The Veronica Edwards Show
The Veronica Edwards Show
The Art and Heart of Inclusive Gatherings with Miranda Michaels
The curtain is drawing to a close on our third season, and what better way to celebrate than with a heartwarming reflection on the power of community? My new best friend, the incomparable Miranda Michaels from Devil's Foot Beverage, joins me to weave through her inspiring journey from the urban pulse of Chicago to the tranquil embrace of Asheville's mountains. We relive the magic behind our Spark After Dark fundraiser and Miranda's indelible mark on the venue management scene at the Mule. As we toast her achievements, we also shine a spotlight on the art of event planning, the joy of rekindling in-person connections, and Devil's Foot's relentless drive to uplift the community through versatile and inclusive events.
Amidst the laughter and shared memories, it's impossible not to feel a surge of gratitude for individuals like Miranda, whose dedication to local causes is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Listeners, get ready to be touched by her passion for creating spaces where everyone belongs, from 'sip and sew' enthusiasts to poetry slam poets. We wrap up this season with not only a celebration of what's been accomplished but also a look ahead to the boundless potential of what's to come. It's an episode brimming with hope, community spirit, and the promise of more beautiful gatherings under the careful stewardship of people who truly care.
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Welcome to the Veronica Edwards show where we have fun financial conversations that everyone listening can apply to their personal and professional life. I'm your host, Veronica Edwards. Always excited to be back on biz radious. We are getting to the end of season three. We have about another two months because this will air the beginning of May, but always just want to thank the V Team.
Speaker 1:We're continuing to gain new listeners. I'm constantly meeting new people. I'm excited to have additional guests on before the end of season three and definitely looking forward to coming back at season four in the fall. But today's show I'm super excited. It's my new BFF. She is the venue manager at Devil's Foot Beverage also the Mule and I had the pleasure of working with this guest in coordination with Spark After Dark, the annual fundraising event for the Spark Foundation that I'm always talking about here on Biz Radio friend of Biz Radio, and that was back in March and immediately I fell in love with this guest. I'm so thankful that she was able to come on. She has a little bit of a raspy sexy voice due to allergies, but I say, bring it on. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce Ms Miranda Michaels. Hey, Miranda.
Speaker 2:Hi, your voice sounds amazing. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Yay, thank you for coming. We were going to record last week and Miranda was like my voice is deaf. I was like I totally understand. We were just celebrating your birthday. Happy birthday again, thank you, birthday. Happy birthday again. And so, miranda, um, I asked all the guests to tell us about you, where you're from and your story that led you to asheville, because everybody seems to be a transplant in asheville it's so true.
Speaker 2:um, yeah, so I am from chicago. Uh, I left chicago in 2015 and spent a year in Nashville, tennessee, because I was young and ready to get the heck out of the suburbs. So let's go spend a year in Nashville. I said okay, and while I was over there, I met some people who had moved there from here and they suggested that I come over, moved there from here, and they suggested that I come over.
Speaker 1:And I mean, that was you know eight years and like 30,000 lifetimes ago, I've been here eight years too.
Speaker 2:Miranda and I'm like has it really been eight years? Like we're like locals yeah, the way that and the way that the time goes is insane. But yeah, so it's. It's really. It really has served my growth and all of my different interests and my career path and everything, and I feel like it's just been forward momentum and I'm really happy to live here.
Speaker 1:So You're my first person that lived in Nashville before Asheville. Cause everyone says that, oh, you're from Nashville and I'm like no, asheville. And then they get disappointed, like oh, and I'm like what's up with that?
Speaker 2:Crap out of my grandparents.
Speaker 1:They just they're like where are you? Tennessee, the mountain somewhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what's going on?
Speaker 1:So we, like I just said, we met recently via your job as the venue manager for Devil's Foot Beverage and thank you so much for helping us make that a success. You made it so easy. Just so you guys know, when it comes to planning an event, we started talking gosh, miranda, like last summer, july, july, and the event was in March, and I do want to brag that we net $13,000 from that event. So I'm super excited. Just so you know, miranda, we're going to do all of our events for Spark at Devil's Foot, if we're allowed to, and, yeah, I just would love for you to share. How did you find yourself working for Devil's Foot? Because you're natural and you know, tell us more about how we other people, if they want to have events and things of that sort, that they can get in contact with you at the Mule.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, thank you for the kind words. Jacob Bowman is one of the owners and founders of Devil's Foot and him and I have known each other for almost six years and we met at a previous job and when he was opening the mule, he called me out of the blue and I couldn't be luckier, couldn't be happier. He said you know, I'm going to open and run this thing. Do you want to come do it with us? And I was like, yeah, absolutely. So.
Speaker 2:It's been a really sweet place for me to be, because that's what I love to do, and I think that, you know, one of the biggest pillar values of Devil's Foot is community and serving our community and whether that be nonprofit work or volunteer work, or I'm telling you guys, we donate so much soda to so many different causes, like all over town, and it's really great to have a platform where we can support in that way and now having the mule being a facility where we can support and bring people together, um, in a place that, in my opinion, is absolutely gorgeous and amazing and getting better all the time.
Speaker 2:But so it's really great to have that platform and to, to you know, to go on asking about how the kind of process works. I mean, just give me a call and let's chat and let's see what your vision is and how many people you want to have come down. We set it up so that you know we can still remain open to the public or you can have the whole space rented privately. We are building out the backyard as we speak today. I'm actually about to go over there and start staining some tables. We will soon have both the outdoor space and the indoor space activated, which is going to expand opportunities for, you know, coming to, coming to celebrate or fundraise or gather at our space.
Speaker 1:So one thing I want to make sure everyone's clear on, that's listening. That doesn't know anything about Devil's Foot Beverage. So Devil's Foot Be beverage is the actual beverage, but then the Mule is an event space and, if I'm correct, you guys do not serve any alcoholic beverages for Devil's Foot. So you don't produce any alcoholic beverages.
Speaker 2:Right. Well, so Devil's Foot beverage. We make farm to can soda so we have like 19 different soda flavors and that side of the business has been operating for I think we're coming up on seven years now. So the mule is a full service bar. We have North Carolina local spirits, local and regional draft beers, wines, all of that, and then keep our sodas on tap. So our sodas kind of take Center stage in our cocktail program. So that's really fun and gives us like a unique opportunity to play with some really cool recipes and drinks. But we also have the friend of the devil, which is the cocktail line. So right now we have a vodka lemonade and a Carolina mule out in that product line and more coming down the line. We're talking about bourbon lemonades, we're talking, margaritas, we're talking, so stay tuned on that, um, but all of those things the mule, friend of the devil and the soda all fall under devil's foot beverage I love that friend to the devil right.
Speaker 1:I love that name, and so miranda, about how long has the mule been open? Do you know?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do know. We opened in October of 22. So we're approaching our year and a half mark.
Speaker 1:Congratulations. I didn't realize it was that new because, to your point, miranda, you guys support all the nonprofits in the area. So also, a friend to Devil's Foot is Mountain Biz Works and I was at an end of the year event, december of 2022. And that was my first time being at the Mule and I was like this place is fantastic. I didn't realize it was just two months old at that time.
Speaker 1:It was Wow, it's amazing and we got so many compliments on the space for the Spark After Dark event. So anybody that does reach out to Miranda. If you want to have an event there. It's so nicely decorated and the wood tables and the chairs you really don't have to do much. You know, at one point we're like, well, maybe we need to get extra decorations and balloons and all this, and we were like, yeah, we're good, you know. So it's an amazing space and you guys really work with nonprofits with different discounts, and I mean you guys threw in some of the beverages and helped us out so much. So again for especially nonprofits listening that want to do fundraising events or just want to do ongoing events, I'm always saying the high praises of the meal because you guys really do look out for the community.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Yeah, we want to make it an accessible space for everybody.
