FrancesMary Loughead: It's easy to say, like don't be afraid. Like, oh, I've never thought of that before. But go out there, be confident in yourself and your community
Nate Spangle: and grow that circle out now. Now. And then little like subgroups and committees, that kind of form within there,
FrancesMary Loughead: like a 55 and UP community,
Nate Spangle: amazed by the life and the stories that these people have to share.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: I think that's sick.
FrancesMary Loughead: It was really fun.
Nate Spangle: Do you have any secrets to keeping the conversation rolling when you meet someone new?
From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between. This is Get IN, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. getindiana.com is your one-stop shop for everything Indiana.
From festival and event guides to blog posts covering hidden gem. Local businesses, small towns, and more. Check it out and learn something new about the Hoosier State@getindiana.com. And don't forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter right there at the top. My guest today is FrancesMary Loughead and she grew up in downtown Chicago.
She graduated from DePaul University with an L and then relocated to Indianapolis in 2021 while working remotely and without an existing social network in her new city, she founded BFF Indy to help women build meaningful friendships in the Indianapolis region. Today we're gonna be diving into the stress that comes with moving to a big metropolitan and a new place, making adult friends.
It's a hard thing to do, and one piece about Indy I feel like is. People grew up a lot of times with each other and have existing, whether it's college friendships or high school friendships. And so being an outsider coming in can be interesting and just talking about the importance of building the in-person social network, uh, in as an adult.
So FrancesMary, welcome to the show.
FrancesMary Loughead: Thanks so much for having me.
Nate Spangle: This is fun. I always love when I get out-of-staters coming that have moved, instate coming on the show to talk about their perspective. You know, talk about growing up in downtown Chicago, going to DePaul, and then finding yourself in 2021 moving to Indianapolis. Gimme some of maybe your perceptions of Indiana and your perceptions of Indianapolis growing up in Chicago, and then finding out you were gonna move here.
FrancesMary Loughead: So Indianapolis was not on my radar at all. Uh, when I found out we were moving to Indianapolis, I was somewhat surprised, but very much what are we gonna do here?
Yeah. Um, but moving here, I found so much community and there are so many things to do. Of course, there's different pros and cons to every city.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Uh, but Indiana's definitely up on the list.
Nate Spangle: So like, you had not, like, were you excited or were you like bummed out? Honest, candid, truth.
FrancesMary Loughead: I was excited for a new adventure.
Um, we moved kind of in the height of COVID that mid to late 2021, so Chicago was pretty much shut down when we moved and I was just ready for a new adventure. We had just gotten married and new jobs, all of the things.
Nate Spangle: How did you decide where you were gonna live? Like when you were researching Indianapolis, we're moving to a new city, where were you learning about?
The city and the state.
FrancesMary Loughead: When we moved, my husband was still at IU, so he graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington. Um, and then, so we were there for about four to six months. Okay. And then once we moved to Indianapolis specifically, we moved for his job. So he worked for a race team and the team was based kind of on the border of Zionsville and Carmel.
Um, and then the track is obviously in Speedway, so we based our living situation off of that. So we ended up in Brownsburg.
Nate Spangle: Oh, Brownsburg. Yeah. Which is interesting as like, uh, because you would probably be like early, mid twenties. Mm-hmm. Like an early mid twenties couple. Living in Brownsburg is not.
Something you typically think about. Was that a good fit? Did you enjoy your time? Are you still in Brownsburg? Gimme the rundown.
FrancesMary Loughead: So we are not still in Brownsburg. Okay. We loved it for the time being. We were there for about a year. Um, but me being from downtown Chicago, I'm like, I needed something. Yeah. A little bit more.
Nate Spangle: I think that that's like kind of like reverse.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Like I feel like people start in a ma like a downtown or a Broad Ripple. Mm-hmm. Or a Mass Ave or a Fountain Square. And then you graduate to Brownsburg?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: And this actually is something that I hear quite frequently from people that don't have personal, like a lot of personal connections.
Mm-hmm. Is 'cause it's like you're looking online and you don't know what you don't know
FrancesMary Loughead: for sure.
Nate Spangle: And it's hard to decipher, like. Oh, I'm 22. I'm gonna want to be, you know, at Artistry downtown and like vibe down there for a couple years and then graduate to the suburbs.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly, yes. So we did kind of dabble in downtown, like you said, Artistry.
We looked there and just different places that had. I walked everywhere I went. So driving was also new to me.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, but we really liked, Brownsburg kind of helped us get the lay of the land Exactly. Kind of where we were in relation to downtown. Yeah. Um,
Nate Spangle: were there any resources out there available, like as you were, you know, figuring out your move to Indianapolis that you were like checking out?
FrancesMary Loughead: Not honestly, not really. I mean, we looked at, yeah. Obviously Zillow to find places to live, and we were in apartments. Um, yeah, up until about last year we bought a house in Noblesville, so that was really exciting. Oh, so
Nate Spangle: you went from Brownsburg and then did you move over to what, what was, what's been the trajectory?
FrancesMary Loughead: So, started in Bloomington, then went to Brownsburg, then went to Carmel, and then went to Noblesville. So,
Nate Spangle: okay.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: So from Brownsburg to Carmel. What part of Carmel?
FrancesMary Loughead: We were on Old Meridian. Um, yeah, so about like five minutes from the downtown.
Nate Spangle: Is that like right by like the Just Love Coffee.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes, actually, like right across the street,
Nate Spangle: they have spectacular baked goods.
FrancesMary Loughead: They do.
Nate Spangle: And like literally buckets of coffee.
FrancesMary Loughead: It's incredible.
Nate Spangle: Like their large is like a 40. It's not actually, it's huge, but it's like 32 ounces. Yeah, it's nuts. Um, that little strip is cool. One of my good buddies lives, uh, over in that area and like, there's some cool stuff there. And you're not far from Midtown?
FrancesMary Loughead: No, not at all.
Nate Spangle: Okay. So then you're probably, again, like mid twenties better fit. Mm-hmm. Like did you like a lot more walkable? Yes. Still not like incredibly. Totally walkable, but like not bad. Right?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah, I loved it. I mean, in Chicago, I'd walk miles a day. I'd walk to and from DePaul I'd walk to get groceries.
Yeah. All of the things. So walking in Carmel really wasn't too bad. I would do like a three mile loop every morning, or almost every morning. I, there we go. So yeah, I felt like it was fairly walkable in comparison to different
Nate Spangle: towns. Yeah. So one part of moving to a new place. Is like, you know, there's always like find your, like the basics, right?
Mm-hmm. Find your house, find maybe a gym, find your grocery store, you know, like the park, the trail, the, this, the that. But a big piece of that. That some people will look over is finding the people like, you know, you can live in the coolest area in the world. You could live on the beach in California or Florida or wherever, but some people are not solely fueled by places.
