We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Husbands a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Rob and I have entrepreneurial spirits by nature, both having started our own businesses. We both take the view of ‘nothing risked, nothing gained’ and we believe the biggest risk anyone can make is to bet on themselves, which is what we have done through-out our lives starting businesses, creating a market when hardly any existed, and disrupting the status-quo by brining a new vision to dog rescue and human wellness. Specifically in terms of our non-profit, we held a large benefit concert with 2,000+ attendees in late September to introduce ourselves to the greater community. While we had hosted many community markets, we had never hosted an event of this scale or cost and there were no guarantees we would be successful. But we followed our guts, our passions and relied on our belief in ourselves to not let fear keep us from taking the risk of hosting a benefit event which was very well received. And now we begin a 3 year fundraising campaign to raise the funds necessary to bring our vision to life. We don’t want to live a life of regrets or come to the end of our time wondering ‘what if’, so we are following our passions and trusting that in doing so, the doors will open and the things we need to make this possible will come our way.
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?
DogFolk (previously named Farmer & The Flea) began as a small community market in Summerland, CA, built around connection, creativity, providing a platform for small businesses and rescue dogs to find forever homes.
Since our very first pop-up in 2019, we have made a positive impact in our community in meaningful & measurable ways:
100+ dogs rescued and rehomed through our markets, events and partnerships
60+ community markets hosted since 2019 bringing the community together, especially thru the Covid pandemic when we all needed it the most
150+ small businesses and makers supported & given a platform to market and sell their finds and creations, many whom have gone on to open brick & mortar retail businesses in Santa Barbara County
20,000+ Santa Barbara County locals & visitors attending our markets and 10,000+ Instagram Followers engaged — creating awareness, joy, connection & community
What started as a local gathering has become a community movement — one that’s proven how rescue, creativity, and compassion can transform lives. DogFolk is the natural next step: a home for everything we’ve built together.
DogFolk is a 501C(3) non-profit that is dedicated to creating a healing-centered, cage-free dog sanctuary that serves & heals both rescued dogs and the people who love them — a place where wellness and rescue meet.
Through the gates of our sanctuary, we will host foster & adoption events, wellness gatherings, live music and creative outreach—because when humans and dogs heal side by side, entire communities grow stronger.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Rob & I met in one of those moments life designs long before you ever see it coming.
Two strangers, boarding a plane to Mexico, unknowingly sitting in the same row — headed to the same place for the same reason: to heal, to grow, and to remember who we really are.
Playa Viva was the destination, but the universe was clearly plotting something bigger.
Over the next week, between yoga classes and ocean-side meals, we shared the stories that shaped us — the heartbreaks we were still tending to, the lessons earned the hard way, and the quiet hope that there was more peace, more purpose, more life waiting on the other side of it all.
Very quickly, we realized we were walking parallel paths — both committed to living fully, to serving others, to building a life that meant something beyond ourselves.
At the retreat, we were given two opportunities to give back to the local community.
And without knowing what the other chose — we both signed up for the spay & neuter clinic happening at the neighborhood school.
We were surrounded by dogs who needed care and humans who showed up with so much love, just needing a little assistance and it was at that moment our connection deepened. The kind built not on coincidence but on alignment — values meeting values, hearts recognizing hearts.
We came to that retreat separately, searching for healing.
We left knowing that sometimes, healing looks like being placed in the exact seat, on the exact plane, beside the exact person you were always meant to find.
And it all started with a row on an airplane… and a shared calling to serve.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I’v found that building a social media audience is very similar to building a community, and I believe its found best by being yourself. I tend to gravitate towards rawness and authenticity, so I try to share parts of myself, parts of our journey and this work that isn’t sugarcoated or filtered, instead I share my truth, in my beliefs, my mistakes, and in the process of being human. I hope that in doing so, I am able to inspire others to do the same and by result, I’m directly connected to my people. I’ve also learned time and time again that you will never make everyone happy, not everyone will agree with you, nor do you want them to, because where’s the growth in that? Instead speak your truth and the right people will come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.farmerandtheflea.co
- Instagram: farmerandtheflea
