Meet Kati Cearley | Farmer, Entrepreneur & Agri-Business Banker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kati Cearley and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kati, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind the success of my brand has been consistent marketing and connection with our customers. We have built a strong social media presence over the last 8 years and have consistently posted nearly every day over that time span, curating a collection of 3500+ photos, videos and reels all around our farm and homestead which is also our business! I find it extremely important respond to nearly every single inquiry/message that is sent to our social media platforms and try to respond to each and every comment as well. This kind of consistency has enabled us to develop real and life-long relationships and connections with our followers who are also our biggest supporters and customers! This kind of consistency and connection has enabled us to grow and achieve great success within our market!
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The Urban Ladybug Farm + Homestead is a 1 acre micro-farm located in the rural town of Copperopolis, California! We purchased our property in April 2018 and have spent the last 4.5 years developing our land into usable space, building our business and growing them both into what they are today, two things we created from the ground up- that we are extremely proud of! All while also staying consistent on social media, working full time and working a farmers market stand too! All of this hard work has not come without its challenges but we are finally seeing the fruits of our labor as we also transition into being new parents! It is divine timing!
Our brand blossomed from our passions and pure joy around creating clean and sustainably made bath + body care, straight from our farm to your bath! Being that our skin is our biggest organ it is very important to us that our products are thoughtfully made & infused with only the purest, richest and most therapeutic ingredients available! But that are also sustainably & ethically sourced as well – this is why we are also proudly Plastic, Palm Oil + Phthalate Free and infuse & decorate our products with only all-natural clays, micas, activated charcoal & our own local farmgrown flowers!
Our biggest mission with our brand is that our customers not only feel the difference but also see the difference using our products make on their skin while also making the smallest environmental impact that we can as a business! We are very proud that all of our products are infused with our own farmgrown flowers & herbs, we hand-milk our beloved goats daily for the freshest goat milk products possible and we only use 100% Certified organic oils and butters in all of our products!
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.
With Los Angeles being so big there are lots of places to visit while also still capturing the small California town feel! For starters, there is a farmers market nearly every single day somewhere in the Los Angeles area, show-casing the abundance of fruit and vegetables and other foods the area has to offer.
Grabbing a farm to table bite to eat is easier than you may think! With an abundance of restaurants in the area, there are actually quite a few that feature a full menu of locally sourced ingredients. Some local favorite restaurants include Malibu Farms, Farmhouse and Akasha which also strives to be eco-friendly eatery!
I would also highly suggest checking out some of the local tours that include many different themes, some favorites being the horseback riding tour at Sunset Ranch Hollywood, the farmers market food tour available through Melting pot food tours and an actual farm tour at Creation Family Farms.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother Julie Hancock, who left this earth way too early in May 2012, I was just 22 years old and had lost the most important person in my life, talk about a wake up call. I made her a promise before she left this earth that I would try my absolute best to follow her footsteps in all that I do! She was a complete POWERHOUSE and if you wonder where my work ethic comes from.. It is 100% from her! She always led by example by showing what hard work and dedication leads to, one of her biggest accomplishments was working up from an entry level position to district manager at a large corporate company, without a bachelors degree! She never let uncontrollable factors in her life, bring her down, she always had a new goal in sight!
I promised her that I’ll always go after what I want with everything that I have and that I’d live everyday to it’s very fullest! Our beautiful farm life has enabled me to so that and so much more. Agriculture has created such a strong purpose in my life and even though my mom passed when we were just figuring things out, I know she would just be so very proud of the careers we have built for ourselves, the farm we have created and the rewarding life that Kyle and I live today. I have so much gratitude for my mother for always being the very best role model, friend and mom to her kiddos. In the 51 years she was here, she left such a huge impact on us and so many people in this world, her ripple is still making its way around! So much so, her company even created a dedicated achievement award in her honor!
Website: www.theurbanladybug.com
Instagram: @theurbanladybug
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Theurbanladybug
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheUrbanLadyBug