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Creating Superfans: Kara Jensen’s Be Outdoors Arizona Hub Connects Agencies and Outdoor Enthusiasts
Episode 3510th August 2024 • Business Superfans Podcast • Frederick Dudek (Freddy D)
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Episode 35  Frederick Dudek (Freddy D)

Creating Superfans: Kara Jensen’s Be Outdoors Arizona Hub Connects Agencies and Outdoor Enthusiasts

Hey there, Freddy D here! In this episode of the Business Superfans podcast, I had an inspiring chat with Kara Jensen , the owner of Be Outdoors Arizona. We dove into her journey of turning a struggling conservation website into a thriving platform that connects families with outdoor activities and conservation organizations across Arizona. Kara shared how she overcame challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to build a robust resource for nonprofits, businesses, and outdoor enthusiasts. We also discussed the importance of outdoor education, collaboration, and community support. Tune in to learn how Kara’s passion is making a big impact!

Discover more with our detailed show notes and exclusive content by visiting: https://bit.ly/3yBde0E

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Mentioned in this episode:

Be Outdoors Arizona

BeOutdoorsArizona.org BeOutdoorsArizona.org/webinar

Business Superfans Accelerator

Attention business owners, are you looking to transform your employees, customers, and business allies relationships and elevate your brand to new heights? Join the Business Superfans Accelerator today. Led by me, Freddie D, this dynamic mentorship program empowers you to turn your stakeholders into passionate superfans. The ultimate brand advocates who actively promote your business. Imagine a community of dedicated supporters promoting your products or services, not just through word of mouth, but as proud champions of your brand. With exclusive access to monthly Q& A sessions, brainstorming opportunities, and valuable resources like online courses, playbooks, and much more. This program is designed to provide you with the tools you need for sustainable, profitable growth. Don't wait. Every moment you delay allows your competition to get ahead. Sign up now at bizsuperfans. community and start unleashing the potential of your superfans today. Your brand's transformation awaits. Let's make business growth your reality.

Business Superfans Accelerator



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Transcripts

Freddy D:

Kara is a marketing professional with a passion for the outdoors.

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Proficient in website design and social

media use, she has been hired by the

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Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society,

Arizona Antelope Foundation, and

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Arizona Predator Callers to rebuild and

manage their websites, and she manages

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the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife

Conservation social media platforms.

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She also has experience in public

speaking and has been the Master

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of Ceremonies for the Antelope

Foundation and the Valley of the Sun

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Chapter of Quail Forever Fundraisers.

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Kara specializes in marketing

messages, video and follow up

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systems, and event planning.

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Originally on a volunteer basis, she

built the website for Be Outdoors

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Arizona and cultivated an impressive

11, 000 plus followers on Facebook.

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In 2020, she took over the

reins of Be Outdoors Arizona.

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and is building a community of

supportive outdoor enthusiasts,

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businesses, and non profits.

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Hello, Kara.

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Welcome to the Business

Superfans podcast show.

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Kara Jenson: Thank you, Frederick.

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It's a pleasure to be on here and,

everything's going absolutely fabulous.

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Thank you.

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Freddy D: Tell us your story

of what led you to become the

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owner of the BeOutdoorsArizona.

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org website.

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Kara Jenson: I was involved in a bunch

of conservation organizations and Ran

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into these guys that were running this,

several years ago their website had

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crashed and I thought I can help you out.

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I can rebuild your website,

put your calendar back up.

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their goal at the time was to connect

a bunch of the smaller organizations

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that had outdoor workshops or camps

for kids that taught outdoor skills.

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they had 35 partners at the time

and, I helped them grow that to

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about 150 partners rebuilt their

website with a robust calendar

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system and started a Facebook page.

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I had gotten that up to close

to 10, 000 people following

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and it was going very well.

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and then one day the board came to

me and said, we've met our goal.

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This is what we wanted was to

connect all these organizations,

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to create a next steps program.

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So if you went to one of that and

you started to learn something,

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you wanted to learn more.

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There was another event by another

organization to continue your

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process until you're comfortable

enough to feel that you could

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go out on your own and do it.

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They met their goal.

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They didn't know what else they could

do with the organization, and the board

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hadn't even met in about six months.

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they told me they were going to try to

sell it to, the Environmental Education

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Association or state parks, and they

turned out that they didn't have the money

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or the manpower to keep the program going.

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, The board came back to me and said

we're just going to shelve the

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program and maybe somebody will

take it up in another year or two.

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You'll lose absolutely everything.

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And you'll start all over by

scratch in a couple of years.

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Freddy D: Oh, absolutely.

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Because you've got those partners that

invested and are counting for the traffic

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off of the website for their businesses,

It's got a lot of value for Arizonans,

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as well as visitors to the state of

Arizona, because it helps them find

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activities events and a multitude of

different things, which is all outdoors

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kind of stuff, so it's really cool.

