Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Kaya Cast, the podcast for cannabis businesses looking to launch, grow, and scale their operations.
Tommy Truong: Glen, thank you so much for joining me today.
Glenwood Ferguson: Thank you, Tommy.
Tommy Truong: So you are calling out of The Bahamas. What's going on over there?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, uh, The Bahamas is doing so much right now. Well, I, I, I might tell you that we are behind the ball, uh, in the cannabis industry, but we are making strides to be, uh, I think a thought leader in the region to be able to talk to our brothers and sisters on the import and export business. Uh, we just, uh, passed our legislation last year.
Uh, right now we're waiting right now for our regulatory system to be enacted between, uh, government to be able to issue licenses, but the bill is actually passed, so we are actually legal, illegal in a, in a medicinal way.
Tommy Truong: [00:01:00] Oh wow. So, so, uh, medical cannabis is, is legal. What does that look like for entrepreneurs looking to get into the market?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, I will tell you this, uh, for sure, we have a research, uh, uh, development, uh, license for people. We have a processing license. Uh, everything, uh, that, that the government wanted to do is keep everything, all growers. In The Bahamas, they wanted it to be a hundred percent for Bahamians. So, but in, uh, even laboratory license, uh, so there are three licenses that, uh, they, I think the percentage actually ownership is 70 30, so anywhere between 70 30.
So, uh, investor could, uh, invest up to 70% in a processing license, a laboratory license, and a research license. Cities
Tommy Truong: Oh wow. So say that again. Laboratory research and
Glenwood Ferguson: processing.
Tommy Truong: processing. So what [00:02:00] about, um, on the consumer side, on the retail side?
Glenwood Ferguson: So on the retail side, I mean, you still in, in actuality could do business with a Bahamian, but it's not, they don't want it to be solely, uh, investor, you know, type more of the, they want to bahamian eyes that they wanted to make sure that it's in the hands and souls of Bahamians. Please.
Tommy Truong: Got it. Wow. You, you're right. I mean, when I think about The Bahamas, I think about the Caribbean. I think about cannabis and it's just getting legal now.
Glenwood Ferguson: Yeah, and like I said, uh, I've been traveling, uh, the Caribbean for about three years now. Uh, touching and green with my brothers and sisters, talking to all the CEOs of the different authorities, uh, like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, uh, Barbados. I just left Antigua in Barbuda for four 20. I was down there.
They had an awesome conference down there and concert, uh, with Che. I know, I know you, you know the song. He wrote a song [00:03:00] called Leave the Trees, uh, and all that. It's about cannabis and the activist way of preaching to people. Leave the trees alone and let the people grow it. And so it's, uh, it's a good thing.
And, and actually at July 11, I'm heading down to Trinidad and Tobago. They, they are, they did legalize cannabis, but they, for years, they still haven't have a regulatory system in place to be able to grant licenses and have the real legal shops up. So that's more of a, now that they changed government, they just had a new, uh, prime Minister elected who is pro cannabis.
So this is a new look and this is a new feeling, or they're feeling that it could be a nice push right now for everything to be in place.
Tommy Truong: You've helped. So you are from The Bahamas, you are helping the, the, the government launch their medical cannabis program. But you've, you've also dabbled in helping dispensaries and other cannabis [00:04:00] businesses in the US launch.
Glenwood Ferguson: Yes, uh, yes. I actually, that's how I actually got started in the business. Uh, I was really just on vacation one time and I, I met one of my business partner, his, his name is Hassan Bur, uh, from Tulsa, Oklahoma. And, you know, it became about just like a normal friendship, but then not knowing his full story of him actually being, uh, locked up in 2002 for cannabis.
And now turn a business owner, uh, in the cannabis industry in a dispensary owner, which is a great story of a full circle, you know, in the industry. Uh, and we linked up with my other skills of being a marketer. Uh, and it transformed. It transformed my life, you know, being a guy behind the camera, taking pictures, taking voting.
Video photos, you know, and it's like, Hey, I need help advertising. I needed help pushing. And then it took, uh, upon me the love of cannabis [00:05:00] in itself and it made me wrote a book about cannabis years later. It made me DL and travel the world for cannabis. So, I mean, kudos to him. And in my book, uh, I actually have him listed in the front as a dedication to him to allowing me to embrace this industry and do the things that I'm actually doing right now.
I.
Tommy Truong: So you what? So what was your involvement in his journey? I.
