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Setback to Second Store: Jeff Similen on Rebuilding in Cannabis Retail · CashcolorcannabisPodcast

• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to supportive Hope College.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Shout out to Jeff, goodbye, man.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: Love everything y'all doing, man.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: Love everything y'all doing.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Alright, so but today though, I got somebody with me who I've been um I've known for a while, and I think that he has a conversation that it really would resonate with a lot of people.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: And that's going into business, going out of business, and going back into business again.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that's my dog, Jeff Semillion.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff, what's good with you, man?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: How you doing, man?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, Jeff, no, yep.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Also, one other thing though, Jeff, you have the perfect rap name.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I've been wanting to tell you that for years.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: Jeff Semillion, bro.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like, just go out like Kendrick Lamar, like, like with, you know, just that's your name.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's my name, Jeff.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's your name.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: Jeff Samillion.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: Just that's that'd be in there.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if your wife wants you to be rapping nowadays.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: She's like, I'm dumb going on.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Excuse me, it's you turn high.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So, Jeff, uh, for those who don't know, just please introduce yourself quickly and let us know what you do.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Jefferson uh, my name is Jeff.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I am by trade, I'm a commercial real estate broker.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is what I do, that's what got me into the cannabis industry.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I am I'm Haitian, um, I'm Haitian.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was born in Haiti, migrated to to America when I was about eleven, um, late nineties.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um grew up, you know, um idolizing, you know, artists, hip hop, you know, basketball player sports.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I played high school football, I played college football, played semi-pro football for a little bit, um, and eventually uh retired, hang hang up the c uh hang up the cleats and um and uh transitioned into business.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: My father was a businessman growing up.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: I watched him make ends meet, I watched him, you know, hustle and earn everything that he had to.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um and when I was about eleven, he told me that everything that you have, you have to earn it.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um I did just about that.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Being in America, being a land of opportunity, capitalistic world, you know what I mean?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's all about me just trying to figure out how to, you know, earn my spot and that's what I did here.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: So So and you did a great job, especially when it comes to the the the real estate side, because I was in I was in Matipan Square last year, and I remember just walking casual, and I look up and I see a sign with your face on it.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, uh-huh.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: Come here everywhere right now, man.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Come here everywhere right now, man.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: So you have an amazing story, like you just mentioned.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: You you're an athlete, you're an entrepreneur, but at some point you found yourself involved in cannabis.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: So how did you find yourself involved in cannabis?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um well, when cannabis became legal in 2016, I'm a commercial real estate broker.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I started receiving a lot of phone calls from um outside operators wanted to come into Massachusetts.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so that's pretty much sparked my interest and you know, sparked my mind to say, okay, there's something here.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is a leading uh emerging industry that, you know, as an entrepreneur, you always want to figure out, you know, where can you fit in, where can you find, you know, the next, you know, great opportunity in cannabis was pretty much that.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I figure that I could uh you know leverage my skill set, leverage what I learned from business, uh, leverage from uh from business management.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: I have a business management uh uh degree in college, uh accounting.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: I work as an accountant, uh and you know, just all the skill set that from from playing sports, all the mental toughness and resilience that you know you gave from teamwork from playing sports.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean, brought that over to figure I could bring that over to to the retail business side.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I mean I was already a commercial real estate broker, uh, engaging with uh the city of Boston and navigating through approvals and helping businesses, you know, dealing with lawyers and and you know, just that every pretty much everything that goes into, you know, uh creating a business.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I pretty much experienced that w as a uh a commercial broker helping my business uh clients um go through this process.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I pretty much had that skill set, you know, I pretty much had that leverage, and it's just really applying for self.