93: How She Made $100K from Instagram in Under 12 Months with Dani Alvarez (A Hot Reels Success Story)
What if one year from now you could double your prices, expand your brand, grow your Instagram from under 2,000 followers to more than 22,000, and add more than $100,000 in revenue to your business.
That is exactly what happened for my client, Dani Alvarez.
When Dani and I first met, she was a homeschooling mom of three running a small farm in Northern Colorado and posting the occasional photo on Instagram. She did not know how to post a reel. She felt stuck and overwhelmed. She wondered if Instagram was even worth her time.
Fast forward twelve months. Her videos have hit millions of views. Her business has transformed from the inside out. Her brand is clear, elevated, and profitable. And she has added an entirely new revenue stream because of her visibility on Instagram.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] Dani’s growth from 1,800 to 22,000 followers
[00:26] Why she almost quit Instagram
[00:56] How we doubled her prices
[02:26] Consistency over perfection
[03:20] How Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros began
[06:09] Early wedding gigs and surprise bookings
[07:05] When she saw she needed a real strategy
[08:26] What we fixed before reels
[09:21] Her first bride at the new rate
[10:49] Learning reels for the first time
[12:43] Daily reel commitment
[14:38] Facing the fear of showing up on camera
[15:58] Filtering out conflicting advice
[17:20] The reality of the first ninety days
[19:18] Her first viral reel
[20:33] Videos hitting millions of views
[22:14] Why growth isn't linear
[24:40] Visibility driving bookings and revenue
[26:51] Behind-the-scenes animal content that builds trust
[28:21] Launching a global coaching business
[30:45] Unpredictable opportunities from social media
[32:05] Dani’s advice on joining Hot Reels
[34:23] Why strategy plus encouragement transforms results
Key Takeaways:
Your first ninety days on Instagram are about skills and consistency, not results.
You do not need to be perfect. You need to take action even when you feel awkward.
One video can change everything, but only if you stay long enough for that moment to happen.
Visibility creates trust. Trust creates sales.
Your brand becomes magnetic when people can see you and understand what you do.
Instagram leads to opportunities you could never predict when you start showing up.
Links Mentioned:
Follow Dani on Instagram: @sparrowhillbeverageburros
Book the Beverage Burros or stay at the Airbnb: farmatsparrowhill.com
Join the Hot Reels waitlist or DM me hot on Instagram
https://elizabethmarberry.com/hot
A Truth You Need to Hear:
“Once I committed to showing up, everything changed. The results came from consistency long before they came from confidence.” — Dani Alvarez
Guest Bio
Dani Alvarez is the founder of Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros and Friends, a Northern Colorado wedding and events business featuring highly trained mini donkeys and farm animals. She is a former elementary teacher turned entrepreneur who built her business from a small family farm while homeschooling her three children. Dani has grown her Instagram to more than 22,000 followers, added over $100,000 in revenue in one year, and now co-runs a global coaching program for farms wanting to add luxury beverage animals to their offerings. Her work blends hospitality, joyful experiences, and intentional brand storytelling.
S3 Ep93 Transcript: How She Made $100K from Instagram in Under 12 Months with Dani Alvarez (A Hot Reels Success Story)
00:00
What if I told you that in just one year, you could go from barely getting leads on Instagram to adding over $100,000 in revenue to your business, all from showing up consistently and learning how to post reels that actually work. That's exactly what happened for today's guest and my client, Dani Alvarez. When Dani and I first met, she had about 1800 followers and was feeling totally stuck.
00:26
Frustrated, overwhelmed, and honestly ready to give up on Instagram. She didn't even know how to post a reel. But she decided to say yes to focusing on Instagram marketing for a year. And the results have been nothing short of incredible. Dani's account has grown to over 22,000 followers. Her videos have racked up millions of views. And her business looks completely different than it did 12 months ago when we first met. Through my coaching and Dani's commitment to taking action,
00:56
We more than doubled her prices, elevated her brand and transformed her business from the inside out. In this episode, Dani is going to share how she built her dream business, Sparrow Hill Beverage Burrows and Friends from a small farm in Northern Colorado as a wife and homeschooling mama of three kids, all while running a thriving farm full of animals. So if you've ever felt like you're doing everything right on Instagram, but still not seeing results,
01:26
or you're tired of watching everyone else blow up while you're stuck spinning your wheels, telling yourself it's too late to start or too hard to learn, this story will change the way you see what's possible for you and get you fired up about the opportunity that is Instagram. I hope you're pumped. Let's go. Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies.
01:55
I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place. Let's dive in.
02:26
Welcome back to the show. You, my beloved listener, are in for such a treat today because I know that our guest expert today is going to inspire you to want to keep going with your Instagram marketing. Because let's be honest, showing up on Instagram week after week, month after month,
02:52
building a brand online is not easy. You really have to be in it for the long haul. And my guest today, her name is Dani. She is the owner of Sparrow Hill Beverage Burrows and Friends. And she is one of my dear clients. We've worked together privately and also in Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab. And I wanted to bring her on the show because I know that
03:20
her story is gonna inspire you. When Dani and I first started working together, she was at around 1,800 followers on Instagram, and while she was getting some leads and sales from the platform, it was slow. Fast forward less than 12 months later, she's at over 22,000 followers, and she has added an additional 100K in revenue and profit to her business.
