Club Cultivate is dedicated to empowering young creative professionals in the agricultural and western industries through education, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
32. The Freelance Leap: What No One Tells You About Going Out on Your Own in Ag Communications
This week's guest was actually a listener request AND she also happens to be host, Whitney Dahmer's, bestie. Briley Richard is a freelance agricultural communicator based outside Wichita, Kansas, who has built a thriving business rooted in writing, photography, graphic design, and social media - almost entirely through word of mouth and networking. She grew up in southern Louisiana showing Brahman cattle, found her way to Texas A&M's Ag Communications program, and after stints at the American Angus Association and an advertising agency, took the leap into full-time freelancing two years ago.
This episode is honest, funny, and genuinely useful — whether you're in ag comm, considering going freelance, or just trying to figure out what you're building toward.
In This Episode:
How Briley discovered Ag Communications as a degree path through a Brahman Association leadership program
Why Texas A&M's program is particularly writing-focused — and why that foundation matters for every kind of communicator
The "you can do anything for a year" rule her mom gave her (and how it shaped every career move since)
What she learned working at the American Angus Association and an ag advertising agency before going freelance
Why she recommends new grads work in an office setting before going out on their own
The loneliness of the creative review process when you're solo — and how she works around it
How her business evolved to focus on fewer, longer-term clients (and why that feels more sustainable)
Pricing your work as a first-time freelancer when there's no guide anywhere on the internet
Setting up business accounts, tracking expenses, and finding a CPA before tax season hits
Saying no to projects (and how to do it in a way that still serves the client)
Managing travel — the highs, the time zones, and the honest conversation about what it means for the future
A "Queenies & Weenies" segment inspired by The Toast podcast
Resources & People Mentioned:
Nikki Morgan — financial advisor (Texas-based)
Tonic Site Shop / Jen Olmsted — website templates for ShowIt + newsletter worth subscribing to
Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See — Briley's book of 2024
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo — bonus rec
The Secret Lives of Marjorie Post — another listener favorite
6 May 2026
31. How Taylor Fort Built a Livestock Media Empire From Scratch
Taylor Fort graduated from Texas Tech with an ag communications degree, went back to the family hog farm, and spent five years figuring out how to photograph baby pigs. Then COVID hit, live sales dried up, and he bet everything on the only skill he had. Nobody was doing it full time. He did it anyway.
Today Taylor is a full-time livestock photographer, videographer, live stream producer, and founder of his own online sales platform. In this episode he gets refreshingly honest about what it actually takes to build a creative business from scratch — pricing your work, hiring the right people, surviving a travel-heavy lifestyle, and finding your own style in a crowded industry.
Topics covered include:
How video changed the show pig industry and why photos still matter
Learning live stream production through a competitive gaming obsession
Launching the Texas National Stock Show during COVID with a homemade camera rig
Pricing your creative work with confidence and knowing when to raise your rates
What he actually looks for when hiring — and it has nothing to do with experience
Why he thinks you should replace the word anxiety with ambition
The real cost of a travel-heavy creative career and what it takes to sustain it
Finding your creative style by consuming the content you want to create
Connect with Taylor:
Instagram & socials: @taylor.a.fort
Website & live streams: taylorfort.com
Online sales platform: taylorfortsales.com
Resources Mentioned:
Peter McKinnon, Matti Haapoja & Casey Neistat on YouTube
DaVinci Resolve
8 Apr 2026
30. Social Media Is Not That Serious: Ag Comms, Event Coverage & Taking the Leap with Kyler Hardegree
He was there at 3:30 in the morning on opening day and didn't leave until 1 a.m. He writes 90 pages of copy for a 208-page publication, sends up to 14 news releases a day during the show, manages 60 sponsored social posts across the run, and does it all with a team of four. Oh, and he started the whole thing 13 months ago.
Kyler Hardegree is the communications assistant at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo — one of the largest livestock shows and fifth largest rodeos in the world — and this episode pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to pull off a 23-day event when you're the one holding the camera, writing the captions, pitching the media stories, and building the content calendar all at once.
If you've ever wondered what a career in event communications or ag media actually looks like day to day, this one is for you.
In this episode, we cover:
Growing up on a West Texas cotton farm and cattle ranch and finding photography through a 4-H contest rivalry with his twin sister
Judging livestock at Howard College and how it shaped his eye as a photographer
How a professor quietly forwarded him a job listing that wasn't posted publicly — and how he beat out his best friend and twin sister for the shot
Why he chose to get his master's at Texas Tech and what grad school actually taught him that undergrad didn't
Winning a national research conference studying AI use in agricultural communications
The full scope of his job: social media manager, on-staff photographer and videographer, news media liaison, copywriter, and more
What goes into planning a 23-day event that draws 1.2 million people annually
How he builds a content calendar months in advance — and how he stays flexible when an ice storm shows up
The strategy behind 60 sponsored social posts and how he decides what actually gets posted
Shooting freehand vs. the full production crew — and why both have a place
Capturing content during the show that fuels an entire year of social posts
Why he wishes someone had told him earlier: social media is not that serious
Investing in camera gear that invests back into you
Connect with Kyler:
Instagram: @kylerstonephoto
Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo: fwssr.com
Who has been a guest on Club Cultivate
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Joelynn Rathmann
Alyssa Walsh
Tanner Kersey-Lopez
Cade Childers
Lexi Marek Beeler
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 15 / 100
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Quality
17
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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