had a
different look like, so things are going to evolve and
they're going to continue to evolve, and so we had
the understanding and knowing that let's just get it off there.
Let's see yeah, and and just go from there. People
can go to Barco Bite dot com obviously to shop
(11:43):
and see the pretty packaging and obviously get the amazing
dog treats. Like how do you guys decide of what
treads to put out there? Like who is testing them? So?
I have four dogs? Okay, all right there? Where are
they right now? How are they so quiet? My husband
is keeping them quiet right now? Is lucky because they
would be going crazy if they're out. Yes, So I
(12:05):
test them on my dogs, and not only did I
test them online, but we test them on friends, co workers.
So we put it out there before we actually launched,
just to make sure that you know what dogs actually
like it. It's you know, it's beneficial for them. They're
doing really well with the treats, and we hear so
many cool stories just from our friends and now customers
(12:29):
about how their dogs are like so excited to have
the treats, how health situations have been turned around based
on the diet that we started to implement. So we
you know, getting that feedback is sort of what makes us,
you know, happy, and that like fuels our passion for
what we do because we know that we are actually
making a difference, um and seeing you know, the lives
(12:50):
of these pets turned around, so like for that for us,
that's cool, that is really cool. Have you guys ever
tasted one of the treats. Yeah, we taste of them.
We have before we even put them out there, and
they're pretty good. Like people ask us whenever we're doing
events like on the weekend and they're coming up to
our table sometimes people think they're like ice cream for them.
(13:11):
We think that it's a product for like humans and
not that it isn't because like our motto, if it's
good enough for us, So we do taste them. And
there are times where we're like, no, I needed a
bit more of this or to hold back. Yeah, but
we taste all of them. It's just been such an
amazing so far. But listen, I just want to say
(13:36):
that my dogs, every single morning, every single morning, I
have my own little set of chaste that I keep
just for them. They will sit there and wait. I
have a Roddy who will like moan and groan until
she actually gets one, and I think the other little
ones like they get her hyped up just so I can,
(13:58):
you know, go over there and give them all the cheese.
It's crazy every single morning. Well, Tonay, you mentioned ice cream,
and I know you guys have been in business for
two years, so you didn't launch with ice cream and
jerky and treat so did all of this other stuff unfold?
So we started with our biscuit, like the dry biscuit
treat Um, and then we actually had that for a while,
(14:20):
like I would say, almost a whole year. We even
got to yeah, like we had a larger selection of those,
and then from there, based on sales, we said all right,
let's pull back on this, let's add more of this,
and so we sort of made those optimizations and then
from there and he was like, let me just test out,
you know, some other things. And she would see products
that are in stores and okay, well, if this company
(14:42):
is doing this, I wonder how we can try it
and you know, make it in an organic way. Why
aren't we testing this? And then just you know, getting
inspiration that way and just doing our research and and
he's been super good about that, and so she'll like
call me and say, oh my gosh, I have this idea,
like I'm gonna do this pumpkin spice like ice like what.
So so she's like, yeah, just let me, let me
(15:04):
test it and then you can come and see. And
like that's sort of just how it happens. It's funny,
like making ice cream for humans is hard enough, you
guys like made it even harder, okay, for an animal
and you can't ask them how it is. It's kind
of crazy, but obviously you know that they love it.
But it is cool to see all the things you've
done and you haven't stopped. So I'm excited for you
(15:27):
to explain how you're doing this next venture. The skin Caroline. Well,
so there are so many dogs out there with different
types of skin conditions. Mine as well. I have a
little chihuahua who was always super itchy, and he was
just like, there was really nothing wrong with him. He
(15:47):
eats the best food because we'll make them fresh food
as well. But yeah, they're just it was a problem
like people. Yeah, and my cat have dandruff. Yeah, so
one of the things that I've noticed just in the
products that we've purchased for our dogs in the past.
I know, I yes, And so everyone's listening knows what's happening.
(16:11):
My cat is driving me nuts right now, so I
just had to move her because she's scratching the screen.
And yeah, there, this is the perfect podcast for this
to happen. But yeah, so they my cats have dangerous
and like you're saying, there's a lot of animals that
have different things that we don't we don't think about
as humans. Yeah, we don't think about it. And um,
(16:32):
a lot of the products out there, even the organic products,
you know, believe it or not, they have small traces formaldehyde.
Uh yeah, to preserve them and that really I don't know.
