We recently connected with Taree Jo McCabe and have shared our conversation below.

Taree Jo , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

My story is not complete without recognizing the many small businesses that have guided me along the way. From rural farm management to women-owned boutiques, and most importantly, my current job within my family business—Bad Rooster Food Truck—I have always been surrounded by entrepreneurs of all kinds. Artists, authors, mold remediators, financial advisors—you name it.

Throughout the years, I’ve gained an intimate understanding of the unique challenges that come with running a small business. This perspective was first revealed to me through my young eyes, watching the daily sacrifices my father made. He consistently demonstrated the value of hard work, dedication, and a deep commitment to pressing forward, even when times were tough and the farm was barely scraping by. The strength of a provider is not lost on me.

Many years—and several life-changing events—later, including a move from farm to city and the loss of my mother, my father was thrust into a world that was somewhat foreign to him. The urban job market did not recognize his worth. All they saw on his resume was his age and a history of farming, which to them signaled a long gap in relevant experience.

Through belittling jobs and financial uncertainty, my father worked to keep our family afloat until eventually, his lifelong dream of connecting farmers to consumers became a reality—thanks to his visionary business partner, Soulaire Allerai. In 2020, our restaurant on wheels hit the streets of the Twin Cities and we are only growing from here. She has been an unwavering source of support to our family and is now someone I proudly call my boss a.k.a “Chief Mother Clucker”.

Her creative strategies have brought our food truck to life, and witnessing her in action has been invaluable. I’ve seen her strength, resilience, and unwavering belief in the power of investing in oneself. The greatest lesson she’s taught me is this: An investment in yourself is the most essential thing you can do. It’s the foundation of your creative power—something you can only access once you’ve made a deep commitment to yourself.

Her approach to strategy, creative thinking, and business relationships has expanded my perspective in ways I never imagined. Working alongside her has been like an informal apprenticeship—rich with lessons in branding, vendor partnerships, menu development, and the power of authentic connections.

Thank you, Soulaire, for your unending guidance, mentorship, and for instilling in me a desire to spread goodness.

I’ve seen firsthand the rollercoaster ride that is entrepreneurship. And to those I’ve mentioned above, I am forever grateful—for their strength, for their stories, and for the invaluable knowledge I’ve gained simply by witnessing their journeys.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, my name is Taree Jo McCabe, and I’m the founder of Get Social Hour—a community-driven initiative dedicated to fostering genuine connection and creating spaces for young people to be themselves in the real world in real time.

The origin of Get Social Hour has always been about channeling my passions into building a platform that amplifies their local impact. I’ve always been innately interested in the pursuit of kindness, and much of this work is an extension of creating more opportunity for it to flourish. Several years ago, I decided I wanted to be a changemaker, though I didn’t yet know exactly what that meant for me. I am now proud to say that vision is becoming clearer and clearer.

After high school, I chose a different route. Instead of attending college right away, I spent a gap year helping my family’s business, Bad Rooster Food Truck—a decision that coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many others, I felt disconnected and that isolation forced me to confront insecurities around connection and belonging. I struggled with feeling left behind as peers “flourished” in their more traditional 4- year tracks at universities. That gap year extended, I still work with my family business today- and what was once an insecurity has now been replaced by a huge sense of pride. It wasn’t until I watched my graduating class finish their degrees that I finally understood my choice wasn’t wrong at all. It forced me to feel different and in that outsideness, I found a stronger version of myself, unadulterated. The above-mentioned detour was the best choice I could have ever made for myself, and I owe it all to the support of my family. We are building a legacy, and I couldn’t be more proud of it all.

A powerful moment came during a trip to Australia with a friend, where a spontaneous gathering on a beach sparked a powerful, authentic connection among strangers. That experience opened our eyes to the magic of genuine human-to-human interaction, and we wanted to bring that feeling back home. That spark of inspiration ultimately fueled the creation of Get Social Hour.

