[00:00:00] Michele: Hello, Middle Tennessee. Welcome to the Loyal

Opposition, Middle Tennessee's progressive radio show, airing the voices of

dissent. In opposition to the Tennessee Republican supermajority and other right

wing extremists, while also spotlighting minority owned businesses and

advocacy groups. Today, we will cover both advocacy and spotlight a minority

owned business located right here in Sumner County with national reach.

All right, folks. So there's a lot going on. Obviously, we live in Tennessee and

it's legislative season. So we always have lots and lots to talk about. Today here

briefly, we're going in just a few minutes, we're going to [00:01:00] talk to Luis

Mata from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, but wanted

to know quickly, a few things going on in the legislature.

The Tennessee Holler reported today that farmers for free trade have been down

at the Capitol trying to let legislators notice the damage that these tariffs are

going to cause.

[00:01:24] Luis: Hi

[00:01:25] Michele: Hi, Luis. This is How are you? This is Michele. You're on

the radio.

[00:01:32] Luis: Oh, thank you so much, Michele.

It's an honor to be on.

[00:01:35] Michele: Awesome. We, I appreciate you so much for taking time. I

know you have been extraordinarily busy these last few weeks.

[00:01:45] Luis: No, the pleasure is truly mine. We have been, fighting against

these imminent threats that our immigrant and refugee communities are facing

across the state.

So, thank you for the opportunity to share about. What we got going on and

how folks can join us in [00:02:00] this fight.

[00:02:00] Michele: Yeah, let's just get started with that legislation, specifically

House Bill 793. This bill states for our listeners that as introduced, it authorizes

local education groups and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students

who are unlawfully present in the United States.

So do you want to talk a little bit about the harm that this will cause?

[00:02:23] Luis: Yeah we've been seeing from trickling down from the Oval

Office down into our state capitol and into our local communities this anti

immigrant narrative that leads to anti immigrant policies. And right now we are

seeing this completely unprecedented attack against our public education with

House Bill 793, which is a direct attempt to strip children from their freedom to

learn.

We see how these lawmakers would rather use children as political pawns rather

than [00:03:00] really fight for Tennesseans, right? Making sure that we have

what we need to put food on the table, put a roof over our head, pay our medical

bills. They are using children as a political scapegoat to cover up their

leadership failure.

And whenever you involve our kids, you know that we're going to come back

and fight back every single step of the way, as we have been doing for over 20

years now here at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. And

making sure that our community's voices are centered, our community's voices

are heard.

We had our immigrant day on the hill last year, where our communities from

across the state were present. To witness the vote in the Senate Education

Committee. The Senate Education Committee looked at our members in the

eyes, children, 8, 9, 10 year olds, and voted to take away their right to an

education.

After they all, [00:04:00] there was

[00:04:00] Michele: lots of powerful testimony yesterday too, correct?

[00:04:05] Luis: Yes, we had our community members, specifically we had a

Fifth grader who came all the way from Knoxville, Tennessee to make sure that

his voice was heard. He was in the crowd with all of us. And making sure that

we're holding the line, right?

And making sure that they look at us in the face whenever they continue to try

to push this disgraceful effort, right? We know that it's in our collective interest.

To ensure that all of us, regardless of where we come from, what our

immigration status is, have a right to an education, because that's what it is.

Education is a right, not a privilege.

[00:04:45] Michele: Exactly, and an adverse effect that I know will affect my

children, who here in Portland, in Sumner County, they attend a Title I school,

and there is a fair amount of Hispanic students in their student [00:05:00]

population. And going back to kindergarten, my daughter, who's in fifth grade

now, she has a bilingual friend who, when she started kindergarten Could not

speak very good English.

And Lila partnered up with her. Her teacher paired them together. And Lila was

able to help her communicate with her teachers and with other students. And

they became really close throughout the year. Now, I have no idea about this

child's immigration status, but if something were to happen and a friend like

that gets removed from her school, what is it going to do to our kids as well?

They're going to be sad to lose their friends.

[00:05:37] Luis: That's exactly right. And this is not just an attack against our

immigrant community, but it is an attack against all Tennesseans, right? We

know that we, the real impacts of this are children having to come up to their

parents saying, Hey, why am I not able to go to class?

Why am I not [00:06:00] able to be on the baseball football team anymore? Or,

Other students, their classmates coming up to their parents saying, Hey, why

isn't Luis in my class anymore? Why isn't he on my baseball team anymore?

These are the very real impact that we're seeing from This completely cruel and

heartless effort here We know that we send our children to school knowing that

their right to an education is protected and secured From a landmark Supreme

Court case that was established in 1982 That all students regardless of where

they come from or immigration status are eligible for free public education.

And what we're seeing from the sponsors of this bill is an attempt to challenge

the Supreme court case.

[00:06:42] Michele: Yes, specifically William Lamberth, who is a Sumner

County Rep, and we talk frequently about on the show, and also our Sumner

County Rep, William Slater, also voted for this legislation in subcommittee

yesterday.