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, like I said, I, I was the eyes, I was the sexy. I brought sexy to cannabis in a educational way. That's how I got the name with the cannabis doc. It was not from me trying to be this person, but people saw something that I was doing in the space to be able to transform the mind and to understand cannabis in a re, a relative, uh, way that we could actually ingest what, you know, like even a fifth grader could understand anything that we tried to expand in cannabis because we wanted to break [00:06:00] the stigma.
We wanted to find ways because many didn't know that. We go in different areas and we learn our demographic. And from our demographic research, we understand that there's not that much who are on that level to grasp so much. So we, you find different ways how to reach people and find ways at their level.
And so it was a collaborative effort, you know, understanding even going to the streets. And we've seen rehabilitation between, uh. Guys who have been drug dealers, who are now business owners. So this is the mindset. This is what we've been pushing. This is the community that we've been trying to embrace and show people that it can be a different cannabis is social change.
And look, we, we got different ethnicity talking about cannabis coming together, talking about cannabis. And that's where all the passion came from, from all the journey. And now we are here. We are here talking.
Tommy Truong: When, when somebody thinks about starting in cannabis, opening [00:07:00] up a store, I, I feel as though they. They overindex how easy it is because end of the day, who doesn't smoke cannabis? Who doesn't? Everybody knows cannabis. Right? So, you know, we've, you know, the legalization of cannabis, uh, there's an overindexing of how easy it is to start a business, sell cannabis, stay compliant.
What were some of the challenges that you guys saw early on? 'cause you guys. In Oklahoma. Oklahoma has been legal
Glenwood Ferguson: UPS and
Tommy Truong: quite some time. Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: a real, and, and you know what I. We saw it in consistency. Consistency. Uh, we end up, we end up changing in staff and the level of education and detail into customer service. It dropped. Uh, I could say that it dropped and as [00:08:00] pricing for product dropped, uh, more people were able to, you know, because you could grow in, uh, in Oklahoma, self grow.
So, you know, it started to get to a point where people started to get their own buds, and so now you had to be more crafty in what you was doing in your message. So between, if you have a shaky staff already and you know, customer service is not at t, everybody ain't gonna come to your store no more. You know?
I mean, if you, why am I here if you're not trying to gimme your best?
Tommy Truong: Yeah, I, I see a lot of, that's a very common challenge in the industry for sure. Because if you think about the turnover that we have, as well as, um, where people are in their careers when they join, there's also a stigma too, of. Sales associates joining the industry thinking it's gonna be easy when it's actually quite hard.
The skews are long. You have [00:09:00] hundreds of products that you have to remember. Not only that it changes by the week, and you have to really fundamentally understand the terpenes
Glenwood Ferguson: Yes.
Tommy Truong: what you're recommending. So you, you saw a service dip, what happened? Can you talk a little bit more on, you know, you guys started.
What was that journey like from getting a team in place to getting an an A team in place?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, and that's the thing. So after the A team, uh, it was, uh. Many different, uh, personal problems happening. Uh, you know, this is around the pandemic time also. So we are trying to gravitate between what's happening from what's not happening, um, and life just hits, hits. And, you know, that's, that's one thing where even when I'm doing an interviewing a employee, I, I try to get to the soul because it's about really family.
And I know that a lot of personal [00:10:00] issues happen. That we don't catch that affect the business, you know, because what we teach is it's, it's a effort that comes along with us. I mean, there if, what do you really want to do in cannabis? I mean, when we, when that's the question you ask. You know, if, if this cannabis, your real end goal, like what's, what's next in your life?
Is this the end? And in doing that, it sets a precedent. On knowing exactly how far this person wants to go in their career and how far they're willing to push for the company. So in doing that, it's, it's just figuring out exactly how do we progress? How, how long? How long do you think this person is gonna last?
You know,
Tommy Truong: So you're looking for people that want a career. In cannabis versus this is a job.
Glenwood Ferguson: Because guess what? At the end of the day, it turns in, Hey, now that you tell me this. What product do you feel like? What, what's your [00:11:00] product? What's your your dream? What's what? What's next for you in cannabis? Let's make that happen because that's our dream, that's our business. We wanna have business to business work.
It's not just about us winning in the cannabis industry because it's for everyone. So that's the mindset. And our employees, we want employees of shares. We want employees to buy in because the more you buy in, the more you take care of what's yours.
Tommy Truong: Oh, interesting. You know, I've, I love that it's, you, you're talking about growth without really talking about growth. Right. A lot of business owners, they make the misconception that, hey, growth means title means salary, but that's not, that's the byproduct of actual growth.
Glenwood Ferguson: There you go.
Tommy Truong: That's the byproduct. So your first litmus test was, Hey, am I bringing on the right person culturally, and do they want a career in cannabis?
