Porch and Parish The Podcast
Our mission is to make sure every Zachary resident feels heard and engaged! Host Mike Gennaro facilitates candid conversations with local leaders, influencers and innovators in Zachary, Louisiana and beyond with the help of producer Mike Holt. New episode every Monday at noon!
Porch and Parish The Podcast
Building a Business with Young Entrepreneurship: The Posh Pop Story
Ever wondered how a simple holiday activity could transform into a booming local business? Join us as we chat with the dynamic sister duo Bailey and Harper Galloway and their inspiring mom, Ebony McAllister, who turned their popcorn-making fun during the 2020 lockdown into the successful brand, Posh Pop. We explore their journey from kitchen experiments to a beloved local staple, their deep ties with LSU sports, and get some fun shoutouts to their favorite teachers. Plus, Ebony shares how her track background has inspired her daughters' athletic pursuits.
Ready to discover how Posh Pop plans to expand its delicious reach? Dive into their exciting Kickstarter campaign with us, as Bailey, Harper, and Ebony share their dreams of hiring employees and setting up a flagship location in Zachary. This episode highlights their commitment to community roots and the positive impact they aim to create. Listen as we discuss the hurdles small businesses face, especially in employee engagement and exceptional customer service, and the delicate balance between business and personal lives that includes softball and track practice.
Curious about starting a business with kids? Get inspired by Ebony's invaluable advice on fostering children's ideas and passions, even under less-than-ideal circumstances. Bailey and Harper's tale is a testament to the courage needed to enter competitive markets as young entrepreneurs. Their journey serves as a shining example of family teamwork and entrepreneurial spirit, making this episode a must-listen for anyone eager to explore the intersection of business, family, and community. Tune in and feel the warm gratitude we extend to our fantastic guests for their time and insights!
I'm Harper.
Bailey Galloway:I'm Bailey and I'm Ebony.
Harper Galloway:Keep listening to.
Ebony Harper :Porch and.
Bailey Galloway:Pears the podcast.
Mike Gennaro:What's up, zachary? We're back with another exciting episode broadcasting from the press in downtown Zachary. Now to today's guests. Let's just call them the popcorn pioneers, because they've got something amazing popping for you. It's the dynamic sister duo behind posh pop bailey and harper galloway and their incredible mom, which makes it a trio. We'll dive into their incredible journey and delicious creations today. Plus, they're filming for a kickstarter campaign at the press today. More details on this to come, but get ready to support and earn some great swag for doing so. We bring you the best of zachary and the development north region through candid conversations every monday from our headquarters right here on to support and earn some great schwag for doing so. We bring you the best of Zachary and the Development North region through candid conversations every Monday from our headquarters right here on Virginia Street.
Speaker 5:This is Portion Parish, the podcast.
Mike Gennaro:Stay tuned, we'll be right back with the lightning round.
Speaker 5:Invest in you. The East Baton Rouge Parish Library connects people to information, resources, technology and experiences to make a positive difference in their lives. Stop by one of our 14 locations today or visit us online at ebrplcom.
Mike Gennaro:And we are back with the lightning round. Everyone out there, I've taken a three-week hiatus too. Let's call it a construction hiatus, but we are back. So you know, I lied a little bit in the intro. We're not here every Monday, right? I was technically here, just not recording. So there we go. All right, kids and Ebony I did not give you a proper intro, but we're going to get to know you a little bit through this, the incredible Ebony McAllister who keeps the train on the tracks and guides these amazing kids in every direction, right, right, and we're going to find out just how much y'all are up to today. Let's start with some fun questions, though. So y'all are involved with LSU sports now, right, yes, very. What is your favorite sport to watch when you're not selling popcorn? Your favorite?
Bailey Galloway:sport to watch when you're not selling popcorn Gymnastics.
Mike Gennaro:Gymnastics good one.
Bailey Galloway:Yeah, female or men's Female.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, they're just better too.
