CEO Of Rebel Gardens: Barbara Sharpe AKA The CBD Boss – S3E07 (#103)

S3E07 Barbara Sharpe .mp3 – powered by Happy Scribe

Boss Uncage is a weekly podcast that releases the origin stories of business owners and entrepreneurs as they become uncaged trailblazers. In each episode, our hosts, as a grant and guests construct narrative accounts of their collective business journeys and growth strategies, learn key success habits and how to stay motivated through failure, all while developing a boss uncaged mindset. Break out of your cage and welcome our host S.A Grant.

Welcome back to Boss Uncaged Podcast. So since it’s Friday, it’s the end of the week. We’re going to be talking about drugs today. Okay, just a little bit. We’re talking about drugs, but in a more humane way, in a more legal fashion. So we’re not going to talk about necessarily marijuana, but we’re going to interview today what I like to call the CBD boss. I also call it Aunt Bob as well. So, CBD boss, the floor is yours. Why don’t you tell us a little bit more about who you are and what are we really talking about CBD today?

Well, thank you. And I like my CBD boss name, by the way. So yeah, thank you for having me on your show. And so a little bit about myself. My name is Barbara Sharpe, and if you say who, you will ask for me to tell you a little bit about me. So I am a wife, I’m a mother, I’m a business owner, I’m a regulatory compliance specialist. And now in my new life, I’m a farmer. Not just a farmer, I’m a hemp farmer.

You had to put that hemp farmer on there. My question is, it’s always funny because you kind of hear these stories and these transitions. How do you go from being, again, think of the companies you work for is associated to like, QuickBooks and so forth. You’re a numbers person, you’re analytical person. How does an analytical person end up in the farm growing hemp and selling CBD?

That was quite a transition. However, the numbers person, because it works. When we initially got into this business, it was because of the numbers. We were introduced by a family member and they were like, oh, you can make a lot of money. This is a trending product up and coming. And so when we first started looking at it, it was like, this is an opportunity to diversify our business portfolio. And so the numbers worked. That was how we got into it. And it still works if we still want it to work. It’s just taken a little time.

So are you familiar with the TV show Ozark? Have you heard of Ozark yet?

Yes, I have.

So, like, when I think about like, a power couple, right? So, like, you’re the numbers, right? You’re the numbers. And then your husband, he’s like a narcotic specialist and he’s like X SWAT team guy. So again, if you’re going to get into drugs, ideally that’s the ideal customer service representative that you want from both parties. So just talk about that a little bit. Like, how does a cop then get into this game as well? How did you convince him is my question.

Actually, he convinced me. But you’re right. He retired from the police department, and for the last eight years of his career, he worked on the drug task force. So being around drugs and marijuana and all of the other part of it, the illegal part of it, yeah, he was out there trying to make sure those types of things didn’t hit the street, and those people were not allowed to do what they were doing. However, this is totally different. So you’re saying how did he make the transition? It was because he realized that hemp CBD is totally different from marijuana. Often people get that confused, but is that just that little difference of that 3% THC, that makes all the difference. So because of that, he was able to make the transition and said, yes, this is something that’s not illegal, and I feel comfortable that I can do it. And then he brought me into it, and I was like, I looked at the numbers, looked at the benefits, and, yeah, we’re in.

So I’m thinking from an investor standpoint, if I was an investor and I’m hearing this story and I’m hearing, okay, she’s in numbers, he’s ex cop that understand drugs, and ideally, you guys are, like, the best situation to kind of grow a company from the ground up in that space because you guys can leverage both ends of it. So going into you a little bit more, obviously, you’re an analytical thinker, and you have a little creative, entrepreneur spirit behind you. So if you could define yourself in three to five words, what would those words be?

I would say you actually hit the nail on the head. I do have a creative side. I am very analytical, and I’m risk averse, which is probably the opposite of what I’m doing, but not too much because, like I said, I didn’t go into it blindly. We looked at it, we did the research, and on my side, it was like, we can make the numbers work. And on his side, it was, yeah, because a lot of times, especially I can speak for my husband seeing and being on the streets and the marijuana part of it, it was, you know, he saw the other end, the illegal end, but now we were able to see that this is not that part. And so this is something that, like you said, if I was an investor, I would say, you know what? They do know both sides of it, and if they’re comfortable with it, then I can get comfortable with it.

So, I mean, that leads me to nothing. I mean, I’m well versed in your family as well, too, and you guys are highly competitive individuals, but I can imagine you walking in during a holiday party or Christmas and saying, yeah, guys, so in the past year I’ve been doing this thing and then everyone by default thinks it’s drugs, right? Because again, you’re a very risk adverse person. So when you hear you’re talking about hemp or marijuana or CBD, you probably get a lot of negative feedback. So let’s talk about that. What kind of experiences did you deal with on the negative side and how did you overcome that?

We’re still dealing with it. For the first year that we grew, we didn’t tell anyone. So we kind of grew in hiding, I guess, in underground growing. But anyway, so we grew with the expectation that a lot of people were not going to be as familiar with Hemp CBD as we were because they had not done the study. They had not dubbed into exactly did the research. So because of that, we thought, let’s not share this right now. So our first year we grew, and it was only after we had had a successful grow that we actually shared it with the family. And that way we were able to say, yes, we’ve grown it. This is where we are. And let us tell you why we grew it and a little bit more about the product, because at this point, we were burst in it by then. So, yeah, it wasn’t something that we shared openly with family and friends. And as a matter of fact, now with my father in law, he still thinks we’re growing marijuana. He hasn’t changed his mind yet. So a lot of people are still thinking that we’re not doing something legal and because of that, it’s still an education part that we have to overcome.