03:48
I wanted to bring her on the show today so you could really hear how she was able to implement this transformation and I know it's going to serve you and your heart today. So Dani, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. You're so welcome. Okay, for people who don't know you, give us a little background on who you are, what is your business and how did you get
04:18
to this point where you are 22,000 followers on Instagram. You have a thriving business. You just add another revenue stream. So take us back and tell us how you landed here. Totally. Well, I'm a former first grade kindergarten teacher. And so that is my background. It's an education. In 2020, my husband and I, bought a farm and it was the height of COVID. So it was kind of everyone was gravitating toward these hobby farms. We bought a farm.
04:46
with little kids and not being able to see anybody, we were like, you know what, let's add too many donkeys. They're small. Our kids are small. This would be a good starting point for us. So we added these too many donkeys, so cute. We took them on walks. We did all sorts of things with them, just natural desensitizing that kids do, know? The loud noises and all the things. So the donkeys became very social. You know, they could walk really well. They could hike. They could do just general things that, you know, donkeys may or may not be able to do depending on their age. So.
05:14
We started with that and fast forward to 2021. Someone posted on Facebook a Pinterest idea and she was a Northern Colorado bride and she's like, hey, does anybody know anybody who has some sweet friendly donkeys that could do this for my wedding? And it was a picture of beverage boroughs. So with the baskets on either side and they're standing there taking pictures with the wedding party, serving drinks. I got a few people that tagged me in it like, Danny has really sweet donkeys and.
05:41
So I did reach out to her and I was like, hey, this is a lot of pressure. I don't know if I can do this, but like, let's just chat about it and we can see if we're a good fit. Come meet them and well, you know, I've never done this. This is a wedding. So she came over, we ended up doing the wedding and we were dragging the donkeys out at the end because they loved it so much. They loved the socialization. They were like, we're here to party. These are our friends. So they absolutely adored it and I thought it was just such a kick. So I posted it on our little farm.
06:09
Instagram page with like 200 followers of just like, look what we did. This was so fun. With that, some people started booking us and I'm like, oh no, I'm not a business owner. I don't do this. This was not something I'm planning on doing, but we booked like five weddings for the next summer and I was so nervous and my husband's like, just hire some girls. Like we have young kids, you know, this will be fine. Did that. I hired some girls and we ended the summer at 30 weddings, which was never in my plan.
06:37
The next year we ended the year at 70 weddings and then 2024 I was at 100 weddings. So it just like escalated pretty fast and I did have to figure out like how do I do this business? All the things. I was in the Estes Park Wedding Association last November and we had our first meeting of the year and one of the emails that went out was like, hey, this gal Elizabeth Marbury, she's coming. She's going to talk to you about Instagram strategy, marketing, how to really elevate your business to the next level.
07:05
And I was like, I think I'm ready for that, but I also like, I know that's something I need to learn. So I was like, either way, even if I want to do that right now or not, I just need to go and hear like what she has to say. I'm sure she has something that I could take away. And that's where I met you. And the rest is history. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. I remember speaking at that event and you came up to me after and you had so many great questions. And then we weren't able to connect after that meeting.
07:35
Soon after that, Dani and I did some private coaching together and tell everybody what we worked on during our private session because this is just so wild and so epic what we created. Yeah, well, even after that meeting, was like, okay, she just even how you presented yourself as like, okay, she's like the person I want to be talking to about this. Like she knows what she's doing. So I like was chatting and I was like, I did this many weddings and you just looked at me like, raise your prices.
08:04
And I was like, no, no, no, no, I don't need to do that. Anyway, what else? And you're like, no, no, no, you do. And I was like, well, and so we sat down and we did a private session and you just went through all of it. And it was so helpful because never have I just sat down and really looked at my business with someone who does this. the insights you gave me were like,
08:26
mind blowing to me. I took so many notes. I still have that notebook because I was like, I have to write down everything she says. It was so good. It was so helpful from my pricing to simplifying it to making it more straightforward to what the wedding industry and brides want to see as they book and like move down that sales funnel. You just were like talking like this was your area. That was exactly what I needed. That first session was I just
08:51
took away so much and it was the time to revamp my business during the off season. So perfect in timing. Yes. And I was so impressed with Dani because we more than doubled your prices during that session. Yeah, like 115%. And I was so scared. And I just was like, I don't believe you. I don't think I can do this. But I'm like, I'm going to trust that
09:21
this is what I can do for next year. I had already booked, I think, 44 weddings, and so to really make that big shift, it wasn't really scary, for sure. Yeah, it's spooky when you raise your prices, because there's always that fear of, okay, now what if no one comes, right? So one of the things Dani hasn't said yet, which is so incredible about her, is that she is a homeschool mama of three kids.