Harper Galloway:I would say something like gymnastics or like baseball, because I feel for baseball it's kind of interesting to watch, even though you don't know what's going on completely yeah, I don't know what's going on completely either gymnastics. I like how they like have music with it and like you get to see how they have practiced and they show what they have practiced on the floor yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
Mike Gennaro:All right, here's an easy one. Uh, how old are y'all? I'm 13 I'm eight and eight. All right, shout out to your most favorite teacher this year. Oh okay, that's too hard. Shout out. Shout out to an amazing teacher. That should be highlighted. How about that? Not your favorite? That's too hard.
Harper Galloway:I have two.
Mike Gennaro:Okay.
Harper Galloway:So the first one is Miss Morris from second grade at Rollins Place and Miss Gayness at Zachary Elementary.
Mike Gennaro:Awesome Good job.
Bailey Galloway:So mine are Miss Rogers and Miss Johnson, because those are the two I was like closest to this year. Yeah, Awesome. Good job. So mine are Miss Rogers and Miss Johnson, because those are the two I was like closest to this year.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, awesome, and you go to school with my daughter Lucy. Yeah, yeah, y'all are both track stars. Yeah, are you running cross country?
Bailey Galloway:So no, I ran cross country last year with. Max and I'm running. I ran track this year with Lucy, so I actually ran both of them.
Mike Gennaro:You were like advanced in track because your mom ran track too. Right, I kind of want to say I am yeah, kind of a trick question. But yeah, ebony, where'd you run track?
Ebony Harper :I ran track at Southern University. I actually started at Northeast Middle School. Yeah, um, I was fortunate to be in eighth grade, running with high school, so that was pretty cool so I was there for one year and then I went to Scotlandville Magnet High School.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Ebony Harper :Ran four years there and then I left there and went to Southern University.
Mike Gennaro:Nice Shout out to all the Scotlandville Magnet High School grads out there. There are many of you out there listening. So all right, it's enough with the lightning round. So let's get into kind of your business journey. And at eight years old and 13 years old it's kind of strange to have a business journey. But how long have y'all been doing this?
Harper Galloway:Three years Yep. Three, three years Because our anniversary is on February 1st.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, yeah, bailey, why don't you tell us how it got started?
Bailey Galloway:So Christmas of 2020, 2020, when the world was completely shut down, we were making Christmas holiday treats at home and you know we weren't doing the regular cookies or cupcakes or stuff like that. So we were dipping um cookies and pretzels into chocolate and kind of decorating them yeah so Harper got bored.
Bailey Galloway:She was like I want to watch a movie, I want to watch a movie and after like the fifth time of asking, mom was like, okay, pop the popcorn, watch the movie. So we took um all the popcorn that she had popped and all the leftover treats we had made and put it together. And that was the night that I was like wow, I think we got something yeah, so at 10 years old you're like I think we got it, let's go to market right but I think I've remembered uh, I think we got it.
Mike Gennaro:Let's go to market, right? But I think I've remembered passing you guys up at like Red Stick Farmer's Market and then going back because I felt guilty and y'all were little kids and y'all were doing such an amazing job at sales. I bought some popcorn but y'all y'all were like famous for your sales woman ship.
Harper Galloway:Yes, it's like every time you go to a farmer circuit or something and then I like turn back or something, and then I come back up and I see them talking to my mom talking about oh, she's a great salesman yeah, yeah.
Mike Gennaro:I would almost say, like your salesmanship is is just as good as the product itself if not better that's, that's like your main thing yeah how? How did y'all become little sales mutants?
Harper Galloway:um, well, it took, it took effort. Um, it was hard, it wasn't really anything. I mean, we did compete when we go to other things, but it wasn't really competing because our business is unique and we don't find a lot of businesses that have popcorn with trail mix and stuff. I mean, we find businesses with butter, like at lsu. They have concessions and they ask where the butter popcorn is, but not, we're not really competing against them because we know that butter popcorn is kind of lame.
