Neil Dudley: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Pederson’s Farms podcast. We are so excited you’re here. We appreciate you joining us. And we look forward to sharing these conversations with thought leaders from our industry. They’re going to paint a picture from every perspective – consumer, customer, vendor, employee, and peer – that I think is going to be super valuable, and we’re really excited to share. So, thanks for tuning in. Remember don’t tune out, and grab life by the bacon.

Hello. I appreciate you coming here. I know your time is not free to you, so we want to add value. That is the purpose of the Pederson’s Farms Podcast, and we’re going to explain some more of that. But right now, I got to be honest, I’m selfish, I want everybody and their dog to come to KetoCon. So go to ketocon.org and use the promo code bacon for $50 off your three-day pass. If you’re in the area, if you just want to become a part of the keto community, please come to this. Now, the reason I say I’m selfish is Pederson’s will have a booth. We’re going to be serving bacon, sausage, ham. We want the opportunity to show our products to you. We’d love to give you a better understanding of what we do and how it tastes. I believe if you give our products a try, we’ve got a really good chance of you becoming a fan, an PNFer we call them. And that is partially why all five episodes this month are focused around KetoCon. I’m interviewing, we’re talking to, we’re having a conversation with people that will either be speaking at KetoCon, founded KetoCon, working the Pederson’s booth at KetoCon. So, I think it gives you a really good opportunity to see and understand and hear a little bit before you even have to buy the ticket of what value is going to be there. So, thank you so much for just giving us that opportunity. Again, we’ll put all this info in the show notes, but ketocon.org, use bacon in the promo code or discount code to get you $50 off your three-day ticket. I really appreciate Robin giving that to us, and I hope you use it. Now, my name’s Neil Dudley. I’m the VP of Business Development at Pederson’s Farms, and I host the podcast. I’ve been in the industry for 20 years now, maybe a little over, and I worked my way up from a QA tech position to the C-suite. I mean, I really only got in the business because my best friend since kindergarten was made president of Pederson’s and he said, hey, will you come to work for me? And I was like, sure, I think that’d be fun. So now, all these years later, we’re still doing it and we’re still having fun. And I think it’s a great time for me to share these conversations and access to thought leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, people that are making the food you eat. They are totally a huge piece of where your food comes from. And these stories are what I believe you have the right to know, understand, and get to hear. So, thanks for listening. If you love it, tell somebody, share it on social media. We need the support. We need for people to hear the story, I need your help getting it out there. If you didn’t like it, feedback is always welcome. We need that. We want to make it better. We want to make it valuable to you. So, if you want to hear what KetoCon’s going to have to offer, keep listening. I promise these people will add value and give you insight into the keto diet, the keto lifestyle, and many other things, everything from carnivore diet to intermittent fasting, to eating nose to tail, to how you keep an event alive throughout a pandemic where it’s pretty much shut down for a couple of times, a couple of years. Anyways, keep listening. Let’s do this thing. Thank you so much. 

Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It is the Pederson’s Farms Podcast. We are rolling down the tracks already, Robin and I. Oh, by the way, I know I’m going to already have introduced Robin in the intro, et cetera, but I always like to do it twice because you don’t want to miss these guests. Miss Robin Switzer’s joined us. I’m so appreciative for that. Robin, if you don’t mind, tell everybody just quickly who you are, what you do. We’ll touch on- we’ll definitely touch on KetoCon, Q1 Productions, podcasts as we go. But I’d like, everybody who might not know who you are, what’s the story?

Robin Switzer: Well, I think the chances are that most people don’t know who I am because I’ve been behind the scenes for a really long time. But yes, I own a company called Q1 Productions, and Q1 Productions owns an annual Keto event called KetoCon, which we have been doing since 2017. Q1 Productions also owns a company called Ketogenic Lifestyle Coaching, another company called Ballistic Keto, another company called Certified Ketogenic. And we basically do all things keto. Everybody on my team has been impacted by implementing a low carb/ketogenic lifestyle, not just for weight loss, but for all of their health and wellness journeys. So, we are really focused on finding ways to make the ketogenic diet and lifestyle workable and sustainable for everyone. And for some people, that means that they go in and out of the ketogenic diet. For some people, that means they follow a nutritional ketosis type of protocol. Other people just do low carb. But really the basic tenants behind that protocol is just eating clean, real food and doing what you have to do to improve your metabolic health to stay healthy. 

