Latest / CashcolorcannabisPodcast / Worth the Wait: Trina Ragsdale’s Journey to Jane’s Joint

Transcript

Worth the Wait: Trina Ragsdale’s Journey to Jane’s Joint · CashcolorcannabisPodcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mecca and this is Cash Color Cannabis, a higher level of conversation.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this episode is sponsored by looking to grow your cannabis business and make the right connections.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, join industry leaders from across the country at MJUmpack Kansas City October 14th and 15th.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Connect with executives and decision makers, learn from your peers, explore the experience hall, and celebrate the best of Missouri cannabis at MJU MoCan Cup Awards.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Register today and save 20% with Cash Color 20 at MJUmpack.com.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: See you in Kansas City.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: After years of navigating New Jersey's cannabis industry, Trina Ragsdale finally opened the door to James George, turning an idea that started while she was recovering from surgery into a full operating dispensary.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Today we talked to her about her journey into cannabis, the long road to retail, the importance of community, and what she's learned along the way.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is Trina Ragsdale.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everybody, it's Cash Color Canvas, a high level of conversation.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, I am not at Live Hip Hop Daily Studios today.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm at my house, aka Urban Growth Media Studios, and via Zoom with a guest who I've actually bumped into so many times.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm shocked this is the first time we've had a chance to actually sit and speak.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that's Trina Ragsdale.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for those who don't know, she is the owner of Jane's Joint in New Jersey, is a new cannabis retail space.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to talk to her today about how she found herself in the cannabis, um, opening up her own store, and just any advice or anything like that she can get to somebody who's going to follow her footsteps.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, Trina, how are you doing today?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's fantastic, Mecca.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm in my happy place for a change.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm outside in my backyard, you're home.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we're both, you know, we're both home working from home today, which I I appreciate that.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, man.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So uh well, Trina, I've like I mentioned, I've bumped into you so many times, but this is the first time I've had a chance to actually sit down and speak to you.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like I'm getting to know a new friend.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about you.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how did you find yourself into this cannabis space?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: How did I get here?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's the question, right?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I am actually so happy to be here.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the opportunity, Mecca.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: I know we've crossed paths many times.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: You've had a lot of my, you know, those that I consider my my mentors in this space.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Excuse the barking dog.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: If this is going to be, if there's disruptive, let me know.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, a lot of my mentors have been in in Cash Color and, you know, I've admired from afar.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so really excited to be with you today.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: So James Joint was was birthed from my own personal health experience.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh two-time breast, breast, two-time uh cancer survivor, thyroid cancer in 2014, and then I was diagnosed with breast cancer uh going into the pandemic, actually.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um so as you can imagine, horrific experience.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I I always start with, you know, obviously my own personal medical background, um, not for empathy.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I think a lot of people always, you know, that you you wanna you wanna empathize and that and you should, you know, feel that level of compassion.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I I always start with that because I want people to see me also as the face of cannabis.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, with the stigma stigma of cannabis, there's a perception of who what cannabis consumers look like.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so for me, as I was working through my my health journey and and using cannabis as my treatment, I would go to what was then very few options in my area.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: There was only one actually a dispensary.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it was um a very impersonal experience for something that was very personal to me.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I chose to um, you know, throw my name in the hat and apply for for licensing.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I was blessed to um receive my conditional license.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And at that time I thought to myself, I I need somebody that needs to know how to sell weed.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: That was really my I mean, like this is all well and good.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm a I'm an intelligent woman.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: I have, you know, um, you know, am educated.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Google University helped me to navigate the application process.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the CRC was super supportive in terms of helping helping to navigate that as well.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but at the end of the day, I needed somebody who really understood the plant and who also um shared in that level of compassion and understanding of the medicinal benefits of of cannabis and sharing in that philosophy and being able to walk in that space throughout our journey together.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, and that alignment is not always easy to come by in this space.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's an assumption um that, you know, obviously people are thinking that this is a get with get rich quick, and you know, you're gonna be making, you know, boo-goo, you know, gobs of money, and you know, and it's not, and it's not that, right?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot that goes out before you see any income.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I needed somebody who aligned with me on that.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so my son um had a partner, a friend of his who had gone to college with, and they were a part of a cancer foundation.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um, the introduction was uh uh just amazing.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: This the synergy between him and I.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: He he at that time was maybe 26 years old, young guy, super energetic.