Mike Gennaro:It's different. Sorry, not sorry.
Bailey Galloway:But our, I don't know. I just remember. I really don't remember, like when we, how we started, um, I just remember that we had to do an opening whenever we were starting our Instagram page of like hi, we are this, this and that, and it was kind of like a shark tank commercial, like we have 30 seconds go, like that, and I know my mom she was like squeaking us as we did it. And that day, like in that setting, we had came up with the commercial and I don't know what.
Bailey Galloway:45 minutes to an hour yeah and after that, like the marketing part just clicked. Yeah, other than when we first started at farmer's markets and after every customer it was a critique, something that we could fix about it right, mom's good at the constructive criticism.
Mike Gennaro:yeah, yeah, have you ever okay, all right, got a tough one? Have you ever gotten kind of impatient or a little prideful, like you know what, mom? It's been three years, I got my pitch down All the time.
Speaker 5:Seriously.
Mike Gennaro:So y'all are normal, right? Yeah, I don't want to intimidate everybody out there.
Harper Galloway:Sometimes we'll go to an event and then she's like what's wrong and we're like nothing. And then she's like what's wrong and we're like nothing. And then she's like you guys probably don't want to be here, yeah.
Speaker 5:Like a coach, right, I mean that's just a part of it it is a part of it.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah.
Ebony Harper :Because I mean.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, yeah, you're mic'd, yeah, okay.
Ebony Harper :So I mean and I say that because, like Because it's one thing to be 5 and 10 with a great idea and it's okay also to sell online visually with social media platforms, but when we got to Zachary Farmer's Market, it was the real deal. You have people in front of you and they're watching your body language and they're watching how do you say things and how do you explain it, what's the shelf life and what's?
Mike Gennaro:the profit margin. This is food we're talking about.
Ebony Harper :Exactly, there's regulation involved, yeah, you're like whoa, wait, hold on, you know, yeah, and so for them to be five and ten, it was very important for me to make sure they they own that space I didn't want to be the mom, just like oh yeah, my kids are.
Ebony Harper :This is the brand and they're the brand of the company. But I actually run it. Yeah, I told them, you know, day one and they'll tell you. I told them day one, if this is your baby, you're going to rock it. Yeah, and I'll be here to back you.
Mike Gennaro:But you know, when we get there, it's showtime you know, and you're not going to always want to be there, but this this is what you say you want to do, um, all right, so let's, let's talk a little bit about, uh, this, this new transition y'all are making right now. Y'all are growing and that's not always easy for companies, um, so y'all are young entrepreneurs, but y'all are the real deal, so it's just as hard for y'all as it is for mark zuckerberg or whoever right right, it really is.
Mike Gennaro:So tell me some of the challenges that um that y'all perceive from growing the capacity it's not.
Bailey Galloway:The workload isn't horrible, but being at lsu it's like we have sometimes two to three games a day yeah at lsu and then it's like you're there kind of all day, um, and we're still tired from like practice because, as you know, I run track and harper's doing softball. So, uh, we both have like, we have practice, we have school, and then we're both maintaining like our 4.0 gpa. So we have to like kind of study on the way there, work study on the way home, and as soon as you get home, like it's time for bed so you can wake up and do it all over again. Yeah, yeah. So the growing part is just like trying to juggle or balance, in a way, school athletics and then like the workload yeah, absolutely.
Mike Gennaro:And y'all are doing this big kickstarter campaign. Uh, why don't y'all, why don't you take that one ebony?
Ebony Harper :yeah, so we're doing the kickstarter campaign right now, um to really allow um to bailey's point us to expand, you know, to be able to hire employees and to be able to have a space in a place that we can call home, right? So we're looking for a flagship. We're looking for a place that we can um have customers come and visit and get the entire posh pop experience, of course, at farmer's market, when we're in our popcorn truck, as well as when we're at lsu. Yes, we give phenomenal service. We have a phenomenal product there. But the number one question we get is where can we find you when you're not here?