Neil Dudley: You know all of these things so, I guess, specifically, where I’m a little less specific. I know what keto is. I’ve got a blood glucose monitor, like actually prick your finger, get the blood. No, if you’ve- not glucose, but ketone monitor. I’ve been to KetoCon. It’s a blast. Keto works well within the products, or our products work well within the keto space, so it makes sense for Pederson’s to know a lot about keto. I was just thinking, this month, the guests we have, okay so Shawn Baker is one, there’s a carnivore kind of what would you call it? Sector, level, way of thinking about keto where it’s kind of all red meat. Then we’ve got Dr. Therlow. She’s intermittent fasting and how that helps females. Then you’ve got Brian Sanders who’s like a nose to tail kind of eating guy. He’s got a website called sapien.com. All of these people are going to be at KetoCon and are leaders, thought leaders, great people. So, if Robin’s episode happens to be the first one you’re hearing here, be sure and go listen to these other ones too. It’s going to be a great illustration of the kind of people, the kind of education that’s going to be at KetoCon. Now, the big question, how do you pull that group together? Like, do you do that? 

Robin Switzer: I do. Yeah, this is kind of like my passion project. So, I found this way of life because I was struggling with my own health and wellness. And I became involved in all of this as a result of finding this lifestyle. And so, it’s become what I do. So how do I do it? It takes about a year. And so, we got the clearance to move forward with KetoCon 2022 in August, July or August of 2021, and it’s taken us all year to pull it all together. So, I mean, I’m lucky in that we’ve had- we did three very successful events in 2017, ’18 and ’19. So, we have brand recognition, and we have a very small team, but we all are very specialized in what we do. And we just work at it all year long. 

Neil Dudley: It takes work. Everything, like, okay, no event you put on- Like somebody might show up to KetoCon and just think, wow, this is awesome, all these people must just want to come. Well, they do want to come, but it’s not that easy to schedule it all. Most of the speakers I know are probably really busy people. They’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak. And you just have to build those relationships, I think, well, like that’s what I kind of want to hear is how did you build the relationships? I know how hard it is to really get in front of these people. And it’s not because they don’t want to talk to you. They just have millions of people trying to get in front of them. Sure. So, what is the trick or is there a trick? Is it just don’t quit? Are you scared to even answer that because somebody is going to get mad that you gave the secret away?

Robin Switzer: No. If anyone got mad, it would be me. No, Neil, I don’t really have like a secret sauce to share with you. But what I can tell you is that I do work really, really hard, and this is all that I do. This is my company, so this is all that I do. I came from a background, when I first started doing all of this, I came from a background of financial services and banking. So, I worked for a large global bank. So, over the course of those like 15 years that I did that, I built a lot of habits and skills that make me successful in what I do today. And one of those has to be transparency and honesty and to treat people – this is going to sound so corny – to treat people the way I would expect to be treated. And I brought that with me from a professional background in corporate America. So, I can tell you that when I left financial services and came to this space, it was kind of like the wild west in keto, and it’s funny that I’m saying that to you, a cowboy. You know what the wild west is.  

Neil Dudley: Well, right. I mean, I kind of like operating in the wild west. I like that. 

Robin Switzer: Right. But in this space, being in the wild west, pretty much anything would go. I don’t feel comfortable in that. Like I have to have rules and procedures and processes so that I can get things done. Otherwise, I’m just too scattered. So, my basic rules of doing business are being 100% transparent and being 100% honest and being fair. So, there are a lot of things that I do that are really hard because you have to have hard conversations with people, but I’ve just learned not to back away from them. And I mean, that is my secret sauce. I just work really hard, and I’m good at bringing people together. 

Neil Dudley: Right. I know that. Now, if you’re listening, we haven’t mentioned this, but KetoCon happens in Austin on- what are the dates again?

Robin Switzer: July 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th.