So a lot of this is coming directly from middle Tennessee [00:07:00] legislators

and it's just the other side of it too is when you have an uneducated society,

what does that do to our economy and our communities as well? So then you

have people who end up can't find good paying jobs because they and then they

need federal and state support in order to buy food.

And so it's this vicious cycle that is going to continue to have these rippling

negative effects.

[00:07:32] Luis: That's exactly right. And undocumented immigrants pay over

300 million in state and local taxes alone. They pay into directly the public

school system, right? We have been hearing from the opposition, from

lawmakers, William Lamberth and others that this is a financial burden, right?

That's their justification. But we know that this is nothing more than a political

game using our children as pawns immigrants [00:08:00] are integral to the very

fabric that makes Tennessee what it is that makes this country what it is from

economic lens, societal lens, cultural lens.

We are part of the very fabric that makes this state what it is. I know that I

personally owe so much to my public school teachers who invested in me

without caring what my immigration status was, without caring where I came

from. And thanks to that education, I have been able to have so many

opportunities, right?

The very opportunities that my family and I left everything we knew behind in

Mexico or here in Tennessee. And this is the case for thousands of other

Tennesseans here that are our neighbors, our co workers, our classmates.

[00:08:43] Michele: Employees.

[00:08:45] Luis: Employees, that's exactly right.

[00:08:48] Michele: That was my next question I was going to ask if you

wanted to share a little bit about your story because I did see that you shared

that publicly.

And so this issue hits particularly close to home for you. You are a [00:09:00]

product of Tennessee public schools and look at. Everything that you've been

able to accomplish, the differences that you are making in our society, and I

think it's just really beneficial to the community as a whole to continue

educating all children.

[00:09:18] Luis: That's exactly right. We know that it is in our collective

interest to ensure that all students, regardless of immigration, that they're able to

to learn, right? That they have the freedom to thrive, that they have the freedom

to learn. Regardless of who

[00:09:32] Michele: they are or where they come from. That's exactly right.

That's how I learned English. Was whenever I got here, I

[00:09:50] Luis: was four years old from Mexico. I did not know English. The

first English word that I learned was flag. And I [00:10:00] learned English

because of our public school system,

[00:10:02] Michele: that's right. Wow, the first word you learned was flag.

That's, that gives me chills.

Okay, lastly, let's just real quick touch on Tennessee Immigrants and Refugee

Rights Coalition and briefly state their mission and then let's tell our listeners

how they can get involved. Oh, and I made calls on Monday, by the way.

[00:10:25] Luis: Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for joining us. We need all

hands on deck.

We have been around for 20 plus years now with a simple vision to ensure that

all Tennesseans have the freedom to thrive and the freedom to belong. We do

that through legislative advocacy legal services, English classes, naturalization

classes, trainings to ensure that immigrants and non immigrants are able to.

Protect each other, protect our rights, know our rights and folks can join us in

this moment [00:11:00] right now and for the long term we know that real long

term change demands, long term sustainable organizing from folks all across

races, genders, classes, wherever you are, you have a place with us and we

invite you to join us in this campaign we launched The Education for All

Campaign.

With over 50 organizations across the state sending a message loud, the freedom

to learn, you can learn more and take action to help us fight back against this

piece of legislation and education for all tn.org.

[00:11:37] Michele: Okay, perfect. And then, I will tell our listeners it, it was a

very simple process.

Like we just called for 30 minutes in 30 minutes. You could do it as many times

as you wanted throughout the day. There was multiple sessions and they gave us

a short training, a script, and then we were able, they had an. Autodialer. And

when someone picked up, you had their name, you [00:12:00] read them the

script, ask them a couple questions.

And if they were, and these are registered voters and these registered voters,

you just ask them if they were willing to help and then grab their email address.

And then we uploaded that into a Google doc and shared that. back with T I R R

C. And then you guys can reach out to those voters and let them know next

steps.

I thought it was really well organized and super simple and it didn't take up very

much of my day at all.

[00:12:32] Luis: That's exactly right. You can join us whenever you're free to

get plugged into this campaign. Several others that we have going on right now.

But yeah, no, this is a collective effort to Make sure that we're defending our

rights, that we're defending our freedoms and we invite each and every one of

you to join us in this fight.

You can also follow us on our social media pages where we share updates and

things that folks need to know [00:13:00] and how folks can join us. So also

follow us on our social media, at TN Immigrant, where we will have updates.

Other ways for folks to get involved.

[00:13:11] Michele: And then do you know when the next when the official

education K 12 committee will meet to vote on this in the next steps?

[00:13:21] Luis: Yeah, so right now, it has passed the K 12 subcommittee. Now

it's going to the full education committee next week. It's either the 18th or the

19th of next week. Okay, I can look that up and when I make a,

[00:13:33] Michele: I'll make a post and list your social media sites, the

education for all website, the T I R R C site as well as when that bill.