09:49
Also, managing farm life, all of the things. And one of the things I am so passionate about is helping my clients to simplify their business and streamline and ensure that they're able to scale and make profit, right? Not just pay their bills, but pay themselves and actually take home a profit. And I do remember you were definitely nervous because of course you are. It's like we were going to more than double your prices.
10:19
but you were willing to do it. You're like, okay, just tell me what to do and I will go do it. And I remember a couple days even after that first session, you messaged me and you said, I just closed my first bride at this new price and oh my gosh, it's happening. Do you remember that? Oh, I totally do. I messaged you and I was like, oh my gosh, someone booked it and didn't even ask questions. they didn't throw a fit. I was expecting everybody to be all upset, but they just booked it. And I was like, I think this is gonna work.
10:49
Yeah, so incredible. So from that point on, Danny jumped into Hot Reels, the 12 month Instagram content lab. And I know you had around like 1800 followers. So tell us where you were at with your Instagram marketing strategy before you dove into Hot Reels. Like where were you at and what did you want at that time? Yeah, you know, with like so many weddings we had done that summer, that year we had done 100. So that was a huge jump from the year before.
11:19
and we just would post like a still photo. Congratulations, you know, this couple at this venue, so fun to celebrate with you. And that was it. And just one still photo, maybe two, maybe we would like repost it into stories or something. But I had no idea really like what I was doing. I just figured if I show that I do a lot of these and then I tag people, maybe that will help with, you know, people finding me or the other wedding vendors being able to see like this is what I do. So that was really...
11:48
without having a strategy, my strategy. I just didn't understand why people made Reels, like all the stuff that you see with the different things you can even make on social media. I didn't know what that was and I didn't have the time to really, I was in the middle of my season. So I just was like, I'll post a picture. So why did you join Hot Reels? Like what did you want? Yeah, you know, with that every year I try to tackle something new.
12:15
without having this like, you know, extensive business background, I'm like, I really can up one thing every year. As a mom with three stay at home, you know, I stay at home and I have three little kids, like I can make one thing better every year. And so being, was a former division one athlete and I'm just like a go-getter. And I'm like, I really want, if I'm gonna have this, it to be excellent. I really want it to be a quality business, but I can't do it all at once because I have other things on my plate. And so.
12:43
that year with seeing that, you were coming to Estes Park Wedding Association. I was like, maybe this is the thing that I can focus on for one year and see if, pretty skeptical, if it transforms my business, if it just helps me get out there a little bit more, it's free. You you can post on social media and it can't be that hard. And so I was like, I guess maybe that's the route I should go this winter. Yeah, I love that.
13:09
people were finding your business through Instagram, but it wasn't like a solid lead generation or anything for you, right? No, and you know, I didn't really have a way to track that as well. Like that was something that you also helped me with is like, where are your leads coming from? And I'm like, I don't know. Like people are finding me, but I honestly, have nowhere to track. I do have an email list, but it's not really like with all these people coming in that it was really pretty, you know, kindergarten teacher-ish.
13:39
All of it was like in little word documents here and there. So we really refined like so many of my systems and so many of my processes. And then I understood like, Oh, that's why you do that. That is why you get people to come on your website. This is how you take them down this funnel of like they land on your page. You you helped me with all my verbiage and all of that, that just like really made it inviting and brought people in. So as far as it was a lead generator, I think people found me, but I think you really had to dig and it wasn't out there. Yeah.
14:09
So you're in Hot Reels, you're dedicating yourself, you're this competitive athlete. Tell us what you committed to doing because you told me in our pre-interview that you committed to posting. Was it like a reel every day? I know. I was like, if I'm going to do this, I need to do exactly what she says. You never said we had to post a reel every day, but being kind of the high achiever, like I'm like, I'm going to do this. And as soon as I committed myself to that, I was
14:38
a little worried because I'm like, I don't know what this even entails and I don't know what this means for the next year to post a reel every day. Like, oh my goodness. But I did, I committed myself to that and I helped do that and I'm like, I just, let's see what this does and I'm gonna try to follow what you tell me to do as best I can.
14:58
And I love this, you said it was painful for a while. Like you would cry after you posted. Tell us about that, tell us about the struggle in the beginning of showing up on camera. Oh, just one of the first times you were like, you guys need to show your face, people wanna see who you are. And I'm like, but it's animals. I don't need to be on there, they're booking my animals, they're not booking me. And you're like, no, put your face out there. Oh, and the first time I did it, I was freaked out, I almost was in tears. It's just so hard to just
15:28
put yourself out there. People who know you are gonna see it, people who don't know you are gonna see it. I remember I messaged you, I was like, I did it. And I'm like, I'm gonna throw up. This is gonna be hard. You know, it's just that the beginning is so awkward. You're trying something that you don't really know how to do and it's forced and you don't know how to talk to a camera. And you know, not to say that I do now, but I've practiced a lot more. I get better. Yes, another thing you mentioned that I thought was really interesting is you said when you first
15:58
started working with me, you had to put your blinders on to other Instagram advice or coaches that were popping up in your feed. So can you speak to that? Yeah, as soon as I started like following you and kind of like seeing what you were doing, I mean, the algorithm does its thing, right? So it started like pitching me like coaching and this person and this person saying do this. And I mean, you get so much advice and so many things coming at you. You're like,
16:27
can't do all of these things. Like what? It's saying it's pushing knees over this or this. And it's conflicting advice too, right? Like do this. The other coach says, don't do that. And it can make you feel like I'll never do this well. Like it's so much to even try to do well you can't. And so that's where I'm like, okay, I have to just not think about what they're saying. I'm just going to think about what Elizabeth is saying and do her practical points one step at a time the best I can.
