In this episode of Trailblazers Podcast, we learn more about what Western Life & Style is and how it came to be. You'll also get to know your co-hosts for the podcast, and the founders of Western Life & Style, Ali Dee and Nicole James.
In this episode of Trailblazers Podcast, we learn more about what Western Life & Style is and how it came to be. You'll also get to know your co-hosts for the podcast, and the founders of Western Life & Style, Ali Dee and Nicole James.
If you're looking to add a little bit of rock and roll sass to your country, Western Flair, y'all need to check out Buckaroo Bling. She's got gorgeous handcrafted jewelry and boot accessories. Perfect for classy, cowgirls, boho babes, and cowgirls. Plus it's affordable and made from domestically sourced materials in Montana, and a portion of all sales goes to horse rescue. Please check her out@buckaroobling.com. That's buckaroo bling.com. Hello everyone. Welcome to the Western Life and Style Trailblazers podcast. It's episode two. I'm Ali D. This is Nicole James. We will be your host throughout this entire experience and we are just so excited and thrilled that you all really enjoyed the first episode. We had way more downloads than we ever thought imaginable. So thank y'all so much for listening to episode one, and congratulations again to the 30 over 30 winners. I'm still kind of shocked about the whole thing and I love that everybody's excited about it, just as much as we are. Yes. And we are busy bees over here getting ready to send out all of the buckles to the winners. I'm in my office right now and I see them all in their cute little bags over there. So if you have it already please remember to send us your. Because we need to get you your buckles. So if you're listening to this podcast, that means you are wanting to either grow your business or start a business or get better at being a business owner. specifically in the Western industry. Nicole and I are really excited to share all the knowledge that we've gained over the. Business owners and bring on super amazing, guests To help you learn. So welcome again. We're so excited you're here. And before I get into any of like the nitty gritty on how we met and how we started to work together, I just wanna say yesterday I was making a little TikTok about, how scary it is to become a business owner and to really take that leap of faith. I know. Terrifying for me and you. We, oh yeah, we've spoken about that before. I mean, just shout out to everybody that's made it this far. You're thinking about it, you're dreaming about it. You're in the reality of it. You're doing great. I just want you to know that that is more than half the battle, I mean, it's scary, but you just gotta go for it. speaking of going for it, you totally went for it. When we met the very first time, do you remember this? I was having a pop-up shop at my office here in Toller and this. Cute girl, Nicole. She just bounces into the Pablo shopping. She's like right to the counter. Hey, I'm Nicole and I'm new to the area and I just wanted to let you know if you need any help, please let me know, and it was super, super cute. Oh my gosh, I was new to the area, a marketing director for a country club, So fun. I loved it. But also I was like, there's just more I know that I can bring more to the table. I'm loving this whole Western fashion scene. you know, the social media part of it is so fun to me. And so just through the idea out there. you were the crazy one that went for it. And you took me on board. or by the smart one. Yeah. What I just loved about that, if y'all are thinking about, maybe trying to get an internship or getting something in, an area that you really dreamed of getting into, Nicole went for it. She was like, I wanna get involved in the western industry. Stop in the store. That's a couple miles from my house. You were totally new to Texas. And, saw a way to just meet face to face with the owner and that's what it takes. I was impressed, right. Cause I was like, wow, I get little messages and dms here and there mm-hmm. But for someone to actually take the next step come in person, meet me, say hello, and you were just so nice so I contacted you about getting involved in. Yes, I started, actually just doing sales with you and then now I'm still doing wholesale sales for you for l e d brand and Rodeo Ranch, God bless you. I'm obsessed with it. We're sticking around this long. I don't know how you've made it this far dealing with me, but, I am so appreciative that, Nicole really did jump in and she learned everything about sales that she could and, I'm just so happy. we have a good working relationship. It's not easy to find that. You did. You did. Yeah. Yes. And that feels like forever ago now. I mean, our whole lives have changed since then, I think. I know. Married kids, everything. Right. Traveling. You and I have been to so many shows. It's crazy. Oh my gosh. I know. so we started working together, in that capacity. And then I feel like over the years of just. Working together, our relationship grew, the trust grew, and, we decided to start western life and style together, So Nicole and I will tell you how we started that and what we feel like it is and what we see happening with it in the future. And I mean, it was just something that was born out. Once again, a crazy idea of mine. And, you were like all about it