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, he was in um packaging and you know, had had lived a life, you know, prior to coming into to uh the legal market.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so he had it, he had some understanding and and and we were able to share in our professional knowledge, and that was four years ago, and it was almost four years ago to the day that we opened our store.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, that sounds like a movie.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like the way the way all that's set up, downtown your son introduced, like that sounds like a movie.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: It it should be, honestly, because it it is not something when when people see uh my partner Tom and I together, they're like, How did this happen?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: How did this come to be?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and when you know God puts something in your path and it's for you, you walk into it.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you trust that you trust the signs, you trust what he is providing to you.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: And and when you lean into it and the other person who you plan to partner with leans into it as well, this is the magic that happens.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Girl, go ahead.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, cue up, cue up, Michelle from Destiny's Child.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: When Jesus says yes, nobody can say no.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: No, can't do it.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's impossible.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: It is impossible.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So well, it's also congratulations on you making through your cancer journey.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: I had myself, like um, two years ago, I had Hodgkin's lymphoma, and I am proud to have been able to make it past that.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I rang the bell two years ago.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Lessons, yeah, yeah.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: God be glory.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I was gonna speak to you about, you know, since I do know that side about you now, when you was when you were initially being diagnosed, did your doctor recommend cannabis to you?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was in Atlanta at the time, and you know, we did have medicinal use of cannabis, but we couldn't get cannabis cannabis.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I told my doctor I smoked, and she told me I want you to keep doing that, you know, and but again, she didn't need to know how I was getting it.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I was gonna ask if, you know, that question, did your doctor recommend that to you?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Is that something you you sought out on your own?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it wasn't out of recommendation, but my oncologist at the time was super supportive in understanding that I had a good sense of what worked for me.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: And she trusted that for me.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so while she did not, you know, necessarily recommend it, um, she did not dissuade me from, you know, accessing something, uh, you know, the medicine that was was working for me.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so, you know, and that's one of the things that I share with my customers when they come in.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have a phenomenal, you know, we've now are seeing, you know, our return customers and building those relationships and having some of those personal conversations.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: And while we're not giving medical advice, we all, all of my staff, we all have our respective personal experiences, you know, as it relates to health and the use of cannabis.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so one of the things that they always ask, and even our senior population who we work very closely with, you know, they all often ask, and we recommend it, they always speak to their physicians, but it's unfortunate in the New Jersey market that a lot of, you know, medical professionals are not educated, you know, about cannabis.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so that becomes the challenge is that, you know, as much as we want for, you know, consumers to consult their physicians and have that um transparency and be able to have those, you know, exchanges and making sure that there's a level of uh safety as they're approaching cannabis and in addition to their prescription medications, um, the education is not there.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, my my my professional did know, my professionals did was a were aware of that, but it was not something that I I sought their advisement, you know, because again, the education was not there.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, congratulations on the journey.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad that you're here to have conversations with us.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And now you are a business owner, you are a retail shop owner with James Joint.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: James Joint is now open.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I remember seeing the grand opening on social media.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: It looked like a time was had.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to us about opening up the stop, man.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: What was that like?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, it was uh I mean, you know, I say dream come true like it, you know, it's so you know, uh everyone says that, but it really is.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I still walk into the store and it and it hits me that like this was this was rubble.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there there were there was dirt on this floor, and now I'm walking on wood floor and I'm seeing the James Joint logo, all the things that I've imagined have come to fruition now.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: So um it is uh it is it is definitely something that, you know, has helped me to realize my power, you know, and and you know, we talked and and talked about, you know, God's place in in my life and how he has helped to help me to step into that um and in helping to manifest what I truly believe in my heart was was to be.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so yeah, I I am thrilled to be able to walk into that store every day, um, to like I said, see customers coming in, you know, for more on multiple occasions, to see families coming in.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: We have families, we have husbands and wives that come in, we have, you know, uh parents and their children, you know, younger, their adult children coming in, and we have seniors that are coming in.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so to see that they have now, you know, that they embrace what we have what we have um created for them and and and they're leaning into our understanding and and our knowledge of of wellness as it relates to cannabis, it is a thrilling, um, overwhelming at times, you know, kind of experience because you want to also create that consistency.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: You want to keep it going.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, one one foot at a time, it's definitely uh it's definitely a journey.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we are 45, 46 days in, which is, you know, it feels like it's already six months.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Because we've we've experienced so much, but it's all been a blessing.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's all been a blessing.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, you know, cannabis a cannabis years are like dog year.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you you've been here six months.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you feel like you're a teenager at this point.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, four years to get it open, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like it it it makes sense.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: And and I and I liken it to I I'm a mother of twins, and so we're coming into this space, you know, I had so many naysayers, and you know, it's hard, you know, you really don't want to do this.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: You sure you want to go about this?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's there's a lot of lot of battles you're gonna have to fight.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a black woman in America, single mother, raised twins, battled cancer twice.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't I didn't do too bad, right?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I I I I I can handle this.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so I felt empowered and I knew that there was that all of that was part of my journey to getting here.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: It was necessary for me to go through those those those valleys in order for me to get to my peak of opening Jane's joint.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey man, congratulations.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of the Jane's joint, how did you come to the name Jane's Joint?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's always a fun story.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when I decided to to apply for licensing, I was at literally in my bed recovering from one of my surgeries, and I said, you know what, I I we can do this.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: We can do this.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought to myself, I'm gonna apply for this license and I'm gonna figure it out as I go.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I called my children, and they were 18 at the time, and they came in on their phones, you know, gave me a little two minutes of their time, and I said, Hey, I'm I'm I'm applying for a license to open a cannabis dispensary.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: We need a name.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And they said, Well, what was what was we called back in the day?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And they threw, you know, one to twin powers back and forth, Mary James joints, and they came up with they came up with Jane's joint.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's crazy.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: There's a one to twin power.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Jane's joint is now here, and you know, you kind of touched on another conversation, another topic I wanted to bring up, which was how long it takes to actually open up a store.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, opening up a retail space is is a tedious process, you know, from the day you get a chance to the day you get your license to when you actually open it up could be years, just like you mentioned.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: How talk about the level of patience and what you needed to do what it needed for you to to maintain during that time, as far as was it was it you know your friend circle, was it your faith?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: How did you brave the long the long time of four years spending money and not seeing anything even open up yet?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean it's daunting.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's daunting and it and it's exhaustive and financially draining, all the things, everything that you've heard about it, it is true, right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: That is the reality of it.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all and like you mentioned, friend circle, family, you know, my faith for sure.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I remember speaking on a panel um a few years back, um, and there was another um person who was presenting with me.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I talked about, and I'm I'm I'm a school psychologist by by training.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, there's some of that practice that I carry into, you know, my work in in the cannabis space.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I always say I'm an introverted leader, so I'm very reflective of how I approach, you know, my my leadership and you know, taking care of myself first.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the person next to me said, You gotta go hard and you gotta, you know, make sure you put it all out there a short amount of time.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: And and I was, you know, I'm like, I'm a I'm a soft girl, you know, I'm a soft girl.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I can't always go hard.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I just don't think that's safe.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think it's healthy, right?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: So for some people that works and that's how they're able to get through, and they have a different superpower that I do not possess.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but for me, it was definitely about taking little bites at a time, understanding that there were certain things that I was not gonna have control over, because that's a big thing, or Capricorn.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you know, you know, but I, you know, for me, it was about making sure that I was able to tackle what I could and being able to delegate what I could not.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so we were able to have, we build a very strong professional team that helped me to navigate some of those nuances that I wasn't familiar with.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but a lot of it was just, you know, you accessing the resources, relying heavily on my cannabis colleagues in this space.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: I am so super grateful for my peers in New Jersey that let me come into their stores, walked me through the back, helped me to navigate licensing, came to my store when it was rubble, and and showed me how to, you know, the best way to set up my fulfillment vaults.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I would not have been able to make sense of any of it had it not been for my peers in this space.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Suzanne Nicholson, uh Dominic from Organic Farms, um, I mean, all of them.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: They're just phenomenal people in this space that I have been able to partner with.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I am so excited to be on the other side with them now and being able to do something on a larger scale.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: As small operators, we have to unify and we have to work collaboratively to make sure that we are all successful in this space.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is not just a one and done.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: We are not on islands by ourselves.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if we are, we're not as strong.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it is important for us to stay connected.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I am super grateful.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: It has definitely been community that has kept us, kept me, kept me going.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's love, man.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: So now that the store is open, um, have you had a chance to look at the supply your your menu and say, I have my own personal favorite?
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is there uh do you have a Trina's favorite yet?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: I do have a favorite.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so we have recently launched Jane's Boutique Exclusive.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: So we now have uh the Aura Pre-Roll and our Aura vape on the market.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So they are, I have to say, my favorites um at the moment because it is definitely, you know, and it's part of my journey.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely infused a lot of my meals.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: I um, you know, um consumed with edibles and tinctures.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'm so smoking because of what I was, you know, challenged with in terms of my healing and my treatment, I wasn't always able to consume and smoke.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but now that I am, you know, on the other side, thank God I have my health.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so I wanted something that, you know, for one thing, I don't typically smoke in my home because the smell of cannabis is so, so strong at times.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: It it's it can be overpowering.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted something that was subtle, that was sexy, that was sultry.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so the R pre-roll gives all of that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: It gives all of that.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's a smooth smell.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like I compare it to a cognac.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's very, very, yes, very, very, very smooth.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we've gotten great feedback from it.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we were at part of the Nekan conference this weekend and we were one of the entries.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, um James Joint is is on the mark, or James Boutique Exclusive is on the is on the market right now.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're looking to get into some other stores, you know, throughout the state.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it is definitely a fave, and I look forward to sharing it with you.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: How was Nikan this weekend?
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I was looking through the pictures.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't see you and Red Man.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: I saw Red Man with like everywhere.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how was he here?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: He was, he was, and he was so down-to-earth.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Red man, I mean, Reggie is just an awesome man in terms of his journey.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: And you we talk about journeys.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: He's had his own journey.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: We shared our respective health journeys together.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Super down-to-earth guy, and and very much invested in the success of you know, black entrepreneurs and making sure that he is supporting and advocating for all of us.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: But NECAN was a blast.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: It really was a blast.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: And again, it gives you another opportunity to connect with some of those operators that you don't get to see on a on a regular basis.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then there were so many other folks that were there and so many other ancillary businesses that come in and support and that are building their respective brands.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was great.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was a it was a phenomenal crowd.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's up.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's up, man.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I didn't get a chance to go.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Nekan's one is my one of my favorite conferences to go to.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: I I always have a good time in NECANs or happen.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was there, they were, yeah, and you know, the after parties are always very you know, I I set a time limit this year.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Last year I went all out and I said that did not fare well for the rest of the weekend.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: So pace yourself.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the after parties were nice.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, speaking of conferences, this is not a plug for them in any way, shape, or form.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: But are you going to MJ Viz this year?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Just coincidence.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: I am not, and I have not, and I've heard some mixed reviews about MJ Biz.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I do have a lot of you know uh friends and colleagues that attend.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so it wasn't on my list of of things to do this year, but you know, I've heard some things.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: So eventually I will make my way out.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's cool.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like I as somebody who's been there since 2016, I remember the first one I went to was actually in New Orleans.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I've always had a good time at NECAN.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, excuse me, Nikan at MJ Biz.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: I just feel like, you know, it's for a specific group of people.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like um you really gotta be I you really gotta be a Uber hustler because there's gonna be so many people and so much happening.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like you really gotta pick it up, you can get overwhelmed.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like I tell people, like you it's a for something that's three days, you can get overwhelmed within the hours and miss the kind of some key things you probably should have made to or should have tried to get involved with, and you'll find yourself like overwhelmed with just time and just so much uh uh available things.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it wasn't uh again, it it's been something that others have brought to my attention, but one of the the the conference or the event that I'm really interested in going to is Revelry.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I have not been and I've listened.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: I keep missing it every year.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think it lands on Nikan weekend.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I typically have have missed it.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Every like what like Matthew, I think it's twice a year.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Twice a year I get an email saying, Hey, you gonna go do you want to pass past them to Revelry?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: I look on the calendar, I'd be like, No, I can't go, I gotta do something else.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Every for the last couple of years, I do want to go to Revelry, man.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's it they say it's super crowded, there's a lot going on, but it's New York.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's you know, so you you gotta at least try it.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I feel yeah, the same way I feel about MJ Biz in Vegas.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's Vegas and it's it's a cannabis conference.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be a lot happening.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like pace yourself.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, speaking of pacing yourself, man, like it it took you a lot to to maintain composure, maintain your sanity, to be where you're at right now, and to be able to open up the space that you're in.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what advice would you give to an entrepreneur who won who sees themselves following in the line of you in a in similar ways?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like what advice do you give to somebody behind you?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I say this all the time.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Tap into community.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can't do this alone.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't have to.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you can do it alone, but it is not sustainable.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so the key is to really build your team as you go, right?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: I I think that the assumption is that, you know, I'm I'm I'm gonna wait and see if I can get all my ducks in a row first.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you get some ducks in your row, they can help you to carry some of the weight, right?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's one of the things that I really did early on.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my partner Tom and I even locked in our staff, our GM, our GM has been with us for three years through this process.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, worked at some other dispensaries, got some background and some knowledge.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so he was able to, you know, it was like a plug and play once we, once we got licensing.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've had two other staff members that really hung in there where, but that but those relationships that we really, really work to um develop and establish along the three-year, four-year process.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: So tap into your community, tap into your family members.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: You have the resources, you just don't even know it, right?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that friend that you grew up that you went to high school with who is now an accountant, you're gonna need that person on your team, right?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, you're you don't need to go into these folks that are, you know, cannabis professionals or the cannabis consultants.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Be wary of that because they also come with a cannabis tax.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: You just want somebody who can run some numbers and has knowledge of the cannabis industry, which is all, which can all be learned.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: If we can all step into this industry with minimal knowledge, you can you can find someone to help you to grow with and help to grow and and and learn more in the space to help benefit and and uh you know grow your business.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I would say that tap into your community, tap into your family, your friends, your professionals, and build your team from the inside out.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Trina, it's been a blast talking to you today.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody wanted to learn more about you, yourself, tree uh Jane's joint, how can they do that?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you can follow us on uh Instagram at uh MyJamesJoint.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the website is myjanesjoint.com and our social media is Jane's Joint NJ on Instagram.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can also follow us on Facebook, James Boutique Dispensary.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Then also you can find more information about me on our link tree, which is Trina Ragsdale LinkTree.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you could all of that information is available in our bio on Instagram.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I look forward to seeing everyone in store.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Please come visit us if you're ever in Gibbsboro, New Jersey, Camden County.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're 25 minutes outside of Philadelphia.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: It is an amazing experience, and we would be welcome, super excited to have you.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Trina, I thank you so much for speaking with me today.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: I really enjoyed our conversation.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And that's Cash Color Cannabis, a higher level of conversation.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed our conversation, join Cash Color Canvas Patreon for exclusive episodes, original content, and more.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Membership starts at just one dollar a month.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: And make sure you subscribe to Cash Color Canvas on your favorite streaming platform so you never miss an episode.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, Cash Color Canvas, a higher level of conversation.