Aoooooooooowwwwwwwwwww!🐺 Joining in on the conversation is Baylee Chapo, Cannaprenuer and Founder of the w0lfpack an Influencer Marketing Agency. If you are curious about how social media works, why cannabis helps, and the importance of a "Cave Day" - stick around because this episode is full of great #content. 😉
Mentioned In The Episode:
🛍️ : Mary Jae
💻 : W0lfpack, The Howler, Slack
Conversation with Baylee Chapo:
*Text has been edited for clarity
Calla: I've always found you to be super creative and edgy and smart. And I'm gonna say hot because you are incredibly authentic. And, like we were talking about earlier, I know you as Bayw0lf through Instagram. So can you tell our audience a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Baylee Chapo: Sure, yeah, so my real name is Bailey, a lot of people in the industry just choose to call me Bayw0lf, which have kind of gotten used to over the last few years. And what I do is a few things so I blog about cannabis. And I've been doing that on my own for many years now. But in the last three years, I did start a business because I saw how important blogging and content creation was to the industries of cannabis, CBD, and wellness. So I have an influencer marketing company that I run 100% by myself, and I work with brands and creators to fill product campaigns and awareness campaigns and all sorts of stuff like that.
Calla: So what did you do before this?
Baylee Chapo: I came from dispensaries. I was doing social media for dispensaries. And the most recent one was a cannabis delivery service in San Diego. I woke up every morning, went to the office, and had a social media studio where I would get on and do all the Snapchats for the morning and all the Instagram Stories for the morning and show everything we were doing. It was really fun. It had like costume box and like, you know, all that stuff. So that is how I got exactly where I am. But before that, I was a pastry chef and I made wedding cakes. So I just had one of those moments where I was like, I want to be in cannabis and I got a job a few days later working in cannabis. Yeah.
Calla: Was it hard to take the leap? Or were you ready?
Baylee Chapo: I think I was ready. I think I was just like, done with the culinary thing. You know, it's one of those things where you work So so, so hard. And by the time your day is over, you just don't have energy for other things. And I always was jealous of my friends that had, jobs where they didn't go home dirty because they could just shut. I mean, honestly, they could just like show up to like the friends happy hour gathering right from work. And I'd have to go home, shower, put myself together all over again and then drive back out to where everyone was. And just like, I would always have like FOMO the people that could just get there and be there the whole evening.
Leanne: Like let me wash this floUR out of my hair and I'll be over in an hour.
Baylee Chapo: Yes, yes. Oh, my goodness, if I was working with chocolate that day, you know?
Leanne: So have you always had an interest in marketing?
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, and I don't think I always realized I did. I think I always had an interest in marketing and photography. Like, I think I liked to showcase products. Like when I was a kid, my best friend and I would get my parents' video camera, and we record ourselves like reenacting commercials. So like, we would always do like the French's mustard, you know, "Smile, you've got French's," and do our own commercials, or I'd pretend to be Steve Irwin, and my dad working in the yard would be the animal and I'd like to narrate what he was doing. So like, I always had a thing for like, I guess marketing and like, just, you know, I'm comfortable on camera. I was never shy, by any means about just being myself and you know, being goofy.
Leanne: Oh my god. That's like, what our whole podcast is about how, how to not be
Baylee Chapo: How weird can we be?
Leanne: Okay, so you're gonna do the rest of this podcast in your Australian accent then?
Baylee Chapo: Let's see if I still have it in me, mate?
Leanne: We need to bring Simon on! Did you know Cal's husband is Australian?
Baylee Chapo: I didn't know that! Yeah, he could laugh at my terrible accent.
Calla: Yeah, He's lost it. He's been in the States for so long that I miss it. That was very refreshing. Thank you.
Baylee Chapo: You're welcome. And I love Steve Irwin. So it was always so fun to do that. I mean, rest in peace because he was incredible.
Leanne: I think his kids are doing what he used to do now.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, yeah, I think I believe so.
Calla: It's cool. Cool. So how's Austin treating you?
Baylee Chapo: I like it. I like it. It's an adjustment to go from like recreationally legal state and having my business. I don't do a ton of work with THC. And when I do, of course, I'll fly back to California for that. But coming here workwise it's been a bit of a shock. There's you know, a big debacle about is delta eight legal or not in Texas right now. So as a business owner, I'm just taking a step back. But the weather's awesome. The city is amazing. The food is like 13 and some change out of 10 stars like so good. I've met a few people, you know, I'm trying to make friends. So I've met a few people and had some, like really nice meals with people. And I'm just I like it. I just have to find my way a little bit more, I think, you know, it's all about discovering.
Leanne: Yeah, what brought you to Austin.
Baylee Chapo: So, I had been living in the Palm Springs area of California for like, three and a half years. And for those that don't know, that's a retirement area. So being someone in their early 30s, like, there's truly not a lot to do you have to go to LA or San Diego, which are both two and a half hours away. So to see any kind of, you know, not even just nightlife, but like outdoorsy stuff, like the weather in the area I was living would just be so excruciatingly hot for several months of the year that like you couldn't go do even a morning hike, it's the 90 degrees by the time you woke up at 6 am. So I knew I wanted to move, I didn't know where I didn't even know if it would be within California out of California, whatever. So my boyfriend, his mom, and I came to Austin this past May to visit his brother. And we stayed for a week and we got like the most epic tourist experience ever. Like his brother planned it perfectly. And just everything cool. And I always so much fun, so much fun. And then he said, Well, I'm actually moving from one place to another later this year, I already signed the lease at this brand new place. Do you want to see it? So it took us to see it one day, while we were out here and the unit next to them hadn't been rented yet. And so my boyfriend and I were just like a light bulb, the backyards literally have a gate that connects, like we could live right next to your brother for a year. That would be so cool. So we jumped on the opportunity. And, and came out here. And, you know, it's an adjustment for two Californians that have, you know, the industry that we both worked in, but we're really liking it, and it's nice to have this brother next door. And you know, we get to do things together. And just I think it's nice for him to have a family member close by. It's like he wants to hang out with a lot, you know?
Leanne: So cool. Yeah, you're prepped for summer in Texas, for sure if you're used to 90-degree mornings.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, I can handle it. Like it's been like in the 80s. It's this week, it's all in the 80s. And I'm like, I'm ready to wear my coats like I thought it was gonna be colder here.
Calla: How does the cannabis space differentiate from California to Texas so far? What have you noticed?
Baylee Chapo: So the biggest thing that I noticed is in California, it's 100%, integrated into everybody's regular life like you don't even think twice about how somebody uses cannabis, or if they have it on them. Or that there's a dispensary on every corner, or when you smell weed in the air like you don't even think twice about it. Now here, of course, there's like this itty bitty medical program. It's called T.CUP, and it's really, from what I have read and I will learn more this weekend because I'm going to a Hemp Harvest festival and meeting people. But, you know, it seems difficult to qualify for the tiny medical program that they have. And they also cap everything at. So I think it's by weight, where like, you can have 1% of the weight, be THC so it pretty much caps things at five or 10 milligrams THC, like an edible or anything like that. In California, things in the recreational market are capped at 100. So you can buy you know, as many as you want, or whatever, but it's very limited here. So I haven't met anybody in person yet that's like in that program. But I know I will this weekend. So I'm excited to learn more about it and see, how can we grow on this? How can we like actually get it medically legal here. So you know, I'm willing to help.
Calla: You make me so so happy to hear that.
Leanne: Please, help us. So is everything that you do virtual then?
Baylee Chapo: Yes, everything I do is virtual. So anytime I have a product that isn't acceptable to have shipped to Texas that I work with. So that's the only thing I do that's not virtual is like I receive packages or I receive products in the mail. And then I turn around and send them out to content creators. And so I know I can accept CBD here I know I can expect like smell proof bags but like paraphernalia and kind of glass and stuff like that they don't want to state so that gets sent to California and I fly out there and then I ship it from there but besides any of that everything that I do is virtually or online.
Leanne: That's so insane that you say that because literally, every smoke shop has glassware paraphernalia every single one.
Baylee Chapo: Yes. Yep. And I didn't even know I just made myself look stupid as can be on Twitter the other day because I didn't know Grav Labs was based out of Austin, Texas. And I keep going to all of these CBD stores to kind of blog about them and check them out. You know, there's a lot of CBD stores out here. So I want to like kind of put my face in front of people and check out their products and buy what they have. So I had noticed this theme that like every store carried Grav Labs like every single store, and most of them that was the only brand they carried. And so I'm like, I wrote on Twitter, like geez, Austin, Texas is like obsessed with Grav Labs or like there's more options out there. And like, everybody's just clapping back. And they're like, they're Austin-based! and I was like, "I didn't know!!". Welcome to
Calla: Welcome to Texas. They're a proud people those, Texans.
Baylee Chapo: They are just like, you know, coming from California, you go into any dispenser any store. And they have quite a variety. Even if they only have a couple of pieces from each glass company. They still have like, a variety for you. And so I was just like, This area's really obsessed with Grav Labs. But I mean, it's great glass. So I can't, can't you know, slam that whatsoever.
Calla: Lesson learned. So how did W0lfpack come to be? I know that you made the switch into the industry and then you saw the need, for better and for more. But how did Wolfpack come to be? How did the name come to be? I want to hear about it all.
Baylee Chapo: Okay, so I had moved from San Diego to the desert and I had been out there for like, less than a year, I think. And I had been blogging about cannabis. And that's when like my Instagram page, Bayw0lf was growing, and people were like, Oh, she's actually a cannabis blogger. Cool. So, I started getting like, not like full-time jobs, but not just like posting things, I was getting some gigs with companies or like, they were asking me to do things like, I got sent on a cannabis retreat in Colorado. So that, you know, I could experience it, I got sent to MJBizCon one year, so things like that with other companies. But once I was in this time period, where I wasn't working with anyone, I just was thinking of all the negative experiences I had with all of these other brands if you will, and all the positive ones, and I wanted to make the positive ones happen more because the positivity within the business side of this industry -it's great. The authenticity of people I think was not being showcased as much as it could be. It was just like, look at this product. Look at this product. Look at this product. And I really wanted to be like, Look, there are people behind this. Also brands, you are making people on the internet feel like you're inobtainable. I want people to feel like they can talk to you. So I started W0lfpack. Here's how the name came to be. So Bayw0lf, my Instagram social media name is My name is Bailey. My old dog's name was Wolfgang. And so I made Bay wolf a long time ago like this was not a username I made to be a cannabis blogger. This is just the name that I have, I guess. So when I went to start a business, I got on the phone with a friend of mine in New York who has a PR agency in the cannabis space. And she said, look, you've branded yourself and my boyfriend gets on the call too and he's like yes, you've branded yourself so they're like "stick with the wolf, stick with the wolf." And I tell you it took me a while because I don't want to let come off conceited and I don't want to like make I don't know, I just felt like using the same name as my Instagram handle was like, I guess kind of being conceited in a way.