Mike Gennaro:seriously, yeah, yeah, we get that question like you want to come visit a lot, yeah, okay they want to come visit, they want the product, they want to try more flavors, because every time we pop up, obviously we're only bringing a subset of our actual flavors.
Speaker 5:We have a total of 32 got it, but typically when we set up, yeah when we have only four to six.
Ebony Harper :And so they're, you know, they love that product and they love that flavor yeah and then, after they get to the fourth flavor and they're still in love, they're like wait, you have more you know yeah so, um, we're really looking um to. We're hoping that this campaign helps us to launch something really special in Zachary.
Mike Gennaro:Keep listening, We'll be right back. Tri-lakes and Bennett's Water Ski and Wakeboard School are very excited to bring back LA Night Jam for 2024. Bennett's Water Ski and Wakeboard School have hosted numerous successful professional water ski tournaments, including six previous LA Night Jams, multiple US Nationals and a large number of collegiate national water ski championships. Most recently, they held the 44th Syndicate Skis 2023, NCWSA Collegiate Water Ski National Championships in 2023 and the 2023 LA Night Jam. The tournament will take place June 8th, with the finals and exhibition show taking place on Saturday night at Tri-Lakes in Zachary, and will feature the best water skiers in the world. Grab your crew by the carload and we'll see you there June 8th. Yeah, I love the loyalty to Zachary and you know just clear in the air. We did this kind of dance where we were trying to be neighbors here at the press and all, and then, unfortunately, we just lost our anchor.
Ebony Harper :Yeah.
Mike Gennaro:And you know, yeah, so I do want people to know that and clear the air. But y'all are committed to Zachary. That's the sure thing, and I think that's incredible, because this is where the roots are right. Yeah, yeah, so you're trying to-.
Ebony Harper :This is where we can inspire and impact we believe the most. Right, yeah, I mean, these girls are in school in the Zachary School District. We live here. We started at Zachary Farmer's Market every Saturday faithfully for over a year, and so for us, for their peers and for other families, we feel like we can be the most impactful and inspiring here, where it all started. I mean we could go to Baton Rouge, but the story wouldn't be the same.
Mike Gennaro:It's another business. Yeah, the story wouldn't be the same, Bailey. I'm going to give you this one too. Yeah, so it wouldn't be the same, Bailey. I'm going to give you this one too. What can a business do? What can small business do better in Zachary? You've experienced other businesses and we're not going to call anybody out but we do get this reputation for small businesses struggling and not being viable enough in Zachary. What is it that's happening and what can we do better?
Bailey Galloway:I think some parts of it are employees. I think like I'm a very I don't want to say critical.
Speaker 5:No, you're a critic.
Ebony Harper :I'm a critic.
Bailey Galloway:Like, I think employees and customer service is very important and a lot of the small businesses that I've come into contact with that is in Zachary, a lot of them. I've met the owners and the owners are very nice. But for the ones that do have employees, some of the employees can be kind of blunt in the best way possible I understand everyone has their bad days in the best way possible.
Bailey Galloway:You know I understand everyone has like their bad days, but I feel like the employees can run you out of business just because you can have the greatest product in the world, but nobody wants to really deal with that.
Bailey Galloway:And I also think that you know like the workload is kind of large, right, simplest way it's. It's a lot so to hat. Like. I understand that employees are very, very important to be able to run the business and still expand yourself, but I think it's like the most critical part is to take time to like get to know your employee before you kind of, yeah, put them up there just to do whatever they're going to do. Wow that's.
Mike Gennaro:That's definitely some wisdom there for sure. Um, I love the confidence y'all y'all both have and it's it's an incredible thing. Um, like we all know, y'all are going to be just as big as you are now, but better, right, it's going to be an incredible thing to watch. So, um, y'all, we've got like five minutes to kind of wrap on this and it's. We've got a, and it's not because I'm busy, no. You guys have a practice somewhere. Yeah, so where are y'all headed today, ivory?