16:56
Yes. It's helpful to really just focus on one thing and not what everything else is screaming at you. Yes, and that's what I love about Hot Reels and that's honestly why it's a 12-month program. Sometimes when people are considering it, they're like, well, I don't know if I need 12 months. And I'm like, you do and here's why. Not only do you
17:20
have to really be in it for the long game. And I definitely want you to share kind of how long it took you to find your momentum. Because I know it wasn't just within the first 30 days, right? Like you had to keep pushing through. So I definitely want to speak to that. But what I love about our 12 months together is like, is every week you're getting like one to 5 % better at Instagram, right?
17:45
And that's why your business and your Instagram account, it's going to look totally different in 12 months from now, right? Is because I understand that all of my clients, it's not that they're full-time content creators, right? Like you have three kids, you're homeschooling your kids, you're working your farm, you're working your wedding business, all of these different moving pieces. And so I personally love being able to learn things and implement as I go and take it one step at a time.
18:14
versus trying to just put this unrealistic expectation that you're just going to completely throw yourself into this and do it all day, every day. Yeah. The beginning was like, I don't even know how to make a reel. I don't know how to turn the sound off on a video so the audio plays over it. How do you even make a reel? Let alone, now I have to make one every single day. You start with like the very, very basics of
18:43
How does this work? How do you even find a draft? Like where are these saved? How do you even toggle it to a trial? Like all the things. So you're really just learning the system, not even making good content yet. Totally. And you start being like, okay, I kind of can get how to do this, but now what do I need to do? Okay. So this trend, oh, this is what a trending audio is. Oh, this is what a, you know, a hook looks like and now a caption. And so it does, it takes a while for all these parts to come together, but
19:13
Every week we would come and we would meet and you know some I in the Hot Reels group I could reach out to someone and be like hey, what's a remix? I called it mini chat. What's mini chat? And you're like, oh, it's many chat like the automated, you know, so it's just so many things and the group really helped we were able to ask you all those questions and it didn't really come together. I mean, I was posting for 90 days frustrated. It was
19:40
coming along, was learning it, but as far as like seeing any real results, yeah, followers here and there and more, a little bit more views, but nothing really big. um And then that like 90 day mark, one that I didn't mean to even, it wasn't even, I don't even know if it was a good real still to this day. I had my husband take a little video. made it, I put it out there before he went on vacation. I was loading the flight and I looked and I was like, oh my gosh.
20:08
This is growing like tens of thousands of views like every few minutes. Yes. One finally hit and it went quote unquote viral for me, right? Oh yeah. How many views did that one end up getting? Oh, I want to say that one was around 6 million. Oh my gosh. I would say that's viral for everyone, not just you. I mean for me, I had it like gotten maybe past like 4,000 views. Wow.
20:33
Oh my gosh, and that is such a fun feeling because you're seeing it just blow up and then you're seeing all these followers pouring in, right? Yeah, and with that, like your inbox and people have questions and you know, you, rides are reaching out and you're just like, oh my gosh, this is working. Like you saw that. You guys saw that my sheep takes drinks to weddings and like, yeah, we do that. It was really fun to finally have it come together. Wow. That is so brilliant. And
21:01
You have had a lot of viral videos. From my point of view, what is your biggest video you've ever done in the last few months? I think recently it was 8 million. Wow, that is so phenomenal. I want to pause and say thank you for showing everyone where you started. Literally, I remember when you first joined Hot Reels, you posted a video to your feed and it was you talking because I had said, I want you to get your face on camera.
21:30
And do you remember I said, actually that would go in your Instagram story, not on your feed, right? Because you were still even learning about, okay, wait, what content would be more appropriate for my feed versus my Instagram story? So I'm sharing those details to say like, Dani started really at square one with a lot of these different things. She was already on the platform. She was already doing some of the basic stuff, which is phenomenal.
