We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Keir & Ashley Swisher . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Keir & Ashley below.

Keir & Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

We also loved the question “what did your parents do right?” So this is answering both!

What our parents taught us about investing has encouraged us to believe that risks yet challenging are worth it when you value the relationships that the risk may grow. It is a huge risk taking on a business venture like this with what might better be set in an intercity. However, the coffee cafe, self tap brewpub and activity center are in a town of 1700. The increased challenge is that it is not our primary professions. So there is no way we can be there everyday to be as hands on with the day in and day out operations. Though it is our vision, we must rely on others to fulfill it and create the experiences and connections that we want to be intentional about generating. It’s an out of the box concept and a lot to tackle. We continue to add to the uniqueness though by developing roles around the talented and passionate people that God has surrounded us with! This also requires us to put ourselves out there for two very type A personalities. Being from families that are accustomed to farming and education, this was all new to us! However, both sets of our parents and grandparents instilled in us their love of community. Our health centered passions have allowed us the opportunities to get to know so many people and enjoy the adventures in those interactions. The vulnerability of relationships is sometimes an even tougher one to swallow than is the financial investment. We laugh at it at times, but have reflected and would do it 100 times over even not knowing how it will work out in the end. But trusting it will instead.

Keir & Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Keir: an emergency medical physician and director from Lindsborg, Kansas. Ashley: a general dentist and practice owner from Jewell and Riley, Kansas. Met at Bethany College in Lindsborg. Both competitive athletes and a belief in that we are servants for Christ. Keir was inspired to do medicine because of his regular ER visits being a rambunctious kid. Ashley was always intrigued in business matters from a young age but it was her older sister who gave her a chance in the dental field and she fell in love with the hands on part of dentistry.
The farms and fields (sports and agriculture) where we feel we learned the most about life have carried us to serve. The FARM & The Odd Fellows is to provide unique environments that plant and cultivate relationships. Our hope is that it becomes, where art meets function, where study meets sport, where diversity meets harmony, where science meets spirit and where history meets vision, because we feel these things are necessary to appreciate. This is a creative venture! It’s about providing experiences that some might not have the opportunity to otherwise. It’s about teaching team members how to serve while also educating customers on available ways to play! Our passionate team offers craft beer made in house, coffee education and tastings, pickle ball and shuffleboard instruction, live music, fresh made pastries and jams, customized events and even more!
We are most proud of being able to offer opportunities for others to do what they love and make a living doing as we are able to do with our careers.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Let’s talk more about a 100 year old building renovation! Especially during a pandemic shut down. Enough said. 😂

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

We had to unlearn being in control! This has been so an individual God growth experience for us. We aren’t there if course, but we are learning!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thefarmminneapolis.com
• Instagram: The Farm & The Odd Fellows
• Facebook: The FARM & The Odd Fellows

Image Credits
Whitney Williams Photography May a send you a link to some great photos?!