Harper Galloway:I'm headed to softball practice and she's headed to track.
Speaker 5:Yeah yeah.
Harper Galloway:There is one thing I want to say.
Harper Galloway:Sure An encouraging word or something. So when you start a business, if you want to start a business, some tips. First, do something you like. Like, don't do something that your friend may want to do, but then you want to go and help her, but you don't really like that, you just want to do it. Do something that you like, because some days, if you don't like it, you don't like selling it. Um, and also karen loma bailey said have good employees, good to be, good to meet them. Um, good customer service. And uh, you can do anything you put your mind to, because even if something's impossible, the word itself is spelled I am possible. So just do it and do something you love.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, awesome Bailey, can you take one on on that same note.
Bailey Galloway:Yeah, can you uh take one on on on that same note. Yeah, so I think that you have to have a certain level of bravery yeah just to be able to um, especially like for kids just to be able to go to a farmer's market and compete with some. Not compete, but you know be in the same um area.
Mike Gennaro:I go to a farmer's market with seven bucks, I mean somebody, somebody's getting it and I'm cheap, right.
Bailey Galloway:So um to compete with. You know people or adults who've had their business for however long who've?
Bailey Galloway:been in the business. It's a family business, it's passed down or whatever, whatever. Um, and even like adults starting their business, you have to have a lot of courage to be able to do it. So, like harper said, do something that you love. So, like, if it does get hard, you're not like well, I didn't really like it anyway. So and then kind of just stop, um, because it takes a lot to keep going. But once you kind of see the big picture and see what everything will turn out to be, if you just keep persevering through it, um, it can turn out really, really well yeah awesome, awesome, we'll give mom last words.
Ebony Harper :Um, I want to know what you have to say to other parents so to other parents, you know well, no to other parents, what I would say is, first and foremost um, um, this was my kid's idea.
Ebony Harper :You know, and I think oftentimes as parents, we are very busy. I had a full-time job when I started this brand new newborn baby. When I started this, um had just moved to Zachary, you know. So I had a lot of things that could have potentially been challenges for me. When you know, it was COVID, the world was closed, people were dying. Like it wasn't necessarily the ideal time to start a business, if I'm honest.
Ebony Harper :so, um, I would just say you know, slow down, listen to your kids. Um, you'll be surprised what they have in their mind. Um, when the girl said, when the girls got together and and did this, and I came back in the room and they were like, oh my God, this is so good, this is so good, you should try some, I reacted like a mom.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Ebony Harper :I'm like that's supposed to be in Ziploc bags.
Mike Gennaro:Right, it could have been over.
Ebony Harper :Yeah, the task was exactly the task was put everything in Ziploc bags. How did we get here Like? I'm just be honest, and they know that, and so you know.
Ebony Harper :initially, it was I fussed I did. I was like wait, what you know, yeah, and so, um, but as I saw the excitement on their face and they were like no, this is really good. And then I tasted it, I'm like, oh, this is actually really good popcorn, yeah, never even thought to do that and that part was a pivot at that moment, right. So it was like a pivot to open up and really like listen and engage. And when Bailey said, mommy, I think we got something, it was like okay, I kind of thought, oh, that's cute, you know yeah we got something we got something we can give to thinking, gosh, I gotta sell a thousand bags of this or whatever.
Ebony Harper :Right, but even at that moment I was just thinking we got something to pass the family and friends as a treat, not as a business. It was a happy accident, yeah, but essentially, these two girls spent the next 48 hours. All they could talk about is if I had a popcorn company. And so we live in a world where it's not like when you and I were younger. You know we were actually happy to open a gift at Christmas. Most of these kids already kind of know what they're getting.
Harper Galloway:You know what I mean.