Calla: Isn't it wild that we do that to ourselves?
Leanne: Yeah. It's the overthinking part.
Baylee Chapo: It's totally overthinking it. So they convinced me that it was a really wise decision to stick with Wolf. And so I played with a lot of things, you know, a lot of different things, but I felt like W0lfpack really just showed that everybody can be together, like a pack of wolves can work together. And so that's how it came to be. And now a lot of the creators call me the alpha, which I think is kind of cute. So our company is just W0lfpack LLC, the wolf pack mentality came because W0lfpack was already taken on Instagram. So a lot of the time people think that our full company name is wolf pack mentality, but it just, there's just like another version of it. And so we were doing networking events. That's how we started. There were so many industry events where if you weren't like an influencer or working for a brand or the brand, you didn't get invited, you couldn't go you couldn't get a ticket. So I wanted to make Networking events where anybody could get a ticket and go to it. And it wasn't like a big giant, like High Times Cup type thing. It was more intimate. So we did these networking events where we capped at 60 people. And we were doing like a little Live, Instagram Live, like talk show type thing for good. And it was called Wolfpack live. And you know, we'd interview brands that were like attending our event, or people in the industry as well. And we'd have this little two-hour-long talk show. And we did five or six episodes of that throughout 2019. And when 2020 rolled around, we had done six networking events in a pop-up Hotel, which is awesome, a weekend-long pop-up hotel. And then I just was like, Okay, well, we can't do events now. Because of COVID. And all of 2019 we were doing influencer marketing, but it wasn't like a finely tuned program. We were just like, making bags of stuff and sending them to people that we knew would post. So 2020 was me like fine-tuning. How do you build an influencer marketing company, and you know, I pivoted a lot, a lot, lot, a lot. So 2021 has been pretty good to me. You know, putting in all of the work and pivoting was smart for me to do.
Leanne: That's amazing. I love hearing how it starts with kind of one idea and just keeps evolving and pivoting. We joke about pivoting, Cal and I come up with a word for the year. And for 2020, it was pivot because it was just constantly pivoting.
Baylee Chapo: If you could pivot in 2020, then I don't know where you are.
Calla: You're not here anymore.
Leanne: You're unemployed, essentially. Trying to make some moves. I feel like we could never get a footing, you know, but, but I do feel like it built a lot of resilience. And clearly, it's done a lot for you, which is really exciting. Where did you find your interest and love for cannabis and CBD?
Baylee Chapo: So, okay, so I like recreationally used cannabis when I was like in college, and then I stopped using it because I would get paranoid. And so that's, of course, a user who doesn't understand how to use cannabis. And then I stopped using cannabis for about five years. And I had met Zach, my boyfriend, and he has ADHD, and he was using cannabis here in there to help him focus. And I wasn't, you know, I'd hang out with him, I had no problem with it. I just honestly, like I had seen it in a few years, wasn't really around it. So he introduced it to me in a medicinal sense. And then one time, I had some health complications, and they were just kind of going on for way too long. And like, I think that the doctors had me on like six prescriptions, which like, you know, half of them were to, counteract the effects of the other ones. So it's like, what the heck am I doing to myself? So he's like, Would you please try this? Would you please smoke this bowl with me and try it. And that night, like, I, I, it's not like every last bit of pain left my body, but it was enough of pain relief, and it helped me check out and stop focusing on the pain. And that was the biggest thing to me because I'm one of those people that, I internalize or, like, I freak out about every pain that's happening in my body, like, oh, no, like, what is this, you know, so it kind of helped me forget and just be in the moment more. And so then I, you know, slowly started incorporating it into my life. And it wasn't until probably 2016 that I really understood CBD. And, you know, once I worked, you know, it was working in dispensaries. That's really what it was in those early, it was working in dispensaries, it was seeing a lot of the other people on the staff who weren't really like getting interested in CBD, but so many patients came in for it. And there was only a small amount of staff members that could help somebody pick out CBD because not everyone was willing to educate themselves on it. And just wanted to be there for the products that got you high. So I started connecting you know, with like, I feel very deeply for the people that came in that had cancer or something like that. And I wanted to make sure that I was giving them the best education possible. And that's kind of where my love for it came about. And I started using it myself for various things and I just realized how wonderful it was. So I guess I just now love to teach people about it and you know, show them products that work, products don't work, whatever. It's you know, it's a really big market.
Leanne: Yeah, yeah. And ever-growing. Especially in Texas.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Texas is huge with CBD. I mean, I was just shocked. Like, I could see it a little bit through the screen before I moved here. But once I got here, I was like, Whoa!
Leanne: Well, and you're in Austin, too. That's like the spot. It's the California of Texas.
Baylee Chapo: Yes, I know that personal possession of cannabis is decriminalized in the county that I'm in. I mean, don't quote me on this. But somebody told me you can have up to four ounces. And you'll just basically get it taken away. Like, they're not going to take you to court over it. Or charge you with a misdemeanor or felony or anything like that. But I don't know. It still scares me. Yeah. I'm just not. I'm just not dabbling in that, you know?
Calla: I feel like that's how a lot of Texans are right. Like, we're ready. We're ready for legalization, we want that. But we are still very scared because of the stigma around it, especially in Texas, the scary thing. So who are some of the brands right now that you're impressed by that you're working with, that you love?