Mm-hmm. Talk to me about where this. Urge for connection started to come from, and, you know, what drove you to start BFF Indy?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah, so starting in Brownsburg, we moved here. My husband was working. It's a very male dominated industry, which is great, but it was really hard for me to find girlfriends. Um, and I worked remotely as well.
And
Nate Spangle: did you know anyone in Indianapolis?
FrancesMary Loughead: No, I did not.
Nate Spangle: Did you, you had no friends that had never No. Yeah. Friends,
FrancesMary Loughead: no, nothing. So it was very, very,
Nate Spangle: so, so what did you spend your time doing?
FrancesMary Loughead: On my computer
Nate Spangle: just, oh yeah. And that can start to be like, you have an apartment, you're like, you know, you're in Brownsburg.
Yes. Which no hate on Brownsburg. Brownsburg Iss a great place to gr to raise a family. Agreed. But you're like young and mm-hmm. You know, you wanna, I don't know, go to like wine night and trivia and like do things. Yes. Yeah. It can be hard.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So it was very challenging, just kind of sitting in the apartment.
He'd travel a lot and just kind of being alone.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, and nobody else.
Nate Spangle: Did you get a, did you get a pet?
FrancesMary Loughead: We. Finally got a pet like two-ish years ago. Oh, see that didn't, didn't a pet at the time.
Nate Spangle: That's, that's the first thing. Everyone's like, we gotta get a dog.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. We definitely wanted one, but just kind of that whole transition.
Yeah. I got my like driver's license, my degree, and a husband all in the same like three months. Wait, you
Nate Spangle: didn't have a driver's license?
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: That is the Chicago difference. Yes. Like you, you become like a 22-year-old adult and you're like, you know what? I might need a driver's license.
FrancesMary Loughead: I probably should do that.
Yeah,
Nate Spangle: yeah. You are moving to Indiana. That's wild. Okay. Like did you. Look online. Did you try to find some different spaces? Bumble, BFF, like Yes. Were you swiping right? Trying to meet some friends? I was
FrancesMary Loughead: swiping right. Trying to meet some friends. Yes. So downloaded that app and it was definitely kind of interesting 'cause I'm married, I have a husband, and I'm like sitting here swiping like this doesn't feel
Nate Spangle: you.
Like, like, like sweetheart, what do you think? of This girl you like, like friends, she's got a good outfit. Like, would we be friends? And it's like it, there is like a stigma around it too. You know, where it's like. Like maybe I should be able to meet friends the old-fashioned way, right? Yes. Like I could go to, I don't know where people like at the grocery store and like someone just happens to be wearing a nice outfit and I compliment them and now all of a sudden we're getting coffee the next day.
But it doesn't happen like that very often. No, unfortunately. Okay. So you were swiping, were you doing other things trying to meet new people?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah, so as I. Swiping, I'd go out and kind of have those friend dates every so often. Kind of obviously a little awkward meeting one-on-one with people and some, I mean, I still talk to some of those girls today, which is great.
Um, sometimes not all friendships stick, which is okay. Not, you're not gonna get. I don't know, on the same vibe as every other day. Not
Nate Spangle: everyone is a lifelong like
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Like till you die bestie, you know?
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly. And that's okay. Yeah. Um, and I don't think some people like actually understand that. So that's like the, I feel like some sort of stigma as well.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, trying to make friends,
Nate Spangle: like would you say you're in, like, do you have a. Business background, like are you businessy?
FrancesMary Loughead: My degree is in marketing. Um, yeah. Public relations and advertising specifically. So I was actually gonna go into business as my degree. Yeah. Um, but I'm just not a math person.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
Yeah. So, because I feel like, um. Like business pe like if you're in sales or you're in like one of those more traditional, like getting coffee with a random person that you've never met before and that you met on the internet is not weird.
FrancesMary Loughead: No.
Nate Spangle: Um, I talk to this with Lauren, my girlfriend a lot 'cause, uh, like she's been, she moved to Florida and was trying to make friends down there and she's in healthcare.
So like the idea of reaching out to someone randomly and like booking a coffee date is just like. Uh, not the vibe. Mm-hmm. Like, she's like, oh my gosh. Like, no, I would ne it's like, it's almost like asking someone out on a first date where I'm just like, ripping LinkedIn connections. Like, yo, like let's catch up.
And, and I'm probably meeting two or three different people and I wouldn't say they're necessarily to be my friend. Mm-hmm. But they're like connections or they're like. You know, acquaintances. There's places like that and like, it's okay if we don't meet every week for forever. So that is interesting based on like moving to a new city and what your career field is or what your background is, being able to like spray and pray more, Hey, we should get coffee sometime, because that can be like a stressful, kind of like scary experience.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. A lot of the ladies, um, in BFF Indy today I hear is really nervous to come. Like even just in a. Not larger group of people, but more than one-on-one for sure. They're definitely very nervous and it's something kind of out of their comfort zone, which I appreciate them stepping out and doing. Yeah. But
Nate Spangle: so you were swiping, you weren't really feeling it.
And did you do any other like groups or were there, were there things available trying to get. Young people in their twenties to meet each other.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes and no. So long story short, I was swiping, met up with a couple people, but I did notice that there was one kind of trend amongst everybody and that was watching The Bachelorette.
So notice that a lot of people liked watching that show and decided why not try and create a Facebook page and see if people are interested in a watch party. Um, so created that Facebook page and had a consistent, like 15 to 20 girls. Every week at my apartment and we'd watch the show in your
Nate Spangle: house.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
So we'd switch from like the little conference room to up to the apartment and back and forth, kind of whatever worked best that week, but yeah. Yes.
Nate Spangle: That is interesting of like hosting 14 people that you barely know in your like private space.
FrancesMary Loughead: It was an experience.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. But
FrancesMary Loughead: a good one.
Nate Spangle: Okay, so you start hosting, you know, the ba and were all of them connected through?
Bumble, BFF In the Facebook group?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Wow. Were they, were a lot of them from Indiana or from Indianapolis or from all over?
FrancesMary Loughead: All over. It was a little bit of both. So there were a few girls who were born and raised in Indy and were just looking for connections after their friends moved away. And then there were a lot of girls who came, kind of like me from a D.
State, different city and was looking for friends.
Nate Spangle: Isn't that interesting how something like, uh, The Bachelorette can, uh, unite lots and lots of people. Mm-hmm. You know, because it's like, oh yeah, we all have, 'cause I do think the thing about adult friends is the older you get conversation becomes more and more important with the people that you're spending lots of time with.
Mm-hmm. Like, I feel like, you know, I'm. Soon to be 29. I'm old these days people, and like if I can get into like have great conversations with people, like that's what I wanna stick out and do versus like the typical, I don't know, like how's the mother, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like you're kind of like when you're in college or whatever, you're almost like forced to be friends more and like figure out conversation.