21:55
But to hear your success story of going from that to, wait, how do I make it real? And then also like the tactical pieces of, yeah, how do I remove the audio? How do I find a trending audio? All these things, you're right. In the beginning, you're not focused on creating the high quality content. You're just trying to figure out how to post a reel, right? Like just the basics. And then, wow, what an evolution. I love that you committed to posting often because I always tell people,
22:25
That's how you're gonna flex your content creation muscle, right? If you wanna get good at something, you gotta put those reps in to get stronger. And the more reps you put in, the quicker you're gonna get to where you wanna go. I love that at the 90 day mark, you said, oh my gosh, this is so hard. I'm sure you had a moment of like, nothing is working, should I keep doing this? But you kept going and then you had that video pop off.
22:50
And it really is that one, that first time that happens, because I'll never forget when that happened for me too, that's when you're like, oh my gosh, this is how this works. And it's so much fun. It's so fun, but you have to be really in it for the long game. Yeah, there's dry spells. And even after you have the first one pop off, you have another one and you're like, oh, now it's going to all come together and all of mine are going to get, no.
23:14
No. There's times where your content totally flops and you thought it was amazing and you spent so much time on it and it like barely got any views but then the one you didn't think about did and it's just there's really high highs and there's low lows. The point is like you just have to keep showing up and you don't look pretty that day or you know all the things you don't want to show your face you don't want to show the messiness in the stories but you're like you know what I'm gonna do it today and maybe it'll be relatable to somebody.
23:42
Yes, absolutely. It's true that the videos that you often are like, this is so bad. I don't even know if I want to post it or it took me five minutes. I'm just going to throw it out there. I swear those are the ones that sometimes do the best. But I love that you highlighted this point because this is something I always want people to remember is that it's not like there's this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and you're going to get to the gold and you're going to sit with the gold and you're going to be in the gold forever.
24:10
That's not how it works. The growth is not linear necessarily, right? Like you're going to have videos pop off. You're going to have thousands of followers pouring in. You're going to think, oh my God, this is the best thing ever. And then you're going to have months where you might even be losing more followers than you're gaining. Like that is a very normal thing after being a content creator and posting content for five years now. I can tell you with certainty, I've had months where it's like, oh my gosh, I'm growing. This is great. And then I've had months where it's the opposite, honestly.
24:40
And that's where it's like, it's fun to look at views. But Danny, I want to talk about how this has impacted your business because that's always what I come back to with people is we can't control the algorithm, right? Like I can't force a certain amount of views. I can't control that. But what I can control is like my backend systems or my sales flow or how I'm showing up or how I'm DMing the people.
25:08
or how I'm being social with them in the comments. So how has this growth impacted your business? Like revenue, profit, all of the things that we actually are, like this is why we're putting this in this work. Right. So as far as just like the wedding, the local wedding business, we got so many people just pouring in all over Colorado where I had to really be strict with how far I was willing to travel. Even
25:36
for a ridiculous price, you know? And so you're like, nope, this is where I surf, this is where my business is, but I was just getting more inquiries and people saw me on social media. Oh my gosh, you go to this venue? I've seen you on there, I follow you. And as far as bookings went, like we got so many bookings. And I was so pleased because I was so skeptical of the price change.
25:57
and that people weren't going to blink. But then they could show up on my social media, they could see that I'm a real person, they could see my animals were cared for and the behind the scenes and that they're not overworked. And you know, like just the whole life they can get educated around what these animals, you know, what their job is, what donkeys even look like behind the scenes, all of the things, you know. And so it was so good for my business just to show that and to show that we are a reputable company. have.
26:25
a face on social media and I think for a bride wanting to book, she could see that yes, we are a service that she believes in. As far as that part, that was great for the local wedding business. Yes, and this is something that I speak about a lot, which is that we are living in a time where people want to know who they're buying from. Like people's trust is shaky.
26:51
Right? So when you can make your brand come to life and show the face of the founder or the owner, the CEO, or the face of your team or the behind the scenes. I remember you had some fears around showing up on social media because you're like, well, I don't want people to make these assumptions that the animals are mistreated or something. And I was like, we can use this platform to show them that the animals are not only taken care of, they are freaking pampered. Okay. I want to be one of your animals.
27:21
We live a good life. Yeah. Such a good life. And I'm like, it's one thing to say that on a website. It's another thing to show your process on social media. And that is where the businesses and brands that are willing to do that are the ones that are winning in 2025 and beyond. And you do that so beautifully. And what I see in you is that you push yourself to show up even on those days where you probably don't necessarily feel like it.
27:51
but you are just relentless in showing up for your business, for your clients, for your animals, and that's part of why you've been so successful. so talk us through, because I know this success has led you to launch another revenue stream for yourself. So tell us about that. Yeah, so with all of these here, I'm targeting in my mind, you know, Northern Colorado brides, right? Wedding planners, wedding venues, and that is my target audience.
28:21
the pain points of brides as they are planning their wedding. So that is what I'm going for. In that, I am getting this inbox full of questions and being a mom and opening up your Instagram at night and you're just like, oh my gosh, I have so many messages. And these are from other farms like us. So small farms, some of them have this very similar story. They bought animals, they bought these cute Highland cows or mini donkeys, but they need them to have a job.