'cause if they don't, they're not gonna fit in.
Glenwood Ferguson: [00:12:00] And see that that was the thing, trying to find like-minded people like us, it it, because before they came around, it just was us. And the people wanted just us
Tommy Truong: So how did you flush through that? How did you flush through that? Hey, this person is in the game.
Glenwood Ferguson: so to be honest, again, you sometimes have to eat it. You sometimes just have to. Sometimes we close, sometimes we cut hours depending on what it was, just trying to figure it out.
Um, you know, not always, you know, I, I think I say this too, you know, not putting all your bags in one, you know, your eggs in one basket. Also, in doing that, you know, we had different, uh, businesses that came up out of the cannabis industry, you know, in real estate for sure. Billing homes. So while businesses suck, it sucked.
It really, some days you look at the numbers and you're like, [00:13:00] dang, are we gonna close? You know? And, and to be honest, we, we had two stores also. We, we, we added a store and then we had to close that store because the location, we didn't do too much, uh, research in our demographics in that store, uh, for that store.
So that was a kind of hindering thing for that too. So we had to close down and then we opened it back up last month. In a new area, and that's now in a chiropractor office, which actually, it's a, it's a kinda a win-win. It's a
Tommy Truong: Let's talk about this because. For, for those that are listening that don't know, Oklahoma is the toughest state to operate. I would rank, actually, Oklahoma number one, because you have, what, 4 million people in the, in the state and you have thousands of licenses. You like 2000 licenses, 4 million people.
You do the math right?
Glenwood Ferguson: Listen to me. You're gonna work hard. You're gonna work hard
Tommy Truong: So what? [00:14:00] What is what? What are some of the things that you've learned in a market that's saturated? People can grow at home? Cannabis is cheap.
Glenwood Ferguson: well, and, and, and doing that. To be honest, I go back to culture, to we, we do it to know that we want profit. Everybody wants profit. I. It. But when we understood, we understood this, this, this was the clean up master that we had to regroup. We had to go into the sabbatical, we had to figure it out, what was going wrong because we, we just saw money keep on depreciating.
Like, what? But what was the problem? We had to really soul search. Soul search, like really soul search and figured out like. Hey, is this what we really want and what are we really doing this for? And who are we doing this for? And understanding that we have to bring it back to where it was. [00:15:00] We already have a base and we know what the base stood on.
We know what the principles stood on customer service. We greeted everyone with a smile. You, when you walked in the door, sometimes you, you walked in the door and you say, welcome to the Greenwood Cure. And the person, they'll help, but they don't even come straight to you. They're going straight to the ATM.
And it just, it was a serious thing where people just entrusted us to give them the kind of medicine that made relief, that showed results. And that's what we did. That's what we paid attention to education. That's what we, we did in our lives, in our posters. We educated our customers and that's what we missed.
We wasn't doing that in the mi in the middle where it started sinking. We, we understood that. We did not. People who could initiate this type of talk, who could carry this dialogue to really dive into the healing and the properties of getting the right buds into the system, or [00:16:00] the right topical into the system, or the right edible into the system.
Tommy Truong: Hmm. Got it. So your, you've leaned really, really hard on educating bartenders on terpenes on, uh, bio. That the biology and on how our receptors take in cannabinoids and in turn, they took care of the customers.
Glenwood Ferguson: That's all. That's, and that's all we could ask for. You know, I, I, I, I gotta run right here. You know, it's a long scratch, but. I, I forgot, I forgot to keep this near and dear in our new bud tenders because I wrote this book about three years after the dispensary, but I figured it's a small guide. See, it's a, it took you about a day to read, takes you just a day to read.
And in this guy now with our new bud tenders, each one gets a book and I test them afterwards from the book because it's a basic guide now for me to say, Hey. Okay, [00:17:00] you say you want to be in the space, let me know what you know, and we gauge them from there to know, okay, is this someone who could comprehend?
Is this someone who could catch on? Is this someone who already knows so much about, you know, cannabis?
Tommy Truong: Okay. Walk me through your employee and customer experience. 'cause I'm fascinated. You, you guys have probably have, and it sounds like you guys have a very, very high standard for customer experience. So when, what is, what is your customer experience? What's the philosophy be behind what you guys do? I.
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, I mean, I travel the world and in doing that I get to see so much. I get to see. Different walks of life, different, uh, demographics, different cultures. Oh man. And in doing that, I get this see thing, but people miss and I, I take that and I, I, I digest that and [00:18:00] then I say, how could we be better? How could I have made that better?
