From Gunners Mate to Podcast Host: Rhema Tilman's Journey (Today with Rhe)

In this episode of the Whiskey and Wisdom podcast, hosts Chris and Tyler are joined by Rhema Tilman, host of the "Today with Rhe" podcast and the ambassador coordinator of Port City Young Professionals. They discuss why Rhe decided to start her own podcast and highlight other entrepreneurs. They also talk about her recent achievement of being named one of Wilmington's 40 under 40. The hosts also sample a unique whiskey from Sledge Distillery.

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Transcript

Chris: 0:32

Welcome back everybody to the Whiskey and Wisdom podcast. Coming to you live from the Cargo District Studios. This week, you have your hosts, Chris Kellum and Tyler Yall. And we're bringing on the amazing Rayma Tillman. Thank you. I was like reading, I'm like, I'm going to ruin her name.

Tyler: 0:50

It's fine. The way you have to remember it is the podcast name that she has, cause it rhymes. Oh

Rhe: 0:56

yeah. Today with Ray. Exactly. Ray Ma.

Chris: 1:00

That makes way more sense. Yeah.

Tyler: 1:02

So not only a port city young professional. What's the official ambassador, right?

Rhe: 1:07

Ambassador coordinator.

Tyler: 1:09

Oh, nice. There you go. Yeah, very fancy name. Host of Today With Ray podcast and the newly minted award winner of 40 Under 40 for Wilmington. That's awesome. Yeah, so we're racking up all the PCYP members and all the 40 Under 40 members.

Chris: 1:28

Yeah, Tyler's got a few more years before he can... Where you can qualify for it. I have 10

Tyler: 1:33

more years. Don't make me so old. You gotta be

Rhe: 1:35

40 or under, so. Yeah.

Chris: 1:37

Oh, you have 10 years. Oh, gosh.

Tyler: 1:39

Yeah, you only have a couple of years.

Chris: 1:42

I'm not gonna make it.

Tyler: 1:44

I don't know. I feel like if one of us makes it, the other one probably will at this point. We're kind of a dual package.

Chris: 1:50

Pretty much. But before we get into the full details of all your backstory and everything going on, we are sipping on something funky. It

2:02

is

Tyler: 2:02

from Sledge Distillery, and we can't drink this without giving my wonderful sister in law a shout out, who's actually moving up to North Carolina from Texas next week. Oh, fun! Yeah, so that's very exciting, we're excited to have her down the road from us. And but before she moved up here officially, she brought us back some whiskey

Chris: 2:22

from Texas. Yeah, so this is the Rocky Branch bourbon. So weeded bourbon finished in their charred, it literally just says they're charred new oak barrels for about three years. So something a little different. Looks like more of a smaller batch.

Rhe: 2:37

It's real tasty. I should have left my coffee. Poured a little bit in my coffee. Can't say I haven't

Tyler: 2:43

done that.

Chris: 2:45

I'm going to test it out. Cheers. Cheers.

Tyler: 2:48

That's sweet.

Chris: 2:50

Tastes like some Tennessee whiskey. Yeah. That is way sweeter than I was expecting.

Tyler: 2:58

Did you look at the mash bill on that when it

Chris: 3:00

was up? It literally just says weeded bourbon.

Tyler: 3:05

It tastes very corny because it's very

Chris: 3:07

sweet. Yeah. Interesting.

Rhe: 3:10

Yeah. Very smooth. Yeah. Yeah. I

Chris: 3:13

liked it. It will. So the bottle it's in is in one of those like on the rocks bottles. Yeah. Like whenever you're looking like at the. One of these smaller bottles, like if you're going in the liquor store, it looks like the ones that are like pre made drinks. It's like the hand

Tyler: 3:29

from the Ash family.

Chris: 3:31

Yes. Like who? The hand. Oh, me? That's what I'm here for. Yeah. No, it's, it's decent. It is an 85 proof, which is why it's a lot smoother than what we're used to tasting because we're usually sipping on stuff over 90. But.

Rhe: 3:46

Thank

Chris: 3:48

Hey, you got what you got to do. I didn't start off with a low proof. Yeah, right. Like our first whiskey on the podcast was, Oh yeah, pretty high. And that thing was.

Rhe: 4:01

Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to make it. I would have just been like, mm hmm. Right.

Tyler: 4:05

There would have

Rhe: 4:05

been no talking.

Chris: 4:08

Coughing

Rhe: 4:08

the whole time.

Tyler: 4:10

Well, enough about our whiskey right now. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Rhe: 4:13

So, I'm Rayma T. And as you mentioned before, I am the host of Today with Ray, which is the show that highlights everyday entrepreneurs. Which we can get into a little later. I am a Wilmington native, which I'm kind of like the unicorn now. Like, but I do have a caveat. So like, I moved and lived in Myrtle beach for a little while. Came back, went to high school and then left and came back. So kind of like born and raised, but wasn't here the entire time, but all of my family born and raised here, all my in laws, so it's. Definitely interesting and wonderful to see the influx of what I call transplant people. And literally being I don't know. Like I said, the unicorn of being born here and just finding so many different people that love Wilmington now. Yeah.

Chris: 5:06

Yeah. It's kind of weird. We've been, we've had this podcast for about a year and a half now and we've had less than like 10 people, right? Been born

Rhe: 5:14

and raised. Yeah. And I can definitely say Wilmington has changed so much over the years that it's. It's like downtown to see it thriving the way that it is. It's like, I remember just being a ghost town sometimes. Yeah, it's really nice. What else was in the Navy for six years? Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Yeah.