Baylee Chapo: Let's see. Okay, so I'll tell you brands, I'm impressed by out here. I'm not exactly like working with them yet. But they've just kind of gotten a little piece of my heart already. I absolutely love this company called Mary Jae. And they've got a storefront downtown. And I believe you can purchase some of their products online, but it's just like, everything about like, why the business was started to what they have on their shelves to who the people that are like running the company, and who they staff are like, all of it just has me really, really, like I get giddy when I go in there. I don't know, it's just like, good people, good energy quality products. And a lot of my clients are in there, which I was like, so happy to see you know when I see some of my CBD clients like on the shelves of a CBD store and I already know the products are good. And now I have a place locally that I can tell other locals like look, you can get Wyld CBD gummies here or you can get plus products here, whatever it may be, which I love. Let's see products that I or brands that I like right now. I've been a sucker for plus products CBD gummies. And I think it's because their line really does work in the different ways that it says so like the sleep has some melatonin in it. And that really works to help put me to sleep and like the uplift has a little bit of vitamin D in it to help give you that energy boost and there's no caffeine which I like. And then the balance really does just act as like a little extra CBD and you know when you're taking it every single day, it works the best. So I think that's probably my top right now for CBD products.
Leanne: I'll have to go check out Mary Jae because that's the second time we've heard about it. Jenna, our friend Jenna, we had her on the very first podcast that Cal and I did together and she named her dog after that place. Because she loved really
Baylee Chapo: Oh my gosh, really? WOW!
Calla: Everyone just raves about that store. So that's awesome.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, that place is incredible. They had their four-year anniversary over the weekend, like, and we went back and I went and it the doors opened at 12. And we thought like it was just people kind of casually coming in throughout the day. And we pulled up at like 1155 There was a giant line outside waiting for people to get in. They had a DJ outside they had like other vendors. It was incredible. And like you go inside and do your purchase, and they give like the first 50 People really, really nice goodie bag. And then you get to spin the wheel for an extra like they did a really great job to say thank you to their customers. And just a fun time. So yeah, I'm glad to hear that you keep hearing about them.
Calla: Definitely. Yeah, That's the spot in Austin!
You talked earlier about having to pivot a lot. And I know as someone who follows you on Instagram, you're pretty transparent with your ups and downs of how you deal with all this stuff. How is your mental health affected by being online all the time?
Baylee Chapo: So I go through I guess like, you know, like the peaks and valleys of it. Okay, so one thing that I have tried to understand to help my mental health is how social media can work, how engagement isn't everything, how, you know, you don't have to make that will sound wrong. But you don't have to make time to have in-depth conversations every time somebody messages you. It's okay to put your own energy first sometimes and not be instantaneously available every time somebody wants to talk. That one that would hurt my mental health in the first year or so of doing blogging is I would sit there all day and talk to anyone who was messaging me and you know, sometimes people tell me really heavy stuff. And I only have so much capacity for that in one day, if you will. So I try my best to step away. And then if I go on a hike, I'm not on my phone, like, I take the time that I need. You'll see every once in a while, which I'm completely transparent about that. I start to not do so well mentally, for one reason or another. And I've stepped away from I stepped away from Instagram for almost all of May this year. I just, you know, couldn't keep up with everything. So I think taking the time that you need for yourself is like, I guess like, advice to creators is the best thing I can say. But yeah, definitely, I get my moments where I get discouraged, or, or I feel like why am I doing this? You know, but then I remind myself like, oh, it's probably shadow banned or something, you know, like, there's probably some reason for this, or one thing I always try to pay attention to is, is it a holiday weekend, or some reason why people maybe won't be online or something, you know, and instead of being like, oh my gosh, does nobody like me, does my content stuck, you know, I try to think like logically about things when it comes to social media. And also just do it for myself, which I do like to tell other people to do like, it's not all about the numbers. It's about having fun. And like I've said, I loved to make stupid videos since I was a little kid. I love sharing things. I love taking pictures. I always had a scrapbook my whole life. So honestly Instagram's kind of like, where I can put all of that into one and still and be myself at the same time. So just not obsessing over things that are pointless with social media is the best for my mental health. Just having fun.
Leanne: Do you just kind of do that based on how you're feeling? Or do you schedule? Like, do you schedule your hikes? Do you schedule the time where I reply to people, this is when I post content, like how, how do you manage it?
Baylee Chapo: Honestly, it's not exactly a schedule. Like the only things, I have scheduled are for my business with W0lfpack like, we'll have scheduled campaigns and scheduled phone calls and stuff like that. But I will schedule just because I want to hike or something like that I'll schedule an activity. And I just kind of know, like, say that I'm not doing so well up here. And I don't have the capacity to talk to everybody online for the day, I might just go like now that we're here like we just go downtown Austin and find what we find and just explore. And when I get home, then you'll see me maybe show you my favorite things that I did. Because I think people have been interested in seeing the city since I moved here. But yeah, it's not so much of scheduling, but more so just knowing when I need to step back a little bit or, you know, maybe I call it a cave day, where I don't do social media. Can I keep the blinds closed? I might put on Netflix, I'll stay in my pajamas, you know,
Leanne: Very Wolfpack appropriate.
Calla: That's something I can get behind.
Baylee Chapo: So we have cave days. And we're like, Zack and I both will be like cave day. And then like, I'll be like, can it be a cave in here and I'll just like, close my laptop and he'll like, close all the blinds and then we'll just like, chill out, you know, and not worry about everything.
Leanne: I know what I'm doing after this.
Calla: I know cave day. Week. So, so good. Oh my gosh.