We'll be in committee. And if we can stop it there, it would be wonderful. We

were so close I think they originally predicted it to be an 8 1 vote yesterday, and

did we end up 5 4?

[00:13:58] Luis: That's right.

[00:13:59] Michele: Yeah we made [00:14:00] progress for those of you

listening, if you think your calls and emails fall on deaf ears, they are listening,

they are reading our emails, I even get responses sometimes, so we just have to

keep at it.

[00:14:13] Luis: We have to keep at it. That's exactly right. Every day, every

year, legislative session after legislative session. Election year after election

year, we have to keep at it.

[00:14:22] Michele: That's right. Wonderful. Well, Luis, we hope this is not the

last time we hear from you. We are having a TLO Loyal Opposition Reception

in Hendersonville on May 7th.

It'll be a six to eight time timeline and there will be some familiar faces that you

will know there who would love to see you. People like Megan Lange and Len

from the show. So if you're free, we'd love to invite you out, but otherwise we'll

get you back on the show and keep. Keep amplifying your voice as best as we

can.

[00:14:52] Luis: I'd be honored. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

[00:14:54] Michele: Thank you. It was our pleasure and you have a great rest of

your day.

[00:14:58] Luis: You too. Bye.

[00:14:59] Michele: Bye, [00:15:00] Luis.

[00:15:06] Ad: At the Law Office of Amanda J. Gentry, we are committed to

defending your rights. We have a team committed to helping you navigate the

court system. Whether you've been accused of a crime or you're going through a

messy divorce in custody. Call our team to help you navigate this system. We

are here to protect your rights, to demand your rights, to enforce your rights.

615 604 6263 604 6263. AmandaJGentry. com.

[00:15:38] Michele: And welcome back middle Tennessee to the loyal

opposition. I'm your host, Michelle Harbin, and I am here today. We just

wrapped up with an awesome 15 minute session with Luis Mata from the

Tennessee immigration rights Tennessee immigration, refugee rights. Coalition.

That's a mouthful, but I got [00:16:00] it. And we were really excited to hear his

point of view as he was, he went through the Tennessee public school system as

an undocumented immigrant and was able to receive his public education, go on

to college, and he is doing great things in the community.

He's ran in Middle Tennessee as a Democratic state house candidate, and He's

creating real change, and we need people we need other children to have the

same opportunities that were awarded to Luis when his family decided to move

here for a better life. Let's move on to Jessie. Yay me! Say hello!

Hola! Alright, so I got Jessie and Cecily with me today. Hello. Hi. They are a

mother daughter duo. They have another daughter. They are, they're all, she has

another daughter. So there's often a trio

[00:16:47] Jessie: and then my son

[00:16:48] Michele: and then they have their, and then Jessie has William. I

mean, Edward,

[00:16:53] Jessie: William is Tessa's fiance.

[00:16:56] Michele: That's funny. I also have William Lamberth on the brain,

unfortunately, it's, [00:17:00] he lives in my head right now. Anyways. All right,

Jesse, tell us a little bit about yourself. We want to hear What landed you here in

this seat at the Loyal Opposition? I'm

[00:17:12] Jessie: your friend. That's right. And because we support other

women, we're a women owned business.

And this isn't like the only business that I've owned. So I've been an

entrepreneur my whole life. I guess. I had, let's see, when we lived in Virginia, I

had a web design company. And then after that we moved to Colorado where I

did web design there, did networking, I also did photography there, and then we

moved here from Colorado, and here I've been a teacher, and we've owned

another boutique in photography, and a travel business, and now a boutique, and

I'm still teaching.

Is

[00:17:49] Michele: that a lot? She has nothing on her plate, folks. And she's a

mom of three. One is eight. One is eight. Cecily's 23. 23. And then [00:18:00]

Tessa 27. 27, who is engaged to be married. Yes. So there's lots going on in this

family. Just a little bit. Just a smidge. So let's start with you, you said you,

preface a little bit with how you're not new to the world of entrepreneurship.

Tell us about your experience as a female entrepreneur.

[00:18:19] Jessie: And it's been difficult, and I don't know if but most

businesses in Tennessee are male ran businesses, and there's only 13%, I think,

that are women owned. Only 13 percent women owned.

And of that 13%, 70 percent of that 13 percent are women who have less than

10 employees. So, there's 300, 000 businesses in TN that are male owned and, I

mean, I'm a math teacher but I'm not going to do the math right now but you

know that's, that's pretty Earlier you said it was 5, 400 have less than 10

employees.

It's harder for women to get business loans than it is for [00:19:00] men and I

remember when I went to go get a loan I ended up having to use my savings

because they asked me. Could my husband or my dad cosign for me even

though I have good credit I make enough money as a teacher and other incomes

that I have.

I also had a business plan And it was just the fact that I was female that they

were unwilling. What

[00:19:20] Michele: year was that approximately? That was in

[00:19:23] Jessie: January Are

[00:19:26] Michele: you serious? The bank asked for a male cosigner

[00:19:30] Jessie: for if my husband or if my father could cosign for me Yes,

that was January of this year.