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But you're absolutely correct,

because those partners would have

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lost confidence, and they would have

affected their business, and they

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would have not wanted to come back.

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Kara Jenson: And then even at

that, their boards of directors

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change every year or two.

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So it had all new people on board.

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They wouldn't even know who we were

and just a lot of different factors.

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Then just the social media factors.

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If that page stops posting, no

one's going to come back to it.

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I don't know what possessed

me, but I just blurted it out.

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Let me run with the organization, let

me have it, I'll run with the mission,

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and, it was what did I just say?

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Tried to put the words back in my mouth,

but I thought, I'm really passionate about

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it and I enjoyed doing what I was doing.

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So I had the organization and, so if I

planned a big, to do a expo at the Game

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and Fish Expo, they have an outdoor

expo, it brings in about 40, 000 people.

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So I bought some t shirts and hats and

some, I made some brochures and banners

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and such, and was going to launch, and

that was going to be March of:

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And then of course, we all

know what happened then.

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It was like great, I have an organization

all about events and there are no events.

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So it gave me a year to really

figure out how can I run a nonprofit

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by myself and build a board,

and what could the nonprofit do?

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The rest is history, I've got huge

organization of what it does for

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the nonprofits, for the businesses,

and for the end users parents.

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Freddy D: Let's talk about

what it does for those three

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groups that you just mentioned.

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So let's talk about one of the groups

and then we'll talk about the next one

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and the next one as to how that site

benefits, because it's a bi directional

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benefit, so it benefits you as well

as it benefits them and actually

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it's a trifecta because it actually

benefits also the user on your website.

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Kara Jenson: Yeah, my partners

would be, what I consider my

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partners are my non profits.

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These are organizations that are

environmental conservation or

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youth oriented, and they have

educational programs outdoors.

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Now, some of them can have tours,

some of them have camps where they

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actually take you out and teach

to fish, teach you how to hunt.

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teach you how to camp, how to set up

a tent, all sorts of things like that.

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Some of them actually have work projects

where you go out and you clean up

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trails or, streams or even highways.

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So there's a lot of different, types of

activities, and all those people are free

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to put their calendar on my calendar,

and so I'll import their calendars.

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They have a very small description.

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There's no picture.

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There's no information that

would really entice anybody to go

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check it out for the first time.

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So we put a little marketing effort

into it and give all the information

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that somebody needs to feel comfortable

enough to go for the first time.

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I'm creating a membership for partners

now where they'll get a lot more

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where I help them out with grants.

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do extra promotion like

professional video of their events.

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we'll also help with volunteers.

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I have a volunteer database that I

can put their listings on, to say

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we need this kind of volunteer.

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We also, will do events they won't have

a table fee to come, be at an event.

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I also will help them with things

like warehousing, printing, if they

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need fulfillment services, all sorts

of things like that a nonprofit

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really needs to be successful.

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Freddy D: Going back to your

background, which is marketing.

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Kara Jenson: Yes.

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Freddy D: Now, what about businesses?

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How can businesses benefit

from being on the website?

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Kara Jenson: What I have for businesses

is there's several different types

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of membership that they can have.

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They can have something as

simple as, a small fee to put

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their events on the calendar.

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A lot of them have classes

and, outdoor skills classes so

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they can put their events on my

calendar for a very small fee.

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I can also offer hyper

targeted advertising.

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So if they're in, say, Flagstaff and

they're a fishing store, they can be on

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the fishing events in the Flagstaff area.

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Same thing with if they're in Sierra

Vista or if they're in Tucson.

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So I've got multiple markets and

they can be the exclusive retailer.

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In that area on those sorts of events

so in the ads that they're paying for

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are going directly to the Targeted

customer that they want to reach.

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It's not going to Someone who will never

be interested in walking into their store.

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I can plan events where I bring

in some of these non profits

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and have activities for kids.

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We make it a big to do to where we have, I

was going to call them parking lot events.

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And we bring the non profits in, have

activities, have displays, and maybe

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a special sale, and more people come

in to visit the store on that day.

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Freddy D: Very cool.

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So to tie this into, creating business

superfans, you're basically helping

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promote those businesses, whether it's

a nonprofit or for profit, exposure

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onto your platform, which has got a big

audience because people are searching

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for activities, of what they can do and

adventures that they can go on, et cetera.

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So those businesses and organizations

are going to be, grateful

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and become your superfan of

promoting the website to patrons.

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Kara Jenson: And when we connect the

businesses to these nonprofits, what

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they're going to end up doing is, aligning

them with, what their customers value

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most, that allows them to no longer

have to resort to discounting to attract

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or retain those customers, because

they're offering more than just being

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a place to sell something, which makes

them a superfan to their customers.