And so having that early connection point of The Bachelorette helps you start to develop more and more friendships there. So then. Season ends, what happens?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So the season ended and obviously we still wanted to hang out and be friends. Um, but there wasn't that one weekly thing that was going on. So we decided why not have like other.
Events with like wine nights and we would go to like the pumpkin patch and more and more people kind of found out that we were doing that.
Nate Spangle: What was the first event after The Bachelorette?
FrancesMary Loughead: We did a wine night. Okay. Um, it's, the location has since closed, but also in Carmel. Um, had a, I can't remember how many girls, it wasn't BFF Indy at the time either.
It was, what,
Nate Spangle: what was
FrancesMary Loughead: It was like Bachelor Fans of Indianapolis. The Facebook page. I was just talking to somebody last night. The Facebook page is still like out there, I think. Heck yeah. So you can look at it. There's like. A hundred or so people.
Nate Spangle: Okay. So like how many people showed up to wine night?
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, about 50.
Nate Spangle: About 50. But this was like post-Bachelor.
FrancesMary Loughead: Correct.
Nate Spangle: So they're like, what's going, like you just 50 people hanging out.
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Nate Spangle: That all have the connection point of Bachelor.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: Okay. That's that kind of cool.
FrancesMary Loughead: That was very fun.
Nate Spangle: All right. And then where does it evolve into BFF Indy?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So for about a year I was doing these like.
Events on different Facebook pages and things like that. And, and then are
Nate Spangle: you making good friends?
FrancesMary Loughead: I am,
Nate Spangle: yes. Okay, so through this you're starting to get fulfilled.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly,
Nate Spangle: yes. And are other people making friends with other people like, like real relationships and friendships are building out of this?
Yeah. That's cool.
FrancesMary Loughead: It was really cool to see and I think that's kind of what gave me the drive to keep doing it. Um, especially seeing how other people enjoyed the community as well, so yeah. Kind of over about a year and a half I realized like, oh, this could be a thing, like we could partner with different businesses and moving to indie too.
I was like, how do I get connected with like. I tell people like hair salons or nail, um,
Nate Spangle: which is big because you're like risking a lot when you move somewhere new and try something new. Yeah. And you get like a butched haircut that you're just very obs.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: Again, that can, that can really affect, uh, people and there are significant others.
Just like I'm, I'll end it there, but it can affect a lot of different people if you get a bad haircut.
FrancesMary Loughead: That is true.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: So you need those connections to help you get, I don't know, a good. A good haircut.
Nate Spangle: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, but just getting people connected to each other in different local businesses that make Indiana feel like home.
So,
Nate Spangle: so were you seeing it as a business opportunity for you?
FrancesMary Loughead: Eventually It did come to that where I'm like, I can, how do I legitimately partner with different businesses where it's not just this like. Facebook group.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Okay. So when did, when did it change from only Bachelor fans to something broader?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah, so BFF Indy was launched officially in. January of 2024.
Nate Spangle: Okay.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Nice.
FrancesMary Loughead: So that's when everything launched and we were just like, Hey, come, come make friends with
Nate Spangle: me. What was the first thing you did?
FrancesMary Loughead: We had a launch party at The Hangar.
Nate Spangle: Oh, fire.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So
Nate Spangle: shout out to the guys down there. There. It's awesome.
FrancesMary Loughead: They're great.
Nate Spangle: It
FrancesMary Loughead: was, yeah. Lindsay are great. So much fun. We had a hundred people come out right after a snowstorm. Like
Nate Spangle: how many people were in your online, like in your Facebook group
FrancesMary Loughead: when we started off? Because we like launched it and said, here's a, here's a launch party. So it was just getting started.
Yeah. Um, at the time I think we had like. Between like 500 and a thousand people in the group,
Nate Spangle: which is still significant.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah.
Nate Spangle: Like, and obviously that doesn't convert to like always in real life. Like I'm sure there are window shoppers that are just like curious and like, and maybe that like stress or like that an anxiety of like meeting new people in person, uh, is like holding them back from actually showing up in person.
But they're like. At least window shopping and interested. Yes. Um, 500, 2000 is, is impressive and it shows that there is interest in meeting new people.
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: And that like people have this similar problem of move to a new city at, I don't know anybody.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. That's what a lot of people I think are surprised about when they kind of take that step and say, I need friends, is how many other people are truly in the same situation.
'cause I thought I was completely alone working remote. In my apartment without a pet or anything. My, I mean, my husband was there, but he was traveling a lot. Yeah. And finding those girlfriends was just really challenging at first.
Nate Spangle: So you host a launch party, you get a hundred people out there. That's pretty crazy.
Like how does that start to snowball? Because I, I think within a year or so, you end up building it to 20,000 members.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So just kind of got more traction. I think word of mouth is definitely very important in our growth. Um, a lot of people are now kind of speaking out about how they wanna find friends and wanna get more connected to the community because not only have women moved to Indianapolis, but they've been in Indianapolis their whole life, and then their friends move away.
So they're trying to find that resource. And when I moved here, there wasn't really a one-stop shop, if you would call it to Yeah. Find that community.
Nate Spangle: So was it like monthly in-person events?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: And then you just like dialogue going on the in the group?
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: Okay. So like what were kind of like topics being floated through the online por portion of it?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So a lot of people would go on our Facebook group and kind of basically just introduce themself, kind of like Bumble BFF, the app. But more in depth only because I feel like with swiping too, it's just like you get a paragraph or a couple sentence and a couple pictures and it doesn't really give the full scope of the person.
So people had the opportunity to dive deeper into like their values and what they're looking for in a friend. So people are very open and I appreciate it. Yeah,
Nate Spangle: yeah. Okay. So everyone's like introducing, hyping each other up. Mm-hmm. That whole night. Were there any of like really memorable events that first year after the launch party at The Hangar?
FrancesMary Loughead: I would say, I mean it is at the first year, the birthday party, um, we've started our annual birthday party event where we just invite the entire community along with a few different local businesses to come out and just celebrate community.
Nate Spangle: Okay. So year one, how many people came to the birthday party?
Like
FrancesMary Loughead: we had like 150.
Nate Spangle: I mean, that's pretty sick.
FrancesMary Loughead: It was a lot of fun.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Are do, were you getting help? Organizing and planning all these things? Or was it, and where were you getting inspiration for what events you should be doing
FrancesMary Loughead: help wise? There was a little support here and there, but mainly, um, it was just me.
Yeah. We have our ambassador team, which is fantastic. They helped me out on site at events, so I couldn't do it without them today. Um, but at the start it was just me. Yeah. And getting ideas, um, from the community too, because I mean, selfishly. Started a little bit because I wanted community.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: But moving forward, it's like these are for women who also need friends and have different interests than I do.
So,
Nate Spangle: yeah. Which is interesting too, where it's like, if you can build a spot, 'cause it starts with bachelor fans of Indianapolis. Yes. And then it like, you know, oh, someone told me about this. Like, building out your audience or your target demographic and starting like super small, like with a, just a pinpoint.
Mm-hmm. Like Bachelor Fans of Indianapolis. And then it grows to like. You know, wine and cheese in Indianapolis. Mm-hmm. And that circle's a little bit bigger than Bachelor fans, but Bachelor fans are probably still considered in there. And then it grows to like, you know, women in their twenties, women in their twenties and thirties, women in their twenties, thirties and forties.
And you just like grow that circle out now. Now and then little like subgroups and committees that kind of form within. Yes. And all of a sudden they're probably meeting and you have no idea that they even met through your space.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes, and it's all happened very naturally. I'll say, looking back on the last two years, it's incredible how things have just kind of evolved with, um.
I don't wanna say not a goal in mind. Obviously that goal is our mission, but just growing the community and having those subgroups and different opportunities for women to meet. Um,
Nate Spangle: well, and when you say the, the mission, what is like in a, in a sentence or two, like what's the mission?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So the mission of BFF Indy is to create an affordable and accessible community for women in and around Indianapolis.
Nate Spangle: An affordable and accessible community for women in and around Indianapolis. Okay. Like this sort of thing is so important. Like a social club or a run club mm-hmm. Or a country club, you know, like there's a lot of different, um, ways that this has been packaged and it's important and I think that like the affordable and accessible part is pretty cool.
Um, and like starting having a digital component to it as well as an in-person component. Money. I love it.
FrancesMary Loughead: Thank you.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Yeah. What, what have been some of the most memorable moments thus far?
FrancesMary Loughead: Overall? Just seeing women connect. Like you said, there's people that maybe connect that are actually connecting without even my knowledge.
I'll hear months later like, oh, we met through BFF Indy and now we have a weekly book club. Or just again, watch party and kind of coming full circle. So it's cool to see that these ladies are truly making friends and somebo, basically, somebody who was like me, just moved to India. Indianapolis. Yeah. Um, making friends
Nate Spangle: always love to see like people that have a problem and then they like set out to work and solve their problem.
Like, you know, 'cause the worst thing, even if, you know only 10 people ever joined, at least you probably, like, you would've had 10 friends that like the Bachelor and you're hanging out. Exactly. Talk about some of the most memorable connections that have been made through BFF Indy.
FrancesMary Loughead: I found a lot of incredible friends just within the community itself.
Um, last night specifically, I met with some girls and we have a biweekly Bible study. Um, and we just talk about like life and supporting each other and it's truly, I love seeing how open people are. Mm-hmm. Um, not just in person with my friends, but. Even on the Facebook group, there are ladies who have different struggles and don't really have anybody to go to and just go to our Facebook page.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. How important do you feel like, uh, adults having that like small group aspect, whether faith component or not faith component? Mm-hmm. Having a small group of people that. Maybe are like-minded or have similar interests, like, ha have you, I don't know, maybe we've done research, but like have you seen the benefits?
Have you talked about the benefits? Have you heard about the benefits of those, like smaller groups?
FrancesMary Loughead: Statistically I have not looked into the benefits. Yeah. I've seen a couple, um, like small statistics about how like you'll live a longer life if you have friends and all of that, um, which is true. But also at the same time thinking about benefits, like you can just see the benefits of people who.
Are sitting there alone in their house versus the people that are out. I mean, you see on Instagram, and I don't think like social media is completely real.
Nate Spangle: What?
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, even just, it is
Nate Spangle: not,
FrancesMary Loughead: no. But, um, being in person with those people and you just see how, I don't know, lively they are and driven as well. Yeah.
It's just fun to see.
Nate Spangle: So I'm currently reading the bio, the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Very interesting. It's like a five and a half hour audiobook. I am an audiobook listener. Um, and he, this would be back in the like 1700s, maybe like 1750, 1760. He created a small group of 11, him and 11 other.
Let's say learned people in, again, this is 1700, so like learned it as in like they knew how to read and sort of enjoyed it and they made rules where, you know, you had to bring a new topic of discussion every time they met. I think they met every Friday night you had to bring a new topic of discussion and once every three months you had to present.
Uh, like a three-page essay of some sort of prose. And it's very interesting to think like, this is the 1750s or whatever timeframe it is, and he found the benefit of surrounding himself with other learned, esteemed people. And from there, this, this is pretty interesting. To me anyway. From there, they all realized that they all had different collections of books and they were like loaning them back and forth, and they thought, well, wouldn't this just be so much easier if we just brought all of our books to our meeting spot and we could all then share them?
And they created the first library in Philadelphia and then started selling memberships so other people could access their books and they could buy more books. And that was where the first public library in America came from. Really. It was from the small group. Huh, I just learned this. Uh, I never
FrancesMary Loughead: knew that
Nate Spangle: by listening to it.
And so it's interesting too to see the people that like might not know the research or the history of people having their small groups, but it's like me. And let's say I, there's probably like eight to 10 of, you know, guys in their late twenties, early thirties that get together on Thursday mornings at five 30 in the morning and we run and we'll like meet and we'll talk and like it just.
It is just a great asset to have people with similar goals and interest and drive to be in your corner where you can, you know, talk and discuss.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes, I absolutely agree. It's so important and I don't think people realize it until they get to that point of, yeah, not having that community.
Nate Spangle: Do you have advice?
For people moving to a new place, like let's say there is no there, they're obviously B fff, you know, like if you're a woman, you move to Central Indiana and you want to meet some friends, you gotta start with joining the Facebook group.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: And then showing up at events.
FrancesMary Loughead: Correct.
Nate Spangle: And actually show up.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: But let's say someone's listening and they just move to Fort Wayne, Indiana and they're looking to build some friendships where, where do you think they should start?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah. Dependent. I feel like it's kind of dependent on. Where you move, if you say Fort Wayne specifically, there's a lot of different like events being hosted, like networking events, obviously.
Yeah. Those are kind of more business focused, but there's also a lot of Facebook groups out there too, just tailored to certain communities. So like
Nate Spangle: Facebook groups are crazy.
FrancesMary Loughead: It really is incredible. There's see how many people are on group?
Nate Spangle: There's a Facebook group for everything.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Literally everything.
It's nuts. Yes. So yeah, definitely start there. And then I think it's. I don't know. Maybe building up the courage to go from digital to IRL.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. I think a lot of people start in that digital, I don't know, they kind of scope it out and see what. Specifically b fff Indie is about, and then kind of see the pictures and how people are interacting, and then that kind of gives them the courage.
But I know that's not everywhere that BFF Indy is. But yeah, just having that courage to take that first step, it's always worth it.