Neil Dudley: There we go. So, if you’re in the area, if you’re anywhere really that a plane could get you to Austin, you should come. If you just think about the networking opportunity, the chance to hear and be educated by people that their life is this. I think this is a great opportunity. If you ever want to put on- see, we do this event called Bacon Bash, Texas. I’m selfish. Look, I do this podcast from a selfish position, and I’m really not ashamed of it. I want to learn; I think it’s imperative I get better. So, putting on Bacon Bash, Texas, getting to know Robin, a lady that puts on a huge event, well now, hey, there’s probably some stuff I can glean from that, a way that I can do better. We’re raising money for charity. I think you’re a for-profit event that is trying to educate people and add value, and you certainly do that. Like you can’t charge a ticket price unless you’re pretty confident you’re going to add value, and you’ve put on successful shows, so that’s not really going to be a question in my mind that this is totally worth it. Hey, and you can come to the Pederson’s booth and we’ll give you some bacon or sausage to eat.

Robin Switzer: One of my favorite things about KetoCon is walking in in the morning and that smell of cooking bacon and sausage in the exhibitor hall. 

Neil Dudley: It is fun. And I love, I just love the events for our company. It’s partly how we built our company – go get involved in the communities that your product services, and KetoCon and other events are certainly a way to do that.

Robin Switzer: It’s interesting that you say that because in 2017, there weren’t a whole lot of products on the market that were developed specifically for low carb or ketogenic diets, but that has changed significantly, obviously. And there’s a lot of stuff out there that has been labeled keto but would not be something that I would eat myself or that I would feed my children or my grandchildren. So, there’s something about being able to go to an event like this where everything has been vetted. And we work really hard at that. And it’s painful, I got to tell you, because there’s some really big companies out there with very deep pockets that want to come to events like this, and they make products that I would not consider something that would be included in a healthy diet and lifestyle, so we have to turn them away. That’s really hard. Actually, we had three of them this year that were so big that we were just trying to think how could we possibly make this work? And there is no way to make it work and they can’t do that obviously. So, what I was getting at, when you first talked about launching in this space, is that a lot of the brands that come to KetoCon have been coming since 2017. That is where they launched their brands. And so, when you talk about networking at an event like this, there’s a lot of networking that goes on between the companies that are there. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah, I’ve got stories I can tell for a good long time about that. 

Robin Switzer: Yeah. And I think that, I mean, yes, the attendees like to come. The attendees like to come because they love the exhibitor hall. They love to get the samples of the food. We do have 60 different speakers, 63 right now, and we’re probably going to add a couple more because we have five or six people on each panel and we do several panels during the event. So, there is a lot to learn. But the networking that takes place at this event is huge, and it’s not limited to just the attendees. So, everyone comes for something a little bit different, but everyone leaves with motivation, inspiration, new skills, new tricks, new research, things that they’ve learned at this event that, yes, it is possible to read all the books that all of these people write and listen to all the podcasts that all of these people are on, but when you’re in an environment where everyone, their goal is the same, for three solid days, you are there to learn, meet new people, try new foods, everybody there is passionate about the same thing, the energy that you pick up on while you’re there is something that you can’t really find anywhere else. You can’t watch a YouTube video and feel that way when you walk away.

Neil Dudley: There is a different feeling, a different truth I think in your perspective of things. Let’s say you’re interested in the ketogenic diet, you’re dealing with metabolic health issues, and you get to come to this event, which I would say is very affordable. You got to go just check it out. It’s not like it’s a million dollars to come walk around. And even a company to exhibit, it’s not a huge commitment. So, now you might meet your future coach. You might meet a friend. And what I think is really cool, at least the last time I went, all of the speakers are just mingling out throughout the hall. I mean, if you are a really big fan of any one of these influential people, you could get a picture with them, shake their hand, get their email. I mean, it’s just a great chance to go get right next to the people who live and breathe this thing each and every day, if you’re interested. That’s to people that are attending, businesses, speakers, all of those things that are so valuable. 

Robin Switzer: Let me touch on a couple of things that you just said. So as far as the affordability piece of it, so our three-day ticket is $300. We have a discount code I believe we shared with you where people can get $50 off that ticket. So, $250 for three days. We also sell a one-day ticket where you could get for $150 if you want to come Friday or Saturday. And if you only want to come for the expo hall, we discounted the Sunday ticket to a $100 so that you can just walk the expo hall. You’ll still get to see the speakers that day. But if all you want to do is walk the expo hall, then you can come for $100 on Sunday. So we’ve tried to make it affordable so that anybody who has even the slightest interest in improving their health and wellness can get there. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah, now are you sold out?

