We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shelley Fehrenbacher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shelley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I unexpectedly found the key to joy and wellness and ever since it’s been my passion to share it! Like so many of us I suffered from health issues. After years of invasive medical tests I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia and Graves disease. Desperate for relief from the pain & wanting to be the best wife & mom to our 3 daughters, I tried everything from prescription medications to whacky alternative treatments. At one point I tried seeds taped to my ears. Literally they were attached with tape! An alarm on my phone reminded me 3x day to take prescription medications that left me feeling like I was in a fog for over 5 years. There wasn’t a seed or pill that worked. That all changed just months after we changed our lifestyle and moved to our boutique farm, the pain disappeared and my fog lifted.
Simply put Nature healed me. My doctors were astonished and suggested I write a book to share what changed. Someday I will, but for now my purpose is to continue to share our healing sanctuary. Our 14 acre farm is located just outside of Tampa. We’re surrounded by communities & developments but tucked between an ancient Florida aquifer & our organic blooming gardens we’ve created a wellness center. Our dwarf therapy goats spend time sitting with guests suffering from mental health issues to cancer patients. I share the health benefits of spending time in Nature, how water is an essential element overlooked by many in the health care industry, and how our environment plays a critical role in our health. We’re not a conventional farm. Our dwarf goats live in a cottage, our chicken coops have swings & flower boxes and we built our 8,000 sq ft Greenhouses to host wellness classes & events.
You know that saying, “Never in a million years”, that’s what I would have told anyone who suggested this would be my life’s passion. It’s also what I tell my business consulting clients. Keep an open heart, a diagnosis is NOT a permanent situation.
It may sound strange that a baby goat and a farm could be a spark but the 1,000’s of people who have experienced our healing sanctuary from around the country will tell you that light shines through were you’d least expect it. Nature is the key, that’s why welcoming guests to experience Nature’s Joy + Wellness has become our passion.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I have a masters degree in child development & taught kindergarten. Social media and marketing were not in my wheel house! To post about our first goat yoga class & wellness tour, I created an Instagram account. Today my account has over 113K followers. I’ve also created content & brand shoots for large companies. We even have our baby goats model for fashion companies.
My advice to someone starting their social media journey is to post as though you are talking to a group of 10 like minded people. Be authentic, kind & don’t focus on the “likes”. An algorithm is in control of that. You’re in control of sharing what you’re passionate about.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My business partner & co creator of Fallen Oak Farms & The Tampa Greenhouses is my husband, Brian. We’ve been friends since the age of 3. We grew up together in a small town called Antioch in N. Illinois.
From the same preschool to the same college we’ve been friends through it all. Which is why I believe people connect easily with us. There’s a calm energy between us. Our 3 daughters have said it’s weird how we can communicate without even talking. lol
Everything on our Boutique farm from the adorable goat cottages to the chicken coops & now the 8,000 sq ft greenhouses was designed and built by us. I can design it in my head but that’s about the extent of it. My drawings are stick figures and crooked lines but because Brian knows me so intently he can translate what I’m imagining,
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TampaGreenhouses.com www.FallenOakFarms.com
- Instagram: fallenoakfarms
- Facebook: Fallen Oak Farms
- Youtube: @FallenOakFarms1789
- Other: pinterest Fallen Oak Farms
Image Credits
I own all the rights