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so you got yourself involved with with low-key dispensary.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: And the first one I remember was low-key in Codman Square.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: And the crazy part is I remember coming through Boston, I'm literally going to get a haircut, and I'm going down the street, and I'm like, oh, I try to I made a I remember look looking to the left and I saw it.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Yeah, I got circled back and I got stopped by the store.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: But by the time I came back, you was already in the process of the store not being there.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: 100%, yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: So talk to us about that, man.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: Like, talk to us about the process of first off the work it took to even start Loki in Cobman Square and what happened as far as having to shut down.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, yeah.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it it's it's a lot, man.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: We could sit here and talk for days about this.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, to sums it up, you know, as I s as I was saying earlier, um, the toughest thing in life is, you know, is building something and then seeing it, you know, dismantle, right?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but at the end of the day is, you know, that's part of life, right?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to have the resilience and the toughness to say, you know, if I did it once I have to do it again.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I went in I went into low-key knowing I mean w went into this industry knowing that this all these things are possible, right?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um all these outcomes are typically happening.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um once I built the team with business partners, right?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as we started the journey, we realized that I realized that we weren't aligned.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Things weren't, you know, the outcome that I wanted was the same thing with this other individual.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um and one thing that I learned, anything that starts bad won't end up good.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right, so um I persevered through a lot of the obstacles, I persevered through a lot of the challenges, and I did everything that I had to do to get this business open, right?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because uh ultimately the goal of being successful and saying I wanted to open up multiple stores and so on and so forth, the expectations sort of changed to say, you know what, let's focus on getting this one store open, let's focus on creating this opportunity, and that's what I did.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So from then, uh things didn't work out, I can shut it down and relocate, right?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: So and then I would three monthsly outcome on video just saying, okay, you know what, this is not working out, but I did it.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: What can I learn?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: What can I take with me from the experience and actually transition over and take it to another location and actually start all over and then do it much better?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Man, that's that's that's crazy because you know, we're in an industry where people go in and out of business all the time.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And but I mean that's in that's in general.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's like that's the same thing with, you know, I look at business similar to dating today.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: You you get into relationships here and then you gotta break up and start with another another relationship.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, that's that's that's part of it.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And just like dating, you might be driving down the street one day and drive past your old building like I used to date, right?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, damn, that building is still beat up.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad I left.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad I left.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad I left.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad you got that mentality, though.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, in cannabis, you talk about spending a lot of money when it comes to investment.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: Spend a lot of money when it comes to time getting your licenses.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: So to go through that is a is a mental drain on top of that, man.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Speak about the about to us about the mental drain that happens when it goes through that process of having to start all the way over again.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Man, mental, physical drain.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I lost weight, bro.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I lost a lot of weight.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, because it's it's draining, right?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna say that it wasn't tough, it was tough, but the best thing is, man, it's it's it's sort of having that, you know, at the end of it they're still having a great support, right?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's family, whether it's uh, you know, your team, your your staff members, and you know, whatever it is, you know, having a great support around you, that's what's gonna keep you going, that's what's gonna make sure that, you know, you have the um the encouragement, you know what I mean, the support to say, you know what, I could I could persevere to do this.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether it's mental or physical.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, man, it was it was definitely uh draining mentally and the best thing that I that I was able to do is just like sports, right?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: When you know um you left it all out there on the field and you give it your best.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then you know, you know, team score at the end of the day, right?