Chris: 5:38

So I saw that. So this is your gunner's mate. Yeah. I'm always confused because I was in the army national guard and it was just like, Hey, this is all your different. M. O. S. Is blank. Yeah. And then everybody, you know, from the Navy is low. I was a gunner's mate or I was mechanics. I was like, what? What does that mean?

Rhe: 5:58

So, gunners me. I was the person that Basically your armor. I housed all the guns. I taught people how to shoot in the military But then I specialized in vertical launching missiles. Oh, I know right So when you see me like you just see this short girl No, like I really did do a lot in the military and it was incredible. We got to shoot a missile off the ship for a training exercise, not because we were in any, you know, danger or anything, but that was one of the highlights of my whole career was seeing that shoot off the ship. So aside from that any type of. weaponry. I've kind of dealt with from, you know, your nine millimeter all the way up to 50 cal. So yeah, it doesn't really look like I would have been doing something like that, but I did. And then when I got off the ship, I actually Supervised the entry point of the world's largest Navy base in Norfolk. So, yeah, that was incredibly stressful. You can imagine all the contractors, truckers, visitors crazy the amount of people that come on to that military installation. So after that, I was like, I think I'm done. That's understandable. I think I'm done. So, yeah. And then I moved back to Wilmington and been here ever since.

Tyler: 7:20

Nice. So what brought you back to Wilmington from all of the other places that you've traveled to?

Rhe: 7:25

So, honestly if it was up to me, I would have stayed in Virginia. I absolutely loved it. But, like I've mentioned, all of our family is here. All of my husband's family is here. So when we decided to have kids, we kind of looked around and was like, Some help would be great right now. So... So, yeah, we moved back and we moved back at the most horrible time ever. Florence just happened. Oh, yeah. And so we were like that's probably wasn't the smartest idea, but we're here now. So, yeah, we worked through it and we were able to help, you know, in the midst of that. And yeah, so everything's been great ever since, you know, right.

Tyler: 8:11

So how'd you get involved with PCYP and what made you want to get started with them?

Rhe: 8:15

Great question. So before I started my own podcast, I was the community manager for a startup company called Genesis Block. Oh yeah. And so as the community manager, your job is literally to be in the community. So I got in contact with Jenna and she's like, Hey, you know, just come out. So the first couple of years I was just a guest and I was just like, I really love what they're doing. I love the initiative that they're trying to take with, you know, connecting people that's new, just professionals in general. And then I was like, okay, I think I want to be an ambassador. I can really see myself, you know, helping this organization. And she kind of pulled me to the side one day and was like, Hey, I know that you're great and X, Y, Z from Genesis box. So do you want to take on a little bit more? And I was just like, yeah, why not? So, I think at the beginning of this year is when I started actually like. Being the ambassador coordinator and what that really just looks like is day of event. I make sure that all of our volunteers are in place where they need to be. If someone doesn't show up, making sure that, you know, someone's filled in, but I love it, man. You know, shameless plug, but if you haven't been to an event there every third Wednesday make sure to check the Facebook to see when our next event is. Yeah, it's a great way to get connected if you're new in the city. So.

Tyler: 9:38

Thank you. Yeah, that's great. I just want to go to Genesis block real quick. Yeah. So I've heard about them a lot. I've never actually like gone or done like anything too involved with them. So can you tell our listeners and myself a little bit more of what Genesis block is and what they

Rhe: 9:51

do? Yeah. So Genesis block is a startup basically think like when you're actually in the ideation stage of your business. They have training courses. You come in called Jumpstart Academy, where you're like, okay, I'm just starting out, but I need some structure. So basically, they help you from the ideation stage to the full fruition being of that. And then they also started their own kind of networking event called Conversations to Contracts. So really, they're they're wanting to help small business be in contract with bigger businesses. So that the little guy doesn't get left behind. So you think of like your Monteith bit corporation they want to do, you know, appreciation for their. workers, they'll contract out with a smaller, you know, charcuterie business or event planner or something, you know, of, of that nature. So that's what they're really geared to about right now. And let's see what else they're doing. They have block eats, which they've partnered with Cape Fear Community College North Campus. So now they're helping kind of these foodpreneurs and having a, like a food incubator type spot. So the students will actually be. You know, buying from local businesses now at that cafeteria at the north campus. So they're really just about creating this entrepreneurial hub for everyone. So, yeah, if you're a new business or you need kind of like some guidance, make sure to check out Genesis block. So, yeah.

Tyler: 11:29

So if Chris is looking to open a bottle

Rhe: 11:31

shop, yeah, they will help you. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris: 11:35

So is that your full time

Rhe: 11:36

gig? So it was and. I stepped away from them all love still, but I was realized that through them. I met so many entrepreneurs and what I realized with talking. With them. It's like nobody is sharing their story. These people are working full time jobs and Still trying to create their dream on the side Some people have left their full time job using all of their savings and I'm like nobody is sharing this They're just looking at this. I know High of being an entrepreneur, you know, they're not working a nine to five. Yeah, that's 27 So I'm like, okay, what can I do? To make an impact in a community where, you know, our economic development really stays in house. You know, it's great when we have these bigger businesses come in because, you know, that means money's coming into the city, but we don't want these bigger companies outshining the small guy at the same time. So I look at it and I was just like, okay. Where's the soap companies, where's the candle companies, where's the people that, like I said, charcuterie businesses and event planning, like, where are they at so that I can highlight their story and people can say, oh, you know, next time I need them. Now I know someone because people do business with who they know, trust and like. So if I can put a face and a name and a story behind someone, I feel like I'm doing some type of justice to them. So yeah, yeah. So. I left the full time kind of to go after my own dream and help others. So, yeah, that's

Tyler: 13:18

where I'm at. So you're doing all the things that you're promoting for others. Pretty

Rhe: 13:22

much. Yeah. Yeah. I never really, I guess, looked at it like that, but yeah, essentially my business is really just to create a platform to highlight other businesses. Right. Yeah. That's great.

