We asked experts from a broad range of industries to open up to us about things they know about their industry but that we probably don’t and we’ve shared some of those responses below.

Murdok Lambert | Pepper Enthusiast, Organic Farmer & Hot Sauce Maker

It’s tiresome and difficult to run a small business. With Howling Mad being a seed-to-bottle company, we more work into our products than a lot of people realize. Even though the growing season is only 5 months long, our work is year-long, it’s just more intense from March until August/September. During those months, I’m doing 10-14 hour days, harvesting, pruning, making compost teas and addressing any pathogenic issues. My wife calls the pepper plants my babies because I spend so much time on them, but I really do love growing them. All of that work is before I even rent the kitchen to make the sauce, the packaging, labeling, etc. Then we have markets as well, but I really enjoy the events we do and talking to people about the process. A really good example of some issue we face that people are unaware of is the seedlings I started in January and February to have plants in the ground at the beginning of March. Read more>>

Amber Ambrose | Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Digital Content Creation Agency, Ambrose McDowell Communications

How much time and energy goes into copywriting and communications. We work a lot producing organic social media for different brands and organizations. Our process involves a monthly content plan, copywriting, creating graphics, submitting to client for feedback, incorporating feedback, getting it scheduled and then monitoring it for comments or engagement after. It’s not as simple as it looks, and we take it step by step. Read more>>

Amy & Frankie Baez | Cake Decorators & Artists

One of the main things that most people are unaware of this industry is the time and effort that goes into creating a custom cake with all it’s details and props. Each cake requires planning, organization, creativity (when the client allows free reign), and problem solving. Planning and organization are a must because this allows us to know when we can create certain decorations and/or toppers that need to be made in advance. Creativity is important because this is when we can help clients bring their ideas to life based on their theme and/or colors that are requested. Lastly, problem solving is key because sometimes things don’t go as planned due to high humidity levels or other contributing factors. Read more>>

Cris Eli Blak | Playwright and Theatre Practitioner

I primarily work in the theatre, and I think one thing that people outside of that world are probably unaware of is the fact that there is space for them. I arrived at theatre rather late, when I was nearing the end of high school, and I think a lot of that was due to me not having theatre as a constant in my life, and not knowing all the possibilities that come with it, you know? You think theatre and you probably think Shakespeare or you think big musicals and dance numbers, which is true, but there is so much more there, there is so much potential, and accessibility is important when trying to unlock that potential. The next big voice in theatrical arts may be sitting in a classroom in a school with an underfunded arts program, where they are not as easily exposed to the same things as some other kid in an affluent private school whose parents can get season tickets and take them to every show that comes to town. The theatre needs to be more diversified but that can’t happen if you only open the door to a certain batch of people. Read more>>

Pamela Nicole | Professional Model

My life has literally changed an immense amount over the span of a couple of months. I went from working a 9-5 job 5 days a week to being signed to a major modeling agency and having the opportunity to travel all of the time. I get questions via social media every day from women and young girls that want to get into the modeling industry. The question I get approached with the most is ” How much weight do I need to lose?” Its a very negative question just due to the fact that the industry has changed so much in the past 30 years. The “Body Positive Movement’ has taken over worldwide, and what most people don’t realize is that there is no “norm” for the modeling industry. You don’t have to be stick skinny or a size 0 to be in the industry, simply because realistically the average woman is a size 12. I feel that more confident women would pursue modeling if they were aware of that. Read more>>