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Freddy D: What about, your

donors and stuff like that?

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I noticed on the website there's a

place for donors, how does that work?

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Kara Jenson: I do have a donation

button and right now we're asking

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just for operating expenses to

keep the website up and running.

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I just signed up with a donation platform

called Harness, and it is another thing

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that I will be offering my non profit

partners, we can create campaigns on this

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software, and they can be sent via text,

social media, and I can help raise money

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for them, or they can actually get their

own version of Harness for themselves.

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So that's what we're going to be doing,

is Taking donations for ourselves just

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to keep the doors open, just to keep

that calendar going and all the other

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resources that are on the website for

end users in finding outdoor activities.

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Freddy D: Can you share a story of,

how the portal helped one of your

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partners in attracting more business?

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Kara Jenson: I'm in process of

one in particular right now.

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they're going to be my poster

child for the campaign software,

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and we'll be launching that soon.

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He's a new nonprofit that, takes

kids out, teaching outdoor skills to

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young men that don't have fathers.

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they're brand new and, I met him about

six months ago, so he can't get grants

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right now because they have to be in

business for two years to qualify for a

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grant, but I can get a grant for them.

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So I'm working on getting grants

and then getting them donations

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until they can get their own.

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right now I'm driving traffic

to, it's called, Field and Faith.

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So we're driving traffic to them and we

was starting a donation campaign to help

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them ramp up until they can get grants.

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Freddy D: That's going to

be a super fan for life.

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Kara Jenson: I just, I

love what he's doing.

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I even mentioned it to him and he's

told me that he's gotten the request.

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I was like, you need to have one

for fatherless girls and have

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some male influence in these

girls, and teach them the sort of

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confidence through outdoor skills.

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I thought it'd be a great idea.

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Who knows, I might be

starting something else.

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Freddy D: What he's providing is

really important because, I went

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through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts

I still remember some of the things

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from those days, and I still remember

how to tie some of the knots.

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I did the 22 mile hike

and stuff like that.

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I was one of the top in our troop.

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I ended up being one merit badge

short to being an Eagle Scout, but

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that's another story for another day.

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I understand the value.

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Through, Be Outdoors Arizona,

you're helping a non profit do some

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things that are very important,

especially in a young life, helping

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them build confidence in themselves.

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Kara Jenson: and with the way our youth

right now are experiencing so much

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stress, mental health issues are just

off the charts right now, it's just

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amazing what these kids are going through

and what they see and are exposed to.

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the need to get them outdoors

in nature is so important.

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in effect, our whole organization

is based off of Richard Lube's book,

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Last Child in the Woods., He coins

the term, Nature Deficit Disorder,

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and that's what we're all about.

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Getting the kids out there.

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Freddy D: If you think about

it, when you and I were kids,

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we were out riding our bicycles.

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we were climbing trees.

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We were going camping.

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We were, playing games outside.

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We were playing catch baseball.

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I remember even building model cars and

going into the hobby shop and they had

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slot cars and you would race them on a

track and there was a prize for winners.

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We had hobbies back then and activities,

so what you guys are doing with Be

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Outdoors Arizona is helping people

get back to that, and it's also what I

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really like about it is it's a portal.

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So I don't have to go to 12 places to

find what do I want to do this Sunday.

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I can go right to here and find out

what's going on outdoors in Arizona

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Kara Jenson: Exactly, and some of

these organizations are really small

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and even if you search for them, they

can be hard to find on the internet.

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I also have all the resources you need.

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I have all the maps to different

trails and waterways and

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boat ramps and fishing spots.

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I have all the county parks in the state

are listed where you can go find them

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and what events they have going on.

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Then just a lot of other educational

things as far as the different kinds of

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land, the public land and private land

and state land and what you can and

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can't do on that and how to do that.

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So that, and all the fees too, so if you

want to know if you're going somewhere,

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if there's some sort of fee that you have

to pay, you know that too ahead of time.

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Freddy D: Yeah, we went traveling,

we pull up to State Park, and she

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says, you gotta pay to get in.

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Fortunately, I sweet talked the guard

lady and she says, okay, I'll give

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you 15 minutes to go tour the park.

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Before we paid for anything, we

want to see what it was like to

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come back and do camping there.

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Kara Jenson: I do, a plan on a

membership, where, the end users get

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discounts to different, attractions,

such as the Butterfly Wonderland,

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the Bearizonas, the Wildlife Park,

and Arboretums, and Desert Botanical

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Gardens, and those sort of places.

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I just haven't started that program yet.

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Freddy D: Let's dive deeper, how can

people help you get the word out?

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Kara Jenson: Basically, just going

onto my website, theoutdoorsarizona.

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org, and sharing it with friends.

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We also have a, Instagram page and a

Facebook page and a Facebook group.

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we're building that group up.