and you were like, yes, we need that. And it was, how many years ago did we start this now? Three, four years ago. Years ago, yeah. Yes. when we started Western Life and Style, I remember I was at the barn at my house and we were on the phone and. Pacing around and remember this was several years ago. So at this time there was really, no Western influencers. if any, maybe Bleacher Babe, Right. I. Feel like she may have been one of the very few that were around, and she kind of had a group of women that she brought up in the industry, which was so cool to see. We need to talk to her all about that because I know, I mean, she. Birthed an entire industry of the Western influencers, so there was just nowhere really that showcases the western life and like the style side, the fashion side, the business side, the funny side, all the things that we love about the western world. There was none of that on Instagram. It was really a lot of city bloggers that was really hot. You know, the perfect pictures with the thigh, high boots in the fall and the pumpkin spice. But I didn't really relate to that that much because I live way out and you live way out. And it just wasn't reality about life, not our thing. So we decided we wanted to start a page where we would share the reality of the way that we live our lives and the fashion and all the things that go along but not just fashion. you know, our cooking, our life, Right. You know, go what we do from day to day. I mean, it's more than just fashion. It's right a way of life Exactly. so when I was telling you about it, you were like, yes, yes, we need to do it. Let's do it. and so away we went. We started Western life and style, which I couldn't believe that that hadn't already been snatched up by somebody So I was like, this is so exciting. And everything just fell into place, It did. I think people were searching for a community like that. not just fashion and not just saying, this is Western fashion and making some crazy, the outfits and just making it fashion, real nitty gritty Western life. I mean, that's what it is. Right. So at this point, Nicole had started her own business. She had left the country club, You were working full-time? made my parents crazy. made my fiance at the time, just everybody around me is just like, what? You're quitting your job. You're so. Starting here. Yeah. Start my own business. Yeah. We don't need a steady paycheck right now. No. We're doing it, you were working, on your business. we decided that you were going to take on the entire social media side which is basically the whole thing. I was like, okay, I came up with the idea. Now can, you just go ahead and get us a few thousand followers. You're like, no problem. Here we go. Yeah. Lemme do. So thing It did grow really fast though, If you faster than we were thinking it would. Yeah. Tell us about those first few weeks, months, and how you were feeling, seeing it all just blow up. it was just like with our 30 30, just like with our showroom, like with everything that we've been doing, I mean, it's a blessing how people are kind of drawn to it. And I think once again, it's because we did create A community for people who it's real. It's not, just this crazy fashion or just saying you're Western. It's not, it's real, true nitty gritty, Western, your everyday life, you're feeding, you have kids, you have, your recipes. It's everything. So I mean, it just grew. Do you think that part of that was people just wanting to really find a community that they can fit in with, or was it your strategy that you used or maybe a little bit of both. Definitely both. I mean, I do have a way of working my way on pages, that draws people to it. you gotta make sure that you're sharing it with, you know, certain people that are in the industry as well. Just like Brianna, we kind of. Made sure, you were tagging her and everything and then she kind of shared, and it just starts growing. So utilizing that, but then also, different keywords that people can search and, Western life and style. I cannot believe it wasn't taken already And we kind of stole that hashtag and so people were really tagging their pictures that way. they started tagging and we started sharing, what was going. tagging people not having this beautiful aesthetic picture where they spent money and they did this whole full show. It was a real picture of them and their family or on a vacation, and they're, still wearing their boots and you know, it was awesome seeing real, you totally reminded me that in those first few months mm-hmm. we were incessantly posting in the caption Tag us if you wanna be featured Yes. On hashtag Western life and style. And I remember seeing that swell happening when you select the tag page and then all of a sudden mm-hmm. all these pictures started populating of people tagging us. And I was like, oh my gosh, Nicole, it's working. People are, listen. they're seeing it and they wanna be a part of it. And I think that that was also a really special thing that people wanted a chance to be a part of it. Like they wanted the world to see it as well. So I think it, just one of those like amazing moments where everything just kind of fell into place and became what it is. So it started off. A community for western life and style and showcasing that specific niche and then has since grown from there. So I don't think we said, but