I don't know doing that to my dogs, so I
don't even feel comfortable doing that on my own. Would. Yeah,
I just came up with this bomb of ours and
(16:54):
it's been super cool. We're working on an anti itch
spray as well. But you can kind of take a
look and it's like this little tin but it looks
like mush, like lush. But first, okay, the ingredients that
I chose, you know, are beneficial, anti fungal, They help
(17:15):
with moisturized, they help heel. So it's just a lot
of different wonderful things. Yeah, I mean I don't see
why not, because you know, it's powesum body bombs, so
you know what cats do have a little positive It
could be used on their nose, on their bellies, on
(17:36):
their skin. I usually take some put it in my
fingers and I'll kind of rub it in between like
their skin with their face inside their ears, on their
paws and their pads and just yeah, they love it
and it's just it's soothing and calming as well. So well,
pets need to be pampered too, so is we like
to say, if you can't bring your dog to the
(17:58):
SPA will bring the spots like that. So what kind
of research did you guys put into all of this?
I mean from the treats to a skin caroline, Like
where do you even start? Reading a lot of the
health books and going to the vets. When I started
this journey with today, I took them all to get
(18:20):
their blood tests just in case, because you never know.
You know, you're giving a dog a treat on a
daily basis, you know, you never know how that affects them.
That's one of the main things that I wanted to
achieve is just to make sure that they are healthy
and they this is actually helping them and it's beneficial.
So a lot of reading, a lot of asking questions,
(18:42):
how did you get people to start buying your products?
How did you market it? What? Like? What was that like?
Obviously this is good parte Instagram is always great, But
I know you guys had a ton of orders at first.
How did that happen? So honestly, it was word of mouth.
So think about like today and you know, any product,
if you're like, oh my gosh, this is amazing, let
me tell my friend and then from there, it's sort
(19:04):
of like naturally happened from our family to like I believe,
like all of our family members, like the first warner. Yeah,
and then from there they would tell their coworkers and
then their coworkers, so it was honestly and was word
of mouth, and then more of the digital marketing sort
of came to secondary from there, it's just been growing
and then us being able to be involved in local
(19:26):
community events um and like tabling events like that, really
putting a face to our brand and and being there
and allowing people to have their pets come and try
them in person. That actually helped us a lot. Their
people have actually come to try them. We would have
our little trade samples out in the front, and you
(19:46):
wouldn't believe, just like people would just come up, take
a trade sample, pop it in their mouths like okay.
And at one point we actually had our samples out
and open and we would let the dog choose which one.
So that was really cool for us to see firsthand
which which treat that they preferred, and that was cool
(20:07):
and that was cool for the owners because a lot
of owners were like, oh, my doc doesn't like edgies.
My dogs in like peanut butter, but they would pick
that treat and so they're like, oh, you know, it's
sort of like it was just this marketing from the
animals themselves. It's really cool. I like, I want you
guys to go on shark dank, but I also don't
because I want you to just own all of your
(20:29):
stuff and yeah, but it's such a great idea and
it's really cool what you've done. But tonight, earlier, you
mentioned something about coworkers are the people who you'll have
test out the doctorate, and obviously family members too. What
is it like you each still have day jobs? What
is it like in the office telling people that you
have this other thing that you care about. So at
(20:51):
first I was a little hesitating because I didn't want
to be that person that's like, hey, I have this,
Yeah you know, I also do love my job, so
I was isn't at first, But I did tell my
closer coworkers about it, and from there they're the ones
who started talking about it, and before you know it,
like the CEO was like, oh gosh, I had no idea.
(21:11):
Can I have samples from my dog? It's like yeah,
my CMLs, Like when are we gonna have um treats
for our company. So it's it's funny how things like
just sort of naturally without like you know, pushing it
and being like, hey, check out my do it here?
Take it? Yeah, of course. Any what about you at work?
(21:32):
Are people supportive or was it weird at first? Oh? No,
definitely very supportive. I mean I work in a creative space,
so they are all about, you know, having your own
creative venture, venture, your own creative journeys. So yeah, everybody
was totally supportive, given out treats too, never had dogs,
(21:53):
and they even come to our events. Yeah that's great.
How many how much time a week do you guys
think you spend on Barco Bite? From nine to five?
I would say, Denay and I wear our corporate hats.
Then from there we are Barco Bite. We're always She's
always going into the website trying to make different uh debits,
(22:15):
and I'm over here trying to come up with new
treat ideas and you know, new skincare lines, reading on
new books and just you know, going through yeah my
dogs and just figuring out what do you guys like,
tell me give me information. Do you guys still handle
all the shipping. Yeah, we do everything, every single part
(22:36):
of our business. It's done fancy. I like that very
uh of you to say that. I love that. Are
you guys sold in stores? Yes, so we are sold
in a couple of local stores here in South Florida.
