We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Gallagher & Marie Fiorino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley & Marie, what do you attribute your success to?
Working with my best friend and our mutual love for animals. Marie and Ashley have always loved working with animals and during their time as mothers of kindergartners they formed a friendship over chickens. The conversations naturally turned into sharing our passion with others. We wanted to create a space where kids could experience farm animals in a fun and educational way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When we first started our business we worked closely with local neighbors and friends to host parties and goat yoga. With Marie’s vet background and Ashley’s entrepreneurial spirit and sales background, the Mini Barn took off.

We quickly started growing the barn with mini goats, bunnies, piglets and mini ponies.
The hardest part of this job is and will always be accepting what is ranch life. Loosing animals is never easy. As the cycle of our business grew, we worked with local rescues and have experienced some wonderful rehoming moments as well as some tragic losses. We’ve been a part of local disaster moments of evacuations in the fires, animal rescues and on call for emergency moments.

One of our most rewarding parts of working in our community has been the strength of women owned businesses and the connections we’ve made. We’ve tried hard to support each other by hosting festivals where they can come and sell their products at the barn or partnering with companies like, Fluffy Cow Coffee to give back to farm sanctuaries. It’s been a privledge to be a part of something bigger than we ever thought!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One Busy Bee Candles, Newbury Park owned by Kristen Beeson
Pet Hospital of Thousand Oaks, Dr Siegel
Nenn Equine, Dr Nenn and team
Nix Boutique for Frayed Calabasas flannels
Love Links permanent jewelry by Andrea
Smoking Gun Bartending Staff, Luke
Sunset Hills Country Club
Cliff Diver, Thousand Oaks
Plata Cantina
Snapper Jacks (highly recommend a margarita and a trip to HomeGoods)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our husbands, Mike and Shane who have been nothing short of supportive through this whole adventure.
And to our kids, Hunter, Sophia, Makensie, Logan and Teegan who help with nothing but enjoy everything.
Side note, Makenise has always been our number one employee and our best goat wrangler.

Website: https://www.theminibarn.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_minibarn/

Facebook: @the_minibarn

Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/ry7aRTnujdPMVS7kQPN5nw

Other: Tik Tok @the_minibarn

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