28:51
One, because it's good for them, and two, because it's another mouth to feed. I mean, it's expensive to have these animals. And so they're like, we want to do what you do. How do you do this? How do you do that? What materials? And they just have so many different questions. How do you bathe them? How do you get them ready? My friend and I, she helped me put these in categories of what are people asking. And we came up with four different groups of what people are asking us about. Her name's CJ Roberts, and her and I, started a coaching business.
29:20
around beverage animals. So doing more luxury beverage animals at weddings and events. Anyway, we started that business and we started doing, we did a free webinar and we had 80 people from all over the world. Liz was like, Australia, Belgium, all over the place, show up. And then they wanted more of our services and they wanted, know, so different things that we started to offer. started a video series and so they buy our video series called Hoved Essentials and private coaching sessions.
29:49
And we have all these different sections within that business now that people are coming to us for coaching. And so now, because it's really hard to scale a local wedding business, there's only so much we really want to scale that and do within our community. And so without franchising and things like that, because it is hard with live animals, we're like, what can we do that we can scale? And this is totally something that we can scale.
30:17
and we can do it at home with our kids there. We're on our computer and they're playing with each other because her kids are the same age as my kids. We both homeschool. And so it's just been one of those businesses that I never ever would have thought to do and never planned to do it. But purely because of Instagram and a social media presence, it's led to this whole other revenue source. Oh my gosh, I just got chills. This is why I love
30:45
Instagram and I love social media. We have such an opportunity here, right? And I love your story, Danny. I resonate so much with it with my own story because I tell about that day when I got that phone call from ITV this morning, which is the biggest morning show in the UK. And they wanted to fly me to London.
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and interview me, pay to fly me out, pay for the interview. And they wanted me to just talk about my business. And I was like, how did you find me? And they said, Instagram. This is what I always tell people. You are going into this obviously with a goal, right? I want to grow my follower or I want to get my brand in front of more of my ideal clients or I want to drive more leads and sales. But there's so much available to you. There's possibilities.
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that your brain can't even imagine for your life if you go all in on this platform. And Danny, you are such a great example of that is 12 months ago when I met you in November at the SS Park Wedding Federation, it's not like you're like, I have this dream of launching a coaching business, and because of your work through Instagram, you were able to do that. I hope you're listening to this and you are so inspired.
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about what is possible for you. Dani, if someone is on the fence about joining Hot Reels or even becoming a private client of mine, what would you say to them? Oh my goodness, I would say, I mean, you just have to decide if you wanna take your business to the next level. And you are the person that can take it from whatever level you're at and you take it to the next level, like in a luxury, amazing way. And so I'd say like,
32:32
I do it, I would not hesitate, I would never have guessed. Of course I'm like, I can't work that many more hours. I just don't have many more hours in a day. But the stuff that you ask us to do to implement is just, it's so simple. It's very like step by step. You make it so easy to follow that I'm like, yep, I can do that. Yeah, as a stay at home mom, I have time to do that. I can find time, I can make time to do these simple steps and then.
32:58
the growth and the things that happen. And you're also just like, not even what you're teaching sometimes. I feel like it's just the encouraging presence of someone cheering you on in your business because you do want that for yourself, but you, sometimes we just need a cheerleader and we need someone to say, you got it. Like you can do it. And I'm cheering for you. And here's the steps you need to take. And so in that, the Hot Reels group, your presence, your encouragement, you know, just everything that you get in being like in this with you.
33:27
you just feel like you have this community and you're supported. And so it does help you get out there and it does help you show up because you know everybody else is struggling with the same things you're doing. And it provides a space to talk about it. You know, I need a filter, I need this, I need, you know, certain days I just don't want to do it. And you're so real with like, yep, I didn't like how I looked there. Here's how you can show up again, change the lighting, do another day.
33:54
And so it's just, there's so much grace in it, but also it's just worth it. It is just worth the time. It's worth, mean, the ROI on taking your group was totally worth it. And it opened up doors that you just don't know. And so I'm like, the risk is totally worth diving in. I'm so happy to hear that. And I appreciate you highlighting, you my goal is always to bring both the strategy and tactical
34:23
stuff alongside the mindset and energetics piece. And that's where I feel very privileged is like when someone comes to me and says, oh my gosh, today I lost more followers than I gained. can say, hello, welcome to the club. Like, I'm so glad you joined me here. Like there's nothing wrong, right? And sometimes I can speak from experience from the coaches and mentors I've hired and invested in. As business owners and high achievers, we expect really big things and it's helpful
34:53
to hire someone who's just a step ahead of you so they can kind of say, this is normal. There's nothing wrong. You just need to keep going. Or, oh, okay, this is not working. Let's tweak this piece and look at the data and then make an informed decision next, right? So it's both, and I'm really happy to hear that the energetic, cheerleading component of.
35:20
please just keep going. Like the strategy is simply don't give up. It's so simple, but it's so powerful, right? Yeah. And you need that. You want the simple steps and like just the background that you provide. Like it's proven. Like we can look at what you do and we see it. And so we're like, we can get there. She is ahead of us. We can get there. But then also you're like, okay, she just brings an energy that like today I need to keep doing this. And so it is, it's these...