I think that is very interesting. I just want to talk about, okay, being that you’re risk adverse, right? And again, your day to day your normality is being risk adverse, right? And obviously Big Mike is the same way too. He thinks risk adverse as well because he’s a police officer. So coming into this, right, and being that banks don’t really back it 100% and it’s kind of a still kind of a finicky thing to get like lending or loans or banking or any kind of thing in that nature, how did you kind of set up your LLC or your S Corp or your C Corp? How was your business structured?

So actually it is an LLC. And you’re right, it is because on the federal side, it’s still not legal. And I know you hear the stories about a lot of these stores and they have a ball full of money and guards and stuff like that because you can’t put it in the bank. They are working on that. But there are still ways to do it. If you’re not telling your bank that you’re hemp related or CBD, that you just have it set up. As we were in business prior to this, this is just our latest business project. So because of that. We didn’t have to disclose that to the bank, that we had expanded our business. But yes, you’re right, if you’re new, there are a lot of those. That’s one of the obstacles is where do you put your money when you make it? Because if not, you can always put in a crypto.

Like, it’s funny that you brought up crypto, but we’ll say that for later on. So I just want people to understand. You grew up in a household with four sisters, so you guys are like highly competitive individuals, right? And you kind of alluded to having multiple businesses. So again, you’re risk adverse on your day to day norms. You’re dealing with numbers and you’re kind of like a strategist in that sense. But what other businesses have you been into or up until when you got into him, like the story in between.

Oh, yeah. So I was thinking back about this, and so actually, 1994, I think I actually started my first business, and it was with a friend of mine, and we started a small business woman on business, and it was called Atlanta Entrepreneurial Training Center. And the focus was on helping small businesses. So I actually was working at the bank for small business lending. So it gave me some insight into the struggle that small businesses often had with funding, with resources. And I often say that they were able, they were very good at the barbecue sauce, but they didn’t understand the business part, which was the part that will hurt them. And as you know, most small businesses go out of business in the first five years. So I had a partner who was a CPA, and we started helping small businesses. It was like I said, entrepreneurial training center. So we help them with finances, with business plans from the beginning to the end. And one of the things I’m most proud of is that we also partner with Spelman College, a women’s own college and a women’s only college to help train young women on starting their own business so that was something that the college offered initially just to the students, but then we extended it and to include the community around the college. So we had different small businesses. I’ve seen a lot of different business plans, written a lot of different business plans. And from there we’ve been involved. We did T shirt sales and real estate development, and we still do real estate with that something we haven’t transitioned away from. Let’s see. So yeah, we’ve had a number of businesses that we participated in. And so, like I said, this was just a way to diversify the portfolio of different businesses. One thing I can’t forget, because that was pretty powerful lesson there. We owned the coin laundry at one time.

Nice. So I think out of everything that you said and I’m going to pull from one thing, I mean, real estate, I think even with the farmland, you’re still in real estate. I think a lot of people don’t really understand the magnitude of what real estate is. I mean, real estate, you could have verticals and you can build up on it, but you’re more so like the forestry of that particular real estate land and you’re using that land to essentially create wealth. So let’s talk about that. For example, now an example of real estate being a single family or a multi key, but you’re more so refining the land to where that land becomes a reoccurring revenue source.

You’re right, we actually do both. So we have owned single family residence and we rent those out. So that’s one part of the real estate. But then you’re right, we also have the land that we are now using. Well, the land was the reason that we were able to get into this business with the easier entry point because we didn’t have to go find land. And so the barrier to entry was much lower for us. We had the land there had been in the family for over 75 years, in my family. And so although we had trees on it and that’s a source of income, but it was also now but what else do we do with this land in between the times that we’re able to cut the trees down and get revenue from that? So once the opportunity came, it was using a resource that we already had. We thought, yeah, let’s try it. So yeah, real estate, that was a good point. Already having this and now it’s a way to utilize something we already have.

Nice. So let’s dissect that. I mean, obviously you’re talking about business strategy and I love this conversation, but we’re going to really dive into it, right? So someone that has, let’s say acres, let’s just say 50 acres, or let’s say 300 acres of land and they’re trying to farm that land. And what you did was like, okay, you went in and you milled the tree, the resource. And obviously people that don’t realize trees are a resource that have a lot of damn value, right? So you’re resourcing that and you’re taking that capital and you reinvested it into the land to then grow your stocks, hence then converting that into CBD oils. Correct me if I’m wrong in any of that process that I did.

No, that’s right. I’m sorry what?

I said, that’s pretty ingenious.

Yeah, so that was it. I don’t know if you looked at lumber prices lately, but they’re over a $1,000. So yes, that was a commodity that we had. It was like okay. And so it was a way now to provide multiple uses for something that we already had. And it’s not like I said, not just waiting for the time that we could cut and mail it, but now it’s sitting there. Let’s figure out what we can do to make money almost like year round, I guess you could think.