The first one is Wolfgang, so that's one of the chains,
(22:57):
and then another one is pet In my mind, um,
but we've got other stores scouting us out. So we're
getting emails left and right. That's amazing. So next up
hopefully Whole Foods at one time, but sometimes later on
in the future. It happened, put it out there. Hey,
it was one thing I've learned in listening. Hopefully you
(23:20):
never know. Wax Cabin Candle co was on my podcast
last year and she got her big break because she
was listening to Elvis Durand in the morning show Forever
Ago and something happened where she called in and mentioned
what she did as her side outs away before I
ever started this podcast, and a buyer for Anthropology I
(23:43):
believe was listening and somehow got in touch with her
and put in an order for like five hundred something
candles and she was making them in her basement. She
was like, oh, my god. So you never know. I'm
not saying that something from Whole Foods listens, but you
never know. You never. But speaking of Elvis, that is
how we got connected. So I love talking about new
working on this podcast and just reaching out to people
(24:06):
whenever you can. I was on Elvis's show visiting so
for the people who listen to this podcast, and I
don't know what I'm talking about. I host the morning
show here in Seattle for I Heeart Radio. But before that,
I was a part of another morning show, Elvis Duran
and the morning show nationally syndicated. You guys get him
in Florida. I was back visiting my family there and
we went on the air and we talked about this
(24:27):
very podcast, and Annie, you were listening and you heard
me talking about always needing people who have side hustles,
and then you called in, right because I didn't get
to talk to you, No, I did, can call in.
I actually I sent an Instagram. Okay, Yes, that's so
you heard me mentioned on the air and I heard
(24:49):
the podcast before. What about it that day made you
reach out to me? Do you know what? I just
something and he was just like, you know what, let
me give this a try. Why not? I mean, we
love what you're doing, and I love the Elmstrand show,
and you know, I love that you Actually you also
got your own break and doing what you're doing with Anthony,
(25:10):
and it's inspirational. So you know, I'm glad you reached
out today. When she was like, hey, I'm reaching out
to this girl about her podcast, We're like, what are
you talking about? I was like, what's her Instagram? Because
that's when we're saying about everything. I know. I will
admit I went to Barco by Instagram before the website,
which is scary to think about, but I mean, but
(25:31):
that's what happened. Yeah. Do you get a lot of
you notice a lot of business coming from Instagram? Yeah,
we get so many d m s more than we
do like um through a web site contract page. So
it's kind of cool. How just being in a digital space,
like how things have sort of evolved and transformed and
things that we originally thought would happen in a certain
way don't necessarily happen that way. So understanding just that
(25:55):
space that helps our business as well, because then we
can promote a different way. We can understand how how
it works and how our customers like to see information
and like to get you know, photos and things. So
it's true. I listen, we all shopped their Instagram and
when you see the pretty packaging, you sucker us into it.
You're doing a great job, all right, guys? So what
(26:17):
is next? The skin caroline? And then what crazy thing
do you want to do? You know what, the sky's
a limit. I mean, we'd love to have a storefronts
you kind of go down that road, have our our
treats and whole foods, and you know, you're all of
your lovely organic supermarkets. There's just so many things. I mean,
(26:39):
we want to help with rescue. We want to It's
just like it's possibilities. Possibilities arets. Do you ever think
you'd leave your day job to just make Barco bite
your full time job? Yes? Okay, Well to your coworkers
who maybe listening to this, um, they still love you, guys.
(27:00):
I think they all know that, you know, if the
opportunity came out that we would make this our full time.
That's cool. That's cool. I love that you're like in
it right now. I mean, it's it's only been two years.
When you think about how much you guys have accomplished
in two years. That's crazy. So what would you say
to any and denate two years ago? As you guys
(27:21):
were just coming up with this idea, like what piece
of advice would you give yourselves? And this is like cliche,
like just live out your dream, live out your passion, um,
don't let other people dictate now what your potential is
and follow through with that. Like at the end of
(27:41):
the day, as long as you're doing what you love
and saying to to yourself, that's what matters. Any You're
not getting off with that one. Looking on this fat
I'm blackly things went. You know, everything has been such
a learning curve and you know we have you know,
gotten to know a lot about each other as a
(28:03):
part friends and the two year ago for me, I
would say would follow down this same path because we
need to learn from our achievements in our mistakes and
it's so I would keep it as is, just as
we are. Well, guys, thank you for taking the time
(28:23):
out of your day to do this. I know it's
evening right now in Florida, so thank you for being
on the podcast. I appreciate you, guys, and I'm excited
for everyone to go shop Barco bite dot com. I
know you're having us. You're welcome so much. You can
help out a small business go to bark O bite
dot com. And and Dene have big dreams, big things
(28:44):
they want to do. They can only do it if
you support them, so it's Barko bite dot com. I
know you know a dog or even a cat who
would love their treats. And remember you can always send
me questions, comments, concerns, guests, ideas. It's Side Hustlers Podcasts
at gmail dot calm either myself or producer Houston. We'll
get back to you until next week. Keep ustling, yeah,
(29:10):
h
This is the Side Hustlers podcast. I'm your host from
my Heart Radio, Carlo Marie. Each week I talked to
someone new following a passion outside of their day jobs.