35:48
two things together that you're like, okay, I'm so glad I'm a part of this group. This is like a positive group and it's a fun group and you look forward to hearing the new things and what's happening in everybody's socials that week because it is encouraging. We all go through these ups and downs with it. It's a lot better to be in community than to be trying to do this solo and get frustrated and quit. Yes, and I want to highlight something which is that because your business is blowing up and you're doing all the things,
36:16
You haven't been able to come to our live calls recently, but when I messaged Annie, she's like, oh, I just listened to all the calls. I, you know, I listened to them and I wanted to highlight that because I think there's this block that a lot of people have of like, well, I just don't have time for that. But if Danny can make time for it, you can. Like she's got three kids, she's got a farm, she's got two businesses, like let's go. So do you feel like you're still getting that juice? Even just listening to the replays?
36:46
Totally and it's fun. I'll like I'll put it on I'll even like make it like 1.5 percent like faster. Heck Yeah, we talk pretty fast and then I'll go outside and I'm doing chores or I'm feeding or it's just like my time to have my headphones in and I can get so much from it because I'm like I can fit this in with a headphone in and keep doing with what I'm doing I'm driving or whatever
37:09
Yeah, but I couldn't join the live calls. That's when I dropped my kids off at their homeschool co-op group, you know, so it was like it didn't work with that time specifically in my schedule, but I can still get the content. I still have the group to see what other people are asking and doing and all of that combined. Yeah, you can find time in your day to fit something in like that if you want to. Yeah, little moments that you can fit it in and it's been so helpful for me to just.
37:36
have that going in the back of my head and the new stuff that you're offering to just be at the forefront of my mind when I'm making content. Fantastic. So if someone's listening right now and they're like feeling a little bit stuck in their content or they're overthinking it, what is one content tip that you can give our audience that they can run with?
37:57
If you want to do this, you have to think about it. You have to be this like creative and I sometimes don't feel creative at all, but you're always looking for stuff. So if I scroll, I'm looking, I'm hearing the audio or I'm looking for reels that like literally have nothing to do with my niche, but I could make them for my niche and that would be kind of cute and trendy or I'm chat GPTing.
38:19
You know, we have our handlers, go to the weddings and I go and, you know, we have this shared album of videos. So I'll find a cool video and I'm like, I don't know what I'm gonna use this for. I don't really have an idea, but I'll save it in my drafts or chat GPT prompts, or I even have like a notes of like things I think about when I drive of like, this is I think what people's questions are when they go to weddings. And I'm just gonna make notes so that when I don't have a content idea and I need to post something,
38:49
I have all these places I can go to be inspired or just to come up with something. And so it is having those like reservoirs of different things just to pull out for when you need it so that you can be consistent. I love that. I love that. And one thing I see that you do so well is I like that you just said, what are the questions people are asking me or they're thinking about? And one of your videos, I don't know how big it went, but I know it went very viral.
39:18
was what are your guests going to do when the bride and groom are taking photos during cocktail hour? And I think the hook on the screen was like said that, like it was pretty simple and it was a very raw behind the scenes video. There wasn't a whole lot of editing of it. No, it was like scanning. I like, this isn't even a good video. Yes, but it was so good because it was just like, this is what I always tell people. It's like the raw footage does better than these like overly polished things a lot of times, right? Because
39:47
You want to feel like when you're watching someone's video, you're like a little fly on the wall. Like you're like seeing what's happening. And the video shows the bride and groom taking photos. And then the video scans back over to the guests petting the animals and looking so happy and taking pictures. But if you're listening to this, I want you to think about this concept for your business, which is that as a business owner or as a sales team,
40:15
You get a lot of the same questions, right? No matter what kind of business you have, right? You get a lot of the same questions. What if you just started creating content that highlighted those questions and presented an answer or solution? That can be part of your content strategy, right? And so, Dani, I see you doing that so well, and it's one thing to say it, it's another thing to show it. And so capturing that video footage is so important. And I love your tip about
40:44
a bank of ideas so that way when you're like, okay, I need to go post something like I do that too. I will save audios that I like. I'll save ideas so that way if I'm like, okay, what am going to do? I'll go into my save folder and like, oh yeah, I liked that one. Okay, I'm going to use that. I'm going to change the hook around for my business. So remember you don't have to reinvent the wheel, right? In fact, you shouldn't be reinventing the wheel. You can see what works. Just keep testing and experimenting with it for your business. I love that advice.
41:12
One more quick question for you. For the working parents who are listening, who maybe they have young kids at home or the kids are in school, but they're still trying to juggle all the things of parenthood and working, have you figured out any tips there for us? Yeah, it is a juggling act. And you wear so many different hats, right? Like I'm a mom, I'm a spouse, I'm a business owner. I'm now a content creator, a farm donkey trainer.