[00:19:35] Michele: And you promptly told them, I'm not, I'm not married and I

do not need a husband.

[00:19:39] Jessie: I said, I said, I'm not married and my father is dead. And they

were like, do you not have any other family members? And I said, I have an

eight year old son. I mean, that's the only other male I know. Would that work?

And they were like, we're sorry, we can't assist you. So, I did pull the money

from my savings to start this business.

[00:19:56] Michele: Wow. What did lead you [00:20:00] to found? You, me in

Tennessee.

[00:20:03] Jessie: I'm a teacher. So I don't make any money. I have a limited

amount of income that I can make. My salary is what all I can make there and

it's not enough. And they raised my rent where I lived again this year. And it's

just making it hard to live paycheck to paycheck.

And I was talking to Cecily and I was like, I can't keep doing this. I'm stressed. I

need to make more money. So I started my own business for that reason.

[00:20:27] Michele: Wow. And, and we so commonly hear stories of women

who are particularly teachers who have to work multiple jobs to make ends

meet.

[00:20:39] Jessie: Yeah. Well, and that's because teachers are the, we're least

paid than everybody else because it is a female dominated field.

[00:20:46] Michele: Yeah, and it's still like, I can't remember what the stat is,

but it's a pretty large percentage less that women get paid compared to men.

[00:20:55] Jessie: Yeah, and at the school I teach, it's all women, and of course,

the head of the school is male, [00:21:00] and the rest are women.

[00:21:03] Michele: Sometimes you have no words. So, tell me about the name,

You, Me, and Tennessee.

How did you come up with that?

[00:21:09] Jessie: Um, I don't know. It was 4 a. m. and I was like, wouldn't that

be cute? It's you, it's me, and we're in Tennessee. You know, we love Tennessee.

We're huge. Just today, Cecily and I went out, even though we're boutiques for

our owners, we went shopping down here at Tipsy Rookie. We went down to

Gallatin and shopped at, was it Honey and Suede?

Honey and

Suede. Honey and Suede Boutique. We made our house way up to Mill House

in Franklin and got some breakfast and stopped in. The mustard seed market

and the gallery on the square and then we stopped out here at Kim's at

Bloomingdale's and did a little shop in there. So we're local people. We really

support locally.

[00:21:45] Michele: I will say you are one of the biggest cheerleaders for small

businesses. When I had my small business and retail store elderberry business

you supported me in so many ways. From not only shopping with [00:22:00] us,

Sharing social media posts and helping to amplify my voice as a business owner

in, here in Portland.

She is not just talking the talk, she also walks the walk when it comes to

supporting small businesses. I appreciate that. We do. I sure should.

[00:22:15] Michele: That's right. That's right. Let's go ahead and take our first

break and then we'll come back with two more segments with Jesse and Cecily

from You, Me, and Tennessee.

[00:22:35] Ad: At the Law Office of Amanda J. Gentry, we are committed to

defending your rights. We have a team committed to helping you navigate the

court system. Whether you've been accused of a crime or you're going through a

messy divorce in custody. Call our team to help you navigate this system. We

are here to protect your rights, to demand your rights, to enforce your rights.

615 604 6263 615 [00:23:00] 604 6263 Amanda J. Gentry dot com.

[00:26:00] Michele: Hello, middle Tennessee, welcome back to the loyal

opposition. I am your host, Michelle, and I'm here with the crew from you, me

and Tennessee, Jesse and her daughter, Cecily. And we've been talking about

her entrepreneurial journey and her experiences as a woman in business here in

Tennessee. Are there any challenges that you faced here that you did not face in

Colorado as a woman on business?

[00:26:27] Jessie: Yeah. Oh yeah, um, there's so many, I don't even know where

to begin with that.

[00:26:33] Michele: Just as a woman in general, not politically saying this.

[00:26:38] Jessie: It's just harder here. It's so much harder here. And here, when

you hear that some woman is doing good in business in Tennessee, you hear

things like, oh, she used her daddy's money or her husband helped her get there.

It wasn't like that in Colorado. In Colorado, we weren't a bunch of girl bosses,

which is a phrase I personally just I hate it because I feel like it takes I

[00:27:00] am not a girl boss. I am a CEO and I should be treated with respect. I

don't call you a boy boss for doing a good job. I love your business.

You're such a boy boss. Could you even imagine? So for me, In Colorado, it

was just so much more people were more welcoming. Accepting. Yes that you,

and you were treated differently. You, you had a lot more respect just because of

the fact that you own the business. And it wasn't really frowned upon the fact

that you were a woman.

You know, especially boutiques here, they're like, oh, everybody has a boutique.

Every woman here is a photographer.

[00:27:31] Michele: Well, and they think there's nothing to it.

[00:27:33] Jessie: Right. Which I have degrees. So, you know, I have computer

degrees. I have a web design degree. I have a degree in information technology.

I have a master's degree in information technology.