Leanne: When you took your break in May, did you notice a dip in your numbers in your business? Because I know we've kind of struggled with that we took a big break in August and since then it's been a beatdown to see you know, like you we need to take breaks. We're humans like we needed to take space from social media but it does feel like there are consequences for that. Did you come across the same thing?
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, I did. Like of course, Instagram like when they show your insights you know, you see everything measured on a monthly basis and stuff and I definitely had a big drop. I definitely didn't book as many clients that month because not only did I take a break from my personal social media but I kind of had a six-week gap in between some big box campaigns, which is our old business model. And so I wasn't like doing a lot of sales outreach for campaigns with brands so yeah, I noticed a dip but honestly, one other thing that I did notice at that time off is I didn't put myself together as much and so I started not feeling as good. You know, saying like, look good, feel good? Yeah. So I mean, I kind of got to a point where I was getting too grungy. And I wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that I wasn't like talking to a camera or anything like that. Like, I enjoyed it at first, but then I'm like, I don't feel like I'm putting myself together for any reason, because I'm just sitting here. So I think that, in some sense, that's one thing, but Instagram, or social media and blogging and just talking to a camera for whatever reason I can appreciate.
Leanne: That's true. I never thought of it that way. I should have washed my hair. Shit.
Calla: You're so funny, Leanne.
We were just shadowbanned for certain topics. So that was a big part of our hit too. We don't even fully understand what shadowbanning means. We just know that it happened to us from the minimal things that we read about it.
Leanne: And it hurts.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, it does. It does.
Calla: What is it? Can you explain to us because we don't get it?
Baylee Chapo: So shadow banning is like, it's an unofficial term that like Instagramers, made up. Instagram did not make this term up, they won't even like admit that it happens. So it's this unofficial term. That means you're being censored. And the most common form of shadow banning means you're not showing up in any hashtags. When you make a post. And Instagram keeps changing. They're like, Oh, we suggest you do 12 hashtags, or eight are currently they're telling you to do three, they say three is enough. You don't need more.
Leanne: Who are they?
Baylee Chapo: Instagram, they had an article, I can send it to everyone. It will be like an article or a statement. And it's, it's very minimal and what they do say, but it's usually enough that you can kind of play detective and figure out what they're trying to tell you.
Leanne: And it's valid information?
Baylee Chapo: Yes, there's an account on Twitter as well. That is Instagram. And I don't know if it's like the CEO, some like the head of marketing or something like that. There's a couple of people within Instagram that will say a few things here and there. And then everybody on the internet dissects what they say into, you know, everything.
Leanne: It's like Q-ANON all over again.
Baylee Chapo: Yes, yes. So I just do my best to stay up with it. But with Shadowbanning, you become censored, you stop showing up in hashtags. You can also just kind of have an overall, I feel like there's like a cloud over my account that's been there for a couple of years, where I just don't get the reach I used to get even to my own organic audience. And I think, you know, part of that, though, has to do with like, people becoming inactive. Like, if you see even just in the not just in like the whole world. But even just in the Creator realm of Instagram, you'll see some people that keep up with their accounts for years and years and years and years, you'll see people that pop up for about six months to a year, and then they just kind of over it. So with the inactive account makes your engagement, not the same as it once was. But really, it sucks. How do you get out of it? You wait, don't use any hashtags on any posts during that waiting period. If you're super super censored, I always tell people to take a 48-hour break, don't post anything, don't like, Go liking pictures, just like walk away from the app for like 48 hours, and then see how it is for you. And when you post again. And that almost always works for me, always kind of gets me like, you know, pop back up with a little bit better engagement and reach. Because you know, as much as like, we don't want to focus on that. Like, the goal of social media is to reach people and show them your work.
Calla: Have you had your account deleted before?
Baylee Chapo: Yes, I've had Bayw0lf, well, I've been disabled.
Calla: Okay, what's the difference because I don't even know.'
Leanne: Let me get my pen out.
Baylee Chapo: So deleted and deactivated means you're like Gone. Like the account is gone forever. They've put it in the trash and you're gone. Disabled means they've put you in jail and you don't have access to your account. You can't log in, but it's still in the interwebs somewhere. Okay. So when you're disabled, you can appeal with Instagram can send them an appeal and say, Hey, my name is Bailey. And I'm a cannabis blogger and I think you made a mistake deleting my account. I'm not selling anything. Can you please reactivate it? I'm here for educational purposes.
I have a relative that works for the Facebook company. And his best piece of advice to me, when my accounts were taken down was to be as nice as possible in my appeal. Don't be aggressive, don't be angry, like, I mean, basically don't be like, Hey, I'm Bailey, how dare you delete my account? You know, don't be like that, be as polite and understanding. And oops, I think this is a mistake as possible. He also so gave me the advice to never appeal more than once, if your account has been disabled. There's a lot of advice, telling the opposite out there a lot of articles that are like your accounts been disabled, what should you do, and it's like appeal every day. And, my relative straight said, One appeal is enough, like, don't keep doing it. So anyway, the first time I was down for about 17 hours, and then I got an email from Instagram, they're like, Oops, we made a mistake here, just log back in your good. And about two weeks later, is when I got disabled for about six weeks, and I had to put in an appeal and they got back to me a few weeks later, I had to like, hold up, like, like, I was in jail, you know, like, hold up a sign like this said my name, and like my handle. And I think I had to put my driver's license, and then this code that they gave me like a PIN number. Yeah, I'd like hold it up. And it was so specific, like, I remember it was like, like, my hands couldn't be cut off like your full hands had to be in the frame to prove it was like it had funny rules.