Nice. Very nice. So let’s just talk about it. I mean, you mentioned Big Uncle Mike a couple of different times. So anybody that has a partnership, usually a partner, is outside the household. So you’re living with your partner day in and day out. How do you guys currently balance that? I mean, I think both of you guys are very business savvy individuals. So do you guys ever really have opportunity to turn that off?

You know, that’s a challenge. And the challenge is you’re, right, you do. Normally you leave the house and you go work and then you leave those people and you come back home and your partner, and then you dissect your day. Well, our day is dissected all day because we do we’re here together and we have a we pretty much talk business most of the time. And so we do have to say, all right, it’s time to cut it off because that’s enough for today or let’s change hats. And that’s not only just with Mike and I, but it’s a family ran and operated business. So our sons are involved too. So often times when we get together, we’re all talking about business. It’s going to creep into the conversation somewhere. And so we do have to be mindful of that and to make sure it’s business. 15 minutes of business. But then let’s talk about family time. Let’s talk about what’s going on in your life, in the world, because you can you have to have balance. And if not, then it just becomes overwhelming and then you lose the fun of it being a family owned business.

So just because of this business and family, it doesn’t mean that it has to be all consuming. I think you can do both. You just have to find a balance.

Nice. You brought up your sons. And I think if anyone is orchestrating a family business, obviously you want heads of different departments. You want the kid that’s really good at creativity to be really creative, and you have one of those and you want a kid that’s really good at operations and you have one of those. So, I mean, obviously you and your husband are building a business that when you pass that torch on, you know, that legacy could live on because your two kids could easily step in and take over where you left off. So let’s talk about like, how did you actually convince your boys to jump on the bandwagon, especially considering that it could be perceived as an illegal substance.

Yeah, they actually have more information on it than we did in each one of our businesses that we have had. I remember when we had the coin laundry, it was their job to go around and collect all of the quarters out of the machine and then back in the day and then wrap it in the wrappers for us to take it to the bank. Same thing with the Tshirts or whatever business when we will buy a property and have to rehab it. Everyone’s painting everyone’s, even since they were little. So we like to believe that we’ve established and built a culture of business. It’s a norm. Okay, so it’s not if I’m going to come in, it’s okay, what’s the next thing? And yes, I buy in because one, I’m a part of his family. Two, I know you guys, where you’re trying to go with this. And we said we’re building two enterprise and a legacy and they know that eventually it’s going to be theirs. So we want them to be a part. And they want to be a part because they have input now so that they’ll be able to take it to the next level later. So they’re not going to be coming in after we’re gone and trying to figure it out. It was like, oh no, I definitely understand the roadmap because was there when the roadmap was being written.

Nice, very nice. So let’s talk about this overnight success. Obviously you’re kind of like the polar opposite, but I usually ask this question about being overnight success and usually nine out of ten times someone is saying it took 20 years. And obviously you have a track record of multiple different businesses. But this talk about this new CBD business that’s becoming very, very successful as time continues forward. How long have you been on that road?

On the CBD Road. This is three years. So we started in Georgia. It was licensed in 2019. However, it took us a whole year before we were actually able to get our license and start growing. So we had our first grow in the summer of 2020 and so that began this whole different project that we’re in now. And like I said, now will be coming up to our third grow year that will start in June. So yeah, overnight success for business, or it would be a journey for business, but for this new venture, it’s been sort of just a few years.

Nice. So let’s talk about like time travel, right? And obviously time travel, I mean, eventually it probably will be real, but right now it’s not. But if it is real, as of right now, if you can go back in time and change any aspect up and again, you can go back before the CBD, you can go back to your coin laundry, to real estate. What’s one thing that you would go back if you had five minutes to talk to yourself? What would you say to yourself and when would you go back to?

Probably in my 20s than 30s. That would be because to say, make some different decisions about business early on. But that really would have involved having the partner that I have now. So Mike and I, when we got together, because you’re right, we are very business oriented and so once we got together, that was one of the things that kind of drew us together. And it’s been our I guess that’s connected us, because we do we’re always trying to think of what’s the next opportunity, what’s the next thing? So, yeah, going back to that point where we met would be a good point. And then for us to have started on our journey, business journey, a little earlier than we did. So I would say to myself, find the right partner early on and get started.

That definitely sound advice, for sure. So talking about your family and upbringing, right, obviously you grew up in Georgia and you grew up in a household with four other siblings. So that kind of stemmed into becoming highly, highly, highly I’m trying to get the best word to describe all five of you competitive. Maybe it’s probably a short changing of what really goes on, but let’s talk about that. This next question is stemming from that upbringing. What entrepreneurs could you recall in your family that you grew up, that you saw, that you probably admired or wanted to kind of become more like them as you grew up?

Yeah, let’s see. I was thinking about that. I’m going to say that I saw people in the community that they probably didn’t call themselves entrepreneurs. They were just in business, working together for themselves to feed their family, but to say, you know what, it would be nice to work for yourself, to have that freedom. And so looking at that, I think that would be and it was my uncle and who lived next door to us, and I was close to my uncle, so I spent time around them. He had a brick mason business, he and his brother and cousin. So that was probably the first time that I was introduced to entrepreneurs. And from there, yeah, just wanting more, you say competitive. I don’t know about that, but a house full of women that were all striving and we all have our own mind and we’re all seeking. So I guess maybe we helped to drive each other. Maybe that was the good part that came out of the competitiveness, because we pushed each other, we support each other. And so then with that kind of atmosphere and culture, again, that it helped us each to be, I would think, successful in our own right. Everyone didn’t take the entrepreneur journey like we did, but I think each one of them, my sisters, have made their own path.