Sometimes these people take that passion, that side hustle, and
they turn it into their full time job. I've been
doing this podcast for almost two years, and this past
weekend I celebrated the one hundred episode with a live podcast.
(00:24):
We've never done a lot podcast before and it was amazing.
Now you're not gonna get to hear that episode for
a few more weeks when it is in the spot
of the one hundredth episode, But this is what happens
when you do things live. You gotta do it with
the calendar and when you can get people there. So
it was a lot of fun. I'm really excited to
share that episode with you. If you came, thank you
for checking it out. If you didn't, you'll still get
(00:45):
to hear it. This week. We actually have two guests.
Annie and to Nay are friends who created their own
organic dog treat company. They each have their own day
jobs and by night they are making dog treats in
the kitchen. Check them out Barko dot com. This is
the story of Barco Bite for a lot of people.
(01:06):
You know, why are you wait? Do you know what
you want to do? And this is something you want
to do and do it. I'm a hustle side side
hustle do it. I'm a hustle side side hustle do it.
I'm a hustle side s huslove. Come on ask about me,
yo yo'. It's the Side Hustless podcast we call the Roof.
(01:26):
Joining me today are Annie and Tonay and you guys
are in Florida. Correct, Yes, we're in Fort Lauriada, Florida.
Nice where it's I'm sure much warmer than it is
here in Seattle. Yeah, and you're we're super far, which
is really cool. But the cool part about your company,
barco Bite, is that people from anywhere can order and
(01:47):
and give their dogs all the love. So one of
you explained to me what barco Bite is. So, barco
Bite is an organic dog tweet company. We really pride
ourselves on our ingredients, so we have the freshest ingredients.
We really care about what is going into our animals
as well as other people's animals, so it's really important
(02:08):
that we make sure that what we're putting in is
not just with love, but it's actually like of the earth,
and so that's like really key for us. So when
I see organic at the store and I'm buying bananas,
I know exactly I'm getting organic bananas. But how did
that friendsly into dogs and dog treats Because when I
see organic dog treats, I would never even think that
(02:29):
was a thing. It's becoming a bigger thing now than
it was before. I mean, more people are very conscious
of what they feed their dogs, the ingredients that they're
giving their dogs, because there are more dogs that have
a lot of health issues and you want to combat
that with giving them the healthiest ingredients. And to add
(02:50):
to that, it's like when you're going to a store,
you're concerned about what you're putting into your body. That's
why we're so passionate about what we do, because equally
they should be eating what you know what, right we listen,
I've got two cats that are literally my children at
this point, and I get it. So then question, can
my cats eat what you make for dogs? Well, actually,
(03:10):
there is a treat that we just came out with.
It's our jam and salmon jerky, So basically city strips
wild caught salmon, peas, just all the good stuff. You've got,
organic parsley. We've put vitamin E in there as well,
just health Rosemary extract is our main source of preservative,
(03:32):
so it's all natural, organic. Everything is super awesome for
your pets, so cats can actually as well. Yeah, okay,
so this is obviously a side hustle for both of
you guys. Now, I don't think that you guys grew
up wanting to have a do you call a dog bakery? Like,
what do you call Barco Bite? I just call it
a dog treat company. Yeah, so this wasn't something you
(03:54):
grew up wanting to do. So let's get into how
that heck this started. First of all, how do you
guys know each other? I'm usually from California. I moved
here and I had an internship at a creative studio
here in Florida, and Annie had started working shortly after
that there and in accounting, and so we met each other,
but we didn't really know each other, and it wasn't
(04:16):
until after I left the company that we really connected.
Annie has an amazing background and like culinary arts, so
like her expertise, and then my background in business and
marketing communications sort of just like meshed together and one
day we were in her kitchen and we're like, we
both have been passionate about like entrepreneurship. It was just
(04:37):
a matter of identifying what that would be, and so
that's sort of how it happens. It's funny a lot
of people say that, like I knew I wanted to
do something. I knew I wanted my own thing. I
mean that was even me with this podcast. For a while,
I knew I wanted a podcast, but I didn't know
what I wanted to be about. And ironically it has
now become my side hustle. So it's cool to have
(04:57):
and I understand and have that need and want to
have your own thing and that that entrepreneurship. But did
you guys know you would work well to get there
in something like this. We were good friends, so we
knew that, Like naturally, it was sort of organic upun
intended for us to just become good friends and then
working together. It just sort of naturally happened, and it
(05:19):
wasn't an issue. It was more of like an inspiration
in this like creativity and like, oh gosh, what we're
gonna do next? Let's try this, like we had nothing
to lose because we were just doing what we love. Well,
now you said something about a culinary background. In my mind,
I never would think you would need a culinary background
to make dog treats. But it makes total sense, like
you're saying, yeah, well, I mean technically, I think it
(05:43):
makes an important It does say that I did the
actual baking you would not want me to do, because
there's like a certain science to the shape of the treat,
the thickness. So like her understanding measurements and understanding and
green and understanding food, food science, food, you know, food safety,
(06:05):
like all those things matter as they would for us,
you know when we're eating our food as humans. But
any you obviously you had a love for culinary and
culinary arts, but that's not what you were doing. So
when did that kind of switch. I've always had a
love for the culinary arts. Like even as a child,
I would be in my parents kitchen making cupcakes, just
(06:25):
you know, getting into it, making their dinners to the
point where my mom was like, all right, I'm going
to take a step back. That's awesome. You know, we
all take the safe route sometimes in terms of you
with your your career, and that's what I did. But
then I was just like, you know what, there's something
in me that's just not happy. And the minute I
(06:47):
enrolled and I did my first class, I was just
in love and just getting to learn the techniques, just
learning how different ingredients benefit your body and how do
you make things beautiful? Want to play? It just click.