Robin Switzer: No, we’ve sold out our VIP tickets, but our three-day and one day tickets are not sold out. We’re still going to sell tickets. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah. Will you sell out? Is it possible for you to sell out? 

Robin Switzer: It is possible for us to sell out. 

Neil Dudley: Okay, people, don’t wait, go get your ticket. No, I’m serious. Like you’re going to wait till the last day thinking, oh, I don’t know, I might go, I might not. You’re going to walk up there and it’s going to be, oh, sorry, we’re sold out, we’re at capacity of the venue. I would tell you, don’t take that risk. Listen, and that’s from experience, not KetoCon particularly, but I’ve thought the same exact thing before. Oh, well, I’ll kind of get my ticket last minute, show up, sorry, sir, we’re unable to put more people in here, our tickets are sold out. That’s kind of a sad feeling. 

Robin Switzer: The other thing is when you do something like that, if you buy your ticket in advance, the companies that are putting on the events know how much they need of everything. If you don’t buy it until you’re at the door, the company doesn’t know that you’re coming. So, you may not end up with a lanyard. You may end up with a sticker instead of a badge. There’s a lot of things that go into planning an event where there’s thousands of people and budgets are really tight because we’re coming back off of 2019 and 2000, I mean 2020, 2021. So, it’s important to make sure you access your ticket in advance, yes. 

Neil Dudley: Now, well, we just can’t help it because I don’t know what that discount code is, but I want everybody to get a chance at it. I either missed it in the email. Do you happen to know off the top of your head what it is? 

Robin Switzer: I don’t know off the top of my head, but I’ll tell you what, I think what we should do is create a new one. As of this moment, I can go into the system and do it, and we’ll create a discount with the word bacon. 

Neil Dudley: All right, great. Okay. So then that’s all it’s going to be. To get $50 off a three-day ticket, folks, type in the word bacon in the discount code. See, this is- like everybody, you’re witnessing how business happens. It really is. I mean, we have been talking about this. I want to support their event. I’m proud of it. I have a lot of guests coming on- I say I, Pederson’s has a lot of people coming onto the podcast to talk about this exact thing. And as a piece of that, Robin’s like, okay, cool, we’ll set up a little– for your listeners, they get a little special deal. I really appreciate that. I thank you for listening. I hope you use that and go to KetoCon. Come see me, I’ll be wearing chaps and spurs and all decked out in cowboy gear. I guess it was 2019 the last time you had it, or I went. They have these bars, you can try to hang on it for a minute and you get free stuff. So, I’m like the cowboy in chaps and spurs trying to hang on to this bar. I didn’t make it. But it’s just a lot of fun, and there’s characters all over the place. So come KetoCon and use bacon in the discount code. 

Robin Switzer: And go to ketocon.org and look at the exhibitor showcase because that’s where you’ll see all of the brands that are coming to KetoCon. And there’s another place on the website where you can look at who all the speakers are and the schedule is live now, so you can see when each speaker is scheduled to speak. There’s a lot of other things happening this year that we haven’t done in the past. One of them is we’re doing a demo booth where there’ll be cooking demos every day. Another one is a network- We’re calling it the Networking Lounge, but it’s a networking area that’s specifically set up for speakers to do meet and greet and book giveaways, book signings in the Networking Lounge. This year, we also will be running an app during the show. So, when you arrive at KetoCon, we’re going to prompt you to download an app for the event, and then you’ll get messages when various things are happening during the event. You’ll be able to talk to other attendees, submit your feedback on speakers. There’ll be all kinds of things happening that are new this year. And we’re super excited. I mean, did we say where the event it? 

Neil Dudley: Austin. At the Palmer Center.  

Robin Switzer: The Palmer Events Center in Austin, July 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th. And we go like non-stop, 7:30, 8 o’clock in the morning until 6:00 PM on Friday and Saturday and the same hours to open on Sunday, but only until 4, we close at 4.

Neil Dudley: Now do y’all do like yoga or something in the morning or am I dreaming that up? 

Robin Switzer: We did that one year, but we just do not have the time. We are so jam packed with speakers and other things happening, we just don’t have the time. And we also don’t have the space. So, the exhibitor hall is limited in space, of course. And we have the keynote stage on the first floor of the venue along with the exhibitor hall. And then we also run three breakout rooms upstairs at the same time. So, we just don’t have the real estate for that. 

