We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lacie Evans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lacie below.

Hi Lacie , thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Being a woman in a male dominated industry my whole life has definitely come with its fair share of issues. And then to tack on being a business owner, content creator, and an Ag woman that has pet cows; I have definitely been misunderstood or mistaken many times.Tthe thing about being a woman in a mans fields you have to be twice as good” is a quote by Temple Grandin that I have always related too because of the truth it holds. I was never fully taken seriously going to the feed store, or a cattle show as not being able to handle myself, or needing help with something. Then as a business owner, even having and driving my own truck and trailer has been question. Now with a big portion of my life and income being social media, there is a new aspect for people to misunderstand and not take seriously. Even down to assuming my political or social views based solely off the fact of where I live or having cattle. I think that’s the biggest fuel for doing what I do everyday. To help continue paving the way for not only women in agriculture, but women or minorities to be taken more seriously in their respected fields. And to empower them knowing anything is possible, and to not allow ours to hinder your confidence in yourself.

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?

Like a lot of us, when the pandemic hit I decided to film silly little videos on the app Tiktok. I never thought anything of it, I just posted videos that I filmed because I was bored and just kept doing it. Then I posted the first video of my cow Snow and it went viral. At first, I was very hesitant to post my cattle, because I knew how the world viewed the agriculture and farming industry and I didn’t want that kind of hate or backlash. Now almost 3 years later I am so glad that I didn’t allow that fear to hold me back. Not only have I been able to grow my brand as a content creator, but my small business Heifer Please Co and that is my full time career now. But the biggest take away is the education and exposure I get to give people in the ag world. Being able to be a picture for people to see of the industry and to advocate for it has been so amazing. The craziest thing I did not expect from posting silly little videos on the internet was the healing the I was able to do. Getting to be someone I needed when I was younger, and the power and positivity I have been able to give people has been incredible. It is my favorite and most proud aspect of my job, is getting to have a positive impact on the world and maybe make a few people have some more confidence and laugh.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When people find out I do social media for part of my job the first and biggest question is how? Everyone wants to know how to build a platform whether it be for themselves, or their business they want to also be able to do it. I really don’t think there is any magic formula, or hack to any algorithms, but I do have the biggest aid that helped me: Consistency. Show up, everyday, even when you aren’t seeing results, views are trash, and you want to give up. Show Up! Even if its just for yourself you have to show up and do the work to make it a career. So many people think it’s only luck, or something else, and some of it is, A video hitting the algorithm correctly is luck, but building an audience that continues to come back, buy from you, or support you takes work. So if you want to do social media, you have to put the time and effort into it and treat it like a career and not something that will just happen, you do have to make it happen.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

For the small business side, and social media side having friends in the same field has been so amazing. It does come with warnings, not everyone is nice, helpful or has the right intentions so you have to be careful. I have been burned a few times by that and it is devastating, but I also have made lifelong friends from the internet that have helped me grow and build my business! Like child rearing, it takes a village to build a platform and a business, so go out and find your village and take great care of them. When you can help them, do it so that you can all benefit and prosper together. There is no need or room for gatekeeping, we can all thrive in this industry!

Contact Info:

• Website: Heiferpleaseco.com
• Instagram: laciemevans
• Youtube: Laciemevans
• Other: Tiktok: Laciemevans_

Image Credits
@foxtrotequine on Tiktok and Instagram