Chris: 13:35

Interesting. So. I'm. It's still mind blowing to me that you're running this business as well as being a mother. Yeah, and Just helping out everybody. Mm hmm. How is that like all combined?

Rhe: 13:54

Yeah, that's a great question. You really just have to when you go into Business or you feel like you want to be an entrepreneur I guess You have to draw those hard lines before because if you don't everything gets muddled and I actually interviewed someone on my show and he really talked about how he went through identity crisis because His business overtook his personal life So you really have to create those hard lines like okay I'm not doing any more work past five or whatever your time is so that I can still make sure that first me as the person is okay because if I'm not okay, then my marriage isn't okay. My kids aren't okay. And then my business isn't gonna be okay. So I think that's what it comes down to is really just creating those boundaries. So that every bucket that you have isn't depleting. Because on top of Running the show and being a mom and a wife. I'm also finishing my degree. Yeah I'm like, okay. Everything has to have a time frame to really complete everything. So Luckily, I graduate in May, so we're, we're at the finish line, but it wasn't always like that. Halfway through, I told my husband, I'm like, I, I don't want to do this anymore. It's like, you're almost there. Right. So, I guess to answer your question, how does it really all work is because I, I know that I have to compartmentalize everything so that everything runs smoothly and I'm not overworking or overstressing myself.

Chris: 15:29

It's something I've learned. More recently, cause I've always been that the true millennial where it's like, Oh, Hey, you know, this needs to be done. I'll help. I'll get it figured out. And just learning to just separate and be like, Hey, you know, it's my day off. Like I don't need to worry about work or, you know, I clocked out. Let me go take care of this. But you're right. It's harder for an entrepreneur to like separate those boundaries. It really

Rhe: 15:54

is. It really is. And because sometimes I'll just be laying there like, Did I respond to that person? Did I create my schedule for posting this week? Did I, you know, do enough, you know, it, it really does get overwhelming sometimes.

Chris: 16:09

So tell us a little bit about this podcast. Mm-hmm. So I'm assuming today with Ray. Mm-hmm. and the podcast are all like your business. Yeah. All together thing.

Rhe: 16:21

So, let me take a step back. When I said I was getting my degree, it's in digital marketing and social media. So then when I started, and I wanted to do the talk show, I wanted to do something where I can still use the degree. And so, it, social media is a beast in itself. You know, everyone can look at that and just be like, okay, where do I start with this? Yeah. So yes, today with Ray is my show and I hope I will in the future be able to capitalize the. Digital marketing side of that. Again, already marketing other companies on the show, but in the business of podcasting, it's about sponsorships. So, I hope to take that and really be able to use and mesh the degrees the degree and my show together. So when, when I think about the show, I just, I want it to really be. Something that people can be captivated towards. And really, I guess, sorry, I'm thinking of a good answer. Capitalize and really, you know, draw in into their story. So when you think of social media and digital marketing, they've kind of already been meshed, but it's different when you market yourself or market a business to me, at least it's not the same as social media. So. Social media, think about it like before when we only had, you know, cameras and you're literally just showing your friends what's happened over the weekend. I think that's where the true authenticity comes behind the brand when you really push the social part of social media. So I hope when I show these people their stories that they can really get the essence of their authentic. And that's why I do video based podcasts instead of just audio. Because you can hear us laugh and it, you know, I'll be good, but I think. Just as me, I'm like a visual person. So I want to see the laughing happening, not just kind of hear it. And like I said, putting a name to a face and really just seeing their passion and fire when they talk about their business goes a long way. So how do I put it all together? I think my, my show or podcast helps with that social media. And as they talk about their business, then yeah, we get into the digital marketing side of it. But yeah, I think altogether, that's what I'm really looking forward to happen.

Tyler: 18:59

Has there been anything that you learned part of your courses that you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm using this tomorrow?

Rhe: 19:05

Yes. So SEO or so search search engine optimization is such a huge factor to really captivating your target audience. So if you're looking for certain people to watch a certain episode, like I had a person on there Randy from craft grown, craft grown farms. I'm not going to put, the search engine. Hashtag cars on that episode. I'm going to put farms. I'm going to put homegrown. I'm going to put, you know, organic. So when people are searching for that type of stuff, that's what comes up. So that's one of the biggest things. And then your filter bubble. It sounds crazy, but your phone is really tailored to the things that you like. You comment on you. Search. So when you really, when you see you're on Facebook and you see that shoe ad that comes up on your Facebook and it's just like, how did they know? Well, your phone has, you know, open source mic. So when you're talking like, Hey babe, I need a new pair of shoes. Your phone's like, okay, that's now in your filter of thought. Let's push that agenda. And that for me was like, Oh, that makes so much sense. Cause sometimes it's so, yeah. Bad now, like you'll be thinking about something and it's on your phone. Like how how how? and now at the tail end of School and everything that I see is AI. Oh, yeah It is scary a little bit And a lot of people in this Degree field it's like oh god, is it gonna take our job? And it's just like no because it still doesn't have this humanistic Factor to it. So, I would learn to use it to your best ability. And really find that fine line of like how to use it and not let it use you.