I'm working on my education and integration in technology. So I have

technology degrees, which is why I went into teaching when we moved here

from Colorado because I couldn't get into the fields of technology in the south

because it's a male dominated [00:28:00] field. So I was like, well, the next

thing I can do with all of my degrees is I can be a teacher, and that's why I

started teaching.

It wasn't a lifelong passion to teach. Not that I'm not good at teaching, I, I

[00:28:11] Michele: Yeah, you've even gotten some special awards recently.

[00:28:14] Jessie: I did. I got Teacher of the Week, which was really nice,

because that's nominated by the parents, that you get that, and enough people

nominated that I was recognized for the state of Tennessee.

But it's not that I don't enjoy teaching, it's just that I didn't do it out of Wanting

to be a teacher,

[00:28:29] Michele: it was out of necessity to have, yeah, to have like reliable

income.

[00:28:37] Jessie: Yeah. And so when I first got divorced and we were on food

stamps and I needed a way to provide for my family. And so I started substitute

teaching, which then turned into long term teaching.

[00:28:47] Michele: Wow. I'm, I want to tell if anybody that's listening wants to

ask Jesse a question. Our show number is 516 440 6310. [00:29:00] Give us a

text and we'll be sure to try to sneak your question into her. Okay, next up. Okay

yeah. I'm an entrepreneurial spirit like you are an entrepreneurial spirit.

I have, I mean, you know, once I start, I really love starting something new and

getting it up off the ground. Like that is the biggest rush, creating the new

website, creating the new social media pages, getting the word out, finding new

inventory, like all that super fun. And I know you enjoy it. So what is your

favorite element of entrepreneurship?

[00:29:35] Jessie: The people that you get to meet, um, like, for example,

meeting you just at, from,

[00:29:40] Michele: that's how I met you. I came and shopped

in your store

[00:29:43] Jessie: and it's been a great friendship and that, that has allowed me

to meet people. I'm a people collector. I like to collect people. I like to collect

stories,

[00:29:51] Michele: but you like to let them go to, which I admire you for.

I keep people around too long.

[00:29:57] Jessie: No, every relationship has an end and some people

[00:30:00] come into our life just for a little bit and that's either to teach us

something or to teach them something. So it's okay for a relationship to end.

Like, I want you to eat, just not necessarily at my table. Does that make sense?

Yes. So it's okay. We can, and I will still see people that I've ended relationships

with at Walmart or at food line. And I'm like, Hey, how are you? I hope you're

doing great. But our relationship is over and that's okay. It's okay for a

relationship to end.

[00:30:23] Michele: Well, I admire that because I'm a people person to fault and

I do tolerate more than I should.

You know, I

[00:30:31] Jessie: think as women, we all tolerate more than we should.

[00:30:34] Michele: Well, and we've had to not even, you know, whether if it

was a choice for us, but we have had to tolerate more in order to get a leg up,

you know, um, let's talk about how listeners can find you.

[00:30:48] Jessie: Oh, we are on you, me, uh, Tennessee on all social platforms.

So

[00:30:53] Michele: you, me, Tennessee,

[00:30:54] Jessie: TikTok, Instagram. And then

https://youmetennessee.com/website.

[00:31:00] Michele: Nice. And it's a beautiful website. Jesse's done a great job.

And then her social media is really fun. You might even see yours truly

modeling some of the clothes for her. We have fun doing photo shoots, don't

we?

Yeah, yeah. It's really. fun. I purchased a dress from her not too long ago. It was

the music city dress. The, is that what it was? Yeah. And it's like this really cute

pink halter with a bubble skirt that was short length. And it was like a light pink

and I wore it to a wicked theme party that we threw at work and covered myself

in glitter and put my hair up in a bun and had a magic wand.

But I was able to get that off their boutique. So I loved that I had a local source

that I could reach out to and find something for an event without having to go to

the dreaded Amazon or Timu or TikTok shop. I was able to support another

woman here as a local business. So yeah, so let's we'll get all of her links and

everything up [00:32:00] on our website.

I mean, on our social media pages, so you guys will, it'll be really easy for you

to find her. But do you want to talk a little bit about the style that you promote

from the boutique? So it's varied.

[00:32:14] Jessie: Yeah, it's a little bit of everything because we like a little bit

of everything like we were talking before.

I kind of just shop for what I like and then that's what I buy. I'm like, hey, this is

cute or that is cute. We are particular though about the brands that we shop with

and the quality of the clothes that we get and I don't venture out to brands. I

don't know that I don't have a relationship with because I know the quality and

if there's something wrong with the clothes, I can always send those back and

get better clothes.

Everything is inspected by us. We do them. Um, I'm going to look over

everything before we send it out to make sure it's mine.

[00:32:44] Michele: I've seen your videos, expecting and counting and

[00:32:47] Jessie: Yeah, we're pretty meticulous, but um We like the higher

quality clothes just because it's nice and I feel like it's affordable for a boutique

and so What was your question?[00:33:00]

[00:33:01] Michele: Just talking about the style I know there's a lot of boho

chic.