Because I want service. I want good service. I can ask my people. To do something less than what I want. That it doesn't make sense. It, it really does. And so finding like-minded people who want to give themselves, because in order for that, you gotta be a servant. We, and many of us, we dabble in this and we don't learn the word how to be a servant.
In order to be that big boss and that leader, you gotta know how to serve. And that's all it is. Lowering that pride, that ego to be able to learn how to serve the mass. And I mean, it is what it is. And you play your card until you see your name card, because now you've learned all the, the, the, the, you learn every process, every strategic plan on how to be this, because guess what?
That leader always needs that person right here. You can't be this without these people here. And [00:19:00] that was the mindset between me and Hassan. We understand that. We lean it on each other. We land on each other nights of us in the house with the drawing board, just trying to figure, drawing things out, trying to talk to each other, I mean, smoking blunts and trying to figure it out.
And, and it, it worked. It worked because we, we saw so much in this industry and we still see it today.
Tommy Truong: I wanna, I wanna get a glimpse into the war room because. I, I understand and, and I think a lot of our, of our listeners do. When sales aren't coming in as fast as money that's coming out, that is a very, very, very daunting experience. Right. And that's a, that's a business experience. Business owners go through that.
So when you came across that first hurdle where you're like, Hey, we had, we had an idea, that idea. Is not reality right now. What did you hone in on and what [00:20:00] were your next five moves to get yourselves out of trouble?
Glenwood Ferguson: I tell you this, we, we lost control of the wheel.
Tommy Truong: Hmm.
Glenwood Ferguson: If I
Tommy Truong: why? What happened?
Glenwood Ferguson: That's the thing we, we entrusted. Oura our managers to be able to hone the business while we did other business. And in doing that, it sank.
Tommy Truong: Got it.
Glenwood Ferguson: it, it really did. And you know, we, we, we have to learn. And that's what we did. We learned from our mistakes and that's why we, I could say we rebranded the Greenwood Cure.
Now we rebranded cannabis Jax. And it's, it's now doing what it's supposed to be doing back on the level. But we sank. We
Tommy Truong: What, what were some of the mistakes that the, the managers did? You're like, Hey, why are we doing this? This doesn't make any sense because you know [00:21:00] what you mentioned, it's, it's so common, particularly people that are coming into our space. Oftentimes what what I see is, um, a state has a lottery. Maybe you'll have a nurse or you have a chiropractor, or you have a lawyer, whatever it is, people just throw their hat into the lottery, right?
They get, they get the license. They're like, well, I'm not gonna give them my profession. I'm just gonna pull the money together. I'm gonna hire someone to run shop. Probably the worst idea possible, because that person, you know, you're, you're entrusting a lot of money into somebody else.
Glenwood Ferguson: And, and that's the thing, because you at the, at the point where you are like. Ah, man, I, I can't be here because I know that cannabis has so much for us. You know, you, you are making other moves in cannabis to be able to, to, to make the business even more bigger than it is. And so, you know, you can't be locked down and hands on so much as you want to.
And I mean, we always know the boss. You, you don't, you rarely want to see the boss around [00:22:00] him. Anyway. I mean, they, it's, it's cool to see the owner here and there, but you know, that's when everybody wants to, Hey, cool, you know, we got a good discount on. Yeah. And, and again, learning your demographics, everybody's family, everybody knows each other.
It starts again too, frenzy, and you just don't wanna be there. You just don't want to be there. So that's why you hire people. You try to, you know, get different faces in there, get different people. You know, and then sometimes you look at the how, um, I would say, how, how does your demographic perceive the employee?
How do they welcome the employee? You know, because it's, people come in for the vibe. It's just not coming in there for, for the but itself, it's experience. It's the whole experience. And so, you know, people want to know that someone is there who has their best interest. Who values them, who they feel like they could talk to, because that's most of the time what [00:23:00] happened in there.
People came in there, like the barbershop people came in there to talk. They came to to spend some money with us, but they came to make sure that we got enough of that therapeutic understanding in that brain first year to be in order to give us some of this. And that's what we.
Tommy Truong: So what were some of the, the, the changes that you made when you, you're in the war room, you come back to operations. What were some of the changes that you made?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, yeah, we, we beefed up. We, I think what I think we, I wouldn't say nah, I can't say it was a Slack ship, but it just was a ship that we said, Hey, if you tell me you ready to hold this key and you're ready to drive this ship, I'm gonna trust you. I, I want you to show me that you're ready to take this mantle.