Nate Spangle: Alright, if you're watching the big games this March, hosting at your place, or you're the one responsible for bringing something to the party. Here's the move. Every time St. Elmo cocktail sauce, you can set it on the table and people immediately lock in.
It's basically a conversation starter in a bottle. I take it to every function. Someone is always trying it for the first time, and suddenly they take that first bite and they're fighting for their life, trying to act normal while their eyes are watering and they're pretending they don't need a minute, it is a guaranteed way to spice up the party.
Literally. It, uh, it's a. Fan favorite at every event I go to. Now, the shrimp platters are classic, but don't stop there. St. Elmo has recipes for crispy shrimp sliders, A next level bloody Mary, coconut popcorn, shrimp. And of course, the fried shrimp St. Elmo cocktail sauce basically becomes the centerpiece of your whole spread.
Grab a bottle@store.stelmos.com or find it at your local grocery store in the refrigerated section near their meat and seafood department. It's a must this March. Get a bottle of St. Elmo cocktail sauce. It's world famous. No, let's get back into the episode. Do you know Bo?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Bo's great.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: And so she's like done, she kinda started in the like dating space.
Mm-hmm. Because that's another part that like, I think that a lot of people in their twenties maybe complain, like single people in their twenties complain about Indianapolis is because it's like, you see the same, I don't know, 50 people on Hinge or Bumble or whatever that you see out at the bar like, and it's just like.
It, it can be hard to, you know, start conversations because everyone seems to know each other and like aren't always receptive to like, you know, creating new conversations outta nowhere. So, uh, Bo is like doing something similar in the, like the single space. Uh, yes. and creating with Find,
FrancesMary Loughead: yeah. It's incredible what she's doing too.
It's really fun to see. Yeah. All of those, like dating connections being made too, and just relationships that she's helped create. Yeah.
Nate Spangle: Which is wild. Like when someone gets married that met at. Like an event that you hosted. Like isn't that nuts? So you're two years into BFF Indy. We
FrancesMary Loughead: just had two years.
Yes.
Nate Spangle: How? How, okay. How was this 2-year-old birthday party?
FrancesMary Loughead: It was great. We had even more people.
Nate Spangle: Let's go. It was so
FrancesMary Loughead: much fun.
Nate Spangle: What's been some of the most fun things you've done with BFF Indy around central Indiana? Like places, memorable moments, events.
FrancesMary Loughead: We've done a speed friending event. Which was really, really fun.
We hosted it at Tinker House Events. Um, shout out to them. They're great. Yeah. Uh, we, we've hosted a lot of events with them, but specifically our speed friending event, I think it was last July. Um, we had Mom Water there as well, which was, shout out, really cool collaboration. Um, a lot of fun. And then, um, outside of BFF Indy event specifically, um, we had James Murray.
I know that he was on your show too as well, which was really cool. So that was just a fun. Full circle moment.
Nate Spangle: Yeah, dude, it was wild because like he started DMing a ton of people, uh, like accounts around the city.
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: And all of a sudden you just like wake up one day and like Murr is on everybody's social media.
Yeah. And then he's like, by the way, I'm playing a show this Thursday. And it's like, what's up dude? All right. Yeah. What are some events that are coming up that you're super excited about?
FrancesMary Loughead: Super excited to start our weekly walks. Oh. Um, coming back this summer, we just announced it, um, on our socials like last week or so.
Um, we're expanding them to more towns, more cities. Um, and it's just gonna be a fun way to again, kind of dive more into our mission of that affordable and accessible, um, aspect where people can come out. It's free to go and walk, get some exercise, meet new friends, um, and it's an hour. Every Monday, so
Nate Spangle: that's awesome.
That what a way to start your week, morning or evening?
FrancesMary Loughead: Afternoon. Yeah,
Nate Spangle: evening, good afternoon, evening. Where, how many, how many different walks are hosted currently?
FrancesMary Loughead: So last year we had about, I think it was like five or six. So we had Carmel downtown, Greenwood, Brownsburg. I feel like I'm missing one too.
Um, but. Started there and we have so many different inquiries of like, can we do fishers? Oh, we also had fishers in Broad Ripple, so those will also be on the list. Um,
Nate Spangle: that's sick.
FrancesMary Loughead: But
Nate Spangle: I feel like last year was the year of like the Hot Girl Walk and the run club. Like everyone wa wanted to be part of one of those.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: And it does seem like, like the age old, like I still love it and I think it's fun, but like the age old, I go out and grab some cocktails, go out and grab some beers, like mm-hmm. Is. G Slowly getting shifted more towards like, let's go on a run. Let's go on a walk, let's go on a hike. Let's go be outdoorsy and adventurous.
Yes. Which is pretty fun.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly. And having that similar interest too, I think an activity really helps spark those conversations. Like if you're at a, we do have our happy hours and enjoy those. Um, but it's harder to start those conversations sometime when you're. Sitting at a table with a cocktail rather than like, oh, we're out walking.
Like, do you walk a lot? Where are you from? Like,
Nate Spangle: yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Things like that.
Nate Spangle: What about the conversation piece? I think a lot of times people can get, uh, again, that, that feeling of anxiety because they don't know what to talk about. Like, meeting someone brand new for the first time. It's like when you're a kid, that's a, that's a, that's when a lot of people do that.
But, you know, meeting new people can be. Uh, hard and challenging. Do you have any secrets to keeping the conversation rolling when you meet someone new?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah, so thinking about, again, BFF Indy specifically walking into that room and knowing that everybody is in the same position of looking and meeting. New friends, um, starting that conversation, it's like, oh, I don't know if you are actually from Indiana.
Like, that's typically a good starting point for people. Like, where are you from? Um, what do you like to do? And usually our events are tailored around an activity. So say book club for example. Oh, what books have you been reading? Um, just finding that similar interest and diving deeper into that,
Nate Spangle: I think of like the art of conversation.
It's like starting broad. And honestly, I think the number one thing that someone could do in, you know, keeping the conversation rolling is being genuinely curious.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Like, if you start broad and you start to hone in on some things and you find something that the, that the person you're talking to is genuinely interested in just to have very, like, curious questions.
Mm-hmm. And you know, you can start to like really build some rapport there.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Like when, and not just be like, oh, why is that? But it's like, oh. That's fascinating. Mm-hmm. Like what? You know, and then next thing you know, all of a sudden you're like talking about their like third grade book report about blah, blah, blah, blah.
And they're like, you know that Nate guy, he's pretty curious. Like, he's great. Like I, and it's like you didn't do anything except ask three questions.
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Do you have any other advice for people that, again, like the, the whole concept is like people are out there, they're not alone. Like they. Are wanting to make friends, like other ways or ideas or, I mean, besides obviously showing up to the events, how people can make friends in new communities.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. I would just say be open. Um, a lot of people are a little nervous, I think to kind of share about themselves and. I guess for a lack of a better term, be judged. Um, they feel like they're gonna be judged for liking something or having a specific interest. Um, but truth be told, there's a lot of people out there that have the similar interests.
