Meet Carrie Eaton of Kindred Collective / Nutty & Nice

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Eaton

Hi Carrie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always wanted to leave the world better than I found it, and I’m grateful to say I’m able to do that now through my career, although it was a long journey to get there! I was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, graduating from the University of Alabama and moving to Chicago in 2017. I didn’t have any friends or family nearby to lean on, but I was determined to live in my dream city and build a life for myself there. After 8 years, I’m proud to say I was able to establish a career and new community for myself. I met my fiancée, Brenden Mahoney, and we decided to move to Franklin, TN in the summer of 2024. I finally felt like I “made it”, although I still found myself yearning for more growth and a new challenge.

My pursuits led me to becoming an entrepreneur, but it wasn’t an easy road to figure out what my path was. Sometimes, it seems like people have an innate sense of knowing what they’re destined to do. Me? No clue. I knew I had talents, and I knew I was ready to start my own business, but I didn’t have an idea of what that looked like for *me*. So instead of waiting for inspiration to fall in my lap, I dedicated a full year of my free time to researching and discovering how to create this path for myself. Little did I know that opportunities would start to unfold in ways I didn’t think were possible!

I’ve always had a passion for, and gift of, connecting people and building relationships. And post-pandemic, I recognized our country was experiencing more loneliness and isolation than ever before. This was the impetus for starting Kindred Collective in 2023. Kindred Collective is an online community dedicated to empowering women to grow their self-confidence, prioritize their well being, and build long-lasting, quality friendships.

Additionally, Brenden and I always wanted to start a business together, and we decided to launch a candied nut company called Nutty & Nice shortly after moving to Franklin! In the span of a few short months, we worked tirelessly to obtain the necessary licenses and certifications required to become a legal food vendor in the state of Tennessee and are currently selling at The Factory Farmer’s Markets on Wednesdays and Sundays in person. We love being able to bring people together over our delicious, gluten free, organic, and vegan treats and can’t wait to share it with the world when online orders launch for the 2024 holiday season!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As a young entrepreneur, there’s always fear and doubt lurking in the back of your mind. Starting out, you wrestle with imposter syndrome and the comparison game constantly, wondering if you’ll ever have an idea people are excited about supporting and that allows you the opportunity to build your dream life. You worry about how people will judge you for taking an unconventional path, and if negative things will be said about you. However, along the way, I had a realization that no one (not even the world’s top CEOs!) has everything figured out. Instead, they’re intentional with the information they have at that point in time (or are being diligent about obtaining the information they need in order to take steps forward). You start to understand that perfection doesn’t exist, and that you’ll need to take “messy action” (i.e. taking the steps needed to advance your business without feeling 100% ready) in order for doors to continue to open for you. When you’re rooted in and clear about your company’s mission, tactical setbacks become data – instead of discouragement – for you, and you’re able to be more resilient in the face of challenges and stress. There’s a lot of personal growth that comes with becoming a business owner, but it’s a journey I’m grateful to be on!

As you know, we’re big fans of Kindred Collective / Nutty & Nice. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As lead Friendship Educator and Coach, I use Kindred Collective’s platform to provide free education and resources on how to make and retain meaningful adult female friendships to an online community of thousands of people every week. The tools I provide offer opportunities for transformational self-discovery, consistent goal setting, and navigating the complexities of adult friendships. I also provide personalized, 1:1 coaching engagements (ranging from 2-4 months) for young adult women in their 20’s and 30’s who want to discover more about what they want and need in a friendship and how to build up a new, authentic community for themselves through any life phase or transition. If you just moved to a new neighborhood, went through a significant life shift (like becoming a new mom!), or are someone who simply can’t figure out why a friendship feels “off”, I recommend you reach out and schedule a complimentary call with me through my information linked below so I can start creating a personalized “Friendship Plan” for you! It’s incredible to see the impact of friendship education and coaching on my clients – there’s always an overwhelming sense of clarity and peace granted around how to make, keep, or gracefully exit friendships. By investing in our social health, we can create a support system that will be there for us when we need it most and create a more empathetic and resilient society.

Additionally, I’m passionate about candied almonds and pecans! While Brenden and I love health & fitness, we also LOVE dessert, and spent months perfecting our signature recipes for Nutty & Nice. Our classic, hand-crafted candied nuts are hand roasted with a modern twist, boasting exclusive flavors like peanut butter cocoa and espresso bean, in addition to our “The Classic” cinnamon vanilla recipe. Currently, Tennessee families can find Nutty & Nice at The Factory Farmer’s Market in Franklin, TN on Wednesdays (4-7pm) and Sundays (12-3pm) at 230 Franklin Rd, Franklin, TN. We are also working hard to scale Nutty & Nice for wholesale opportunities and to ship online orders nationally by the 2024 holiday season! Our long-term goal is to become a staple snack for the Nashville area, where tourists and locals alike are proud to frequently buy and enjoy Nutty & Nice. Be sure to follow our Instagram & Tik Tok @nuttyandniceco for real time updates on exclusive flavors, online orders, discounts, and more.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think it’s incredibly important to adopt an optimistic mindset when considering risk. You can either operate from a fixed-mindset, where you focus more on the limitations and setbacks risk could contribute to your company, or an optimistic mindset, where you see risks as the potential for greater opportunities. Being an optimist does not mean your ignorant or lack knowledge around the steps you need to take, but rather embraces risk as a necessity in advancing and scaling your business. As the business grows, so does the size of risks you need to take. It’s important to remind yourself that things won’t always go to plan (in fact most of the time they probably won’t!), but that you have the capability to learn what you need to from the experience and become a more efficient and effective business owner through the process of embracing risk. What’s the old saying? No risk, no reward 🙂

Pricing:

• 12.99 per Nutty & Nice bag
• 1:1 Friendship Coaching (amount undisclosed)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.linktr.ee/kindredcollective
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/nuttyandniceco ; www.instagram.com/kindredcollectiveofficial
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565699731217
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@_kindredcollective_ ; www.tiktok.com/@nuttyandniceco