Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Beissner.
Hi Whitney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I moved to Austin from New York City and bought a small piece of land in Lockhart, so I could raise some animals. The farm came with goats, and I fell in love with them. I loved being at the farm and with my animals so much that I quit my corporate job and decided to find a way to share my love of goats with everyone. This is how Goat Shenanigans was created. I started offering goat rentals for birthday parties, then I started partnering with local businesses to host goat yoga and goat cuddles events throughout the area.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Initially, when I started the business, I couldn’t find a big audience. Local wineries and breweries thought I was crazy, suggesting we host baby goat events at their businesses. I heard a lot of skepticism at first, but once I started having goat cuddles and wine events at a local winery, and goat yoga events at local coffee shops and other venues, the news spread. A lot of customers spread the word to their friends and favorite businesses, and I had businesses reaching out to me to host an event at their location.
The business started taking off, right before covid hit. I had to transition and started selling zoom sessions with goats and virtual farm visits.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Goat Shenanigans?
Goat Shenanigans is a business that I built from my love of goats. I didn’t initially have experience in raising goats, but when I bought some land that came with goats, I learned quickly. Goat Shenanigans was created to let people rent baby goats for a fun experience in the city. Our goat wranglers bring the baby goats to your home or business for a visit. We also host goat yoga and goat cuddles events at local businesses. The business has morphed into offering corporate goat yoga events and goat cuddles for mental health. We have had many customers bring the goats to their home for therapeutic purposes. Goats bring joy and comfort to people, and I love sharing them with others. As the business grew, I opened a public farm in San Antonio, and have partnered with 2 other female farmers to help share their goats with the people and businesses of Austin.
Each year we offer “Goat Grams” for people to deliver to their loved ones on Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. We offer a discounted rate and surprise people throughout the day at their home or business, with a goat visit. One of our customers goat a Goat Gram for Valentine’s Day and soon after, she convinced her family that they should sell their house and start a goat farm outside of Austin. She is now of our female owned partner farms!
During Halloween and Christmas we dress the goats up in costumes and outfits for fun photo opportunities and host events at local businesses celebrating the season.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I struggled with promoting my business and connecting with local businesses to start hosting baby goat events. Someone told me that for every 100 “Nos” you get one “Yes.” I realized I had only received a handful on Nos, but I was already feeling like my business idea wasn’t going to work. Their advice encouraged me to continue asking businesses to host an event with me, and I soon got my first “Yes.” That gave me the energy and courage to keep trying and promoting my business at the beginning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goatshenanigans.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goatshenanigans/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoatShenanigans/