Tyler: 21:07

So, yeah, my favorite quote that I've heard about AI so far is AI is not going to take your job, but someone using AI will.

Rhe: 21:13

Exactly. So I was like, ah, that is good to know. So for everyone that's like, I don't know where to start.

Tyler: 21:22

We've been using it more and more for the podcast as well

Rhe: 21:25

to,

Tyler: 21:25

There's just so many things that's like, you're not going to use what they, because like you said, there's not really a humanistic field to it yet. You're not going to use exactly like a plug and play type of thing, but it'll give you a really good kind of framework to where to start from.

Rhe: 21:38

Oh, absolutely. I use it all the time. If I'm just like in a brain fart. Type of mood or whatever. And, you know, I have my, my calendar, but I really just can't think of a caption right now or like, what's a good hashtag. I'll be like, Hey, what's a good, you know, caption to use that will get people, you know, ready, ready for Monday. Like let's start the week. So like, yeah, it really, it really can help you in those moments. So don't be afraid of it. Yeah.

Tyler: 22:04

There's. We don't get paid for this though, right? They get it. They get a shout out for free. It's called swell AI. Okay, it's really neat So you'll take your like the podcast episode you put it in swell AI it creates a full transcript for you And then from that transcript it'll give you As many title names as you want to look through and go through captions for every single social media that's out there. Relevant hashtags, relevant SEO to put in like the back end of it. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is

Rhe: 22:34

ridiculous. This is ridiculous. Look, another one, free promo Opus. I use that all the time. That takes long form videos and makes those nice little reels or take talks for you. I'm like, Hey, that's less editing for me. Cool,

Chris: 22:51

so I mean I go back and forth because I like to use AI but I also like having like The human essence and the human touch on everything. Mm hmm. I mean part of the reason why we sway For all all of our social medias, which is a sponsor. Yeah, I Mean, I'm they're the best sponsor for us right now. Yeah using AI is helpful, but knowing Someone who can help you use that product properly and then tailor everything for us has definitely helped us grow. Well, the studio pages was whiskey wisdom, which has been pretty awesome.

Tyler: 23:30

So you do get the human element behind that, like actual people working on it and stuff, which is nice. Cause then that is a plug and play type of thing. You had someone that knows our business and knows what we're doing. They're creating it, pull it, taking it. And then you just put it straight on the website. So it's finding that nice combo of

Rhe: 23:45

both. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Chris: 23:48

And they're kind of like our producers, you were saying earlier, like. The world is just so crazy and busy with everything going on that you took on a

Rhe: 23:57

producer. I did. So, season one and season two, I was just so gung ho, I was really, you know, excited about it and it's been such a learning process because season, the first two seasons, I was week by week just grabbing people, recording editing, marketing, and I was just like, This isn't it like something's got to change. So, this last season. Yeah, I reached out to someone We batched the entire season In a week. So yeah, that was really great and I didn't have to edit anything. I just got sent You know what I like this I like this a lot I just get to come in talk Yeah,

Chris: 24:43

we go back and forth because like we do a bunch of batching just because we have full time jobs and trying to collect everybody on different days. It's just kind of hard. So we do a lot of recording at one time. So I totally understand that. You mentioned you have seasons two questions. Yeah. One. Do you like, how do you choose between like season one, season two, like when you start it and how many episodes you typically do? Yeah,

Rhe: 25:08

so going into this I just kind of wanted like to dip my toe in it, see if like any fish would bite or whatever. So I was like, okay, I'll go in and I'll just do like 10 episodes. I can quickly get 10 people off the rip and like, okay. So, and then I wanted it to be more like. TV show, cause I know podcasts, they do it like year long. And I didn't, I guess I didn't want to commit myself because I had other things going on at that time where I'm like, okay, I can just do it like season base and kind of like Netflix you if I need to, like, give you a 10 episode and then wait two years if that was necessary. So after season one completed, I was like, okay. I can, I can manage everything that I need to. So then I was like, okay, I'll do another season. And that's just kind of how I've been rolling with it. Again. Really just making sure I take a full glimpse of everything that I have going on in life. And like I said, if I need to Netflix you guys for a moment but just know it's not forever. So yeah 10, 10 episodes in a season. And really just going about it like that so that I'm not committing myself to unrealistic measures.

Chris: 26:30

Do you have like a story arc? I joke with Tyler because like we started 2023 and we've had so many people on and a lot of them are in like the health field or something to do with like being healthier or like Physically or mentally and I was like, do we mean to do this? Like, is this the arc of this 23 years? It just like

Rhe: 26:52

what's happened. Yeah, no. Funny enough. This season has been all about pivoting, like literally everyone. And it wasn't like, Oh. You know, when you fill out their question, you're like, have you pivot in your business? When I just talked to them and I let everyone know, like I do everything unscripted because every entrepreneur, excuse me, every entrepreneur is different. But it just turned out that in every person's story. They've pivoted in some way whether they were in one business and they completely scrapped that or different renditions of their business like I said. Self versus entrepreneur pivoting style. So yeah, I guess if anything, I guess that would be the arc of this season pivoting. Yeah.