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like you lost the con your Super Bowl.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's not because you as a wide receiver, as a quarterback, it's not that you threw five and you know, five touchdowns and two interceptions and five hundred yards, six hundred yards as a receiver, whatever how many catches you made.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: It sort of it came down to the entire game, right?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: That fumbles that we are on, that hunt return, that whatever it is, that interception, it's not just one play, it's pretty much every little play that you couldn't overcome or you overcame.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: So it's one to the other.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: So for me it's it's knowing that like, you know what, I left it all in the field, I did my best on this situation here.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just what this one wasn't meant to be.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: There.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't the right one, it wasn't what we thought, it wasn't the expectation.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it is what it is.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: You left it all and then move on and onto the next one.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: So what's the next one for you is low-key West Roxbury.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: So you talk about a whole different demographic, a different space all together.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_02: What was it like making sure that you found this space and what was it like working over there so far?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, to be quite honest, right?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: So it was all intentional.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: But it wasn't it was intentional, but the outcome wasn't what I expected.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, there is there's your expectation, there's there's your there's your planning in there's also absolutely right, absolutely.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and this is where you have to reflect and be able you have to be able to realize, okay, what I asked for, am I it I am I receiving it the way that I want it, or am I just receiving what I asked for?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And should I be appreciative and should be blessed that I'm receiving it?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: So uh what's Roxbury was, oh man, this is totally a de a different demographic in Dorchester.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: What is that what is it gonna be like, so on and so forth.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and it's all been law principle.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what I thought that it was gonna be some pushback, they get certain things, it's like, wow, this is cool.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: We've never seen this before.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right, versus where it's, you know, in our community in Dorchester, um, you know, I got a lot of pushback, a lot of hits for all there's uh daycare here, there's a church here, which is that's that's the business in our community, right?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: But now we're in a new age where it's kind of another business, right?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you gotta accept that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: So and West Trottsbury, it's okay.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's another business.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if that's I just want to make a guide to the fact that they were pushed back to you when it came to the Cobb Square location because of what you just mentioned, but there's also liquor stories.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's not like I grew up I grew up here.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's also wicked story, like it's what you talking about?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Why that's not a concern to you?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a it's it's it's interesting where um you know those conversations were baffling because we attack again.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if it's an education thing, but I think it's an educational thing.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a really low level.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure how how you want to rate it.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, uh some of the community members would say, hey, you have you know, I burglars verbatim saying how hey, we have needles in the floor, blah blah blah.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what does that have to do with us?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_04: You don't show them.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all had that beforehand.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: That had nothing to do with us.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: The kids that you are complaining that already smoking weed and doing with Willie's on a on a bicycle, that's not something you're supposed to eat.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: So all these concerns, all these really uh uh obstacles that they sort of create and and push back and sort of, you know what I mean?
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like I realize it's not personal because they did that with everybody else, so I'm not trying to take it personal.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like, you know what, it's it's it's a level of education, it's a level of acceptance, it's a level of trauma, you know, all these different things.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's just kinda like do I want to deal with this on a daily basis or do I want to go where I'm welcome, where I'm appreciated, where it's just like, you know what, we need this, we want this.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for bringing this here.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than I want this but I don't want it here.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Go do it over there.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm here, I live it, I grew up.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: I feel you.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I feel you, I feel you.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's sort of like those basic things where you know what I mean, I have to accept it that you know, where it's it's like the level of education and level of trauma that, you know, community has to deal with, and then it's just what this is what it is.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: The real thing is as long as you stay doing what you're doing, you're actually gonna be the conversation that people have in the in the future.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: When there's gonna be one in Codman Square, they're gonna say, Well, remember when Jeff was here?
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's like sometimes you gotta be the sacrifice, man.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: Hundred percent.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, you're doing a great job right now with low-key West Roxbury.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I saw your grand opening not too long ago, man.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: What was it like to finally open the doors and be able to welcome in the community?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: It was actually great.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know what?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: I actually the ex not the expectation, but what I I I feel like people would have wanted or whatever it is is not the reality that nobody really cares.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think they were just gonna buy weed.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: They were just gonna come in being it.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's one of the things that I learned with with what's software.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: We uh we have a s a self uh self-ID check-in.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: And as much as sometimes it's irritating that it's not working or whatever it is, nobody complains about that.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right, because they want to be so low-key and so discreet that the less people that they see on a daily basis, the better it is.