Neil Dudley: Now, I just had another idea I want to roll in front of you. We’re just going to do business right here on the podcast. I think I would be willing to put up a podcast booth where we could record podcasts at KetoCon like impromptu. I mean, you might bump into who knows. Do you have that already? Or is that something that might be interesting?

Robin Switzer: We don’t have that setup. However, if you have the equipment, and you want to set something like that up, we can definitely do it. I just don’t have it in the budget, and I don’t have the equipment. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah, I have the equipment. We can talk about it offline, but it’s just another idea. It occurs to me, like you’ll see people just getting together. I’d almost like to interview some of the attendees and just say, okay, cool, like tell us what you’re learning. What do you see? What do you not like? What do you do like? That’s also part of this podcast. I want to avoid the perception that I have it altogether, Pederson’s has it all together. Like we mess up, we fail, we do things that aren’t perfect. I’m sure that’s true with KetoCon. It’s really true with any business. If you try to pretend like you don’t, then I think it discredits you, or I just feel like I just want to know the truth, so I’ll try to give those listening the truth. 

Robin Switzer: Right. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we’re a company run by human beings. How could we not make mistakes? 

Neil Dudley: That’s right. So, what is the thing you’re most excited about? I mean, I know it’s a blur, especially right now, we’re running up to the event. Is there a thing that you’re like, oh wow, I can’t believe we pulled this off, or I’m super excited about having this company involved? Anything like that?

Robin Switzer: You know what, I don’t have a- there’s not a company that I’m more excited than another. I mean, all of them are outstanding companies, products, technology.

Neil Dudley: Well, that’s the politically correct way to do it. 

Robin Switzer: It’s the truth.

Neil Dudley: I’m just saying I put you in a pretty tough spot with that question because when you really love everybody, although I think giving a rose doesn’t diminish anybody else, it’s just like, hey, that’s a really superstar thing that I’m really excited to have.

Robin Switzer: There are so many great companies coming and so many awesome speakers. And if I had to tell you one thing I’m most excited about, it’s actually being able to do the event this year. The past two years have been really, really hard. In 2020, when we had to postpone the event, we didn’t know if were- like, we didn’t know what that really meant. Like does postpone mean- Yeah, I mean, our intention was to do it again. And event planning is a very- it’s a different space than anything else. So, you go into an event with all these great plans, but no one does an event with a million dollars in their pocket. They do an event with nothing in their pocket, and they build it as they go. And that’s what we always did. So, money came in, money paid the bills, money came in, money paid the bills. It’s not like you buy a ticket for $300 and it sits in someone’s bank account for a year. That’s not how it works. It pays the bills to put the event on, to produce the event. And there’s incredibly significant costs involved in doing these events. So, all this to say that when we had to postpone in 2020, it was in March when everybody went to lockdown, and we have a no refund policy because of the nature of doing business in this space. So, when we had to stick to that no refund policy, that was really hard because there were a lot of people scared, upset, there were companies that were angry. They felt that we canceled the event, and they wanted their money back. And the event, the fact that we canceled the event or postponed the event didn’t mean that we had the money, that we didn’t pay the bills. We had already paid the bills and we didn’t get the money back.

Neil Dudley: I’ve been there. Same thing happened to our charity event. I mean, we had plans to put stuff on, had spent a lot of money getting ready for it and, uh-oh, couldn’t have it. 

Robin Switzer: Right. So, all that to say that that was incredibly painful. So, when you asked me what I’m most excited about, it’s the fact that we’re actually going to get to do the event again. We’ve been able to stick to stick to our word, honor all the investments that were made in the 2020 event, all the tickets, all the vendors, everybody that was signed up for 2020 is coming to 2022. And for me, because my name is on all of this, and this is my life’s work, to be able to take a breath and say I did it, I stuck to my word, I was able to honor it all, we pulled it off, we did another event, and now we can move past what has happened and into the future, I’m getting goosebumps saying it. 

Neil Dudley: I want to give you a high five, really super big high five. Because that is, I don’t even know. If you’ve never been there, you don’t know what she’s talking about, but it’s just so super hard. It’s like she said, her name’s on it. It’s just really awesome that this has happened. And I’m proud of you. I’m excited about the event. I’m proud of these podcast episodes. I’m really excited for people to get to hear this story and learn about the event. Now, out of curiosity, are there any other events? Let’s say somebody just can’t get to Austin. Okay so, they can’t come to KetoCon. Are you kind of like, okay, cool, well check out some other ones? Is there anything else that you’d say, okay, cool, if you can’t make KetoCon, go here? 