Tyler: 27:42

It's always funny kind of looking back on it and you're like, wow, there's kind of an undertone of all these. You never really tried like the first year that we did it. Like the first season, I guess you could say was all about like, Overcoming obstacles in life or like something came up and they're like, but I had to overcome this. So it was all overcoming obstacles and like chris said somehow this time we got hooked on all of these different Doctors and performance coaches and like all kind of different things, too So it's it's been neat just kind of how that falls into place.

Rhe: 28:08

It just When it works, it works. Right. We'll take it. Yeah, we'll take it. Exactly.

Tyler: 28:15

People spend a lot of time trying to plan those things out. So it works

Rhe: 28:18

naturally. It's even better. Yeah, it is when the organic nature of everything just falls into place. It's just like, you know, that was really good. Right. Really

Tyler: 28:26

good.

Chris: 28:27

Sorry. It does fall in place. Not everything does fall in place. Oh yeah. As we've learned in trying to figure out with Just being podcasters,

Tyler: 28:39

I guess. Yeah, a lot of trial and error. I'm sure you understand

Rhe: 28:43

that. Like, even this season of learning, like, okay, maybe you should batch everything because you're working with 10 different schedules right now. And There's been no called no shows sometimes and you're having to scramble like, okay, what do I do for this episode? Like, and I've learned that you just got to roll with it There's been plenty of upsets in the first two seasons where I'm just kicking it by myself because like you got to keep pushing Yes but then I'm like sitting at home like do I continue to do like is this gonna be life right now? It's just like no, it's just a little bump in the road. And yeah, so I've definitely learned how to just keep rolling because What are you going to do at that point? They're not going to come. They're not going to show up. You got 10 minutes, you know, before the podcast actually starts. So you just keep rolling with it. Just keep going. Yeah.

Tyler: 29:35

Now that you're, you've finished season three, have you had a lot of entrepreneurs like knocking down the door to kind of get their word out and stuff too?

Rhe: 29:42

So funny thing, it really is word of mouth and networking is so huge. So I had You should interview this person. I was like, okay, I reached out to him and they were on season three and They referred someone else and they were on season three and now it's just kind of been like a domino effect like oh, yeah And when I go out places They're always like, oh my god, you have it. Yeah, I have this small business just like great I'm already checking for season four like just hit me up on my email. But yeah it I wouldn't say they're like knocking down at the door, but they're definitely like ringing the doorbell and like just kind of standing there. So yeah, it's, it's been like a slow roll, which is fine. And I guess that's one of the things that you kind of just have to not expect. It's not going to be. K followers in two weeks. Like I think consistency is one thing that I've learned in general. I'm very squirrel brain when it comes to creative things. So like. Funny, my husband was like, you can't buy any more arts and crafts stuff because our closet or garage, like we can't take this because I'm like, Oh, I want to do this. I want to do that. And so I really had to buckle down. It's like, okay, if I'm going to make this work and like it legit be a thing and not just like. Oh, that was fun. Consistency will always win. So that's what I'll take for right now. It's just being consistent about

Tyler: 31:19

this. We can definitely agree with that too. And We'll make this a nice plug for our other sponsor too, just because it kind of fits in is so it's 30 off local and the, what we've always been trying to do since the beginning of it, we're like, Hey, running a podcast is very expensive. How are you going to like come up with a way to start making money for it? We're like, okay, we need to start looking for sponsors. And we had a few that kind of like dropped in for a while. And we're like, this doesn't even make sense what we're doing. And so we, we like drop it before you even aired it or like cut it out and just. Reach back out and be like, Hey, it doesn't fit. And so finally now we're like, what really makes sense for our guests and then our listenership and stuff too. And then when we had the opportunity to work with 30 off local, I was like, all right, this actually does make sense for us because one, our podcast is based in Wilmington and it's based on Wilmingtonians and also it's people that are reaching out and wanting to go and experience. What else is out there? Especially the new stuff. I know, especially with port city and professional, we always have new people coming in and trying to expand their businesses. And so 30 off local, it's a good way for people that found out like, Hey, you know, is this place good? Should I go check them out? You can go ahead and get a gift card for that location for 30% off. So it's one of the best deals that you're gonna find around town. So

Chris: 32:31

you can shop local, save local and support local. You literally just go on to their website. Which will be in our show notes, should be 30 off local select the location, which is North Carolina, Wilmington you just make an account and you can purchase gift certificates. So you get the full price gift certificate for 30% off and you can use it for like fine dining. You can use it for like hangover helpers. Like they have Vita flow IV clinic on there. They have clean juice. They do like getaways. They have a promo right now for like the end of bald head Island. You get 30% off and stay there. And then. Even localer. More local? More,

Tyler: 33:09

more local. Localer, I like that one. Localer! Let's start using

Chris: 33:11

that, localer. Is, they got shops in the Cargo District too, so like Mess Hall, Cheesemith, Fermental. Nice. Great ways to set you up. And, like we said, shop local, save local, support local.

Tyler: 33:22

Yeah, I saw that review at Aloft was on there. I was like, I will be buying gift cards for that mostly because that place is a little pricey up there, but they have an amazing view. So I don't want to miss out on that either. So have you been up there yet?

Rhe: 33:34

I have not. But my grandma was there. Her class had like a get together. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, they were, a rooftop party

Tyler: 33:44

for these 70 year olds. I was gonna say, I was like, good for them, that's

Rhe: 33:49

4 to 7. Right. But she said it was beautiful up there, and I'm just like, how did my 70 year old nana beat me to a rooftop bar? Hey, she's living her life, though. It's good for her.