Ebony Harper :They kind of have an idea based on what was on the list, et cetera, et cetera. Most kids have more than what they need honestly, we all do, you know, in this era, but I couldn't think of anything else to get them for Christmas but this business. I mean that's just what it was. It was three days before Christmas. The world was shut down. It's not like we can go shopping them all and I said, wow, I'm going to take everything that they said they would do if they had a business and I'm going to put it on paper I could do everything online, you know.
Ebony Harper :And so, um, I was able to do that and gift them with it for Christmas, and I never really asked them. That's a good question, because I never asked them what they felt about getting it for Christmas, because it literally was their Christmas gift, yeah, and so. But they were over the moon excited Now how they felt inside or the next day when they looked around and didn't have a real gift.
Ebony Harper :You know, that they can actually tangibly play with, or whatever I don't know. But they were excited in that moment that I had made this idea, this, you know, dream that they were thinking through, come into reality. And so, you know, as a parent, I would just say, I mean, we're normal. They fuzz, they go back and forth. They're five years apart. They were five and 10 when they started and Harper would listen to everything Bailey said. Now she's eight, she's's like. I've been doing this for three years, just like you, you know.
Mike Gennaro:So asking for pay raises. Yeah, the whole nine.
Ebony Harper :You know they're like okay, so how much am I getting more per bag? You know so we, we have the same discussions and conversations that people have in their traditional homes um the. The thing that these girls have that I think is something special is their discipline.
Mike Gennaro:Yeah, there it is, you know their discipline and they want it.
Ebony Harper :They see the big picture, they have the buy in. I've created the platform for them in terms of, you know, putting their business in order, but when they show up, it's go time you know, and that's just what it is. And like they say, yep, they're tired, we have long nights, but we also play hard. You know, we, we, we work hard, but they know we play hard. When we go to Disney, it's like enjoy yourself you know what I mean?
Ebony Harper :Yeah, like and they get little extra. You know incentives, you know for doing. You know for the 4.0 and being exempt from, you know from exams and for the hard work. So we work hard but we also play hard and I put that in perspective for them so they can understand that, yep, it's hot and it's softball and we're outside, but we only got three hours. If we can knock this out and sell a bunch of bags, we can go home and you, we want to do, we have our evening, you know yeah so just to parents, just you know, take us, take a step back and just listen.
Ebony Harper :You know, just just see what your kid is really interested in yeah and then whether they decide to do popcorn from now to forever or whether this is something that ends up in stores and they serve their company off in 20 years and say, hey, I think, I think I want to do something else. It's theirs, it's their baby to rock, and I mean that and I tell them that all the time. It can be whatever you want it to be, you can have a thousand stores, you know, or you can have a flagship in Zachary that everybody from around the world comes to. It's really, you know, up to you where you take it, but in four years you, max Bailey, they'll they'll be gone off to college you know, Harper will be in high school.
Ebony Harper :So you know, as we progress along, we know that things are going to shift and change. But as a parent, are you willing to shift and change with it?
Mike Gennaro:Perfect, all right, well, we'll take it on out from there. That is it for this week's episode of Porch and Parish, the podcast with Bailey Harper and Ebony of Posh Pop. It's been a pleasure to have you all here today. A huge shout out to our community partners like Zachary Community School District, who stand with us in our mission to make Zachary a place where every resident feels heard and engaged. Thanks to the generosity and support of our community partners, the magazine, the podcast and everything you see online is possible and free. Because of them, the three T's that make up quality of life pick up trash when you see it, foster tech at any expense and embrace an attitude of tolerance for diverse voices, even the voices of kids, because once you start to listen and engage with them, those voices are the creative engines of our future, and we mean that from the bottom of our hearts.
Mike Gennaro:You guys, it's been an honor to be in your presence today. Much respect to you, thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be in your presence today. Much respect to you, thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here. I love this interview. So thank y'all, um, and we'll see y'all next monday all right all right, bye, thank you, thank you.