[00:33:04] Jessie: Oh, yeah, so there's boho We've got because we lived close to

Nashville here in Portland. We are the gateway to Nashville, Tennessee So we

have you know, the cowboy culture that's in there We're really, I guess really

boho though, I guess would be the overall.

Yeah, that's the vibe I get, you know. I mean we definitely have some like 90s,

more vintage stuff. We got some plaid skirts

[00:33:26] Michele: in. You know we both graduated high school in the 90s.

You've been calling us vintage, Seth. 20 years is vintage.

[00:33:34] Jessie: Okay, my birth year could be considered vintage. Okay, okay,

so you're vintage too.

Really 2000s is vintage. Alright, you get a pass. We graduated high school. on

the 90s. I got a GED. You know what that stands for, right? GED, get enough

diplomas.

[00:33:46] Michele: There you go. And it led to a master's degree. It does. So,

you know, it doesn't matter how you get there. It's everybody's, everybody's

journey is different.

It took me 10 years to get my two year degree from Ball State.

[00:33:57] Jessie: Hey, it happens that way sometimes.

[00:33:58] Michele: That's how I met [00:34:00] Lynn. That's how I met Lynn,

my co host and the founder of this show. He was my professor at Vol State. And

then I got my master's degree and he later hired me to teach in the

communication department where I taught public speaking and intro to com.

So that, that's our relationship.

[00:34:16] Jessie: You're so good at public speaking, Michelle.

[00:34:18] Michele: Well, yeah, I have a master's in corporate communication

and then obviously I like to talk.

[00:34:24] Jessie: Yeah, me too. Yeah.

[00:34:25] Michele: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So Cecily, do you have do you have

anything you want to add about the boutique? What is your role?

What all do you help your mom do?

[00:34:35] Cecily: Um, okay. I help her, uh, set the clothes up to be sold in, um,

different places. I helped her inspect the clothes. I model, too, which I think is

really fun. I help her make

[00:34:46] Michele: You're always so fun and just a beaming light when she's

modeling.

[00:34:49] Jessie: The Bloomingdale's, so she manages that.

[00:34:51] Michele: Oh, yes, that's another place you can find them.

Bloomingdale's here in Portland on 52.

[00:34:56] Jessie: She manages that because I'm at work. So she'll go in and

take [00:35:00] care of that and make sure it looks nice. I am She just learned

this weekend how to manage the social media. So she will be taking that over

for now on to take one thing off of my plate.

[00:35:09] Michele: Wonderful.

[00:35:09] Cecily: Yeah, I'm so excited, actually.

[00:35:12] Michele: Yeah, you're gonna be, you're gonna be really good at that.

It'll be nice. What are you, Gen Z? Yes. Yeah, it'll be nice to have a Gen Z voice

on your social channels. For sure. Yeah they speak a special language.

[00:35:24] Jessie: And I trust her. So I. It'll be fine. Yeah,

[00:35:26] Michele: and it'll be funny and it'll be enlightening and just just full

of light.

I already know.

[00:35:31] Cecily: I mean, I literally, I literally eat, leave no crumbs.

[00:35:36] Michele: Yes, I love that. Alright, folks, we're going to take one

more break. And then we're going to come back and wrap up with Jesse, and

then I have a few other announcements. A couple things in the legislature I want

to discuss, and then we will move on to play, triple play sports.

And welcome back, Middle Tennessee. I'm Michele Harbin. This is the Loyal

Opposition and I am here with Jessie and Cecily [00:36:00] from YouMe

Tennessee, a locally owned boutique and a little bit. During the break, we were

talking about as me as a former business owner and Jessie and Cecily as

currently running a business about how a lot of times people think you own a

retail store or a boutique and you just get to play dress up all day or like with

me, I was just buying and selling food and it was so easy, but talk a little bit

about.

about the logistics and the technical side and everything that goes on behind the

scenes, the accounting, all that goes on behind the scenes to make this boutique

work.

[00:36:36] Jessie: Yeah, so I, I said, that I just kind of shop and buy what I

want, but just the shopping alone can take forever just to pick out the right

materials, to pick out the right clothes that just the things that will fit right in

Tennessee.

[00:36:47] Michele: You have to switch out every season. Yeah.

[00:36:49] Jessie: Yeah. So that, that alone can take forever. Then it comes in

and. You have to unpack everything. Everything has to be weighed. So, let's say

I'm going to ship a [00:37:00] shirt, um, out that somebody has bought. I need

to know the weight of that before

[00:37:03] Michele: So, you can calculate shipping Before

[00:37:05] Jessie: I even do anything.

So, it has to be weighed and once

[00:37:08] Michele: And you have to enter the weight of the box. The

[00:37:10] Jessie: All of it.

[00:37:11] Michele: The measurements of the box.

[00:37:12] Jessie: Right. Before I can ship it, before I can even add it to the

website. So as I'm adding it to the website, it's there. And then there's like, I

have to show you the product. So there has to be photography.