Leanne: It's like a ransom picture, literally.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah. And that account was actually down. Those were the six weeks that I got my LLC for W0lfpack. So I thought it was like long gone. And then it popped back up. And it was I got it back. Like I want to say like a week before our launch party for our business. And it was like, Oh, really?
Calla: Oh my gosh, that's like a devastating blow to your business.
Baylee Chapo: It is!
Calla: 6 weeks?
Baylee Chapo: 6 weeks. Yeah.
Leanne: So does that make you want to have some kind of backup? This just seems so fragile? You know what I mean to like having all your eggs in Instagram when they can just boom, sorry, you're disabled. We'll get back to you whenever we can.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, I mean, that's why it's valuable to be on as many platforms as possible. So I'm on Twitter. I'm pretty active on Twitter. I am on Tik Tok. I just lost my main account last month that had hit 10,000 followers finally. And I'm starting back all over right now.
Leanne: Why?
Baylee Chapo: Okay, so Tik Tok wants to be a family-friendly platform. So they don't like cannabis. Like really, really don't like it at all. And, you know, like, I'm not posting myself, like doing overconsumption ever I'm just trying to like show the grows I go to and stuff like that, but I kept violating the community guidelines. I think I had so many strikes against me. So one day this major news page posted about the Canna bonsai guy he grows cannabis plants and he bonsais to the shapes, you know, so they did this feature on him I think it was here this now I think it was "Hear This Now" so I Duet-ed that which means you share it onto your page and you split-screen with the original video and you can comment on it or whatever. So I did that and I was like how does this page get away with this and it's got millions of views and it's getting pushed out on the "For you" page and stuff like that and boom I got deleted completely and with Tik-Tok, there's no like appeal you're just gone.
Calla: So what makes you want to keep going back?
Leanne: Great Quesiton.
Baylee Chapo: I honestly I'm there for the audios. I love the sounds that come from Tik-Tok. I already understand but cannabis education contents not going to get pushed out on that platform. But I use it to harvest my audios. So I will save audios that I like on there that like resonate with me and if I'm feeling in the mood to record a video or two I will and you know now that it's in Texas I have to be more creative and obviously don't have any product to like show you know whatever. I printed out a picture of a weed leaf to use for visuals and some of my posts. But now it's more just about like, you know, using the caption to make it relatable to cannabis or whatever.
Calla: Well, I feel like that plays to your creativity so much. I love your videos. I think they're so funny. You just go for it. Do you enjoy doing them?
Baylee Chapo:
Oh yeah! Absolutely. I Love making them. One thing I used to try to when, you know, a few years ago I was building my account, I thought it was so important to like post every day or I'd be like posting twice a day, you know, I thought it was so important. And I just would need to have content. Now I don't even care when I don't have content to go. Like, if I don't have anything that's okay. Every once in a while, I don't post like a whole week on my feed, just like, I don't have anything worth sharing. I'm not gonna force it. So if I like it, and I think it's got to have value. Like, that's one thing about my content now is like, if there's like zero value in it, then I don't enjoy it. So like, I love humor, but I also love value. So finding the right kind of stuff to post takes a little bit more thought.
Leanne: Definitely and time, right?
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, yeah. But sometimes I can do it fast. Like, I've got a bunch of audios saved up. And I go through and I will like listen to the audios that I have on my favorites. Like while I'm eating lunch or something. And I might get inspired. There have been days where I've made like eight videos at one time and it's just like, the light bulb went off that day, you know?
Leanne: Send me that product. That's the one I want.
Baylee Chapo: Well, that was a California product. There's a company, a flower company in California called Hydrotic DHS, and they're out of the desert where I used to live. And I'm telling you, all of the strains I would get from that company would like put the creativity cap on my head so well. And I would get so much done.
Leanne: I picture you with like a little wizard hat on.
Baylee Chapo: Oh my gosh. So that's one thing I wish I had from that job I was telling you about. I had a whole costume box and everything. Like I always wish I had that now. So now my costume box is my closet and my boyfriend's closet. So if I'm using a male voice in the audio. I'll put on one of his outfits.
Calla: I know what video you're talking about! That one was really funny.
Baylee Chapo: Thanks.
Leanne: How did you get and continue to educate yourself on all these platforms? I feel like with Tik Tok at first I was like these damn kids, and they're weird dances and I'm like, 31 like, it's too soon for that. How did you just embrace it and learn all about it?
Baylee Chapo: You know, I think a lot of it has to do with like, I still feel like I'm like 16 inside. Like, I don't feel like a grown-up like, so I'm okay being like, goofy or like, I don't want to use the word childish, but you know, like, I'm just kind of carefree with that kind of stuff. And so I just always want to learn about each platform, which to me, that's like a puzzle, and I love puzzles. So every platform is a different puzzle. And they're always changing. And I don't know, one day, I just started, like telling people what I knew about Instagram like I would tell them like what I knew and what I noticed about the platform as a whole. And it just like, it sparked a lot of conversation with people. And then that conversation excited me. And so I just kept sharing what I knew about platforms with people.
Leanne: Yeah. Is there anything up and coming that you're excited about? Any new platforms?