Yeah, I definitely agree with you entrepreneurs. I’ll say at least three out of five of you guys are entrepreneurs in your own right. 100% through and through, like, literally in completely different directions. You’re all highly successive in your own right. So going into, like so you talked about your family and you talked about your husband, you talked about your kids. And I think we alluded this a little bit earlier, but let’s dive into a little bit more, like, how do you guys currently juggle that work-life balance, and is there really even a thing called work-life balance in your house?

No, actually it is, like I said, the first part of the day because as I shared, I am still working. So I work as a regulatory compliance manager and the company I work for is located in California. So because of that, I have a three hour time difference in the morning. So we typically start our morning during that time talking about the date for the business, what’s going to be, what needs to be done, what calls need to be made, whatever. Mike the legs of the business. So he’s running out, we make a sale, I’m packaging it up, and he’s running to the post office. So I guess the balance for that comes that we’ve defined our roles and we kind of stay in our life. So after we figure out I handle the administrative part, the regulatory part, that’s kind of my thing, to make sure that we’re in compliance because this business is the hemp. As you can imagine, business is highly regulated, and so that suits me fine. I understand regs statues and I want to stay compliant. And then he likes to get out, so he’s gonna be out running, running around and doing what needs to be done. So then when we actually get to the growth season, he likes to play in the dirt. So he’s going to be the one that’s going to be out there planting and all of that. So I guess, first of all, defining our roles has been very important. And then understanding your strengths and weaknesses of each one of our partners and then respecting that we’re not always going to agree, but that’s his role and I need to respect, even though I may not agree with it, I’ve given or he has that part to take care of, and the same for me. So the balance comes from, I think, just doing those things, defining the roles and then respecting each other’s roles, and then at the end of the day, talking a little bit about it and then switching to something else. We can’t talk business all the time.

Got it. I think you alluded to like your morning routine. So again, your corporation that you’re working with is based out of Cali, so you have a three hour difference. So just talk about your morning routines. I mean, like, what time do you usually get up and kind of how many hours of a grace period do you have before you have to kind of essentially clock in and work with that corporation?

So normally we’re up around 27, 30 and 8, and I start working for our business probably around 8:30. I have to have my coffee first, and so that gives me a good hour and a half to do what I need to do to set the day up for our business for Rebel Gardens. And then you’re right. Then it’s clocking in for my other job. But that also gives me time to read. I do research. I’m just trying to stay ahead of the trends. And so I’m looking at the business channels. So, like I said, the mornings are spent on just getting mentally ready and prepared. My business first and then the company business.

Very interesting. I love it. Obviously, from business standpoint, again, you’re double dipping, right? You’re getting revenue from both sides of the coin. So you have a support team through the corporation and then you’re building your empire behind the scenes. So let’s just dive into numbers a little bit. And I don’t think people really understand the magnitude of like, hemp or CBD oils. Obviously, they may understand marijuana, a dime bag or a pound and they could associate a number to that, right? So they understand that value. But in CBD is a little bit different. You’re not necessarily selling the plant, you’re not necessarily selling the root, even though you can, you’re selling the oil. The oil is a byproduct of what you’re creating. So what is a going rate for a gallon of CBD oil right now?

So it’s a commodity. And that’s the other thing that we’ve learned through all of this. And when you look at it, so it goes up and down. So you have different just from the CBD plant. There’s over 100 different cannabinoids that can be utilized from this one plant. So you’re thinking about that and it was like, okay, so we are familiar with CBD. CBD is another one that people hear, but just taking those two. So if you look at the CBD oil, one day you go and there’s a sort of resource that we utilize to know what the market is paying. And the last time that we checked, it was like 1365, $1,365 for a leader because it’s sold in liters. And then but like, for CBG, it may have been $1,000 per lead. So, yeah, the oil is very important because from that oil you’re able to break it down and make products so that’s the tinkers that you see or the pain creams or the gummies, all of those things are made from that valuable little golden oil that comes out of the plant that you have to press together. So it can be very profitable.

And I say that because a liter of oil you’re able to make, just for an example, like a thousand Vapes cartridges and you’re selling those at, we can say, $30 for one. So you can see that one liter of oil can turn into a product value of $30,000.

Yeah, I want to break that down for our listener. Right. What this woman just said is that a liter on average is somewhere between, let’s say 1000 to say 1200. And I’m just throwing out the average number, right? So there’s about 3.7 liters in a gallon. So you times that by four. So. You’re looking at potentially $5,000, roughly on average per gallon. Right. The average gallon of gas is what? The average gallon of milk is what? The average gallon of Coca Cola is what? So I want you to think about these numbers. Like, these are every single day products that we use. And gas is probably one of the oil based product, maybe at the highest premium right now. It’s four to $5 per gallon versus $5,000 per gallon. And this is raw content. This is not the refine. This is not in product. So just selling that at wholesale, the markup is ridiculous when you didn’t refine it into an actual household product that could be delivered on store shelves. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Yeah, that’s correct. That’s why the oil is so valuable.