Speaker 1:So one thing, miranda when reading your resume you know, because Biz Radio is all about entrepreneurship I saw that you are involved with Soul Power and you're a certified teacher and you're going to be launching classes of your own in May of 2024 this year. So can you please share with the listeners what is Soul Power and if we wanted to follow your journey with this and take classes, if we're locally in Asheville, how do we do that?
Speaker 2:Thank you, yeah, I'm really excited about that. So I've been dancing with Soul Power for five years. My dance teacher's name her name is Misa Terrell and she started Soul Power about six years ago in Asheville. The program is an hour-long dance class and each of the songs has repetitive choreography. So we invite you to follow along and learn the dances. But the real, the real juice is in setting aside an hour of your day to be in your body, because our bodies are the most powerful tool for processing all of this crazy external stuff that into our being every single day, and through movement and through dance, and through slowing down or speeding up or closing our eyes or being in the moment. I think that that's really where we get to like transmute all of this am I allowed to?
Speaker 1:you're not, but we'll bleep it out and it'll be totally fine.
Speaker 2:All of the stuff that goes on in our lives. So that's what Soul Power is really all about. And Misa teaches on Wednesdays and Friday mornings and I will be doing her Monday night classes from 530 to 630 at Hawk Creek Commons in West Asheville. It's on a sliding scale $12 to $20. And it's pretty magical experience and I'm very honored to like step into this portion of my journey because it serves me in a way of growth and discovery, you know, via the dance and via sharing it with other people. And if you're not, if you're listening and you're like, oh well, I'm not a dancer, okay, that's fine, but I don't believe you. It's really. It's really not about being a dancer, it's about coming and allowing yourself to mess it up and to just be present. So everybody is invited.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that. Well, I've made my notes Mondays 530 to 630. I am going to come visit you because I live in West Asheville and that just sounded so cool. And I do try to exercise four to five times a week. I'm always shouting out my cousin Sheila. We do like a zoom workout with some of our other family and friends, but I do it at home and now that we're four years, somewhat post the pandemic, I'm at that point now where, okay, I do want to touch and feel and see people a little bit, and it's time for yourself and Miranda, you're in a very it can be very stressful planning different events for folks and working with so many different people as well as just your regular day to day. So I love that. That's an option for you to really, like you said, focus on, like mind, body, soul, all that good stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's a good. It's a good change of routine.
Speaker 1:I love that. So one thing that we always do on the show, miranda, is that we ask the guests for different tips and jewels for the listeners. And even though this is going to air May 1, we're recording this in April. April is stress awareness month, so I'm all about trying to be as stress free as possible, but we know things come up. So when planning an event, we know that this can be very stressful. So I would love if you have like a top three or top five tips when it comes to planning a successful event that would allow the least amount of stress possible. You know we talked about planning in advance. We started this event for Spark After Dark in July and it was in March, and people might think that's ridiculous, but we needed all that time. So any tips that you can give, we would so appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, tip number one, call me, I got you. But really I would say, you know, be really clear in what your vision is. How many moving elements do you want to have in the event? Because there really, or an event planner, it's going to be important that you guys are on the same page, taking a deep breath and take a moment to allow that some things may or may not work out as you get into the planning phase. You know things are going to change and shift slightly just to serve ease for everybody, for everybody. But then, yeah, I mean the sooner you get started the better, because the last thing that anybody wants is to be four days out of an event and thinking about a bar menu or oh, my goodness, we didn't talk about plates for the food being really detail oriented, you know, and really sitting and sifting through all of the different things that are necessary to pull off those desired elements.
Speaker 1:Is there common mishaps that you typically see from folks planning events? Because outside of Spark, I love doing event planning and different things like that with my family, but I'm a hardcore planner and checklists and you know all those things. So for me I'm like, well, it's very straightforward. But then people are like I'm so stressed out planning this event. So are there just like ease, like little things that you see like if you just don't do this, this would save you so much time.
Speaker 2:I would say not to have too many chefs in the kitchen. All many hands make light work. Once we begin delegating a million tasks to a million different people, I think that you know the completion of all of the action items can get lost. So keep your planning team small. And of course I want as many people to contribute creatively to the vision. But I would say, keep your planning team small and keep it to people who are well organized.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely no. You said that. That's a really good point, because I think sometimes people feel like we need this big event planning committee when really, to your point, yeah, you need key people, but you need just more worker bees. You know, like that you can supervise and help, but even with that you can't delegate too much stuff. There's certain things like if I'm working on an event, I want to make sure that I'm handling the venue. You know, I don't want to delegate something that important to somebody else. Or I want to make sure that I've triple checked when it comes to alcohol and food. You know, things that I know make the event. A lot of times people could care less if the balloons were black or they were red.
Speaker 1:You know like those little details, but I've been in planning committees not with Spark, where people go back and forth about balloons for like months.
Speaker 2:And I'm like this is not what we need to be focusing on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I heard the saga on the balloons, so yeah. So thank you for that, because I think people don't realize that you can overcomplicate an event and you really don't have to. And now that we're all starting to come back out again, even though prices are still high, people are definitely doing more and more events. I was talking with Miranda that I definitely want to pick her brain in the future about maybe having like a poetry or open mic night at the Mule for different young people, because for a lot of us it's like, if you don't go to a club not that we have many in Asheville there's not a lot to do. Or if you don't want to listen to live a live band all the time. So it's just trying to find, okay, what will work for this group and, like you said, just having a clear vision. And that's what I love about you, miranda You're always like let's go, let's do it. You know, like let's do it.
Speaker 2:You know, like, let's plan it out. And I think a lot of times people overthink it and it's like, okay, let's just start putting some action behind it, let's start planning it Right, right. And then a lot of the times, a lot of the things that we don't have a lot of clarity on just seem to fall together when we're in that, you know, in the creative flow and getting all of our ducks in a row. But yeah, I love, I love the thought of diversifying what this town has to offer, because I think we do have a lot of hidden talent. There's not a lot of places we can go listen to poetry or have painting night or anything like that. So, yeah, I am here for whatever you guys have in mind. Bring it on.
Speaker 1:Yes, I was just talking to one of my clients, Jenny Pickens. She's an amazing artist and she said that she wants to do like a sip and sew type of thing. And I was like, ooh, and I'm going to be 42 years old this year and I'm like I don't know how to sew. And it's always something that I said I wanted to do and it's just. I was like, okay, we got to think about a venue for that. So, like you said, just I love that the Mule is open for all kinds of diversity and that's what we're all about here on Biz Radio as well. And, Miranda, already we're to the end of the show. So I would love if you can plug all things, you, how people can get in contact with you We'll also have this in the details with the show, but information about the mule if there's any events that's coming up that you want to plug, how people can get in contact with you, how do we get in contact with Misa and you when it comes to soul power, all that good stuff.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you. Yeah, so devilsfootbrewcom for all things Devilsfoot and the mule. There's an inquiry form on there, but I'll also make sure my email goes into the show notes. Dance on Instagram and at soul power living on Instagram and and then you can sign up for our mailing list and that will have all of the information about the classes and kind of what each focus for the week is through the dance, and then you can I mean outside of social media and the digital world you can find me at the mule at 131 Sweet and Creek all the time, so come over and say hey.
Speaker 1:Yay, well, miranda, thank you so much for all that you do for the community. I don't think you realize. I think I've had at least three or four other nonprofits that have used the Mule and everyone speaks so highly of you and we just appreciate, you know, that positivity Cause I think a lot of times people take that for granted and there's never been an interaction that we have where you haven't been willing to help and bend over backwards and I wish I can clone you and make you into multiple people that I work with. But thank you so much, and even with you having a sore throat after your birthday, all that stuff, thank you for taking the time.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it was so fun. Thank you for having me. I feel like we could sit here for hours. I appreciate it so much.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm definitely going to have you back and I just want to thank all the listeners for tuning in to bizradious for my show and all the other shows on the platform, and if you missed the live airing of this show, you can listen to all prior shows at veronicaedwardsbuzzsproutcom.