Baylee Chapo: Not exactly sure about new platforms. One thing that Instagram put out, and I don't, I don't know if they told everybody about this. But one day I logged into my Instagram. And the top of the screen it says, "Bayw0lf we are allowing a select group of people to try this new app we built" it's called bars, B-A-Rs. And I don't know why they picked me guys, I don't understand this is for like people, musicians, and rappers like there are beats, you can select a beat and then like sing over it. Okay. They sent this to me. So guess what I did. I went on there and I sang a jingle about having two pugs. And it's so terrible but so amazing at the same time. I don't know if that App will take off or not. I still haven't heard of anybody saying, Hey, are you on bars or anything like that? But that was interesting to me. I do like clubhouse also, which has been around, you know, for like, I got on it on January 1 of this year. I know people have been on it for longer than that. But that one's pretty interesting. When you get in the right room. You can listen to a really good conversation or be a part of a really good conversation. There's a lot of value in that.
Calla: So who are some of the accounts or people that you're following that inspire you?
Baylee Chapo: Ooh, There's a lot of accounts that inspire me. I've always loved following Jackie Childs. She is in Canada and, I love following her on every platform. She's wonderful on Instagram. She's wonderful on Twitter. I really liked her and she's you know, she's funny.
Calla: She's hilarious and so nice.
Baylee Chapo: Yes. Very nice. @coralreefer420 She's incredible. She's got oh my gosh, I just have to shout out what she's doing for October because but she's doing is a different costume every weekend. And Okay, the last to last weekend. She did Britney Spears and that nude outfit with glitter all over it. And she nailed it, like, nailed the content. And then the week before, she was like a creepy clown at a carnival, and like, she's doing this all really well. And then the week before that she was Bong Barbie. And the way that she puts herself into these was just like, so good. And then another thing about her that's inspiring is that she doesn't just work on one account. She's a lot of things she's doing. But she's got a Patreon she does Stoney Sunday live, where people can tune in with her on Sundays and you know, smoke a bowl, and then she has this other thing I think it's called Corals Tiny House. And she built a tiny house. It's got like a dispensary in it and everything like it's, everything's like this big. It's just really, really, really cool. So she inspires me a lot. Definitely. There's also a woman out of Australia that inspires me. She's had a lot of issues with her accounts right now. So I know you can find her on @my.canna.flower. And @imcannabish right now. But she was @Cannagirlsmokes for a long time until she got like all of her accounts removed recently. But she does really good. She'sfunny. She's wholesome and sexy at the same time, she takes really great nug photos, always creative. I like to just see what she's up to all the time. So those are the three that really make me feel good to watch. And, you know, maybe they inspire me in some way to like, think of my own idea or whatever, just I'll see, like, I mean, their stuff is so visually appealing, but I'll be like, Oh, this color literally or that that one little move they did made me think of, you know...
Leanne: How do you find and vet the influencers that you work with?
Baylee Chapo: So we have an application, it's online, it's a quick little Google Doc, but you know, it's basic info so that we can go then find them on social and check out everything, we definitely look for pages that can give us a like, they already have a little bit of sample work of like lifestyle content, or what they do when they get a product from our brand. We're not looking for pages where people are just smoking the whole time, we want to see what value ads they have that we can offer brands. So once someone has kind of you know, checked all of our boxes, then we invite them into our Creator workspace on Slack, which is where we announce all of our campaigns. So we have like a channel where we just feel like here's a new opportunity, and it'll give all the basic details of the campaign. And then whoever's interested will express their interest on the post. And then we turn around and you know, put together the best team for that campaign, which is anywhere from 15 to 20 creators or 15 to 30 creators based on the campaign and what the brand chose.
Leanne: So and you keep saying we, Is that really you?
Baylee Chapo: It's me. Yes.
Leanne: Wow.
Baylee Chapo: I don't know why I keep saying we I guess I feel like I have multiple bodies, and I'm doing so much on my own here. Yeah, but yeah, it's really me. Sometimes, you know, when we get a big wave of applications, I will go through everything on my own the first time around, and then if I have any, like unsure about anything, I'll always ask Zack for his opinion. I mean, he did start the business with me originally, when we were doing networking events, but he truly has like, a negative passion for influencer marketing. So it's like not I mean, I wouldn't expect him to work a day with me, you know, but he's there to like, bounce ideas off of if I need to, or anything like that, you know? If I did events, he would help me, you know. But, yes, the we is me.
Calla: Awesome. Do you think you'll do events again? Or are you happy with the new model and this is where you want to take it?
Baylee Chapo: I want to do events, honestly, they were just so so much fun. It was a great time. But I think as a one-person business and we're like we're at this big growth period right now we're really getting a lot of clients in the influencer marketing space and I wouldn't want to spread myself thin and then like, under-deliver for the Influence Marketing clients. So, you know, I think that if we did events, we, we, if I did have to like partner with another company to put something together all the way or, you know, I, I have in this time where I might need an employee soon. So, you know, once I'm not doing everything and I have some more time to put into events, yeah, I'd love to do them again, I would love to do a retreat with our creators, because they're nationwide. I mean, how cool would it be to even just get one Airbnb, and if you know, 10 to 12 creators signed up for it or whatever, it would be a great retreat way to all meet each other and collaborate on content and help one another. And, you know, just kind of connect on a different level than through the screen like always.
Leanne: Have you been able to form any relationships with your, I guess, employees or other contractors?
Baylee Chapo: Yeah. Yeah, I've had to like when I lived in California, we had a lot of creators that were like in Southern California. So I've met quite a few of them and done photography for some of them and their campaigns, which is always fun. So, anyone that ever wants to get together for that, that fills my heart. I love taking pictures, and I always need models. So yeah, and I have some creators that like, possibly worked with us when the company started and maybe don't work with us anymore, but they're still my friends today. I have one friend that's in the UK that used to be in the United States and we first connected because she was doing content creation with W0lfpack and I don't think she has for maybe a year and a half, but we still talk like every day. So definitely I keep relationships with, you know who I am just genuinely connected to.