So when you were doing culinary classes, you weren't doing
that full time. You still had your day job while
you're doing the corner I still had my day job,
(07:09):
and I did that night. I saw all my culinary
classes were done at night. So as soon as I
left work, I put my chef costume on and I
I was out. Okay, so and so, and you're the
one that's doing all the cooking to Nay, you said
people aren't gonna want to eat your treats. So then
what explained what your role is for Barco Bite? So
my role is more of the marketing communications PR set
(07:32):
of things as well as business. So I think of
me on the back end. So you know, doing things
from our website are all marketing, um, you know, communicating
with vendors and things like that, and just sort of
having an idea in terms of like my experience with
design and just understanding visually the aesthetic and what you want,
(07:52):
and understanding like a white bag looks good versus a
yellow bag, and like just the little subtle details that
someone who do not have that experience would it, you know,
consider it to be important and relevant. So it's it's
more of that. Well, I do want to compliment you
on the packaging, because when I first saw it, I
was like, oh, it's pretty, and like, that's not normally
(08:12):
where my brain goes and I'm looking at a streets.
So seriously, it really it makes the difference. And you
are right. You do have white packaging and it it's
kind of like that refreshing look and it pops. And
I do have treat bags that are yellow, and yours
do look prettier. So it's funny that you said that,
so great job on that. I really it does look great.
(08:34):
But it's funny that you guys really have very separate
roles because there's a lot of creative people that I'll
talk to in this podcast, and there's the side that
Tonay that you do that they're like, it was so
hard for me to do that. You know, you have
this passion, you have this creative thing that you love.
Oh but it's a business and there are numbers and
all of this and marketing involved. So it's cool how
(08:55):
you guys have kind of meshed together and really done
what your best stat and just go with that. Yeah,
it's crazy. Have you ever had a point where and
I don't want this to get awkward, but has there
ever been anything where you guys have disagreed on and
how have you handled that? Because I know it's hard
to work with a friend, Trust me, I get it.
I know it's definitely. I think with any business or
(09:16):
any opportunity that you come together with someone, yeah, that
you're going to have your challenges. You're gonna have your
road bumps back into the day. If we understand that,
like what is our purpose? What was our goal? Business
is business? How are we helping our consumer and our
customer at the end of the day, That's what matters.
So we have to put our issues or whatever challenges
aside and just focus on. Okay, we may not agree
(09:39):
that this looks this way, or we may not agree
that this treat is like the one, but we have
to understand, like, all right, we're gonna test, we're gonna learn,
we're going to grow ultimately, you know, we want to
drive the business. So that's our main concern. Well, you
said you always wanted to have a business, But then
why did this click? Like why dog treats? You were
(10:00):
in my kitchen as we are actually just sitting at
this very tae awesome as we usually do, and I
had a backtop cheets and something that I was interested
in getting into it anyway, and we were just look
looking at it and then we're like, you know what
we could do? Yeah, So that's how that came about.
(10:21):
So we just took off running. We came together. We
were like going through names, we were shouting out bark
but like it was crazy journal journal, We're just writing
everything like into our mind. And we actually accomplished so
much in one night. Yeah, the whole like rough draft
(10:41):
of a business by the end of like that one day.
And by the next day we were like, all right,
we're doing this thing and there was no turning back
at that point. It's crazy what you can do in
one brainstorming session and when you actually focus, when you
got someone to bounce ideas off of and not just
be alone in your thoughts. It's wild what you can
get done. So from that day when you guys said, hey,
(11:02):
we want to do this to the day you officially launched.
How long was that time period? Yeah? Four weeks? Four
or five weeks? Yeah, and like we didn't have everything
in order, like we weren't. It wasn't like you know
where we are today, but like understanding and that's that
business side, like understanding that just get it out there
and then from there you're going to just build it
(11:23):
and make it better. Right, Like things are going to change.