So don't be, um, it's easy to say, like, don't be afraid, like, oh, I've never thought of that before. But, um, truly just go out there, be confident in yourself and your community and find those friends.
Nate Spangle: Yeah, and I think like. I mean, like, we're not talking like polarizing topics here, but it's like, have opinions about like, oh, I, I actually don't like strawberry, I like chocolate or whatever.
You know? And like that's memorable. Yes. I think that a lot of times people just wanna like be so like vanilla, a little bit, like you talk about the Bachelor. Um, we were, I was talking with someone recently and they said like, the best. Characters or like people that have been on the show, like didn't just like choose the person 'cause they were like the most attractive like they were themselves.
Mm-hmm. And then like they genuinely like found out like they were both nerds and it's like, oh, well if we would've like put on this facade and acted really cool, we wouldn't have known that We were both like nerds that love Star Wars. And now, now we have our own separate little like Star Wars Tuesday Night Hangout and everyone's happy.
FrancesMary Loughead: Mm-hmm.
Nate Spangle: But if you like. Put on this like facade of Yes. Whatever, whatever. Um, where do you see B FFF indie going over the next couple years?
FrancesMary Loughead: I just hope B FFF indie continues to grow and women create more friendships amongst themselves and within the community.
Nate Spangle: Yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, again, just hoping for that growth and.
Community.
Nate Spangle: How do you feel like the community, like the state of Indiana or the city of Indianapolis, or let's say Central Indiana has supported an outsider? Someone from Chicago coming in here and building BFF Indy,
FrancesMary Loughead: it's truly incredible to see all of the support and just everybody kind of coming into BFF Indy with an open mind and seeing kind of what it has to offer.
Um, just so much support. I feel like, obviously Chicago's a big part of my story, but myself too, just embracing Indiana and all that the city and the state has to offer has been kind of a win-win situation on both ends.
Nate Spangle: Have you taken any inspiration from other, uh, communities or places across the country or the world?
And brought it to BFF Indy.
FrancesMary Loughead: Not yet. But now I think in terms of goals and what we're looking at in the next couple years, definitely kind of diving deeper into bigger cities and what they have to offer and bringing it back to India is something that'll be fun.
Nate Spangle: Diving deeper is a great one 'cause it doesn't.
Chicago have like the Friday morning swim club or like the Friday morning. I don't know what it is. Yes. But, but it looks pretty cool.
FrancesMary Loughead: Oh yeah.
Nate Spangle: Like, I'm like, oh, that would be sick. Like get the crew, you know, hopping in the lake on Friday mornings, like, like we can pop in the White River and, oh, totally. You know, rock and roll, like that would be fun.
But like, there's a ton of stuff. Or even like. Like niche hangout stuff mm-hmm. Is, has never been more popular. Like I, I, I get a lot of it fed to me on social media where it's like obscure places to have an EDM hangout. Yes. And it's just like they're in a library. Mm-hmm. And having a rave, or like Bo has talked about and people have talked about like the coffee shop raves on Sunday mornings or Saturday mornings or whatever, and it's like, that looks so lit.
Mm-hmm. Like now I even see. At the mall, up at Keystone, uh, like gyms, partnering with stores and doing like pop-up fitness classes.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: And I'm like, that's crazy.
FrancesMary Loughead: What a combination. Yeah. Like, but people love it and it's so much fun. Something different and a way to get out and explore.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. I think that like, there's a lot of cool things happening and you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Like let's say you live in South Bend and there. You're having trouble meeting friends or you're having, like there's a, a gap that you want to fill. I do think that you can take inspiration from all these other places and build the thing you want to see and like I do think that people, especially in the state of Indiana, you're are not gonna like be naysayers usually.
And usually if you build it and show them the way, like you know, good things will happen.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. And I think a lot of it has to do with feeling alone too. Like people don't wanna go out there and do it by themselves. So having that group of people to do it with is important.
Nate Spangle: If you could create your dream partnership and event for BFF Indy, what would it be?
FrancesMary Loughead: I have to be completely transparent. Mom Water was really, really cool. So doing something more with them, um, would be incredible. I know that they were gonna come to the birthday party. This past year, um, but hopefully doing something where
Nate Spangle: yeah,
FrancesMary Loughead: we can bring more people together.
Nate Spangle: Bryce, Jill, we need you there.
Let's make it happen. Uh, yeah. Like we, we partnered with Dad Water for Yes. The Indy 500 last year. That's
FrancesMary Loughead: awesome.
Nate Spangle: So, I mean, yeah. They're awesome. And they had their, she shed.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. That
Nate Spangle: thing is sick. I know you live in Noblesville. Mm-hmm. What's your go-to place in Noblesville?
FrancesMary Loughead: So we really like The Nest. Um, it's a old style steakhouse.
Mm-hmm. Um, they have, the service is great. It's in an old, um, bank, so it's a really cool, kind of like aesthetic place. And then they have really good daily specials too. So The Nest.
Nate Spangle: The Nest up in Noblesville. Noblesville,
FrancesMary Loughead: yeah. Okay.
Nate Spangle: You moved to Indianapolis in 2021. What surprised you most about Indy after you got settled here?
FrancesMary Loughead: I was surprised truly at how much Indianapolis has to offer, um, that from like festivals to honestly just like job opportunities to events, to just the people, the community here, it, the list is endless.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. One thing about, you know, when you host events or you hope build groups, any sort of community, is that it?
Just when you grow through word of mouth, a lot of times it is very uniform. Mm-hmm. You know, like everyone looks like me, thinks like me. How have you been able to incorporate different ages and races and demographic? Obviously still like focus on women. How have you been able to build that in BFF Indy?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. So that is a big part and honestly like. What I think about a lot, um, making sure that everybody feels welcomed and included. Um, I will say obviously that from our Facebook page, it kind of goes into our events, but speaking specifically about our Facebook page, there's women that ask for recommendations on so many different things.
And again, like you said, ages, there's women that are 70, 80 years old looking for friends.
Nate Spangle: No
FrancesMary Loughead: way. Mm-hmm. That's sick. Sick. And it just like makes my heart so
Nate Spangle: yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: On both sides, like very warm and like, oh, we can provide this space. But also it's like there's so many women in different stages of life that need that community.
Yeah. And I'm so glad that we can provide it for them no matter their background or where they come from or their beliefs. And truly like speaking to that, it's not like we. Allow one opinion versus another. And we try not to be divisive, obviously, and bring up, um, divisive topics, but just being respectful and welcoming to everybody who wants to join.
Nate Spangle: Yeah, like I say that about like what we're building with Get Indiana all the time, it's like I, you know, I like tenderloins and dive bars, but like, not everyone's, Indiana is the same. Mm-hmm. And so giving and building the platform for other creators to spread their view of Indiana, how it's. Been for like, you know, living in rural northern Indiana versus living in downtown Indianapolis are very different.