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: The less people that they see throughout their transaction, the better it is.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yes, it's it's technology, it's malfunctioning, we understand that.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Just give me an endorphin call.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: See you later.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: That that little hiccup, it's it's not that important.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Where we're you know certain community, certain things just it doesn't matter.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: What you know what I mean?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's any little thing is irritating.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to common sphere.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: I can speak there right now.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Damn thing ain't working.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: I don't even know what to do.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: Why is it a ghetto?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly, exactly.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's right, ghetto is technology.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's technology here.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it goes idle after a while, you know what I mean?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like it goes ten minutes, somebody walk in and you know, whatever happens, then just tweet.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: We have a we have a ring, we have a doorbell, you just ring a doorbell, oh come right in, take care of me and then hit the reset and then everything's all good.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just a challenge for challenge that you, you know, we go through through life and um like I said, the one thing that I learned from my uncle is understanding, you know what I mean?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: So like I just get to a point where I before I judge, before I analyze, I try to understand the environment, I try to understand situations right before I create my own judgment.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: I just try to understand it for what it is first.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like you walk in and you're like, oh, this is a cannabis.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Why nobody's wearing a suit?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Why should why should anybody be wearing a suit, right?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Cannabis is what we're gonna do.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, okay.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, then you know, you can create your own judgment on why you weren't suspended.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, cool.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that's just my thing, you know what I mean?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Understanding.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: So what are some of the things that inspire you currently to keep you motivated, keep it going?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Things that inspire you to keep me going.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, for me personally, when I into the cannabis industry, it wasn't something that I looked into as sort of my the hail marry my my how do I say this, uh you know, my my get rich scheme or my my retirement plan, right?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I didn't I didn't look at it that way.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I'll tell you why it's I knew it was the emerging industry, but I I did my due diligence, right?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's like real estate should be a new diligence to have conversations with uh serious operators.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: I wanna I traveled in California to Colorado, uh Washington State, right, legal states where it was already legal, at least to sort of have my understanding of how they would get here.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: So they all told me how it peaked, it went down and it it was on its way back.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: So when when Massachusetts was just deep, Colorado was at the bottom.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: So now if you now that we at the bottom, Colorado is in in Cali, you know, those other mature states are sort of you know um pre-stabilizing, you know what I mean?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: So so I knew what the reality that I was going to be facing.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I never really put all my own eggs in one basket.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I never really had that had that um full expectation that once I open it's gonna be millions and whatnot.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I opened them, and I couldn't even open them, right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it was more more issues, more drama that I had to go through.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it just made me realize, okay, alright, I knew this was coming, so how do I pivot?
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: How do I make this move?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: How do I stay uh stay ahead of her, right?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: So whatever's happening, so it made it just like, okay, stay loose, stay on stay stay relevant, you know what's coming and pivot before you reach.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: So that was that was pretty much the thing that I I did throughout this entire process in in making sure that this is more sort of uh more this is more work.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: I need to do more work than just uh uh uh uh a gateway to to walk.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, a lot of people got caught up with the whole gold rush thing of gold.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you swear to God that this is gonna be a million dollar dream for everybody, and that's not gonna be the case.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's not gonna be the case for a lot of people, to completely honest with you.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's always sad to me when I hear people go through the process of trying to open stores, you know what I mean?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's a that's a drain on itself.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you gotta pay money, you gotta pay rent, you gotta pay all these things before you can even open up.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I that's one of the things that I realized, right?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and like I said, when I went out to California, it it it it really gave you the perspective on, okay, where are you good at, Jeff, right?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I wanted to do you know delivery and so on and so forth, because I thought I had an finish with the social equity and I wanted to get a fine license.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right, but when I really when I thought the very first process with the first license, I saw that there was really no no privilege, no specialty, like you know what I mean.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: It was it's sort of like you know, when you go to the club, like right, you want a guest list versus you're not on the guest list.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, if you're early, you want to guess list, it's like, oh cool, you can you know what I mean?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: Skip not skip online, but you know what I mean?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: You you get in faster.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: But if you come in when everybody is, it's like you get in line with everything.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Just like everybody.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: You want a guest list everybody else.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody else, you know what I mean?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's like there's and then if you get any little special privilege, somebody's gonna say, yeah, we're like, why is he getting his privilege?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Ah and there's gonna be some type of raw being created.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's the ones I realize, okay, that doesn't really exist.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, where do I add value?