Nicole's actually a social media manager. If you don't know it's No, Nicole Nava. So that's why she was focused on social media. That's the business that she started was social media manager. So when she was talking about leaving the country club, it was to do this. She has lots of clients, amazing clients, And I am coming into this as a brand owner. I own Ali D Brand. We have several lions and they're all in the western niche, so western based industry. so I was coming with that knowledge, the side of like the brand and. the wholesale and consumer product selling side, and you were coming from the social media marketing promotion side. so when that came together, you and I had at that point had already had a lot of, business owners that trusted us to help them grow their business, whether it's selling more in their stores or through helping their social media. So this was also a place for them to go to, to get recognized. And Grow as well, Exactly, And then creating all of the pages, on Facebook for them, another community for business owners, other pages that we created on Facebook just for non-business owners that are for, people in the western world basically. that helped everybody kind of come together as. Right. Let's talk about all the places that we are so people know the different ways they can find Western Life and style because it did start as an Instagram page, but has since grown into many things. So we do have Western life and style.com, which is our website, and we kind of treat that as an online magazine. we have stories about all different things going on. if you're in the Western community, Check that out. I think you're really gonna like it cause there's a lot of cool recipes and stories a lot of home and gift and all that kind of stuff on there. So I think it's a really cool place, to find out more information. We're also on Pinterest. We're now on YouTube. If you're watching on YouTube, we're not. You need to join us on YouTube cuz we are on camera. You gotta come check us out on YouTube and subscribe there. We have our western life and style. Page. we have our Facebook group and then we also have our business owner Facebook group, which is really cool where we will be sharing lots of the podcast and tips and tricks and all the information that we get. we're on TikTok now. Oh yeah, big one. We're on TikTok. But then another place that we are is at the Dallas Market Center, in our showroom. So this was another thing where we just thought, we're both kind of in the, wholesale retail industry and we decided we wanted to be multi-line reps. So we rep several lines in our showroom, Western life and style. we have some amazing brands in there. Again, all Western, because we are Western all are, our background is Western. We come from Western we wanna make sure that everybody who's a part of this understands that. some of the brands that we have, they're awesome. Mm-hmm. we have Al Boots. she's been with us for a while now. She's amazing. Yeah. hair Hyde kind of shoes there. we have, a baby clothing line. Ranch raise. That's awesome. And then we also have Ali D and Rodeo Ranch two huge West we have, rodeo rose leather. Very cool. And this is all wholesale so they do do retail and wholesale, so. Right. It's crazy that you can get tooled stuff wholesale. I know. Now all these. Boutiques and stories are carrying all this amazing tooled stuff. Yes. we also have American Bonfire Co crazy awesome sunglasses. And then we have Western Grca. she's of well-known influencer, and she has her own fashion line in our. room as well. Yeah, plus southern sass hat company. she has really cute hats. People love those. So we've got a lot of different, western based businesses in our showroom. But I think that was kind of something that just felt like a natural progression because both of us already work with store and business owners in sales and in the wholesale and retail side. And that was a really fun progression for us because we also felt. On that floor at Dallas Market Center, there was really no good representation of the western industry. And Western stores really have a chance to go in here and buy product that they can actually take right back to their stores. most of the time when stores go to a market, they're not gonna be able to take the product right away because it's not considered cash and carry. They're coming with a sample, they're making orders, they're getting the product. 30 to 90 days later. But for this showroom that we started, it's immediate, which means they can walk in, get the product and take it back to their stores right away. So it's really, really fun. And then that has now allowed us to bring in and invite lots of great people to the showroom, to have a place to kind of do business and meet each other and, network. And you started that Western influencer party, and that has been a big. Yes, we had, influencer mixers where all of these, well-known influencers got to come together, showcase the showroom, but also they had a good time. they had fun in there and, we wanna show them what our brand owners were about, what we're about. so it was a great way for everybody to network, kind of just get together, refresh for the year. So I love seeing that, everybody just kind of connects and we can all help each other out. I agree. It's been really fun to see that. And I know that Nicole and I