We don't have our original packaging, like we had a
different look like, so things are going to evolve and
they're going to continue to evolve, and so we had
the understanding and knowing that let's just get it off there.
Let's see yeah, and and just go from there. People
can go to Barco Bite dot com obviously to shop
(11:43):
and see the pretty packaging and obviously get the amazing
dog treats. Like how do you guys decide of what
treads to put out there? Like who is testing them? So?
I have four dogs? Okay, all right there? Where are
they right now? How are they so quiet? My husband
is keeping them quiet right now? Is lucky because they
would be going crazy if they're out. Yes, So I
(12:05):
test them on my dogs, and not only did I
test them online, but we test them on friends, co workers.
So we put it out there before we actually launched,
just to make sure that you know what dogs actually
like it. It's you know, it's beneficial for them. They're
doing really well with the treats, and we hear so
many cool stories just from our friends and now customers
(12:29):
about how their dogs are like so excited to have
the treats, how health situations have been turned around based
on the diet that we started to implement. So we
you know, getting that feedback is sort of what makes us,
you know, happy, and that like fuels our passion for
what we do because we know that we are actually
making a difference, um and seeing you know, the lives
(12:50):
of these pets turned around, so like for that for us,
that's cool, that is really cool. Have you guys ever
tasted one of the treats. Yeah, we taste of them.
We have before we even put them out there, and
they're pretty good. Like people ask us whenever we're doing
events like on the weekend and they're coming up to
our table sometimes people think they're like ice cream for them.
(13:11):
We think that it's a product for like humans and
not that it isn't because like our motto, if it's
good enough for us, So we do taste them. And
there are times where we're like, no, I needed a
bit more of this or to hold back. Yeah, but
we taste all of them. It's just been such an
amazing so far. But listen, I just want to say
(13:36):
that my dogs, every single morning, every single morning, I
have my own little set of chaste that I keep
just for them. They will sit there and wait. I
have a Roddy who will like moan and groan until
she actually gets one, and I think the other little
ones like they get her hyped up just so I can,
(13:58):
you know, go over there and give them all the cheese.
It's crazy every single morning. Well, Tonay, you mentioned ice cream,
and I know you guys have been in business for
two years, so you didn't launch with ice cream and
jerky and treat so did all of this other stuff unfold?
So we started with our biscuit, like the dry biscuit
treat Um, and then we actually had that for a while,
(14:20):
like I would say, almost a whole year. We even
got to yeah, like we had a larger selection of those,
and then from there, based on sales, we said all right,
let's pull back on this, let's add more of this,
and so we sort of made those optimizations and then
from there and he was like, let me just test out,
you know, some other things. And she would see products
that are in stores and okay, well, if this company
(14:42):
is doing this, I wonder how we can try it
and you know, make it in an organic way. Why
aren't we testing this? And then just you know, getting
inspiration that way and just doing our research and and
he's been super good about that, and so she'll like
call me and say, oh my gosh, I have this idea,
like I'm gonna do this pumpkin spice like ice like what.
So so she's like, yeah, just let me, let me
(15:04):
test it and then you can come and see. And
like that's sort of just how it happens. It's funny,
like making ice cream for humans is hard enough, you
guys like made it even harder, okay, for an animal
and you can't ask them how it is. It's kind
of crazy, but obviously you know that they love it.
But it is cool to see all the things you've
done and you haven't stopped. So I'm excited for you
(15:27):
to explain how you're doing this next venture. The skin Caroline. Well,
so there are so many dogs out there with different
types of skin conditions. Mine as well. I have a
little chihuahua who was always super itchy, and he was
just like, there was really nothing wrong with him. He
(15:47):
eats the best food because we'll make them fresh food
as well. But yeah, they're just it was a problem
like people. Yeah, and my cat have dandruff. Yeah, so
one of the things that I've noticed just in the
products that we've purchased for our dogs in the past.
I know, I yes, And so everyone's listening knows what's happening.
(16:11):
My cat is driving me nuts right now, so I
just had to move her because she's scratching the screen.
And yeah, there, this is the perfect podcast for this
to happen. But yeah, so they my cats have dangerous
and like you're saying, there's a lot of animals that
have different things that we don't we don't think about
as humans. Yeah, we don't think about it. And um,
(16:32):
a lot of the products out there, even the organic products,
you know, believe it or not, they have small traces formaldehyde.
Uh yeah, to preserve them and that really I don't know.