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I also have one of my volunteers.

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She does video editing for me.

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She's over in New York and she

started a TikTok page for me.

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So we're on TikTok and she makes some

really cute videos there, any one of

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those just type in Be Outdoors Arizona and

we'll pop up on any of those platforms.

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Tell you what, my volunteers have just

been so instrumental and that's where

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I really use the Superfans ideas.

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When they come on board, I send them

one of our Be Outdoors hats, I recognize

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them on the website, I do a post about

them on Facebook and LinkedIn, and

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give recommendations on their profiles.

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I've got the video editor, I've been

helping her build her own video business,

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so anything I can do to help them,

because of what they've done for me.

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I usually get a volunteer for a month

or two, but these guys have stayed

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with me for six months to a year now.

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It's just been awesome.

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Freddy D: So you're applying the

things from my book, and they work.

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Kara Jenson: Yes, they work.

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In fact, I have a little

mascot, he's a stuffed Catalina.

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So I take pictures of him and take

him places and post those, and

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three of them said they wanted one.

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One had already gone out and bought one.

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So I shipped the other two, their

Javelinas, and then reimbursed the

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other woman who bought one, and they

do, they go out wherever they are and

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take pictures of, his name's Javiel,

and they post them for me, and they're

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very happy with working with me and

being on my team, and it's awesome.

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Freddy D: So those are your superfans

in your organization, and they're doing

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it for free because they believe in the

cause, and more importantly, as we've

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talked in the past, you, appreciate them,

recognize them, and express gratitude

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for the things that they're providing,

which are the three key components, in

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the creating business superfans book.

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Kara Jenson: That is true.

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Freddy D: Very exciting.

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Kara Jenson: Thank you.

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Freddy D: So can we talk about how

we can help blow this up for you and

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more importantly for all your partners

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Kara Jenson: I am having a webinar,

next tuesday august 13th, at 6 p.

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m.

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It quickly touchs on the benefits of

being outdoors, especially for your kids,

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and then I'm going to go into how to

use the website as far as where you can

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find events, how to use the filter bar,

and then where to find all these other

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maps and other resources that I have on

there, and then the social media aspect.

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It's only 30 minutes.

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I will have a Q& A session, because

I want to find out what the end user

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wants from the website, suggestions.

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I want to hear some ideas from my end

users or what else would be helpful.

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So I'm excited to have that.

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Beoutdoorsarizona.

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org slash webinar and you can

sign up there free, it's only half

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an hour and you'll learn a lot.

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Freddy D: Are you going to create that as

a video and then share it on social media?

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Kara Jenson: I could probably do that.

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I like to do my videos more

live, like out in doors,

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Freddy D: Oh, that's why I created a

business superfans accelerator is to come

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up with clever little ideas to, accelerate

your superfan creation capabilities.

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Kara Jenson: That's a good idea,

I hadn't thought about using the

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webinar as that video, so I'll

record it and we'll see how it goes.

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Freddy D: Yeah, you can record it

while you're doing live and you can

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always edit it, but then you've got

something you can repost and who knows?

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I really like what you're doing and,

it's why I'm really glad that you were

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able to come on to the show because I

think a lot of people need to know that

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this site exists because it makes it

super easy to find a multitude of events.

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Kara Jenson: Every time I go to an expo

and, I have a bunch of stuff for the

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kids to look at and play with, and the

parents, when I tell them exactly what it

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is that we do, they're just so grateful.

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They're like, Oh, this

is exactly what we need.

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We always have a hard time finding things.

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I knew I was onto something when

I did my first expo and people

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were really clamoring for it.

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Freddy D: Yeah.

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you walked into your calling.

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You're doing some good things, Kara.

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Anything else you want to chat about?

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Hopefully our listeners will,

go to check out the website

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and help donate for the cause.

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Kara Jenson: That would be awesome.

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The only other thing is

my little side thing.

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This has taken up a lot of my

time and I just never got back to

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getting some meetings, but I would

like to launch that again and make

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it a little more comprehensive.

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it's social, but it's all

business, talk, solving problems.

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Freddy D: Those are good events.

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Kara Jenson: No, we run it pretty

organized as far as one person speaks

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at a time, one topic at a time.

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Then when that person feels that

they've got the answers that they

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want to work with, then if we

have time, we go to another one.

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So I have a couple ideas in mind, but

maybe when I get that started this

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fall, you can help me out with that.

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Freddy D: Sure.

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All right, Kara it's been a

pleasure having you on the

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Business Superfans podcast show.

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some great, tips for our listeners about

some outdoor activities that they can

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go and participate in, and they can

find all those activities at where?

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Kara Jenson: The OutdoorsArizona.

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org.

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Freddy D: All right.

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Thank you very much for being on

this Business Superfan podcast.

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Kara Jenson: Thank you for having me.

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