guys we're working on something for business owners that will announce soon, that I think's gonna be really great. Another way for you all to kind of get together, So we talked a lot about my businesses, my social media projects and everything that I do. So what about you? you don't give yourself enough credit for everything that you do. I'll kind of give you the rundown of what I have going on. It is a lot, but I love to wear a lot of hats and I think that one thing that is really frustrating is as I was starting to do all these different things, I definitely had people that were like, you just need to focus on one thing. like, I cannot do it. It is not in my capacity to just focus on one thing. I love being busy. I love having a lot of projects. so I do have what I call my quote unquote real job, which are my TV jobs. I work for the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Cowboys. I've been with the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade. The Cowboys. For like, eight years or something now. and you won a, an award, right? Oh yeah. An Emmy yes. That's a, I mean, I'm so proud of you for that. You have to share. Thank you, Ok. I know why this is like, the hardest thing for me is just talking. I like to talk about what other people do, but to talk about myself is really weird. so yes, so I do that. when I graduated from college, that was my focus. I was going to be in tv. It was what I loved and it was kind of what I was better at than other things. I remember having my first job as a receptionist and I was like, why aren't you just answering your own phones? why do I have to answer the phone and then transfer it to you? Like, just pick it up when it That was not my cup of tea. they were like, okay, this girl's not gonna make it here, And I did not make it there very long. but yeah, so I decided I was probably gonna be best, doing what I loved, which was being on camera. And so I worked. Sports Northwest and then made my way down to Texas I decided to go for it in Texas. And very happy to be hired by the Mavericks and have been there for a long time now. And, also worked as a rodeo sideline reporter for many years for championship bull riding, and that was really fun. so there's like that side of me, so there's like my TV Real quote unquote real job. And then I have Ali Dbrand, which takes up the most of my time. So that should be technically my real job, but I still can't believe that it's my real job. And when I started a T-shirt brand. back in 2013, it was really, Funny because at that time, you gotta remember, this is 10 years ago, there was no other really western t-shirt lines. There was maybe like two or three of us at the time. If you wanted to get a t-shirt that had anything western on it, you were going to Tractor Supply and you were going to their$5 carousel and you were picking out, one of their like really crunchy, crispy T-shirts that has like a tractor on it. That was it. So I was like, wow, we need some like cute t-shirts that we can wear when we're outside. Just doing anything and you don't wanna necessarily be in like, you know, the tractor supply t-shirt. So Ali D brand was born, we also have Rodeo Ranch, which is a men's line. So that's that whole thing. And then, also, just being a mom and a mom of two now. yes, a three year old and a 13 month old's. Crazy because like three years ago I had no kids and I'm like, what did I do with my whole day? I mean, it's insane. I had the time in the world. Yeah. now it's like to get Nicole and I to schedule both having two young, Nicole's a mom as well. Yes. With two kiddo. Same ages to just get an hour away from the house to record this podcast you gotta move mountains to make that happen. I know. I'm so thankful for my husband, I know he's watching them alone, which is too crazy. Oh gosh. Oh, good luck. Go West. Two, two. Oh my gosh. That's crazy. yeah, so that's just me in a nutshell, and I think, it's probably good that y'all listening know me and my background and Nicole and her background, because we're coming to see you with a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge that we've learned and gained along the way. But the coolest thing I think is actually the people we've met along the way that we plan to have on the show. So y'all will get to hear from the best of the best, the true trailblazers in the industry, what they've done to get their success, how they got their easy, simple ways that you could implement into your own businesses, you guys can ask us any questions you want. You guys are more than welcome to always reach out to Elliot and I, but it'll be so awesome to see the different point of views from all of these other, speakers that we have. And it's like the 30 30 buckle. I wanna keep it under wraps of like who we have coming up, but you guys will. Stay tuned. Yeah, it's gonna be so, so great. So y'all, thank you so much for joining us on episode two of the Western Life and Style Trailblazers podcast. Please don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. Be sure you give us a five star review even though it's only episode two. Just make a knit this far. I feel like we deserve five stars. help us out. Y'all Be sure you visit us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, all the places we're at Western Life and style and we will see you next episode. Thanks everyone. Bye guys.