Robin Switzer: Metabolic Health Summit, but that just happened this past weekend. 

Neil Dudley: Why does everybody do them right now? Like, it seems like everybody that does an event is doing it right now. Is there a reason for that?  

Robin Switzer: I think under normal circumstances, they would be spread out more. But you have to reserve a venue a year in advance, sometimes 18 months in advance, so you’re subject to whatever the availability is. That’s why we always had the event in the summer because the venues, like the Palmer Events Center never had availability during the year. The other thing is for us, we’re more of an all-inclusive type of family event, and Austin is a destination spot, so people like to go there for vacations. And so you want to do it when their kids are out of school. But July for us this year was because that was the only space there was available when we found out we could do the event again. 

Neil Dudley: There you go. See, I mean, sometimes you think, oh, it’s all this big thing everybody’s thinking about. Nope, it’s when the venue is available. Sometimes it’s that simple. 

Robin Switzer: And as far as other events, I mean, Metabolic Health Summit is awesome. The other events that I can think of are pretty small, so I don’t know how I would- they are regional, so really, you could Google Keto events. There’s one in Utah, that Keto Chow puts on which is awesome event that I’ve heard. I’ve never been there, but I know the owners and they’re incredible people. 

Neil Dudley: I think that was great advice, Google keto events. And if you can’t get to Austin or you just have some reason you miss this one, come next year, or let’s see if you can find one close to you. I mean, there’s no time better than now to get involved in the community and learn about it.

Robin Switzer: You definitely want to learn about your health now before you have symptoms of ill health. 

Neil Dudley: Absolutely. Okay. So now do you do a podcast? I feel like I saw that you do a podcast also. Am I dreaming that up? 

Robin Switzer: No, I’ve been a guest on podcasts, but I don’t do one myself. 

Neil Dudley: Okay, cool. Well, what do you think about a podcast platform as a whole? Like, do you see value? Do you listen to podcasts? I’m curious about that. 

Robin Switzer: Oh, I definitely do. You should see my phone. I mean, I probably am on subscription for probably a dozen podcasts. My tastes kind of wax and wane. I love podcasts that tell a really good story. I love business podcasts and like the self-help kind of stuff that helps you be introspective. I like those. And I love a good mystery. One of my favorite funny podcasts is called SmartLess. Are you familiar with that podcast? 

Neil Dudley: No, I’m not.

Robin Switzer: It is Jason Bateman. And I’m not going- I’m going to totally blank on the other names, but it’s hysterical. So, I like the entertainment side of podcasts.

Neil Dudley: Sure. Now when you say Jason Bateman, it makes me think of the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and the Jason Bateman episode was great.  

Robin Switzer: That was great. That was great. I really do enjoy the podcast platform. I think it’s an amazing way to learn, but also be entertained. And it’s a great way to reach people in like a worldwide scope. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah, it can be everywhere. 

Robin Switzer: I also find it very intimidating because I don’t know how to do it. I know how to be a guest, but I don’t know how to produce the podcast. So, I do find it a little intimidating. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah. Almost everybody’s doing one these days. I’ve been doing the Cowboy Perspective for about three years and Pederson’s has been doing this since September. And it’s like you said, it’s a great way for us to offer information, insight, transparency, education, all those things that that’s consumed at your leisure. I mean, not everybody’s going to listen to podcasts. It’s funny, most people in the company Pederson’s don’t really listen to podcasts. It’s not big on their radar. So, I talk about the podcast a lot and they all kind of are slightly interested but not so much. So, I love talking to somebody who’s like, oh yeah, I’ve got a list of them. I’ve got a list of them that I listen to, mainly self-help, some entertainment. My favorite entertainment one is about country music, and it’s called Cocaine and Rhinestones. It’s done by this guy named- anyways, his last name is Coe. His dad’s David Allen Coe. I can’t think of his name right now, but it’s really fun. It talks all about the old stories of country music in Nashville and California, Bakersfield. So, it has been a lot of fun listening to that. It has been a lot of fun talking to you. I really appreciate your time coming on the show, telling us about KetoCon, your story with Q1, the struggles of entrepreneurship in times when your revenue stream has just cut to zero. And how did you survive that? Like what was your thought process to not just- are you still kind of in survival mode? 