I don't know doing that to my dogs, so I
don't even feel comfortable doing that on my own. Would. Yeah,
I just came up with this bomb of ours and
(16:54):
it's been super cool. We're working on an anti itch
spray as well. But you can kind of take a
look and it's like this little tin but it looks
like mush, like lush. But first, okay, the ingredients that
I chose, you know, are beneficial, anti fungal, They help
(17:15):
with moisturized, they help heel. So it's just a lot
of different wonderful things. Yeah, I mean I don't see
why not, because you know, it's powesum body bombs, so
you know what cats do have a little positive It
could be used on their nose, on their bellies, on
(17:36):
their skin. I usually take some put it in my
fingers and I'll kind of rub it in between like
their skin with their face inside their ears, on their
paws and their pads and just yeah, they love it
and it's just it's soothing and calming as well. So well,
pets need to be pampered too, so is we like
to say, if you can't bring your dog to the
(17:58):
SPA will bring the spots like that. So what kind
of research did you guys put into all of this?
I mean from the treats to a skin caroline, Like
where do you even start? Reading a lot of the
health books and going to the vets. When I started
this journey with today, I took them all to get
(18:20):
their blood tests just in case, because you never know.
You know, you're giving a dog a treat on a
daily basis, you know, you never know how that affects them.
That's one of the main things that I wanted to
achieve is just to make sure that they are healthy
and they this is actually helping them and it's beneficial.
So a lot of reading, a lot of asking questions,
(18:42):
how did you get people to start buying your products?
How did you market it? What? Like? What was that like?
Obviously this is good parte Instagram is always great, But
I know you guys had a ton of orders at first.
How did that happen? So honestly, it was word of mouth.
So think about like today and you know, any product,
if you're like, oh my gosh, this is amazing, let
me tell my friend and then from there, it's sort
(19:04):
of like naturally happened from our family to like I believe,
like all of our family members, like the first warner. Yeah,
and then from there they would tell their coworkers and
then their coworkers, so it was honestly and was word
of mouth, and then more of the digital marketing sort
of came to secondary from there, it's just been growing
and then us being able to be involved in local
(19:26):
community events um and like tabling events like that, really
putting a face to our brand and and being there
and allowing people to have their pets come and try
them in person. That actually helped us a lot. Their
people have actually come to try them. We would have
our little trade samples out in the front, and you
(19:46):
wouldn't believe, just like people would just come up, take
a trade sample, pop it in their mouths like okay.
And at one point we actually had our samples out
and open and we would let the dog choose which one.
So that was really cool for us to see firsthand
which which treat that they preferred, and that was cool
(20:07):
and that was cool for the owners because a lot
of owners were like, oh, my doc doesn't like edgies.
My dogs in like peanut butter, but they would pick
that treat and so they're like, oh, you know, it's
sort of like it was just this marketing from the
animals themselves. It's really cool. I like, I want you
guys to go on shark dank, but I also don't
because I want you to just own all of your
(20:29):
stuff and yeah, but it's such a great idea and
it's really cool what you've done. But tonight, earlier, you
mentioned something about coworkers are the people who you'll have
test out the doctorate, and obviously family members too. What
is it like you each still have day jobs? What
is it like in the office telling people that you
have this other thing that you care about. So at
(20:51):
first I was a little hesitating because I didn't want
to be that person that's like, hey, I have this,
Yeah you know, I also do love my job, so
I was isn't at first, But I did tell my
closer coworkers about it, and from there they're the ones
who started talking about it, and before you know it,
like the CEO was like, oh gosh, I had no idea.
(21:11):
Can I have samples from my dog? It's like yeah,
my CMLs, Like when are we gonna have um treats
for our company. So it's it's funny how things like
just sort of naturally without like you know, pushing it
and being like, hey, check out my do it here?
Take it? Yeah, of course. Any what about you at work?
(21:32):
Are people supportive or was it weird at first? Oh? No,
definitely very supportive. I mean I work in a creative space,
so they are all about, you know, having your own
creative venture, venture, your own creative journeys. So yeah, everybody
was totally supportive, given out treats too, never had dogs,
(21:53):
and they even come to our events. Yeah that's great.
How many how much time a week do you guys
think you spend on Barco Bite? From nine to five?
I would say, Denay and I wear our corporate hats.
Then from there we are Barco Bite. We're always She's
always going into the website trying to make different uh debits,
(22:15):
and I'm over here trying to come up with new
treat ideas and you know, new skincare lines, reading on
new books and just you know, going through yeah my
dogs and just figuring out what do you guys like,
tell me give me information. Do you guys still handle
all the shipping. Yeah, we do everything, every single part
(22:36):
of our business. It's done fancy. I like that very
uh of you to say that. I love that. Are
you guys sold in stores? Yes, so we are sold
in a couple of local stores here in South Florida.