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Where do I have an advantage?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Where what what can I add levels that I have?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I had a started a process of uh manufacturing.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Jeff, what do you know how to make nothing?
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff, do you know how to cultivate no?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Do you do you know how to run out?
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Started spending money on that process and I passed out, but as far as retail sell money, it's like, yes, I know it.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: As far as structural police, yes, I know that.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: As far as inventory, yes.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: I've had worked retail my life, teaching college, uh, done uh internships and so on and so forth.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I thought, okay, I have have a skill set that I could bring into display here, um, that I know okay, that'll give me that benefit.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: The next guy here, who's only a cultivator in that standard operation.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: I could I I could do something better than so I understand retail is location, location, location.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: That guy wants to open up over here in this corner, I'd rather open up here in this main street on a lot here.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I understand deal structure and have little trading, so I understand that I have to have a little advantage here on retail.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: But one of the things that I know is that a lot of people just really struggle with that old brush with no execution with no plans thinking that hey if I build it, we'll make money.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: But no you gotta tell people.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: You gotta build it then you hello everybody hello there.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And you gotta keep telling them over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah that's just kind of like been that situation it's just like you always you kind of try and leverage that that we expand it from some tax that you know I had that and then I leveraged that and you know that's what it was able to let me know that how family's back and like I said how I could pivot and see the the incoming fortunes fortunes and you know so on and so forth.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well you did a great job Jeff and I want to say I appreciate it you're doing amazing one even maintaining right now that's why the the reason why I wanted to have you as a guest.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was like I'd love for you to share your story because I feel like your story is inspirational for many people going through this right now.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: There's somebody right now who is in the brink of saying do I give up who needs to hear a message from somebody else 100% it's not giving up it's it's it's pivoting but also knowing that I only tell you a boss right but you have to know okay is this is this for me do I really want this right do I see some value for this like for me like my father's in business right so like I have a business law you know what I mean and mindset and and and the ability to withstand the bullshit right like you gotta be able to take that on right it's a lot mentally and physically um but I'll ask I'll tell you tell a person well you have to know you have to ask yourself you have to to dig deep because initially when I started I thought I was going to free reading incorporation and delivery but I have to scale back because I don't have the team in the way that I thought and the people that I that I want to have around me.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: We don't see things do I have the time do I have the the passion to to the others and sort of build that safe or do I want to focus on what I'm doing now.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Right the reality of it.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not you really have to understand who you are what would you capable of and and how you can you execute that.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Can do you have to live in it like I said what I had ideally my expectations limit.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what the success is success is the journey.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: The success is not the outcome it's not the money it's the journey that's what people see and then that's what people say people they're gonna think what they think right but for you it's are are you able to stay consistent are you able to keep going right and find to be solved that you're in what the journey is that's a word man.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff I appreciate you stopping by man I appreciate you coming up on stage with me joining your story man and again I want to look forward to you how I can man absolutely man I brought you a little something man oh thank you as you know we're close man one of the things for us you know want to make sure that we represent for Boston um we've made it the neighborhood screens that we give identity to all the major neighborhoods of Boston so I know you got a man a pain package of course so I'll give you a quick a quick rundown right so we got Hyde Park you know what I mean Hyde Park Age um this screen here we're gonna have it out which none of these it is closed at this moment so I'm gonna give you a quick rundown but like I said I wanted to make sure I give representations in each neighborhood uh I lived in Hyde Park um I I've done so much so many transactions in Hyde Park so I give all the all the some of the buildings some of the landmarks in Hyde Park it's all in here within the the the High Park A's design so you can take a look at that.