Today, Get Social Hour is much more than a social event brand—it’s a movement. We provide thoughtfully curated experiences and events designed to help people build meaningful relationships, while uplifting small businesses, celebrating diversity, and encouraging a deep sense of belonging. Our work is about more than just showing up—it’s about cultivating real connection in a world where social media and digital noise often leave us feeling more isolated than ever. Our younger generations need this desperately.

What truly sets Get Social Hour apart is its foundation in empathy, human connection, and the desire to make sure everyone knows they belong. This work-it’s about people creating space for real stories, real voices, and real belonging.

My approach to this is deeply personal. The grief of losing my mom at a young age, the values I absorbed growing up on a family farm, and the wisdom passed on by mentors and leaders all around me— today tailoring how I lead and build. These life experiences taught me resilience, the necessity of community, and the importance of creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and empowered.

What I’m most proud of is the impact: seeing lives change through the power of meaningful connection. It’s great to witness the people in my age group understand they can demand more depth out of socializing. Watching people open up, form friendships, and learning about new parts of themselves at our events—that’s the heartbeat of Get Social Hour.

For anyone new to Get Social Hour, I want you to know this: this is a safe space for all. We are redefining the way we socialize—taking it back and focusing on real people in real time.

Our work is a love letter to everyone who’s ever felt out of place, isolated, or invisible. We see you. We’ve been you. And we built this for us.

You can find our work on Instagram: Getsocial.hour.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Launching Get Social Hour demanded reshaping my mindset—seeing social media as a powerful tool, and nothing beyond that. As most people in 2025 know, developing an intentional relationship with these platforms isn’t optional—it’s essential.

My relationship with social media shifted drastically once I encountered a bad experience with its capacity for spreading hate. That experience revealed to me how quickly misinformation can spread and how digital platforms can desensitize the masses, causing them to lose empathy for other people as is normally expected. It can be a warzone of the careless—and in order to survive it, I’ve learned the essential lesson of deprioritizing its value.

That moment reset everything. I stopped chasing approval and started building from within—my values, purpose, and vision.

Now, through Get Social Hour, I aim to share that with others—especially young people. Social media can be a powerful tool when used to create something you’re passionate about—but it comes with a cautionary warning. I can’t understate the value of taking our lives back from the constant pull of distraction. Investing too much of ourselves online steals from the present—the moments where creativity and connection truly live.

What really matters in life lies within the everyday moments—the smiles from kind strangers, the vastness of the skies, the goodness that surrounds us when we pause to notice. These glimpses of everyday magic are where we truly find ourselves. Someone I love very much taught me this.

We owe it to ourselves to recommit—again and again.
We are enough.
Get out there.
Get social.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Absolutely. I carry within me a deep sense of responsibility to make the world a better place. The “how” behind that mission is something I believe is always evolving—but the intention remains the same: to be a force for positive change.

What I’ve come to understand is that meaningful change isn’t created in isolation—it’s built by the many. I was fortunate to grow up immersed in community, and over the years I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of collective support, shared effort, and connection. That understanding continues to guide me in everything I do.

My work through Get Social Hour brings together many of my deepest passions—community-building, creativity, equality, and joy. And the most rewarding part? Knowing that what we’re doing is genuinely making a difference in people’s lives.

I believe lasting change is fueled by hope, inspiration, and access to spaces where people feel safe to explore who they are. I’ve been lucky to have a few of those spaces in my life—but I know many others haven’t. Get Social Hour is about changing that, urging people to never settle by being in spaces that fail to recognize how special they are. It’s about giving young people room to explore their passions, connect with others, make an impact, and have fun while doing it.

At Get Social Hour, we understand how each one of us spends so much of our energy getting up everyday, proving to the world that we matter in some way. That we’re important, loveable, or worthy of respect. We have numerous fears, we want others to like us, and with all these coming into play- it entangles us with the burden of having to prove ourselves in any given social interaction. We understand the gravity of what it takes for people to show up to any one of our events.

At Get Social Hour- the showing up is the hardest part. We take it from there.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getsocial.hour/

Image Credits

Mercy Oyadare, Pryor Productions