Mm-hmm. And you know, some people don't like the podcast and they don't like our setup and they don't like how fast I talk and or how loud I am and blah, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, they let me know in the comments and like, that's great, but get, Indiana can have a space for lots of different people and voices too, get to share their piece of Indiana.
And I think that that's awesome. Thank you. The fact that, like, I think you said the membership goes from like 18 to mm-hmm. 70 plus years old. Yes.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah.
Nate Spangle: That's crazy.
FrancesMary Loughead: It is ever. We have partners that ask like, what's your demographic? And usually like a big range of ages is not exactly what somebody wants to hear, but it truly, it's just like makes my heart so happy and warm that like I.
There's truly women of all ages here and that we can welcome them.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. So obviously you've emphasized variety. It's like you have happy hours, but you do a lot of different things from walks. What is the most unusual event you, that you maybe have organized or you've heard of someone within BFF Indy?
Like, like someone had like the. I know Fancy Cat Association where they like brought all their pets together and dressed them up.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, I would say, so this is something that I organized
Nate Spangle: Uhhuh,
FrancesMary Loughead: um, book swaps. Completely normal.
Nate Spangle: Yeah, yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: Things like that. Um, so we do, people love the book swaps. We did partner with a community for like a 55 and up community.
Nate Spangle: Oh yeah.
FrancesMary Loughead: And people were very like, confused I think at first of like, why are we doing this here? What's this about? Um, but that intergenerational conversations that those were had at
Nate Spangle: that is fire.
FrancesMary Loughead: That fire, that fire. That was really, really cool. So it's like two different things, like you said earlier,
Nate Spangle: coming
FrancesMary Loughead: together.
Nate Spangle: I have talked, I have talked to it at length of. So much of my perspective and conversational ability came from, I became best friends with my grandma, uh, when she turned, like 90 was when I became like old enough to like not be like, oh my gosh, we're going to grandma's. I was like, oh yeah, grandma's, let's go.
Mm-hmm. And just by sitting there and talking and like figuring out how to hold the conversation. Oh so much. And you just have to, again, similar thing. If you want to have a meaningful relationship with someone who's not in your generation, just ask a few good questions that aren't the same old, same old, not like, how are you?
How's the weather? Blah, blah. But like, ask something that like peels a little deeper and like you will be so entertained and surprised and like. Amazed by the life and the stories that these people have to share.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: I think that's sick.
FrancesMary Loughead: It was really fun,
Nate Spangle: bro. A popup event at an elderly community.
Let's go. What are the challenges of maintaining and growing and supporting all these women to make friends with BFF Indy?
FrancesMary Loughead: Time. I think time is a big challenge for me. Uh, I work another full-time job, uh, for a company based in Denver. I work remotely, so that takes up a lot of my time, which I love. Um, and I don't see myself going anywhere with that.
But for BFF Indy specifically, there's so many women that reach out and are like, how do I do this? And what time is this event? And where is this event? And I'm like, everything is on our website and Facebook page, but I just want to have that connection. Time is sometimes not on my side.
Nate Spangle: It's never,
FrancesMary Loughead: no,
Nate Spangle: never on your side.
No. Is it hard to balance the mission in serving as well as like you're putting all this time in and like there's partnerships and business and like authentically hosting events that don't feel like, oh, I'm just trying to catch a bag. And get paid. And like, like how do you balance all that? Like, I, I mean, personally, like we struggle from a content perspective of like, how do you incorporate partners?
'cause that's what pays the bills and like, lets us do all this stuff. Uh, but we don't want to seem like we're snake wheel salesman pushing stuff down our, you know, viewer's throats.
FrancesMary Loughead: Luckily my full-time job is my main source of income. Yeah. So thinking about income in relation to BFF Indy has not been.
I don't know, top of mind for me recently. Yeah. But like you're putting in a ton of time. Yes. You
Nate Spangle: know, like,
FrancesMary Loughead: yeah. More recently we've thought about it and just like team wise, how, because the platform does. Okay. I don't know. Have a lot of value for partners and we reach a lot of people.
Nate Spangle: So, I mean, anytime you can like host an event and bring a hundred people anywhere is valuable.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly.
Nate Spangle: Like that's how you even heard about like booking live music, where it's like if someone, if you know that a, you know, an artist brings a crowd of 50 to a hundred people, like Yeah. Book 'em. Yes. Like you could pay 'em a couple hundred bucks and they're gonna bring more than that into the bar, into the place.
Mm-hmm. Like that is valuable. And it's like something not to be abused on the side of, like, if you start sending your people to like. I dunno, like spammy add event type things. You're like, uh, no, I'm out. I'm never coming back.
FrancesMary Loughead: Exactly. Yeah. So trying to maintain that balance of, obviously we wanna make sure the community's affordable and accessible, so we try and make our events as low cost as possible.
But at the same time, and I don't really have an answer for it yet, but trying to find that balance between like, okay. We want people to show up and not just RSVP and then not show up because of the time that we're putting into it, um, but also making sure it's just valuable for everybody there. Speaker 5: One of the things with hosting events is that you never know who's gonna show up mm-hmm.
Until the day of. You never Yes. And like until, is literally the time is here. Has there ever been one that you were like so pumped up about that just did not get up off the ground and it ends up being like you and two friends and you're like, this is, I can't believe I spent 10 hours or whatever hosting this thing.
FrancesMary Loughead: Honestly not real. I feel very like, lucky to say that even though, I mean, we put a lot of time and effort into the events for sure. Um, myself and partners, people show up and it's incredible to see that support from the community.
Nate Spangle: That's good.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah,
Nate Spangle: because there's nothing worse than like an underperforming whatever it might be.
Mm-hmm. And you're just like, and it's just so stressful too, of like, oh my gosh, are people actually gonna show up? Like, please.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. Oh, I, I mean, don't get me wrong. I show up to events and I'm like. Are people gonna come?
Nate Spangle: Yes. And you're like, oh my gosh, I'm so the first person rolls in. You're like, you're 15 minutes late.
What are we doing? Um, amazing. That's, that's super cool. I think it's an awesome mission. I've loved learning more about. I don't know. I just think it's cool when people have a challenge and then help solve that challenge for, you know, 20,000 plus people. Like, that's so cool. And if you think about like 1% of central Indiana is involved with BFF Indy, like that's so cool.
It's crazy. Have you been able to meet people in other markets, like across whether the state or the country that are, that wanna do something similar or that are doing something similar?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes and no. I think that there's a couple girls in Bloomington that are interested, um, shut out. Yes. One of our ambassadors is actually living in Lafayette, so sneak peek there.
Hopefully being able to do more events. In Lafayette, um, just again, expanding and growing community in Indiana.