I can use the stock photos, I can take my own photos. And that's a photo shoot

and that takes all day. When we do, um, take that time to do the, the photo

shoots with locals like yourself, it takes us all day to do those and then it takes

me another two or three days to edit those photos. To edit the videos, then

there's the social media managing.

And so we have to have

[00:37:41] Michele: And then you have to get them all onto the website.

[00:37:43] Jessie: Onto the website, manage the social media, get two or three

posts a day on Instagram, Facebook. Facebook and Instagram are, are sisters.

They're not twins, so they each need their own thing. Then you have to do the

videos for TikTok.

And then on top of that, there's the finances of [00:38:00] it. So I need to know

how much money I have coming in, how much money I have going out. How

much more money can I spend? Are customers buying this? Are they not

buying this? Should I do a sale? Should I not do a sale? Where are my

customers coming from when they're ordering online versus the ones that are

ordering in store?

What is better for me to put in blooming deals? And what is better for me to

keep online because everything's not going to fit into my space in blooming

deals So there's so much that goes on behind the scenes that nobody ever thinks

of. I designed the website. When you go on my website, you see the, the slides

that go across the top that talk about, like, the Cecily's favorite collection.

I had to design that. That, that wasn't given to me. That was something I had to

make. And she had to make the graphics for everything. And graphics, the logo.

It takes multi different talents and skills. That she has to apply into everything

to run this. I mean, she's using her degree for the website, but she's using her

[00:38:49] Michele: Yeah, so it's technical, you're a writer, you're a

photographer, you are a brand manager, a graphic designer, and then my

[00:39:00] least favorite Is an accountant.

And, well, accountant I ended up with a book Bookkeeper family with Harbin

Hollow, but inventory management. I hate counting inventory, but it has to be

accurate because if somebody orders something on your website and then it's

really that you don't have it, then that is just embarrassing and you have to

refund the money and you know, it's just, that's a real pain.

So you have to have that, that data has to be accurate on your website.

[00:39:29] Jessie: And, you know, there's a couple of TikToks of us showing,

you know, I was like, Cecily, what are you doing? She's like, I'm counting shirts

because she had been counting shirts all day. And it gets boring to count shirts,

but we had to know how many we had.

[00:39:40] Michele: You also have to check the orders when they come in

because everybody makes mistakes and the manufacturer or the clothing

designer could have made a mistake and gave you wrong sizes. Yeah, gave you

wrong sizes or wrong quantities,

[00:39:55] Jessie: on our website, every clothing has to have a description. So

there's no description that comes [00:40:00] with those when I buy those, that

when you see those descriptions.

[00:40:02] Michele: So you can also come up with a title of every item. Like I

bought that Music City dress, so everything.

[00:40:08] Jessie: Well, Cecily was saying the other day she was talking about.

This shirt or that shirt, and she was using their names, and I was like, I don't

remember what they're called. Like, I'm, I sit down and I name those when I'm

in the mood to name those, when I feel creative.

But I'm not retaining that. Yeah, I mean, I have no idea what I named it. I named

it and I went on. The Aiden top, the forget the picnic top. Yeah, she can tell you.

I was like, I don't know what those are. And, but I had to name all of those, too.

So, there's a lot of work that goes behind it. And the names have to fit the piece,

too.

You can't just be like, Yeah, like that beachy dress I

[00:40:35] Michele: modeled. What is that dress called? The, with the

seashells?

[00:40:39] Jessie: Oh, um, it's. It's Bohemian Sunrise.

[00:40:42] Michele: Yes, see, that's so perfect.

[00:40:45] Jessie: I don't know how she remembers that. I have a horrible

memory. But yeah, so there's so much that goes into the back end of it, just

before you ever get to order it, or you ever get to see the product, and that it

goes through before it's out there.

It's [00:41:00] a lot of, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of back end work.

[00:41:02] Michele: It is a lot of work. Meanwhile, she's doing this out of her

house with two kids still living there. And a daughter with their fiancé who

frequently visit. And I know juggling, I ran Harbin Hollow out of my home

before I got the retail store for Almost two years and so all the shipping and

inventory storage finally, then I got a storage unit for the inventory, but I still

managed all the shipping and packaging and web design and everything out of

my home and it's hard to live at home and work at home and Keep work life

balance.

[00:41:38] Jessie: Yeah, it's my nine to five after my nine to five. Yes

[00:41:41] Michele: So I work

[00:41:42] Jessie: all day and then I come home and I work in the afternoon

And it can be exhausting, but I still do that. And I do our photography on the

side. So I still have another job that I do. But these are things I have to do in

order to make ends meet for my family as a teacher.

I just don't make enough money as a teacher to [00:42:00] make it in Tennessee

today. And I have to have these extra avenues of income.

[00:42:04] Michele: Yes. Yes. Well, thank you, ladies. Thank you for having us.

[00:42:09] Jessie: Thank you.