And you know, it's giving people that trust to know that this is something that we want you to excel in. We don't want you to feel, we want you to be the best that you can be. [00:24:00] And so in doing that, we always give the opportunity for someone to be that person. So in that, you know, just making sure that we tighten down and we pick, you know, people, recipients of, of this, uh.
In this industry that who actually want to be here, you know? 'cause many people even, you know, in that time when I say was pandemic, a lot of people were going through a lot of suffering, a lot of pain. And in that pain you just get people who just are hurt and they do anything and their minds get contrary.
And many things. Everybody's who is not sold into the business. Gets to treat the business, not like the person or like a girlfriend or boyfriend who you would be communicating, who you show compassion to. So the business gets to be that side, you know,
Tommy Truong: What does your training look like for employees?
Glenwood Ferguson: well see, like I said, the new [00:25:00] training now, uh, it's uh, it's more personal, you know, it's more HR friendly. It's finding how do we understand the mind, the soul, the body as a, as a human. And you know, because again, you come into self. But I know we, we get into the, the mathematics and knowing how to open this cadre there and knowing how to read for sure.
But you know, it's more personality because we understand that everybody wants to be a part of something. And you know, showing that you're willing and able to do what you want to do and be in the space, we are willing to help that.
Tommy Truong: I really do like, and I, I love that you mentioned your book. It's, you know, it takes a day to read. You give employees that. It really gives them the foundation to understand the plant. And I don't see that enough in our industry. I, I see, uh, people that take shortcuts. They come in and they don't [00:26:00] necessarily understand terpenes like they should, or, you know, and.
Not understanding terpenes, you, you, you're relying now on your, your vendors really
Glenwood Ferguson: and, and so, so kind of that was the thing for me, the turning point for me because in, in being a great salesperson, you want to have more pitch. You know, you want to have more information initially before even knowing that, hey, this is the job. You know, you need to know this job. But in still in being a good salesperson, you want to have more information to sell product.
So in doing that, you know, it was that me uploading different things to the website, me advertising. I had to figure out how do I influence the, the, the demographic at the same time by still educating them also to bring them in for them to question us. So it was doing that. I was going to Leafly, I was [00:27:00] looking at information, I was going to all buds, you know, I was.
Whatever I could find on the web to figure out what does this bud, where does this bud come from? What's the parents, you know, what's the terpenes, you know, percentages to be looking out for. That was the drive. And when you get to read these different things that, oh, they actually have cannabis that help with, uh, losing weight.
Like what? You know, and it comes so interesting. And that's the, that's the euphoria about the whole thing. You, you, you get wow. Like really
Tommy Truong: I was, so, I'm blown away by what we're finding with the cannabinoids, and I'm just blown away. I, I feel like this plan has so much to give.
Glenwood Ferguson: so much, so much.
Tommy Truong: So much to give. There's a misconception that, you know, you take this plant to, uh, for recreational, right? And that's it. But you know, so some people don't want [00:28:00] to get high during the day, but they want, uh, to be healthier and, and the plant can provide that too.
Glenwood Ferguson: Yeah. You know, I, to to that point there, there are many people who say this, and I've, I've heard this in theory and you know, as much as you get to travel, you peop we, as we get to understand cannabis. This. My theory to this is we all use it in a medicinal way, not knowing what we are really doing. And many all who are educated could understand to a certain point on what ailments are healing, but many others who don't understand is still not knowing the powers that is actually good for and what it's actually using directly for in their body, but they love it.
Tommy Truong: Mm-hmm.
Glenwood Ferguson: And so, so, you know, bringing that education along with, already knowing that cannabis could do many things that they are liking and it's doing in their body with the information behind what it's [00:29:00] actually doing. I think we could impact this nation, this generation, and our revolution in cannabis and get it done.
Tommy Truong: Yeah. You know, when you, I, I want to go back to your experience in Oklahoma because I, I feel a lot of people. Can resonate with this. When did you find out that, hey, this location is for me, and you know, you stumbled upon your new location next to a chiropractor? I have really never thought of that. know?
Glenwood Ferguson: that's the thing, you know, being friends and it, it was actually a thing where we just went to the chiropractor. And it was a morning routine where we probably try to do it like once a week, twice a week sometimes, and we grow a relationship with the owner and you know, he had some space and we was talking here and there, but then it's like, hey, you don't really need a big room to supply cannabis.
And we, I think [00:30:00] it's really less than, less than 600 square feet or probably even more or less than that. And, and we are in the same building where you could walk through the halls and you could turn into the dispensary or from the outside you could into the dispensary from there. So understanding that you have injured people, people who use cannabis, people come in for wrecks.
Uh, it was a no brainer. You know, it was a therapeutic facility in itself.