Chris: 34:02

Living her best life. But yeah. So, we're talking about living her best life. Yeah. And I feel like that leads me into how you got into your award for like

Rhe: 34:12

40 under 40. Oh my gosh, I was telling Tyler off camera. I don't know. Consistency. I don't, I really, I was telling Tyler, I was like, I really just want to know who nominated me so I can say thank you. I'm really honored and thankful for it. Another funny story I was telling Tyler off camera is that my husband won last year. Oh, so wait, who's your husband? Marquise Tillman. Yeah. He won last year. Yeah, he won last year. And It's not that I was jealous because I was not jealous. I was very proud But like he doesn't like any of that type of stuff. So I was like man, I wish it was me so he was like, well, wouldn't it be funny if you won next year and Sure enough. I'm like, well, you need to, you need to speak out, like me getting a million dollars or something like, right. You know, if you, you said like, Hey, it'd be funny if you went next year, what else is funny? Like, it's funny if I get a new car, like wink, wink, something like, so yeah. Morning

Chris: 35:17

affirmations. Like, all right, I'm going to win a new car.

Rhe: 35:20

I'm going to, I'm going to win. Right. So he's going to gift me. Cause I don't want to do a car payment. My car's paid off. So

Chris: 35:26

yeah, I was in that same boat. Like we had two cars paid off and I was like, Oh, we're doing good. And my car was like an 07 Sebring convertible. Like I pulled up to work looking like Michael Scott. And then my window stopped working. My convertible top didn't want to go

Rhe: 35:44

down. I was like, Oh, you want to pay me off and be done with me? I got something for you. And I

Chris: 35:49

had no AC.

Rhe: 35:50

Stop. That's not, that's a non negotiable. Yeah.

Chris: 35:55

I did it for two years with no AC, dressing up in a full suit to work every day. Oh, bless you. And people are like, Chris, are you okay? I'm like, yeah.

Tyler: 36:01

I'm not okay. I'm trying to lose weight.

Rhe: 36:05

Right. I've sweated out my body length. Yeah. That's, that's a non negotiable. AC in Wilmington during the summer, gotta have it. There's

Chris: 36:14

some places you can get away with no AC, but you can't be in a spot with stop and go traffic. And it can't be a spot with this much humidity.

Rhe: 36:22

Right. And Wilmington has both. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris: 36:27

Yeah, I'm like, I love it, but it kills me at the same time when I look up and I'm like, Really? Why am I stopping good traffic right now?

Tyler: 36:37

What's, kind of going back to the Forty under forty thing it's funny with a lot of these things around Wilmington because you'll just like get Nominated for something and then never know about it until like you're in the middle of it and you're like, oh, yeah, okay

Rhe: 36:50

pretty much I I'm just checking emails one day and it I literally got the news Right before my birthday. So I was like, oh, I'm you know, I'm just doing routine checking email and I'm like Holy crap. Holy crap. This is the best birthday present ever. But again, whoever nominated me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Like I, I don't know who you are. Hopefully you'll be at the ceremony so I can like shake your hand, give you a hug, something, buy you a drink, something. But yeah. So

Tyler: 37:24

the that reminded me of something else too. So we had a couple of people on that are. That have been nominated by Star News for best of whatever their category is. So one of them is Thaddeus Brown. The very first guest we had on the podcast was this pressure washing and the other one is one of our latest podcast guests, which is Paradigm physical therapy, which is who I go to now. But, they both got nominated and they didn't even know they were nominated. And so one of their friends was like, Hey, I just voted for you. And they're like, voted for what?

Chris: 37:53

Like, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold

Rhe: 37:54

on. Right? No, that's always, it's a, it's a good feeling. I mean, Hey, Hey, I don't know what's going to come from this, but it's a great start.

Tyler: 38:04

It's a good shout out for the podcast.

Rhe: 38:06

Right. So, yeah, this year they normally work with Star News, but this year they're working with the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. Right. Okay. And so, I hope I'm not giving too much away. They had us do like video promos and stuff like that to try to mesh print with like digital marketing. Right. And so, those videos should be coming out what's... July maybe August September leading up to the ceremony. So that should be fun to watch yeah, congratulations to all the other winners and Yeah,

Chris: 38:40

it'll be interesting. I feel like you have the personality to be in front of a camera And you have some people who are gonna be like hi Thank you for nominating me. Yeah,

Rhe: 38:51

pretty much pretty much and I Guess you guys wouldn't know cuz it's more audio, but I have to tell people like hey When they get in front of the camera, like don't look straight at the camera. This is a conversation i'm here with you. Like we're just talking like it's over coffee or something and by the time we sit down They're like If you want to make a distinct point and like look at the camera by all means but like yeah, you would not imagine how many people are like So my name is Rayma T and I'm like, dude, loosen up. Maybe I should start giving them whiskey. That was the

Tyler: 39:28

main premise behind the whiskey.

Rhe: 39:31

I get it. I get it. Yeah.

Chris: 39:33

Tyler came up with the idea of like. Like, cause he's used to, well, he used to sit at the bar all the time and like meet a bunch of random people and have conversations

Rhe: 39:41

at creepy at all. No,

Tyler: 39:43

I completely eavesdrop and go like, Hey, not to eavesdrop or anything, but I completely listened to that story. Let me interject.