[00:42:10] Michele: This was such an uplifting topic and episode for a few

segments. But sadly, I'm going to move back for a moment to the Tennessee

State Legislature, because I didn't get to it at the end.

the beginning of the show. I wanted to give Luis Mata as much time as I could

to talk about these immigration bills that are being rapidly moved through the

Tennessee legislature. And something else I'd like to talk, to mention today this

is from a newsletter from the Tennessee Holler. If you're not following or

reading them you should be because they are Well, their, their slogan is, uh, yell

the truth.

They're yelling the truth here in Tennessee, no question. But I wanted to, to talk

a little bit about some other ways things are tariffs. Let's just start with tariffs.

How they're affecting Tennesseans. [00:43:00] There is a group called Farmers

Against Tariffs and Farmers for Tree And they have been down at the Capitol

expressing their opinions.

And they're literally, this is according to Tennessee Holler, Tennessee farmers

are literally holding town halls about how devastating this trade war will be for

Tennessee. Price increases, job losses could cost Tennesseans over 8 billion

annually. And just as a reminder, in Trump's first term back in 2019, he imposed

a lot of tariffs.

And according to JPMorgan Chase, Trump's first trade war hit Tennessee

hardest of all states. Trump is telling us that there will be disruption, and there

definitely is disruption, but it looks like Tennessee had a 7. 3 percent it's hard

for me to read this map, [00:44:00] I need my reading glasses drop in In exports

and the cost also goes up on imports.

We're seeing increased cost for steel and aluminum and lumber that's coming

from Canada. My husband just became half owner of a contractor's business and

then started a second LLC to flip houses and invest in real estate. And so here

we go again. I opened my store in the middle of pandemic and here's my

husband now starting another entrepreneurial journey for us in the midst of all

these tax and all these tariffs in an industry that is going to be deeply affected.

Another thing I wanted to point out that hits home in Tennessee is the Jack

Daniels. Jack Daniels Maker says, Canada pulling U. S. alcohol off store

shelves is worse than a tariff. Canada has pulled all American made spirits off

of their shelves, [00:45:00] so they're not selling any. Which is devastating to

those companies that export from here.

Then here's another article saying the boom times are over. A Fox host even

sounded the alarm that there's a shocking collapse of American spending. I don't

think it's really shocking. I think people can't afford to buy groceries. So it's

here's another quote. It says you feel betrayed, let down, and like you don't

matter.

This is someone summing up her feelings of veterans across the country who

are now wondering how they'll support themselves and their families as

veterans have been flocking to the government after they've been flocked from

their government jobs. And it's just really disheartening. Okay, so that's the

news.

There's plenty more, but we don't have time for it. So I'm going to take the last

couple minutes and give you some updates on [00:46:00] upcoming events.

Don't forget about our TLO reception that we are having to raise awareness

about the loyal opposition in our in our mission here. It's going to be May 7th at

a private residence in Hendersonville.

If you want to RSVP to me or Len via the Loyal Opposition Social Channels by

DM, we can get you that address. I'm holding the flyer up on Facebook. There

we go. So you guys can see it. But we're sharing that information out and we'd

love to have you guys join us. On March 29th, every two years, the Sumner

County Democratic Party hosts a They're reorg.

The Republicans just had theirs here in Sumner County. Now it's our turn.

Anyone can attend. You can only vote for the officers if your last if in the last

primary in 2024, you voted and pulled a Democratic ballot. That's a state law.

That's not up to us, but you can still [00:47:00] come and attend and voice your

opinion and, chat with other voters and meet with other voters.

other local Democrats from Sumner County. That will be at the Sumner County

Administration Building on Belvedere and Gallatin. Doors open at 9. 30,

usually lasts about a an hour, so from 10 to 11. And that's, again, that's March

29th that's Saturday for the SCDP Re Org. The Sumner County Democratic

Party also has pints with progressives coming up next week and on Thursday at

Tailgate Brewery in Hendersonville from 6 to 7.

30 p. m. on March 20th. Those That group has been getting larger and larger,

and they seem to have a really good time. It's always nice to be in the room with

like minded voices. And then, next week, Len and I will be back with Rachel

Campbell. She is the newly elected state of [00:48:00] Tennessee Democratic

Party chair.

We are very Happy to have her on the show. She was previously the chair of the

Hamilton County Democrats, which is the Chattanooga area. So she has been

involved at the local level in Democratic politics for quite some time. We're

very excited about the energy she's bringing to the party. So we cannot wait to

hear from her next week.

And don't forget we come on live at 5:00 PM and then a replay at 8:00 PM

every Wednesday here on 1 0 1 0.7 fm, wq kr. And then you can catch the

replay on our website, which is the loyal opposition on. And then the following

week after the show airs, our show is uploaded as a podcast on all of your

favorite.

Podcast streaming services. So don't forget to air your voice of dissent.

[00:49:00] And thanks for listening to the loyal opposition live from Portland,

Tennessee.