Yeah, I’m just sitting here. I think I listen to everyone is thinking about getting into hemp at this point because it’s like, why would we do anything else but get into that if you can? $5,000 a gallon, that’s crazy. So you talked about reading a little bit earlier, and I think you’re a really avid person. You have an MBA, so obviously you read and you have read. So my next question is on your journey to kind of get to where you are, what books do you remember that stand out to you that you’ve read that you would like to recommend to our listener?

, and the title of the book is easier to I have it right here. “It’s easier to succeed than it is to fail”. And so that book I read that book years ago, and I’ve actually had an opportunity to visit the campus and meet Mr. Cathy. But what resonated with me was that he took something, a chicken. There was a chicken sandwich. It was that he didn’t invent the chicken, but he invented the chicken sandwich. And he felt numerous times because most people thought you’re not doing anything new or special, it’s just a fried chicken sandwich. But through that, he kept reinventing himself. He kept making Tweaks and stuff to this product, and so he came up with the Chick FiL-A sandwich. So when you think about it, I think anyone that’s starting on the journey should know there’s going to be failures. We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs, we’ve had five ways in businesses like us to share with you the different businesses we’ve been in, we’ve been a part of. Well, they didn’t all succeed, but we learned from each one of them. So I would recommend that book and simply because it just shows how to stay focused and resilient and keep believing in what you he kept believing in his dream and that’s been a good reminder for me. Don’t give up on your dream, even if it looks like it’s not happening right now.

Interesting. So, I mean, with all this information, again, obviously you had accolades left and right it seems like you live 20 different lives in one lifetime, right? Especially with the business side. Have you had an opportunity or have you at least thought about writing a book as of yet?

Maybe when I retire, maybe when the boys take over the business and then I’ll have a chance to but maybe not a book, but maybe some way sharing this knowledge as we’re going along. So maybe writing some papers that will be beneficial to people. Because like I said, we started this, this is our third year last year. Each year we’re doing different parts of this business because we believe that the best way to control the quality of our product and to make sure that we have control is that we are going to vertically integrate from seed to sale. We need to control. And so each year we’re taking on a little bit more of that responsibility ourselves. But there’s a lot of information we’re finding that’s not out there. We bought this bucker machine and we didn’t know anything about how to run the bucker machine and it was like, oh, all right, so yeah, maybe that’s something I need to write for someone else so they won’t have to spend two days of trying to figure this out and looking at Google and calling. So maybe that would be what I would do first, is maybe just write papers to help someone else and maybe at the end I’ll compile it and write a how to Start a CBD hemp Business for Dummies.

Nice. I think you brought a really good point in talking about like supply chains and you’re talking about from seed to sale. You don’t have to go to all the details, but I mean, just like in the global hemisphere, understanding like you get the seed, you have to farm the seed. But there’s a lot of other steps that come into play. And I remember talking to Mike a couple of different times and he was saying that he had to set up the fencing. He had to, you know, make sure he put particular feeders out because theirs were eating it or hogs were trying to eat it. And you had to figure out what grains to keep them away and you have to factor that into your cost. And then you have to harvest and then you have to dry. What are the other things that have to go into play that you have to factor from seed to sale?

It’s very labor intensive. So when you think about, oh yeah, it could be the $30,000 for this one leader that you could possibly make, well, it’s a lot of time that goes into that. So these seedlings become like your baby. So each year we have to decide on which strain we’re going to even grow. So it’s time thinking about that because each strain represents they have different benefits. So what are we looking for? What’s the purpose? So you’re not just going out and growing seeds, but it was like, okay, what’s gonna be the end result of this? And then, yes, so the water, the first year we grew, we planted them, and then it was a drought last year. It was almost too much water. Mother Nature has a hand in this either way, but then it’s the insecticide or the fertilized. You have to make sure that you’re keeping the bugs off at one point, but then you’re fertilizing it on the other end and all of the other stuff, the weeding, it’s a lot. So during that growth period, you typically start in June. We’re harvesting in September, so it seems like it’s not a lot of time, but you have to prepare the ground.

So we’ll start in April or May, getting the ground that’s peeling the soil, testing the soil to make sure that it’s going to be at the right PH level to make a successful growth and then going all the way through, keeping the weeds down. All of that stuff has to be done in order to have the product that you want at the end. And then you’re right, once we harvest it, we take it and we dry it. And there’s multiple ways that we can do that. Either we can hang it up the old fashioned way, or we can try and use technology and we can put it through this automated dryer. And then you have processing, which gets it to the valuable oil, which is depressing and all of that, that’s going to get it to the oil. But then from that, you decide on what products you actually wanted. So it goes from a processor then, I guess, to another processor, because that’s actually where you get the products from and like I said, that terminals if you’re making vapes or if you’re making paintcreams or tinctures or whatever you’re going to make. And that’s really kind of driven by the market. So what’s the problem? You don’t want to be producing gummies and no one’s interested in gummies anymore. They’re gone to prerolls what I was saying. It’s always just keeping your ear to the ground to know what the trends are, because that’s how you have to be able to pivot to make sure that you’re going to be successful.

I think based upon what you just said, there’s so much information in that. I just want to take about one part. And I think you said earlier on about, I guess, genetic splicing or genome or so, I mean, are you like breeding these things like dogs? It came across like that. How are you selecting seeds? And do you look at the mama tree versus the dad tree? What’s the process of selecting the right strand of DNA for that particular plant?

Well, we did have a mother tree at one point, but yeah, so each and that’s the part that we’ve learned. So when I say that we’ve become both students of this plant in the field that we’re now finding ourselves into, because we do, we’re learning that we deal with the genetics, the person who actually produces the seed, and we’ll talk to them and say, this is what we’re growing for our year. This year we would like to focus on more plants that are going to be associated with pains or inflammation and so that’s the plants that they will produce for us, strains that will be targeted towards a specific element.

Interesting. That’s very interesting because obviously when you’re talking about business strategy and you’re talking about planning, you’re essentially taking an entire season with the hope in a twelve to 24 month turnaround time that that product is going to be sourced and used in the future. So let’s talk about future, right? I mean, obviously you’re talking about gummies, you’re talking about lip balm, you’re talking about oils and those are like some of your primary products. Where do you see products going 20 years from now? What products are you planning or would like to have distributed from your store in the future?

We want to actually transition to the medical marijuana and more on the medicinal. That’s where we want to go, to that space. And simply because it is going to be the growth of the future as more and more people, as they get more and more licensed, especially here in Georgia, the medical cannabis. So what our oil will be used for is to break down that medical marijuana that they’re going to be producing because you have to use the hemp oil to dilute it so that it will be able to be ingested by people. So we want to work with that. We see that that’s where the industry is going and we’re working towards that to be a part of that space.

It’s definitely interesting topic. It’s crazy to me that I was thinking about what you guys are doing and I think it’s great that you’re doing it and then you’re diving into like a core niche. So my next question is when you think about farming, a lot of times people think about farming as far as machinery and workers, but in today’s world, I think there’s probably a lot of tech behind the scenes. So what software are you guys potentially using to just say, track what’s going on in the farm or on your day to day numbers that you would not be able to do what you’re doing without having access to that platform?

Well, yeah, because prior to this, I wasn’t really familiar with Shopify, and so we use Shopify for our ecommerce to control that part. However, most people are not aware that there’s limitations because of the negative connotations that’s still around Hemp and CBD. So some platforms will not allow you to take payment processing on their site. So we transition to that shopify in conjunction with Pinwheel, which is a company associated with Square for our payment processor, but we had to learn that also with Facebook, you can’t say him on advertisements. So we’ve learned that it’s been so when you think social media, you think, oh, yeah, I can just throw it out there and advertise. But we’ve been able to, like I said, through Shopify and square pinwheel, we’ve been able to run our business. And Shopify is great because what it gives us is insight into our customer base. And I don’t know how we would not have known that five years, ten years ago, that our number one customer base is out of Asia. Who would have thought? So, yeah, that’s been very helpful for us, having that tool. Just that the track where our customers are. I think we will be difficult, it will be difficult now to run the business without it and it keeps up with all the inventory and that’s another great thing. So you’re not having to sit there and count how many bottles you have. All of the other things that we used to have to do to keep up with all the widgets.

Got it. So just talking about and again, your son was born into this, right? And your son is a great designer and he’s analytical, but a very creative mind. So I would think that he would have some part in developing that logo that you have. And I want to kind of talk about the branding because, you know, I love brands, right? So why and how and what were you guys thinking when you decided to cross a marijuana leaf with an actual cross? What’s the story behind that?

I would like to take credit for that, but you’re right, that was Jacoby’s idea and it goes back to recognizing each one of our talents. So Jacobi, he’s our branding, he’s our public relations officer. He created it, we all had input in it and if that was something that we liked and of course, he had final words, which was the final decision, which is not always our decision, but we trust him enough to know that he has a vision that we don’t always do. So as long as it aligns overall with our vision, we’re okay because we want to give him we want him to know we trust him enough to give him responsibility. But yeah, when you look at it, it was the cross, but it’s also medical, you know, so it had the dual purpose of it, the cross part does, and then the marijuana. So we wanted to be able to go towards the medical part more than the crosscut. And I guess the fact that it’s who we are, we would like for people to believe that that’s our moral values, which is why we’re saying that we’re going to always produce a quality product. So moral values, ethics are important to us. But yeah, I thought it was very unique.

Yeah, it definitely is. I mean, to the listener. If you have a chance. You definitely want to go to https://rebelgardens.com/ and just check out the product listing. But the logo as well too. Which kind of leads me into my next question is with the insight. The inside of a brand specialist. I’m thinking that you guys are heading more into the medical side. Which you said earlier. Which then plays into the cross more so than religion is. More so help. So let’s talk about who is the ideal customer or the ideal avatar for your company right now.

I would say it can go so many different ways because if you look at it, you think, oh yes, older people because they have more ailments, but then it’s younger people because they too have anxiety. And so over the last couple of years, I think if nothing else, dealing with what we’ve been dealing with, stress level and anxiety is at all times high. And what this CBD, what it does is it helps with those. So it’s been shown to help people to reduce their anxiety and reduce their stress level. But then on the other side for people who are older, like arthritis and pains, and then you have your weekend warrior who goes out on the weekend and overdo it, and then you come back and you’re rubbing down because it helps with pains and muscle aches and all of that. So I don’t think we have an ideal customer, but I think the customer that probably would see the benefit most would be an older. I would say maybe that 40ish and up simply because they’re probably going to be the one that recognize and appreciate the price point that comes with having something of quality to ingest into their bodies and put on their bodies versus someone that’s younger.

So let’s play devil’s advocate here, right? Let’s say I’m 50 years old and I’m still working in corporate America and I’ve never even dabbled in marijuana. I never even dabbled in CBDs. I’m completely ignorant. So I’m going to ask you a question from that standpoint. So I’m taking your CBD gummies and my job is going to do a drug test. Would that show up?

No and the reason it’s not is because we have two things. We have a full spectrum CBD gummy and then we have a broad spectrum. And so when the full spectrum does not have the THC in it, it has no THC and the broad spectrum does. So we’re able now to help and cover both of it. So yes, you can take it that night before and wake up all refreshed the next morning with no care of being having that drug screen. So yeah, we do that and we have one of our customers as a truck driver and that was one of her things. It was like, oh no, I got to have to protect my CDL so I can’t be taking this. And I was like, no, you’re good and she hasn’t had any problems and she’s had a couple of drug testing since she started with our product.

So, I mean, I just listened to you. You sound very verse and obviously you’ve been in this for a long period of time and again, everyone that’s listening, if you pick up on the keyword spectrum, it’s like, who would have thought spectrum would have been associated with THC in the first place, right? This spectrum and that spectrum. So it’s definitely enlightening, for sure. So let’s just talk about final words of wisdom, right? So if you are talking to this person that’s 45, maybe 50, even 55 years old, and they’re still in corporate America and they’re listening to you like, oh my God, like, this is my calling, I would love to get into this business. What words of insight would you leave for them to understand the next steps?

I would say two things. One, do your homework because you have to understand the business that you’re going into and that’s with any business, do your homework to make sure that this is something you’re really ready to commit to and then get an understanding of it. Maybe talk to someone you can reach out. We have people all the time that call us and say, we’re interested in getting into this business. So people are willing to share that information with you, but just take the time to get to know what you’re getting into before you get into it. And so internship, that’s another thing. We have people to offer to come work on our farm with us and they like, we just want to learn. So there’s ways that you can get out there and find out more about the business and then after you get a level full of comfort, go for it. But I think mainly it’s just to start with learning about where you’re trying to what the business you’re getting into. And one thing I want to share is always to learn the language of the business because that goes a long way in understanding exactly the legal, like you just said, spectrum, and it would not be associated with CBD, but it is, but it means something totally different. So if you’re coming from one industry and you’re trying to cross over and use the same words, it doesn’t match. But the more you know, you get a level of comfort and then you can make the right decision if this is something you actually want to be a part of.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to I’m still in that spectrum is going into my little dictionary inside of my head for later. So I just appreciate that add on. So, I mean, obviously we’re talking about CBD, you talk about gummies, you talk about oil. People are listening and they’re like, OK, like, this thing sounds great. I’ve never tried it. Or maybe I tried before, I want to try yours. How do they get in contact. Where did they go?

Oh, great, thanks for asking. So we’re located you can find us on any social all the social media platform that you can imagine having a son, that’s the social media king. So we’re on Facebook. You can find it at Rebelgardens. We’re on Instagram at Rebel…Let me make sure here. I want to make sure I get it right. So we’re at @rebelgardens so at @rebelgardens for instagram. And that’s it. And like I said, you can always call Find us on yeah, I have my notes here or you can give us a call.

So I mean the marketing guy is probably saying, I gave you a list, you should have just……

I know he did and I’m trying to read my list here. So the main thing is to follow us on Instagram, at @rebel.gardens, or our website is https://rebelgardens.com/ Or Facebook.

I think it’s beautiful that you guys have divided and conquered, right? I mean, you have your marketing guy, you have your operations guy. You fall more on like the CFO CEO level. So I’m not mad at you, man. I hear that. So I got a couple of bonus questions for you, and this one is going to be interesting because, I mean, earlier on we were talking about all these different achievements. I mean, obviously going to college and growing up in a household that was competitive, even though you may not see it as competitive. Right. And then getting into businesses, getting into real estate, getting into the coin laundry, getting into hemp. I mean, the list goes on outside of those things, right? Or maybe this includes all of those things outside of your family, what is your greatest achievement to date.

Outside of the family?

No kids on this one.

No kids on this one. I would say, actually. Okay, going back to school later and achieving, getting my Masters. So I spent the first part of my life raising my children, and then it was after they got to a certain point, I said, it’s time now for me to go back and do something for me. And so education was important for me to achieve. So I felt to get to the next level and as a source in a sense of accomplishment. So getting my MBA at a later age was a great achievement because, oh, man, it would have been so easy not to do it. But I thought it was well worth it. But it was also challenging.

I think you’re always up for a challenge. You wouldn’t be who you are if you didn’t have challenges, for sure.

Yeah. Even though I think it’s like, okay, I’m through, and then I always think of something else to challenge myself with.

Yep Yep. So another bonus question for you. If you could spend 24 hours in a day uninterrupted for those 24 hours, who would you want to spend that time with? It could be past or present.