Tommy Truong: Yeah. Yeah, I've, I never really thought about that. That makes so much sense. It makes so much sense. It's kind of like, you know.
Glenwood Ferguson: somebody might pay us now for that idea, you know?
Tommy Truong: Well, you know, a lot of pharm, uh, pharmacies are next to, uh, GP, for example. Right. And this makes so much sense. We know a lot of, uh, cookie stores or a lot of bake shops, you know, they position themselves next to cannabis shops, [00:31:00] for example, or cannabis shops. If, if you, if you have a cannabis shop in the complex that has a, a grocery store. Like a supermarket. That's really good too. That's
Glenwood Ferguson: figuring out, figuring out your geographics, figuring a way to be placed.
Tommy Truong: Mm-hmm. Those are good spots. Yeah. In, in Oklahoma it's so competitive. It's extremely competitive.
Glenwood Ferguson: tell me. So we, we just actually spent some money, more money on some radio ads, getting hard for the summer, trying to figure out different, and now that, uh, you got Facebook talking about, uh, meta, you know, being able to, the restrictions on advertisement in the, uh, in medicinal cannabis. Uh, and we could see what now posting we could do, or what type of sponsorship we could do.
You know, I wanna see how that looks this summer.
Tommy Truong: How, what is your inventory strategy being in a market like Oklahoma?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, [00:32:00] uh, we used to be, uh, we used to be a company that, you know, had about 30 plus screens on the, in the shelf. We have dialed that very much down.
Tommy Truong: Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: We have dialed it down and, you know. Understanding what the people want. They, they, they want cheap buds. They really want the best bet, the best deal they could get, you know?
And I think that we do a good job at making sure that they have the great deals. Uh, I, I was just actually just trying to pull up, uh, some of the good specialists we got right now because it's, it's amazing. I tell you, when you, when you know, when you know that you get some 3.5. Of some fire for $15. It's, it's reckless.
It's really reckless and unbelievable. I tell you that. I mean, you try to come to The Bahamas, you talking about you got a, some fire for [00:33:00] $15, that's 65, 70 $5 anywhere. That's anywhere. And, and you know, that's what we are doing. That's what the market has come to. And yeah, we embrace it. We know that. We are here for the long game.
You know, we are not just here because we trying to sell to make money, but we understand our place in this industry. Like, like I said, a thousand milligram gummies are $16. You know, we you just doing things that just make it eco-friendly and sustainable for our community.
Tommy Truong: So I, I know that you've take, given your experience in Oklahoma, you've started a consulting business to help other cannabis entrepreneurs launch their their businesses. What are some hiccups that you see entrepreneurs make when they're opening up their first shop?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, uh, I tell you this, the, the, the mindset. [00:34:00] On what it actually looks like to what it actually is. I think that changes the game. You know, you thinking that, oh man, it is so easy. We got you. Just gotta do that and be straight. You know? I think not being so many people, even, like I said, who who've done it in the Caribbean?
Even in the Caribbean, you know, it's like we know that this has been a structure, but Dan now added the regulatory system. And the framework behind it now with tags and uh, making sure everything is placed in order and being able to do many things, even with security, uh, transportation, all of that is something new.
And so, you know. Just helping them understand that there's a collective group. That's why I, I jumped ahead of the game and I tried to put enough of us in, uh, in one box to be able to spread this information because I don't think that I should hold back the [00:35:00] information I have. I. I think that I should spread it enough so we could be sustain our market so that all of us could be at a level that makes enough for cannabis and we don't have to be throwing this low price at this person, throwing that low price.
You know, I think it should be sustainable. I. And in doing that, I think that we should become a community that understand, that talks to each other, that communicates, that tells us, Hey, I've been feeling this way. The, the crowd has been moving this way, and we understand the market to be able to keep it sustainable.
I.
Tommy Truong: Yeah. So you, you mentioned that a lot of entrepreneurs have an idea in their head that it's gonna be one way when reality. In reality, it's not necessarily what you plan out.
Glenwood Ferguson: Don't even talk about the inspections. Uh oh. Talk about the licenses and waiting on this and the inspector, this city inspector to come. The delay or delay in this, [00:36:00] uh, this emergency sign is not where it's supposed to be. Oh man. And it gets a hectic, it gets wild. It gets crazy and you wanna give up. You really do.
Tommy Truong: That's a really good point. It's so true too. It's so true. There's so many things that you, that it takes for you to open up shop. Would you, do you recommend, and I, I see this a lot. I see entrepreneurs, they, there's a huge dopamine rush in thinking that your store needs to be perfect. And you plan for this shelf, that shelf and next thing you know you're spending a lot more money than you need to opening up shop.