Calla: Outside of the Airbnb creative weekend idea. Is there anything else that you're just like, have your eyes set on, or that you hope to accomplish with W0lfpack?
Baylee Chapo: I mean, I'd like to get us to the point where like, we could sponsor other people's events and activities. We do sponsor a podcast for gentlemen in San Diego. And that's like, the only thing that we do, but I would like to like be able to get to that point where we can help other people with their projects.
Leanne: Yeah. I would love to see you on a podcast like not like this, but you could have a podcast.
Calla: Her show was the best like when you guys oh my god, it was so great. I remember. She's, you're talking about it as if you just held these events, but you opened your home. People you were catering you were doing your house? Every Yeah, we did this first. Wow, it's so inspiring. Like,
Baylee Chapo: It was awesome. I mean, yeah, we get a catering company, because like, if it was a morning event, we were kind of getting known for our Belgian waffle bar that we'd put out by this catering company. We always had a nice caterer and everybody was attending knowing that they were gonna like sit in a chair and watch this live Instagram show be recorded. So like they were in the real you know, in the flesh watching it happen. Meanwhile, other people were tuning in live on Instagram, while we did it and, you know, I'd sit there and someone would come on stage and they'd have like an eight or 10-minute window at already have the questions ready, they'd already know what they were going to get asked and we would just kind of, you know, get the info out there to everybody watching and so I know it made a lot of connections for people. I think that was the best part of wolfpack live was we helped connect and that was my that was like, that's the purpose here is connecting people, whether it's consumers and brands, brands and influencers, whatever it may be, it was all about connecting people and finding like here listen to 10 different people and brands speak in the same hour. And then if one of them resonates with you reach out to them and introduce yourself you know,
Calla: Conversations have a way of doing that. I don't know there's something about it.
Leanne: Of all the hats that you wear being this one-woman business? What what is the most difficult for you and what's your favorite?
Baylee Chapo: Okay, the most difficult is hands down working with creators and keeping like, you know, like when they say in like a restaurant has a high turnover rate. Well, like how I said people become inactive or they stop posting about cannabis or whatever. We kind of recycle through creators way faster than we'd like to so that's the most difficult part. My favorite part? My favorite part is honestly when I've helped someone whether it's a brand or Creator, like, oh my gosh, I had a creator earlier this week she sent me a screenshot of her Instagram insights. And she's like, look, Bailey, I took the advice you gave me a look at this huge spike, I've had it everything you're saying is working. Like, that's what makes me happy because I believe anyone can do it when they're given the right tools, you know, and so like, I feel like I might be a bit of the toolbox. And so when people take the tools out of me and use them then and they find success with it. Honestly, the fulfillment of that is, unmatched.
Calla: Yeah, so good. Where does this love of people stem from? Has it always been that way?
Baylee Chapo: I don't know. I mean, I think that I have a love for letting everybody know that they can do it and it's like that thing like influencing isn't unobtainable, that creating beautiful content isn't unobtainable like you can do it you know? You can be resourceful. Let me help you be resourceful. And I've always just wanted to help people shine and shine in what they want to be shining in. Oh, I just like people. I like dogs the most.
Leanne: Dogs than people.
Calla: Yes. Awesome. Well, this has been so much fun. Thank you for coming and hanging out. Oh my gosh.
Leanne: Well, we plan to be in Austin in spring so we'll have you call maybe do dinner or something.
Baylee Chapo: We should go for a CBD tour. Downtown Austin and have a like half-day thing when we can have a meal at a restaurant. I would love to that's something I love to do too is show people what I've found that I like.
Calla: Yeah, because that's what makes you so good at what you do. I've gotten so many great products just from following you. Like I would have never heard about Dart that's how I heard about them originally you know those little one-hitters back in the day those are like great.
Baylee Chapo: Yeah, they were great.
Calla: I learned about that from you. I think when you were I think on the original Wolfpack lives, I won one of the things from like attending and like you know it's just funny to see how far it's come over the years and I just think what you and Zach and well mainly you, but I like Zach too, you know? It's just so good and like I said just you showing everybody the highs and lows through it just makes your brand that much more authentic and credible and I just really appreciate what you bring to the cannabis space and I have for a very long time so I was honored that you said yes to come on here.
Baylee Chapo: Oh my gosh, that's awesome. I was so excited when I finally scheduled the time slot.
Calla: Good. I'm so glad. Well, Where can the HTC audience find you and get connected? And if they want to be an influencer in your program, how do they go about doing that?
Baylee Chapo: Alright, so the easiest thing is because most people are on Instagram, find me there @bayw0lf and in my link and bio there, you can get to everything else you can get straight to the blog, The Howler, you can get straight to the application to apply to be a creator. You can get straight to our website, to all my other social platforms. You can get everything right there. So the easiest thing is to go to Instagram and find @Bayw0lf
Calla: And hit follow.
Baylee Chapo: Yes, Hit the Follow button.
Calla: Thank you so much. Bailey. This was awesome. I really appreciate you.
Baylee Chapo: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
Calla: Tell Zack and the pugs we said hi, and we'll see you in Austin soon!
Baylee Chapo: Awesome. Sounds good.
Leanne: Bye, Bailey.
Baylee Chapo: Bye!!