Robin Switzer: Oh, I’m trying to decide how honest I should be here. So I’m going to be- I’m going to follow my own advice and be a hundred percent transparent and honest. 

Neil Dudley: Oh, hey, everybody, listen up right here. We’re fixing to get- I think this is the most valuable stuff. When you’re a little bit nervous about just really telling the truth, it is where the value is. So, I try to say something I’m a little nervous about every show, just so I’m really trying. 

Robin Switzer: I, for two years now, have had no income. I lived on my 401k during- these are not like wise business decisions. I’m not telling other people to do this.

Neil Dudley: But you are telling the truth of survival. 

Robin Switzer: Yes, I survived on my 401k and a home equity loan. We were lucky that the real estate market has done as well as it has. And as I made these decisions, I questioned myself, am I doing the right thing? Am I just sinking? I putting more into a sinking ship? But the truth of the matter is that every time I took a risk, something good happened. There was always something that gave me an indicator that I was on the right path. And so, I just kept on moving forward. I also have a very supportive family. My husband has been super supportive. My son works for me. So, Ryan Geffen is our Director of Sales, and he handles all the exhibitor sales. So, I have someone, I have two people right there that I trust endlessly to give me honest feedback. And then I just had this dream that I could keep doing this, that I’m good at it. So, it wouldn’t make sense for me to stop. There was nothing telling me to stop and everything telling me to move forward. So, it has all paid off. I mean, the event is paid for. I mean, I still am not making any money, but maybe next year. That’s the hope, that I can recover from all of this. 

Neil Dudley: Maybe everybody in Austin shows up and buys a ticket and you get to make some money this year. Like we don’t know. Hopefully, I mean, I am shouting this from the rooftops. And I don’t- well, I’m really not telling you to go just because I want Robin to make some money. Although that’s kind of a nice side benefit for me because I care about her. I like her. She’s valuable to me as a friend and person that’s just in the business together or in this kind of space and community together. But I know if you spend that money, you’re going to have a chance to find out something that might just be a solution for you in your life for getting healthier. Let’s say if you’re already healthy, it might be another perspective that’s valuable, just someday is really valuable to you. So, I would say go not because Robin needs to make money, but because it’s going to be valuable to you, and a side benefit is she might make money. It really kind of runs me off the rails when people pretend or act like they don’t want anybody to make money. We should want everybody to make money. It’s part of how those valuable things in life keep coming to you. It’s how we get to keep making bacon that people value. We have to make some money. I mean, businesses don’t survive without that. And maybe I am over-sensitive to it. It could totally be true. Maybe everybody’s fine with people making money. So, just take that for what it’s worth. I could be a little over-sensitive to it. Robin, thank you so much for your time. This has been a great conversation. Thank you for getting really vulnerable with us and telling us the truth of how you survived really a crash in your business. I think others can tell that similar story, especially over this time. And if it happens to me in the future, I’ve now got a tool – oh yeah, that’s how Robin did it, maybe that’s what we have to do. So, everybody come to KetoCon, use the code bacon for a $50 discount on your three-day pass. And Robin, any parting shots? Anything that I didn’t ask I should have asked, or do we just say thanks for listening?

Robin Switzer: Well, thank you. Thank you for having this platform available. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share the story. And thank you for encouraging me to be brave enough to share like the brutal truth of running an event like this. And thank you for always supporting us. Thank you for making the best bacon I’ve ever had.

Neil Dudley: Now, that’s great. Okay. And I accept those appreciations. Well, the fact is we’re a business. We wouldn’t go if it didn’t pay us to go. And meeting people or whatever, like we don’t go to events just to support the event. We go because we know it’s good for our business. So, high five to KetoCon, and really looking forward to the group of people that are going to be there this year and come see the booth. Outside of the bacon code for getting into KetoCon, a little birdie told me you might be able to get some good deals on Pederson’s stuff as well. So come see us at the booth. 

Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Pederson’s Farms Podcast. It’s been a blast bringing this to you, and I sure hope you enjoyed it and found value. If you did, tell a friend, share it out on social media, hit that subscribe button, or go check us out at pedersonsfarms.com. We sure hope you do. And thanks for being here.