Casual Consulting with Brian Wilkerson

Tom Posen is a professor of music, producer, DJ, and the founder of Under the Trees, a pop-up EDM event brand in Boise, ID. He also helps run Space Banana, teaches EDM production at the College of Idaho, and is developing two music projects of his own.

We cover what it takes to build an event brand from scratch, and the many lessons that Tom learned along the way as he built up Under the Trees. 

Follow Under the Trees: @underthetrees.boise Follow Dr. Tom: @dr.tom.music

0:00 — What is Under the Trees?

3:48 — The penitentiary event and first park parties

6:50 — Building UTT from zero with no gear, no contacts, no permits

17:46 — Space Banana, afters culture, and the Boise club scene

24:46 — Headlining the penitentiary and the $0 profit reality

33:34 — From Beethoven to EDM: Dr. Tom's music projects

44:00 — Teaching EDM production and social media at the College of Idaho

Ian Fadness didn't plan on owning a coffee shop. He just wanted to make a really good cappuccino. In this episode, Ian walks us through his coffee journey. From a life-changing espresso in Denver, to the grind of Seattle cafes, to buying Slow by Slow Coffee in downtown Boise with his wife in 2022 (with zero business experience and a baby on the way).

We get into the "Unreasonable Hospitality" philosophy that guides everything they do, what it actually takes to grow a business without a marketing budget, winning a design award at the World of Coffee Expo in San Diego, and what's next, including their 10th anniversary celebration on July 17th.

Thanks for tuning in!

0:00 — Intro: Meet Ian Fadness
0:09 — What is Slow by Slow Coffee?
0:41 — How Ian got into coffee (the Denver cappuccino that started it all)
2:34 — His first barista job and the chaos of a one-man cafe
4:22 — What kept drawing him back to coffee
6:29 — How Ian and his wife ended up buying Slow by Slow
10:56 — The real learning curve: taxes, payroll, and running a business with a newborn
13:44 — Growing without marketing — quality sourcing and word of mouth
15:31 — Discovering "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara
20:08 — How hospitality shows up in the small details
21:35 — Finding and keeping great staff (and why turnover is almost zero)
23:00 — Brian's story: he applied to work at Slow by Slow (plot twist)
25:02 — Crazy customer stories — South Seattle vs. Boise
26:39 — The customer who became their brand designer
29:16 — What makes a great regular
32:42 — The renovation and the connections it brought
34:42 — Winning best cafe design at the World of Coffee Expo in San Diego
37:14 — The design philosophy behind Slow by Slow's space
45:09 — Work-life balance, fatherhood, and the seasons of business ownership
50:52 — Advice Ian would give himself on day one
52:13 — What's next: systems, potential expansion, and the 10th anniversary (July 17th!)

I started a podcast. Here's what it is and why you should care.

The Casual Consulting Podcast is about sitting down with entrepreneurs, business owners, creators, and professionals from all different fields and learning from them. The game of business is the game of business. There's always something to take from somebody doing something worth doing, no matter what they're building or selling.

I'm Brian. I graduated from Boise State in 2023, ran a youth sports org called Boise After School Athletics for a few years (terrible name, great experience), and now I own CrossFit Casual here in Boise. We've been open about a year and a half and have grown to over 260 members. Proud of that, but there's a lot more room to go.

This podcast is partly selfish. I want to sit down with people I can learn from for an hour and ask them everything. As a byproduct of that, you get to hear the answers too. Every week there will be a guest episode. Between those, I'll post shorter solo content with thoughts on business, things I'm implementing, and what I'm working on.

Two types of people are probably watching this: someone I personally know (what's up), or someone with an interest in entrepreneurship and building a business. Either way, you're in the right place.

A couple things I'm working on right now: making CrossFit Casual the best version of itself, and figuring out how to use AI as a business owner who wears a lot of hats. More on both coming.

Subscribe! 

0:00 Intro

0:14 What is Casual Consulting?

0:28 Who I sit down with and why

0:54 The game of business is the game of business

1:05 Why a podcast

1:21 Weekly episodes and solo content

1:45 Keeping a journal of my entrepreneurship progress

2:01 The accountability piece

2:34 Okay, it's a little selfish

2:39 Why should you care?

2:49 Two types of people watching this

3:18 What I can offer as a resource

3:52 Quick background on me

3:56 Boise State, 2023

4:09 My first business: Boise After School Athletics

4:16 13 schools, 15 coaches, $4000 to start

4:39 Coaching CrossFit and spotting the opportunity

5:08 Starting CrossFit Casual

5:20 A year and a half in, 260+ members

5:47 What I want CrossFit Casual to become

6:10 What I'm working on and thinking about

6:23 AI and what it means for small business owners

7:16 Subscribe and tune in

Real estate, juggling family life, and more. Welcome to the pod gang.