The first one is Wolfgang, so that's one of the chains,
(22:57):
and then another one is pet In my mind, um,
but we've got other stores scouting us out. So we're
getting emails left and right. That's amazing. So next up
hopefully Whole Foods at one time, but sometimes later on
in the future. It happened, put it out there. Hey,
it was one thing I've learned in listening. Hopefully you
(23:20):
never know. Wax Cabin Candle co was on my podcast
last year and she got her big break because she
was listening to Elvis Durand in the morning show Forever
Ago and something happened where she called in and mentioned
what she did as her side outs away before I
ever started this podcast, and a buyer for Anthropology I
(23:43):
believe was listening and somehow got in touch with her
and put in an order for like five hundred something
candles and she was making them in her basement. She
was like, oh, my god. So you never know. I'm
not saying that something from Whole Foods listens, but you
never know. You never. But speaking of Elvis, that is
how we got connected. So I love talking about new
working on this podcast and just reaching out to people
(24:06):
whenever you can. I was on Elvis's show visiting so
for the people who listen to this podcast, and I
don't know what I'm talking about. I host the morning
show here in Seattle for I Heeart Radio. But before that,
I was a part of another morning show, Elvis Duran
and the morning show nationally syndicated. You guys get him
in Florida. I was back visiting my family there and
we went on the air and we talked about this
(24:27):
very podcast, and Annie, you were listening and you heard
me talking about always needing people who have side hustles,
and then you called in, right because I didn't get
to talk to you, No, I did, can call in.
I actually I sent an Instagram. Okay, Yes, that's so
you heard me mentioned on the air and I heard
(24:49):
the podcast before. What about it that day made you
reach out to me? Do you know what? I just
something and he was just like, you know what, let
me give this a try. Why not? I mean, we
love what you're doing, and I love the Elmstrand show,
and you know, I love that you Actually you also
got your own break and doing what you're doing with Anthony,
(25:10):
and it's inspirational. So you know, I'm glad you reached
out today. When she was like, hey, I'm reaching out
to this girl about her podcast, We're like, what are
you talking about? I was like, what's her Instagram? Because
that's when we're saying about everything. I know. I will
admit I went to Barco by Instagram before the website,
which is scary to think about, but I mean, but
(25:31):
that's what happened. Yeah. Do you get a lot of
you notice a lot of business coming from Instagram? Yeah,
we get so many d m s more than we
do like um through a web site contract page. So
it's kind of cool. How just being in a digital space,
like how things have sort of evolved and transformed and
things that we originally thought would happen in a certain
way don't necessarily happen that way. So understanding just that
(25:55):
space that helps our business as well, because then we
can promote a different way. We can understand how how
it works and how our customers like to see information
and like to get you know, photos and things. So
it's true. I listen, we all shopped their Instagram and
when you see the pretty packaging, you sucker us into it.
You're doing a great job, all right, guys? So what
(26:17):
is next? The skin caroline? And then what crazy thing
do you want to do? You know what, the sky's
a limit. I mean, we'd love to have a storefronts
you kind of go down that road, have our our
treats and whole foods, and you know, you're all of
your lovely organic supermarkets. There's just so many things. I mean,
(26:39):
we want to help with rescue. We want to It's
just like it's possibilities. Possibilities arets. Do you ever think
you'd leave your day job to just make Barco bite
your full time job? Yes? Okay, Well to your coworkers
who maybe listening to this, um, they still love you, guys.
(27:00):
I think they all know that, you know, if the
opportunity came out that we would make this our full time.
That's cool. That's cool. I love that you're like in
it right now. I mean, it's it's only been two years.
When you think about how much you guys have accomplished
in two years. That's crazy. So what would you say
to any and denate two years ago? As you guys
(27:21):
were just coming up with this idea, like what piece
of advice would you give yourselves? And this is like cliche,
like just live out your dream, live out your passion, um,
don't let other people dictate now what your potential is
and follow through with that. Like at the end of
(27:41):
the day, as long as you're doing what you love
and saying to to yourself, that's what matters. Any You're
not getting off with that one. Looking on this fat
I'm blackly things went. You know, everything has been such
a learning curve and you know we have you know,
gotten to know a lot about each other as a
(28:03):
part friends and the two year ago for me, I
would say would follow down this same path because we
need to learn from our achievements in our mistakes and
it's so I would keep it as is, just as
we are. Well, guys, thank you for taking the time
(28:23):
out of your day to do this. I know it's
evening right now in Florida, so thank you for being
on the podcast. I appreciate you, guys, and I'm excited
for everyone to go shop Barco bite dot com. I
know you're having us. You're welcome so much. You can
help out a small business go to bark O bite
dot com. And and Dene have big dreams, big things
(28:44):
they want to do. They can only do it if
you support them, so it's Barko bite dot com. I
know you know a dog or even a cat who
would love their treats. And remember you can always send
me questions, comments, concerns, guests, ideas. It's Side Hustlers Podcasts
at gmail dot calm either myself or producer Houston. We'll
get back to you until next week. Keep ustling, yeah,
(29:10):
h
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