My grandfather, William D. Reid, he was a pastor, the patriarch of a family. He’s on my mom’s side and my mom’s dad. She’s an only child, and he spoiled her, and thus we were spoiled. But he was very insightful. My grandfather was a very giving person, but you can ask him questions and he would actually ponder the question and give you a response. That was very insightful. So he was my go to person when I really wanted to know something or had a question, he was my go to person. But he was also a strong supporter of the family. And so just to know what he would think about this business and what we’re doing, although I know he would be the cheerleader because that’s who he is, when you’re happy, he’s happy. He was just always there. RA, I’m going to support you, but it would be interesting to know what he thinks about what’s going on with his business as well as just what’s going on in general now with this world.

Yeah, definitely interesting. And I didn’t realize that your mom was the only child. I mean, it’s kind of like I would think some of your entrepreneurial insight comes from her as well, too, because I’ve heard stories and I’ve read books, and I’ve seen like, this woman is a hell of a legacy as well, too. So, I mean, raising five strong, independent women, it only makes sense coming from that type of bloodline, for sure.

Yeah, she’s the only child.

Crazy. So going into closing, I mean, obviously as the Boss Uncaged host, I want to make you the host, and I want you to interview me. What questions do you have for me?

I think I mostly want to know because you’ve now heard my journey or our journey. And, you know, and this campaign, I know you’re doing your homework, but where do you kind of see if you were just getting into it, would you see this or CBD journey as something you would aspire to be into? And if so, why? And if not, why not?

I think it’s a good time. If you’re not in that space yet, how do you kind of take what you know from the real world and then apply that to, like, Metaverse? And again, think about Metaverse as a third party representation of the real world. But imagine hemp shops in the Metaverse, right? Imagine Hemp Farms in the Metaverse, and it’s kind of like, what is that going to do for me? What is the NFT in Hemp going to do for me in the fake world? But then you can probably use that environment as access passes. If you didn’t buy your NFT, your Rebel Garden NFT, then you can get access to discounts and get access to seeing us on the farm. And the only way you can do that is by having the NFP. So merging the real world with the alternative world, that’s the direction that if I jump into space. That’s what I would do. I would start growing hemp in a digital environment and then attaching it to your products and getting commissions off of selling your products through my digital world.

Interesting. See, I hadn’t thought of that. Yeah, I haven’t played much in a metaverse world yet, so that will be an interesting world to be in. All right, so is there any other party words that you would suggest for anyone? And for me, that was one, but just as you would think, where you would see based on what, you know, us growing, where do you see us growing in the next five years?

Well, I’m thinking that since you guys are already tackling the whole supply chain, like once you kind of get your system down packed, where you could have the supply chain 100% owned and operated by you, and you don’t have any third party vendors or anyone else, then coming to you for that source, what does that look like on a global scale? Like, could you add more land to it? Right? Could you add more products? Could you then become the manufacturer for other people and then bring you oil? I’m just thinking right now, just a tip of iceberg. You guys are really starting. But I think once you get a hold of that supply chain and you have every aspect of the system locked down, packed, and in the system, then why wouldn’t you not franchise it? Why would you not go global with it?

Good. I like that, man, look at this. I’m getting free consultation right here for me, valuable information.

It’s Friday. I got whiskey coming to my office soon enough. So you got any last question before we close out today?

No, but I do want to share one thing you mentioned earlier. So I do not want to get into trouble with the PR person that we will be having our first live event for 2022, and it will be February 26. It’s going to be at the Be social location from eleven to one. It’s free, and we would love for people to come out. Like you said, if they want more information about how do they start it, what our journey has been thus far, anything. So it’s just going to be an opportunity for other people to ask questions, and we’ll be more than willing to share what we’ve learned. So we would like everyone, they can go to any of the websites or Instagram, and they can sign up.

So the next question is, are there going to be samples at this event?

No samples at this event. However, we will direct you to our website and we might be able to give samples at that point.

Interesting. Cool. Well, I definitely appreciate your time. Taking time out of your busy schedule to come to show. This was definitely fun. I think you gave a lot of insight to industry that people hear about, but they really. Don’t know about. They really don’t know the money behind it or how to even get started. And I think you kind of really outline a really clear path. And again, you give them access to you, and not only that, you give them an opportunity to come to a live event. So, I mean, it’s a win win situation. I definitely appreciate you having on the show today.

Well, thank you. It was fun. And this is a great way to end our Friday afternoon, so I appreciate you having me on.

Great S.A Grant. Over and out.

Thanks for tuning into another episode of Boss Uncaged. I hope you got some helpful insight and clarity to the diverse approach on your journey to becoming an uncaged trailblazer. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review and share the podcast. If this podcast has helped you or you have any additional questions, reach out and let me know. Email me at ask@sagrant.com or drop me your thoughts via call or text at 762233boss. That’s 762-233-2677. I would love to hear from you. Remember, to become a Boss Uncaged, you have to release your inner beasts. S.A Grant signing off.

Listeners of Boss Uncaged are invited to download a free copy of our host S.A Grants Insightful ebook, Become an Uncaged Trailblazer. Learn how to release your primal success in 15 minutes a day. Download now at www.bossuncaged.com/free book.