What's your recommendations in terms of having the right budget in place when you're opening up your first shop? I.
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, I think. You do your research, hit the ground. If you, [00:37:00] and that's, again, that's where community comes from. That's, that's where you locked in with the community because you start talking to different growers and, and you'll figure out that some growers, uh, could do many things on consignment. You know, it's many.
That's, that's kind of when you ask what we did, we figured it out in our game that we were, we, we figured this. The, I mean, some growers gonna hate me for this, but you need me to sell your buds. I don't need your buds. You need me to sell your buds. And when we figured that out, it's like, Hey, I'm gonna sell your buds, but you need to relax on the pricing, on the the adjustment where I feel like I'm being pressured to do this, like you need me to do your job.
And so we figured that we had that leverage on growers that, Hey, I could sell you, I could sell it for you, but just know you gonna get your money [00:38:00] afterwards. And I got your money
Tommy Truong: Got it. Yeah, that's so true. 'cause you are really an integral part of the supply chain. Without you guys, nothing moves.
Glenwood Ferguson: dummy about it. And, and like I said, we, you know, because it, it became something where you had growers, they, you know, they always start by the store. They sometimes you had three to four of them a day, three or four of them a day. And everybody wanna show you something And it's came like, Hey, you went to fairing with my customers now because you trying to show me this.
And I got, I trying to deal like, I already got couple staff in here so I don't need you trying to hold me down over here and it ain't gonna work. And so that's what we started saying, listen to me. You leave a card, leave a sample, we get back to you.
Tommy Truong: Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: Just leave it right there. We, we made a basket right here
Tommy Truong: Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: and, and it was like, no, understand that this, we, we going to [00:39:00] control this because we know what we are doing in order to be a part of this team.
Let's help each other do what we need to do. And by helping that is knowing that hey. I'm gonna say, I'm gonna give you your money right after we sell these buds.
Tommy Truong: Mm-hmm.
Glenwood Ferguson: And it worked.
Tommy Truong: that that's because that helps so much in the cash conversion cycle.
Glenwood Ferguson: It worked.
Tommy Truong: Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: And that that was a part of the turning point. That was part, we figured out that we had that power, we had that power, and it, it worked.
Tommy Truong: What, sorry, before I let you go, I, I know that we're almost out of town, uh, time. What are some really cool projects that you're working on that you can share?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, like I tell you, uh, The Bahamas is my baby right now. Uh, I'm full force down here right now actually. That's where I'm located right now as we speak. Uh, like I say, touring the Caribbean, being a part of my brothers and sisters, this is something that I think many of us. We couldn't [00:40:00] imagine that we'd be at this standpoint in our lives right now, but we are doing it.
And I tell you what, I have seen the California, I have seen the Colorado of the Caribbean. I've been there, I've been in Antigua, I've been now the many times the Jamaica. The, the establishing country of cannabis in the region. But there's many more that has established themselves like Barbados, who has just, uh, last week actually opened up their first, uh, their first dispensary.
So, I mean, there's so much countries, even like St. Lucia, St. Lucia, Grenada, The Bahamas, oh man, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean is excited about cannabis. We have been excited about cannabis. I think before you guys even was excited about cannabis because it, this is our soul. It's, it's in us. It's within us.
We, we have people who have been doing it for years, who have been fighting the fight, the activism [00:41:00] and themselves who've been even in Rastafari, you know, even who, who, who created the word ganja. So even, even in that state of cannabis, the Caribbean is excited.
Tommy Truong: That's amazing. It's, I'm so happy for you guys. It's when you think cannabis, you think the Caribbean, and it's amazing that things are finally. Coming together from a
Glenwood Ferguson: now, now, you know, we still waiting on, uh, the federal government to change it of the Schedule One, so we could be able to out some more footing and do some more business in the United States. And do some more trade. Uh, but like I said, I think The Bahamas, as we get on board, I think that we are gonna be expanding regions.
I think that a lot of the export that coming down from South, that is gonna come to The Bahamas and we are gonna be able to be a trans shipman for them to sell their buds to the United States to sell. They continue the, they continue to sell to even Canada because you [00:42:00] have Jamaica who has a. Who has a shipment going to Canada on an
Tommy Truong: I would say that's what I was gonna say. Canada, you guys can trade with Canada it's, it's federally legal here.
Glenwood Ferguson: yeah. And, and they're actually a part of the care combination. So I mean, it, it works hand in hand and we are trying to figure it out. And as we do, we hope that we have your support. We hope that we have your country support and we hope that you guys can hurried up and, uh, federally legalize it for us.