41:39
You know, there's so many different things that like I wear different hats as a mom. And some of those are way more important than others. I can't drop if you were to call them crystal balls and rubber balls, like the crystal balls you can't drop. They'll shatter. And those are your highest values. So my kids and my husband, when it's a busy day and I'm going to need to put my mom hat on and my spouse hat, like that is going to override if I'm going to create content that day.
42:06
You know, and I have to give grace to myself to say, hey, today is a pass. And yeah, my goal was every day and do I probably more times do that than not? Yeah. But if I just need to give grace to the moment of like, you're a parent and you can't do everything perfect, but what is important in your life is these things, to not let those drop. My content is a rubber ball, it'll drop, it'll still be there. My Instagram's not gonna die overnight, you know, like, and just let that...
42:35
be, but I can come back to it tomorrow with a fresh mind, ready to, okay, what do I need to do with this today? But just take care of yourself grace, because I think as high achievers and business owners, we want to do it all so well all the time. And the reality is, is like, we just need the times to be like, you know what, we did good today. And that was good. But I need to show up for my family too. So it's just all those moments that you're like, I'm trying, I'm doing a lot, but.
43:05
just to give yourself grace. That resonates so deeply with me and it's such a beautiful reminder that we don't need to have this all or nothing thinking, right? And that we can give ourselves grace. I always tell people that Instagram is gonna be there. It's okay. You can take a week off. Is your engagement gonna go down a little? Yes, it's okay. The most important thing is your mental health, your physical health, the connections with the people in your life.
43:33
Right? Like that is the most important thing. So I love that you just highlighted that and just, I guess, giving yourself that flexibility, right? Cause we can want so much, especially high achievers. Like the people who tend to work with me, it's like, we're high achievers. We want a lot for our lives and we have really big capacities so we can do more than a lot of people can in a day. But the dark side of that.
44:00
is you can get stuck in that feeling of what I'm doing is never enough or I'm never done, right? I love this energetic piece. So thank you so much. So I know that people are listening and they're like, okay, I need to go follow Dani on Instagram and see what the heck she's doing. So tell everybody where they can find you. And then if they're interested in the beverage burros or your coaching business, like where did they go? And of course we'll drop all the links in the show notes.
44:28
Totally. So follow us on Instagram, Sparrow Hill Beverage Burrows. You can book us if you're in Northern Colorado. We would love to be at your wedding and event. A lot of people want the animals and they are not getting married or they don't have a big occasion coming up. So we did just open an Airbnb next door that our animals share a pasture with. So you can come and stay with the animals. Some people are like have a certain art animal that is like, they just feel a special connection to and like you can come visit them now. So.
44:57
And come stay with them at the Airbnb. And then also on our website, our coaching is on there as well as all the different things about the different businesses that we run here at Farm at Sparrow Hill. And what is your website handle? Farm at SparrowHill.com. Beautiful. And we will be sure to link everything in the show notes. Dani, thank you so much for sharing your story and for being such a bright light. I've absolutely loved.
45:23
working with you and I'm excited to continue to deepen my support for you and your business and I just adore you as a human and I'm just so honored that you came on the show today. Thank you. Oh, well thank you so much for having me and it's mutual. You are just magnetic and you just are a light when you come into my room and I'm just so glad I met you. That's a wrap on my conversation with Dani. I hope that our conversation lit a fire in your heart that you
45:52
Listen to this, not by accident, but on purpose, meaning that this message was meant for you. This means that Instagram has more possibilities and opportunities for you than you can even imagine. How exciting is that? I'm excited for you. If you loved today's episode, do me a favor, make sure you follow Danny on Instagram. Give me a follow on Instagram at Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.
46:19
Send us a direct message, tag us in your story, tell us what you loved, what you learned from today. And if this episode really resonated and served your heart, do us a solid and share it with another business bestie or colleague who is also trying to figure out the beast that is Instagram. And after today's episode, if you are thinking about joining Hot Reels, the 12 month Instagram content lab, I would absolutely love to connect with you.
46:47
you can DM me the keyword hot on Instagram, H-O-T. Make sure you're already following me so that message can come through. And my sexy robot assistant will send you the link to the page where you can learn all about the program and see the investment. I only have five spots open this December. So if this is speaking to you, feel free to send me a message on Instagram.
47:15
If you wanna hop on a quick 15 minute call, I can answer any questions you have to ensure it's the right fit for your business, but I would absolutely love to support you. You can also find program details if you're listening to this after I close the doors. You can find all the program details and get on the wait list at elizabethmarberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash hot.
47:40
You can see everything there and whether it's time to join the wait list or we're doing open enrollment, it will all be live on the website. So hit me up if you have any questions. It would be so fun to support you and you could be my next success story. So how fun would that be? I am so grateful for your time today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for investing in yourself and I cannot wait to start it with you next week. Thank you for listening to Strutted.
48:09
If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at ElizabethMarbury.com slash freebies. That's ElizabethMarbury.com slash freebies to get my Monetize Your IG Guide.
48:38
If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.