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: My man showed off the weed side in the in the in the commercial real estate absolutely right same thing exactly um say the new blue hill blue hill dreams right you got simple shade landmarks you got the blue hill lab the 28 bucks shape boom giving representation ownership right here right yeah Dorchester I lived in Dorchest I grew up in Dorchess the first one I was smoked with the diesel listening to Jada kiss I told you earlier right that flower diesel I had to represent I had to give you the you know let me the uh uh uh six old I mean not the six hold uh uh um natural grid uh uh uh uh um that's all landmarks that's all landmarks you know the red line first train advertising you know what I mean go downtown right gotta give that representation yeah angel days on the red line you know what I mean the orange line which is another one representing Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain Orange Line runs through JP shoving KV man this was dope this is dope bro Roxbury runs Roxbury Runch is full with iconic landmarks my uh Malcolm living and Roxbury side to put down there with the movie you know what I mean with Spike week you know what I'm saying Roxbury love that that mural no longer exists anymore me and my wife who took a picture of in front of it you know what I mean they build it out and they took the they took the mural down the mural down yeah they built that uh commercial commercial building there so uh I wanted to give that representation of forever absolutely and then a Brockton bag which is uh it doesn't have nothing to do with the neighborhood strange but the Brockton bag is another uh product that we came out um we had a lot of uh customers from Buffman buck who said man we just go a little brought in and get it cheaper so we give you cheap weeds we leave it we give them a cheap weed for the stable trip you know what I'm saying so that was one of the best movers uh it's actually one of the best movers I bet you was what we got right here right here um oh actually what two more two more two more neighborhoods then we got the um Rosie High um Rosendale Rosie High we um did a vape line with these right here partner with Freshly Baked we dropped the vape line with the shop the freshly baked absolutely woman owned veteran owns you know uh locally known locally made in southern and then Ross apartment we did um Wesley I went to West Frogs very high um the dope thing about these two strains is the high school in these neighborhoods doesn't exist anymore.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: Bronze closed down in 76 and the kids the students transition over to Wesley and I started going to Wesley in the uh in the early 2000s and by 2013 or 14 it closed down.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: You tell me Wesley don't exist no more?
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Wesley doesn't exist anymore right it doesn't exist so this is I'm trying to keep those legacies alive you know what I mean by creating these two strings here um the Ross Z High and the Wesley Raiders press so that adds on to the um neighborhood collection.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hey real quick though shout out to West Roxbury high school legend Elton Tyler man that was my boy bro L was nasty back in the day man and then we got these two other streams that we had dropped the um the Dallas pack we smoked on that we smoked on that so we so we got this in store now that we have the topics back in the playoffs again so we just re-released this right here so that we got a little song for you for you to try out I'm definitely exactly and then um and then we have the Ziploc bag as well which is basically when you first tried to buy weed it was in a Ziploc bag.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right so we basically have this out for you as well I mean so guys so those two we got here in store for you to stop by and pick these up and um so yeah appreciate it man thank you for the opportunity appreciate you appreciate you and y'all know that is the Castell Canvas live from me can with my man Jeff familiar quick yeah yeah thank you so much absolutely yes I know but you want me to unlock you want to unlock it?
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_05: Oh I'm sorry you're gonna take something it wasn't like an eye phone I I said it wasn't like an eye phone like it won't just let you unlock it.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_05: Yes Over here All right let me try to get it let me try to get a little back out it is bright but it's the back light.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_05: It's the back light too okay well that's fine 'cause I'm short.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_04: I know it's working Yeah I had a bunch of eggs Oh yeah and then they got brighter behind them.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_04: Alright there we go cool we got it I think we got Richard next to you appreciate it.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then we did talk about we never finalized that we can talk about the we can talk about Monday.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_04: Monday tomorrow um Wednesday we're gonna be down in our TV I know what it is you don't you don't think I'm showing you that bag thinking we were doing that all that time weren't we?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah you can no it's alright.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: I got some ingraining I showed my mom the picture I went and got him ingrained.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_05: Bro you got an ingredient?
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah you got him ingrained look at it like he's really a bad collection right now shit I'm wondering for free.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_04: I trained I ran out of PC I know what I'm just saying like this is my little barbecue I don't know why I can give it to me for free.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_05: He got it he got a he's got I got an Android we gotta do the Android camera.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: You have yours?
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_02: Jeff No My phone's out of storage though I thought I thought it had more impressive