Chris: 39:50

And now, because he he's being a great father, trying to I'm the guy who sits at the bar, it's always the most awkward, like. We were joking with the owners of Starling because they're opening up a new bar And I was like, I mean if if you want to give me a little placard So this says this is my seat right at the new spot. I'm down for it It's not a dive bar like I feel like you always see that I like yeah true dive bars and I'm like Because I would be that asshole who'd

Rhe: 40:20

be like,

Tyler: 40:21

that's my seat. My name is literally on it,

Chris: 40:23

right? Every time we show up at the Starling like we'll be standing around and then like someone's sitting in my seat and I'm like I'm just waiting for them

Tyler: 40:34

See at rounds I can kind of do that because my wall my name's on the wall three different places true How much I drink but Used to drink I used to yeah. Yeah,

Chris: 40:44

he's a lot healthier. No, that's

Rhe: 40:45

good But you know what that would be a great like marketing tool like hey This is our guest of the month See ya. Yeah, and then that would promote them to come in for the month because hell if I see my name on see I'm gonna want to come the entire month and even if I don't drink I'm gonna just hang my feet People yeah For your bottle

Tyler: 41:07

shop when you open it up,

Rhe: 41:08

right

Chris: 41:10

I still have to narrow my focus. So you

Tyler: 41:12

know how we keep talking about like putting stuff into the universe, like that's why I keep saying it and he always looks at me and I'm like, it's going to happen. It is. And I'm like,

Chris: 41:22

I understand the concept of money and that there's a lot of it

Tyler: 41:26

in Wilmington. It doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Oh yes, it will appear out of nowhere. If you have the right plan and the right idea and you find the right people, especially in Wilmington, it will come from you. It's a genesis block, you know it.

Rhe: 41:40

Networking is so, listen, networking is so crazy. I've run into so many different opportunities just from going out networking. I've really made a staple because I don't even have to tell people my name anymore. They're like, I know you. And I'm like, you do? And they're like, it's the hair. And I'm like, Oh, so. I mean find whatever your stake was. I'm telling you networking is so crazy and even down to the Entrepreneur there's like tyler said there's so much money coming into Wilmington fact little known fact As of 2022 a little under 200 000 businesses have Come and start it in Wilmington. Wow. So like you can be 200, 001 But like it's here. Yeah, I mean Wilmington is is starting to become like the new Charlotte Everyone wants to start a business here. Everyone wants to move here and like yeah, just keep on speaking it on the universe I feel

Chris: 42:38

like if we didn't have the river like we would have already taken over a couple other cities Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler: 42:45

Just because it's an island pretty much. Pretty much.

Rhe: 42:47

I know. I, I believe that also there's no more room to build like horizontally, so everything's just going vertically. North. It's crazy.

Chris: 42:58

I live in the north, northwestern part of the county and I'm like, there's nothing out here. Just Give it a couple years. Because I know the people who own all that property and they're probably just like, Just wait someone's gonna offer me enough money to be like

Tyler: 43:17

like Mayfair Yep

Chris: 43:20

Yeah Yeah, I don't know if I would like another

Tyler: 43:23

Mayfair. Well, no, I'm not saying another Mayfair I'm just saying like if there's land out there people will come and they'll offer the

Rhe: 43:30

right amount for it. Exactly. Exactly

Chris: 43:33

That would be funny though. If they put a Mayfair Leland needs one Because

Rhe: 43:36

Leland is I live in Leland. Leland is becoming Way too much. I remember when it was a desolate just trees. Yes. And it's becoming way too much. We're getting that new oil change shop.

Chris: 43:52

So you're getting stuff, but you're not at the same

Rhe: 43:55

time. We're getting a Lowe's. That's a pretty huge

Tyler: 43:59

deal for us out there. We had no type of home improvement store

Chris: 44:03

out there. You have local home improvement shops. We had

Tyler: 44:06

N. A. s that may or may not have what you need. Right?

Rhe: 44:09

So, that's pretty huge. I'm telling you, we get a movie theater. I'm not coming over the bridge no more. There was a

Chris: 44:15

movie theater and you had a bowling alley and they both failed.

Rhe: 44:19

Too bad. It just wasn't the right time. Bowling

Chris: 44:21

alley, like I love a good bowling alley, but it still gives you that weird like... Put someone else's shoes on,

Tyler: 44:27

man. Yeah.

Chris: 44:29

Yeah. So in movie theaters, it's a pain. True. You know what I really would love? What? An outdoor movie theater. That would be a great

Rhe: 44:38

idea.

Tyler: 44:40

You know people that are over 40 or just lost their minds and they're like, it's a drive in, it was a thing. Yes.

Rhe: 44:46

Yeah, that's why I had asked like a drive in where you sit in your car, you want people to bring like Picnic blankets and so

Chris: 44:51

on both like a true like when I say outdoor I mean like you got the front spot up front where everyone throws a blanket down Or you can roll up in your car and just sit there I would be sitting in my car because I like my air conditioning

Tyler: 45:03

right same mosquito, but they're still talking about that Minor League Baseball team. Yeah, I was

Rhe: 45:09

gonna bring that up. Yeah, that's gonna be people are hot I think

Tyler: 45:15

it'd be fantastic for that area because there's so much land like what else you can do with the land out there Which I don't want

Chris: 45:22

Condos everyone gotta put like 15 in one space not

Rhe: 45:25

to yeah, that's true. Yeah, but money is Everywhere mm hmm back to the original speaking Into the universe, all of that to say money is

Tyler: 45:38

everywhere, especially for like small bottle shop, Castle Hayne type of thing. You know, there's going to be someone that moves in from like New York, New Jersey PA that has a ton of money. Cause they just downsized. And they're like, Oh, it'd be super cool to own like a bottle shop

Chris: 45:50

out here. Well, the guy from PA probably upgraded. He was like, well, my house, it's 1200 square feet. And I sold her for 500 K. So, Oh

Rhe: 45:59

my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. It's ridiculous.