Tommy Truong: Glen, before I let you go, where can our listeners find that book?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, so that was a whole holdup. We, we figured out that I wanted to get it more groundwork. So actually in September I'm getting ready to launch it on, uh, Amazon and launch it on my website to be bought and shipped out to everyone. Uh, but right now what I did and what I, I am, what I do normally do is I carry a handful of me, whatever I travel.
Anywhere. And I, I just sometimes just be a blessing [00:43:00] to others. I just, hey, you know, you get to start talking to people. People ask you what you do. And as they, as I feel them out and I feel that they actually love cannabis or have a liking towards cannabis, or know someone who actually does, you know, I say, Hey, I'll take a book of my bag.
Hey, be a blessing. That's me. And you know, when, when, when people, when people grab it, and the illustration in itself. When they look at the illustration, like what he's actually, what he's talking to the plan, because that, that was the plan. That's the name of the book, cannabis, the Plants, the myths, the truth.
So you wanted to talk to the plan to be able to know about the plan, to know about what all the bad things they said about the plan. And now, hey, plan, tell me the truths about you.
Tommy Truong: I mean, I am, let me know when I get, let me know when it launches. We'll, let, we'll let everybody know and, uh, I'm definitely gonna order a copy. I, it wasn't too long ago when I learned about terpenes and it blew me away because before that you talk about, hey, Inika sativa, hybrid dominant, [00:44:00] you know, and when that's not really the truth.
It's really the terpenes. And the terpenes tell the story of what you're gonna feel.
Glenwood Ferguson: the notes.
Tommy Truong: Yeah,
Glenwood Ferguson: Uh, you know, you know, this is in the Caribbean right now. We got mangoes, uh, the mercy that is dropping everywhere right now. So, you know, after a good blunt, after good smoke, you go right there and eat some mangoes up intensifies
Tommy Truong: yeah, yeah, yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: So awesome.
Tommy Truong: No, it's, I and, and I recently just found that out too.
Glenwood Ferguson: Yeah. Black pepper and, and that's the thing, what, what makes me say, Hey, go do your research, because these things that we talk about that are in these different chemicals that are in cannabis are in other plants or in other foods that we eat on a normal basis.
Tommy Truong: Mm-hmm. Yeah, the terpenes right.
Glenwood Ferguson: exactly. So. Come on, tell me something.
Tell me [00:45:00] something.
Tommy Truong: It is amazing to me that we have receptors for the plant, endogenous receptors. So
Glenwood Ferguson: Two, ag and Undermine. See reckless shapes. I mean, come on. I mean, what else do we need to say that we didn't know that cannabis is gonna do, the job that it's gonna do and why they have demonized it for so long?
Tommy Truong: Cannabis to me is like the A, is like avatar shit. When you learn about the plant, you learn to learn. You learn about the plant's connection with the body and how the plant actually grows. That's some magic.
Glenwood Ferguson: We are living, and guess what? We are living in a time that we actually could pull more
Tommy Truong: Yeah.
Glenwood Ferguson: information from it now.
Tommy Truong: And we're out of time. I know that you, you have to run Before I let you go, how can the listeners find you?
Glenwood Ferguson: Well, you could find me. So I tell people, just type my name in my name, mcg ber name is Glenwood Ferguson. Uh, you type my name in Google. You'd see all my social media, [00:46:00] everything, uh, that you could frank figure out about me. Uh, but if you're looking for me on social media, my name is Wood, the cannabis dog.
That's WOOD. T-H-E-C-A-N-N-A-B-I-S-D-O-C. So yeah, with the cannabis doc all across the board, that's me. Hey, I'm willing to collab. This is what I'm doing. I travel the world, I capture it. I bring it back to my people to be able to digest, to see what great things cannabis is doing around the world.
Tommy Truong: Perfect. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Glenwood Ferguson: Thank you Tommy. I really appreciate it, man. Thank you. Kudos to the team for getting this. I know we've been trying to coordinate this for a while, but I really appreciate you guys locking me in and having me on your show, man.
Tommy Truong: This week's budtender spotlight goes to Christian Baker from the Herbery dispensary in Washington for taking care of customers every day, making sure they are heard and that they leave the store feeling good. He's a light of positivity every single day. Great [00:47:00] job, Christian. If you'd like to nominate a budtender checkout, Kaya Pushes Budtender Spotlight campaign. I'll see you guys next week.
Outro: Thanks for listening to the Kaya Cast Podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast in your favorite podcast app, or visit our website of episode.
