Goat Shenanigans: The ‘G.O.A.T.’ of local business

Story and photos by Blair Dupre

Whitney Beissner, owner of Goat Shenanigans, said she was tired of commuting back and forth to Austin for work and having to leave her beloved goats at home, which inspired an idea.

“I wanted to come up with a way to be able to enjoy my love of goats and share the goats with others,” she said. “So, I quit my job and took a chance on creating Goat Shenanigans, where I went around asking people and local businesses if they wanted to hang out with my goats too!”

Beissner has facilitated fun experiences for many people, both young and old, throughout the Central Texas community through Goat Shenanigans for the past four years.

“I thought we would be doing a lot of children’s birthday parties. It turns out, we are highly sought out for adult birthday parties,” she said.

“During Father’s Day, we do a lot of visits for ‘The Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.) Dads.’ One Father’s Day, the goats surprised their 80-year-old father/grandfather. He was so excited, they brought a chair out for him to sit on, he plopped the goat in his lap and they both just sat there, happily in that chair, for 30 minutes. The grandpa shared all his fondest memories of goats as a child, and how much he missed being around them.”

Goat Shenanigans have several different types of events in conjunction with other Central Texas businesses including “Goat Cuddles and Wine,” “Goat Yoga and Mimosas,” amongst others, and yes, the goats are full of shenanigans as the company name implies.

“One party we visited, the goats accidentally knocked over someone’s beer, and started drinking it off the ground,” Beissner recalled. “After that, the goats teamed up and went around trying to get a drink from everyone else’s beer cans at the party.”

Beissner said her favorite part about having her business in the Central Texas area is there is always someone who knows all about goats at their events.

“They will stop our goat wranglers and tell them about the goats they used to raise, their pet goat when they were a kid, or their grandparent’s farm,” she said. “It’s so nostalgic for them, and it’s a lifelong love. I imagine, in some parts of the country, you wouldn’t find as many people with goat memories outside of a zoo experience.”

Beissner said she’s happy that Goat Shenanigans supports her family as well as allows her to spend more time with them, which makes the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur worth it and rewarding.

“I have been so excited to expand the business and offer multiple opportunities for people to make extra income,” she said. “I always hear from my goat wranglers, ‘I can’t believe this is a real job. I get to play with goats all day and bring joy to people every day.’ Though running my own business means I’m on call 24/7, I get to spend my days at home with my kids, taking care of my animals, and I don’t have to stare at a computer screen all day long. Getting to run a business that brings fun and excitement to people is very motivational.”

Goat Shenanigans
Address: 7536 FM 2409, Temple
Website: goatshenanigans.com
Social: facebook.com/goatshenanigans