Chris: 46:02

One of these days. There is technically a bottle shop in Wrightsboro currently. Shout out to Tipsy Goat. But you're gonna

Tyler: 46:09

have a better one.

Chris: 46:11

Right. I gotta shout out everybody.

Rhe: 46:13

Yeah, that's fine. That's

Tyler: 46:14

what we're here to do. Exactly. That's the podcast. Exactly We are starting to run up on our hour already though, believe it or not. So talking about shouting out people shout out yourself. What where do you want people to come see you? Yeah,

Rhe: 46:26

so you can find new episodes on my website www. todaywithray that's r h e Dot com. If you're a small business and want to get highlighted on the show, send me an email at info dot twr h e gmail.com and if you ever see me around, just gimme a wave. High five, I, I don't know if you're a hugger, but I am so fist pill, beware, fist pumps, all, all of that stuff. So, yeah, I'm, I love to network. You'll probably see me around anywhere. And other shout out if. If you are new professional or just want to mingle with others, make sure you come out to Port City Young Professional every Wednesday. Third Wednesday. Yeah. Every third Wednesday. Make sure to follow us on Facebook so that you can see where the location is going to be at. And, so

Chris: 47:15

wait, do you post on

Rhe: 47:16

Facebook or Instagram? Both. Sorry. I seemed really old saying Facebook first. Right? That's why I was checking. That was really old of me and not very social. What about threads? Threads. Media, you know, I'm, I'm not going to get canceled. I need my pages, you know, they listen to everything. I'm just not going to say anything before I get on my Instagram and it's not there. We work hard, but Meadow works harder. So I'm not going to say anything fair enough,

Chris: 47:47

but yes My fun question for you. Yeah. Well, we have two, two real final questions. Got it. One, what would be the definition of success for you?

Rhe: 47:57

Ooh, the definition of success. I think it's when you're happy with what you're doing and you don't need anybody else's validation for it. Okay. That's what, that's what success would look like for me. Just knowing that like, I'm happy doing it and, and nobody else's opinion can sway like, Oh, there's seven other podcasts. Like, why are you doing that? Cause I want to, and I liked it and I like it. And that's what success looks like when I don't need anybody else's validation for what I do. It

Tyler: 48:30

kind of plays into my next question for you, my last one is if you were to tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Rhe: 48:37

Yeah. Be your authentic self at all times because there's going to people like you and find you and gravitate toward you for just being yourself. You don't have to be anyone else. You don't have to conform or mold to what you think people want you to be or act like. Always be your authentic self. And that's why I have green hair now. So I like it.

Chris: 49:03

Thank you so, so much for coming on today. Oh

Rhe: 49:05

my gosh. It's been so much fun to be the interviewed person. Right,

Tyler: 49:11

yeah. I wasn't being

Rhe: 49:12

on the other side. Thank Oh, it's great. It's great. I should do this more often.

Chris: 49:17

One of us will be on your podcast before season six.

Rhe: 49:21

Okay, that's a great timeline. Well, no, because you

Chris: 49:24

already finished three. Yeah, depending on how much of a break you take, you're starting for four. Yeah. So season six gives us time to open up a bottle shop if we need to

Rhe: 49:34

see. Right. Oh, see now he's on board. Got it. I'm going to hold you to it.

Chris: 49:40

I'm, I am always that person is like, there's a good idea, but I'm going to give you the bad side of it. Can't do that. You have to have someone who like brings you back

Rhe: 49:50

in. Do you? I'm a very optimistic person, like, true.

Chris: 49:54

I've seen some people who come up with some outlandish ideas and no one holds them back. And I'm like, fair

Rhe: 50:00

enough. Hey, if people can sell, sell cans of air, there's no excuse for anybody. You got that

Tyler: 50:05

right. Pet rock.

Rhe: 50:08

Pet rock. I have one. Exactly. There's no excuse for anybody. So if you have that idea.

Chris: 50:15

Yeah, everyone's like, Chris, you need a kid and I'm like, I have a pet rock.

Rhe: 50:19

That's a lifetime commitment. At least businesses, like you could file a chapter 11 and just kind of right. Chapter 11 for kids.

Tyler: 50:28

I'm not getting canceled and he's like, well, you know, you could. Yeah,

Rhe: 50:31

you know what, I'm done.

Chris: 50:34

But yes, thank you guys for staying through to the end and listening to all of our silliness to the back end. Please like, follow, share, subscribe, check us out on all of our social media podcasts. Stations, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, all the fun stuff. Tyler has created a thread for us also. I don't know if we'll use it, but

Tyler: 50:51

it's there. Because I did not want Meta to get mad at me. So I played

Rhe: 50:56

the game. One thing, sorry. You know if you delete your threads, it deletes your whole Instagram? Just shouting that out. Just shouting that out. So that's the only thing I'm going to say about it. Yes. That's good to know. Yeah. I'm just...

Chris: 51:09

If you find me on threads, you will see my first statement and it is very true. But yeah, have a good one. Cheers.