Nate Spangle: Heck yeah. I love that. Thank you. So cool. Well, we've come to the part of the show where we get to dive into all things Indiana. Um, so this question is brought to you by our friends at J.C. Hart.
They're a leader in creating enjoyable living experiences in apartment communities all across Indiana and beyond. Check them out at homeisjchart.com. My question for you, why do you call Indiana home?
FrancesMary Loughead: So I love that this is sponsored by J.C. Hart. One,
Nate Spangle: shout out,
FrancesMary Loughead: uh, that was one of the first apartment complexes that I lived in coming to the Indianapolis area.
So good experience. Good experience. Yeah. Big, great experience.
Nate Spangle: Let's go. So
FrancesMary Loughead: if you need a home in Brownsburg. Where'd to go
Nate Spangle: DM them?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes. But obviously, um, I mean, starting off Indiana being home, I'm here for my husband's job, but that is not why I call it home. Um, the people in the community truly make it what it is.
Um, I know I'm kind of talking a lot about community, but it truly is important and it makes a difference when finding your home.
Nate Spangle: I love that. Okay. Here's the part of the show where you get to. Shed some light on a part of the state that more people need to be talking about. What is a hidden gem In Indiana?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes, I touched on it a little bit before, but I love the nest in Noblesville. Definitely like a great spot date, night spot, friends, uh, going out with friends and then. Daily specials are really good.
Nate Spangle: Oh, that looks cozy.
FrancesMary Loughead: It's very cozy.
Nate Spangle: Okay.
FrancesMary Loughead: Delicious
Nate Spangle: food. If, if you had to make a Mount Rushmore of places in Noblesville, what would your, what would your four things on the Mount Rushmore of Noblesville be?
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, rush Restaurant specifically, or just anything? Anything. Anything,
Nate Spangle: anything. Noblesville,
FrancesMary Loughead: I mean, The Nest, obviously, since we're discussing it, um, there, we, I can't remember what it's called. Obviously like the White River flows through there. Yeah. Um, but there's this little like. Trail that we've explored recently.
Oh, and that's really fun. So I would put that up there. The
Nate Spangle: trail?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yep. Yes, the trail, um,
Nate Spangle: oh, is it called the Midland Trace,
FrancesMary Loughead: maybe?
Nate Spangle: Yes. That one, like it leads you, uh, west over towards. Like the Monon. Yes. Like, it's, it's really, really long.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Yep.
FrancesMary Loughead: I feel like just the square in general, um, they're doing a lot of great things, I think in the next few years with that.
Nate Spangle: Mm-hmm.
FrancesMary Loughead: Um, and then also shout out to Twisters. I love Twisters fan. Yeah. So I am a very. Love, I love Twisters.
Nate Spangle: There it is. That is the, uh, that is the Mount Rushmore of Noblesville. I love it. Okay. Finally, this is where we get guest recommendations and learn about people who are doing inspiring things.
Who's a Hoosier? We need to keep on our radar, someone who's doing big things.
FrancesMary Loughead: Her name is Jill. She is on TikTok at @jillathome_. She does a great job of helping people find their place in Indy, so whether that be like things to do with family, things to do as a woman in Indy, just finding those, I know we talked about kind of hidden gems here and there, finding those hidden gems and community in indie
Nate Spangle: things to do and eat in Indy with a toddler.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes.
Nate Spangle: Nice voted. Best hot dog. Yes. Whoa. So
FrancesMary Loughead: she has a lot of good things on there that I'm like, oh, I needed to know about this sooner.
Nate Spangle: Yo, Nick's Chili Parlor. All right. That's on my list. Yeah. Place I need to go. Okay. Her name is Jill.
FrancesMary Loughead: Jill.
Nate Spangle: @jillathome_. And yeah, just like scrolling through her profile.
It looks really, really cool.
FrancesMary Loughead: Yeah.
Nate Spangle: Yeah. Steal my Indy playdate Plan, Indianapolis Indoor Kids activities. How important is creating content to grow the mission of BFF Indy?
FrancesMary Loughead: I think it's a very, I mean, obviously it's very important having people rather than just talking to somebody face to face. I can tell somebody how great the community is within B, fff and D all day.
Um, but actually seeing that play out and seeing the diversity and the different age ranges and just all the different things that we do, um. In the content specifically is something that's really, um, valuable. Yeah.
Nate Spangle: Well, it's been awesome getting to learn more about all the cool stuff you're doing with BFF Indy.
I think that it's important to have these communities and these spaces where, you know, whether people are lifelong Hoosiers that are looking to change stuff up and find some new friends. Or you're new to the city of Indianapolis that, or to central Indiana in general, and you're again looking to make some friends, whether it's a walk or a book club or you know, go to a fun event, spending the evening at an elderly community.
I think all those things are really cool and they all help fight against this like, overarching stigma of Indiana. The, there's nothing to do here. Like, like, I don't know. How quickly did you at one point think there was nothing to do here?
FrancesMary Loughead: A hundred percent. And I think that's something a lot of people think about Indiana.
It's like what is there to do? I know I talked to some of my friends in Chicago and they're like, do I really wanna come there? I'm like, yes. There is so much to do. It's,
Nate Spangle: it's not as easy.
FrancesMary Loughead: It's,
Nate Spangle: that is true in Denver, it's easy. You look up in the sky, you see mountains, you're like, aha. That's what I dos at the beach.
You know, any of the coastal places, you look and you see water and you're like, that's what I'm supposed to do. Mm-hmm. Yes. It's not. Easy to be reminded of all different things. So it's why like the work that you're doing and the work that all these other creators are doing is so important because it does show there's a lot to do.
Mm-hmm. Like you could spend a Saturday, you could drive. 45 minutes, any direction and find something really cool to spend your day doing. And it really counteracts this stigma of like, there's nothing to do in Indianapolis. Yes. There's nothing to do in Indiana. Mm-hmm. That takes me off. That's like my same here.
That's like my biggest pet peeve. Mm-hmm. Well, I love it. Keep up all the great work. 20,000 women and counting. I'm so excited to follow along on the journey and see how big of an impact you make across not only central Indiana, but the entire state. Keep it up if people want to connect with you, if they wanna show up to a BFF indie event, where can they learn more?
FrancesMary Loughead: Yes, so we always recommend joining our Facebook page, uh, BFF Indy. We have our Instagram at BFF indie, and then our website, bffindianapolis.com.
Nate Spangle: Heck yeah, keep up. All the great work. It's 'cause people like you are doing cool things like this, that our state is an amazing place to be at. And we'll talk soon.
FrancesMary Loughead: Sounds great. Thank you so much.
Nate Spangle: This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at Sweetwater. If you want a behind the scenes look at everything we're doing across the state.
Make sure you follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being a part of what makes the Hoosier State. Great. We'll see you next time here on Get IN.
