EYL #16 Legend in 2 Games feat. Al Harrington

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All right, Welcome back to earlier Nicha l A Aditions and the very special edition on Man.

It's the first time we've actually covered somebody on our podcast at the same person be on the podcast.

This is very special. Yeah, it's dope. It's dope, so you know, give the introduction.

Al Harrington started as a basketball legend in our area in Trackstate area, right change out of high school to the to the league and had a great NBA career and then is having even more success now in the entrepreneurial realm.

So he's a perfect guest for us because our show is, uh, you know, the.

Backstories of financial aspects of sports and entertainment for the most of our business, but sports entertainment, right, a lot of time people they look at NBA players, NFL plays, actors, but they don't really know what goes on behind the scenes on the financial side, right, and financial literacy is something that you know is in the season right now,

The reason the success is really testament to how much people needed in our posture. So that's why we delivered the content at there we are We're gonna keep delivering.

Yeah, not for sure.

So yeah, so we wrote about I remember about our early in our Instagram, like early on stages of Instagram, and it was about you know, him starting a company right called Bola, and it talked about him putting five million dollars into it and the company.

Blew up and you tell the story. But he he liked the.

Posts and he started following us, right, So that's so we appreciate it. And then we spoke about him on another podcast when we spoke about marijuana industry, and now we got in here, so's it's it's full cerviuce, So thank you for coming on.

Appreciate thanks for having me, Fellows. I appreciate it. We appreciate you.

So all right, can you just give the people a quick backstory I wrote, but I think it's a really dope story as far as to how you got into the marijuana cannabis industry, as far as you know, starting out with the seed money.

I believe it currently come wrong.

But you couldn't even do it in your names and your cousin's name, right, correct, because you didn't want to like cross those lines.

Yeah, man, I didn't want to lose my contract. But I saw an opportunity that made a lot of sense. And you know, For me, it was all about being able to help you.

You know what I'm saying. It wasn't about just the financial game.

It was like wow, you know, so like you said, just to touch on the backstory, you know, we're from the same area, so you already know like the old War on drugs and it was explained to us, and you know, we was taught that, you know, cannabis is a gateway drug. We saw people getting locked up for having weed and all that. So you know, I know, I ain't want to never get locked up, you know what I'm saying. My mom who my ayes, you know

Had teammates that actually huld to smoke.

So you know, I would ask a little questions and all that, and they would tell me, like, yo, I smoke because of this. I smoke because of that, And like I said, it was productive. So it changed the way I thought about cannabis. So, you know, fast forward to when I signed with the Denver Nuggets in two thousand and nine or ten, when I left the Knicks. You know, when I got there, they had just started

Eleven, and you know, she got there.

She had me put this pillow box up on her counter and she saw taking all this medication and the athlete and he said, Grandma, like taking so many vitamins.

And she's like, boy, he's.

Not vitamin She's like, I got eye, blood pressure, diabetes, gla cooma. And I was like, Grandma, I was just reading the paper the other day that cannabis help with glacoma. And I was telling everything I was reading, and finally she said, well, what is cannabis? And I was like, you know, marijuana weed. She's like, reefuck, ain't no way, no reef going to help me out composition. And she's seventy nine years old this time at the time, right, and I'm you know, so I'm starting to educate up,

I was like, just try it. And you know, and I believe in.

God, right, you know, I grew up in church and everything, and you know, as we all know, like old people are hard.

To change their beliefs and then they waves, you know what, I know what I'm saying. And my grandmother, I was time, like she's not going to heaven. We're all going to you know what I'm saying.

And not only that, like she was a back going to my family back and going to the church. So like I mean she's so straight and narrow, and for her to say, okay, I'll try it, that was God to me, you know what I'm saying.

He was helping me pick what was next.

For me, which I was blessed because a lot of players where you know, we talk about the financial literacy and stuff like that, which sucks. And a lot of guys when they get done playing on the what's next? You know what I'm saying, they so used to be chasing after room. When that's over, it's just like it's

What I'm saying.

So, you know, so I talked to her about it or whatever, and she's just like, you know what, I'm in so much pain they I'll try and think. So I called my boy. I was like, yo, you got a little dispensary. Fine, gets something for you know, for glackoma. And I'm not a smoke at the time, So I don't know what to recommend. No indecoods of TV. I don't know nothing. So he bring back Vietnam cushion and and it's how we Vavee rose in front of a baby,

Wow.

So that's my inspiration. That's my story. That's how I got into cannabis. And you know, we decided, you know, me and my cousin who was my business partner, we designed to name of the company after her name is Bayo.

So that's how we got out. You know that's our origin story and how we start. Yeah, now that's dope.

We could just talk about the the league for a little bit, because yeah, you know, we do write a lot of stories and important. It's unfortunate, right with a lot of guys. I even Kochie had spoken when he was saying the past. The problem that a lot of guys have it that they don't know that passion after right, and even if you have a long career thirty five thirty seven, that's still relatively young in life, right.

So and then I also shout to Sebastian. You know, he fell on some hard times. He just you got convicted, so you know, we're praying for him.

But he he had a good clip too where he said, you know, he kind of explained how a lot of guys fall into financial hardship because when you get paid, it's not like you get fifty million dollars all at once.

Right, we know that there's a jock tax. Like every state that you go in, you pay the state tax, and then you know, you get.

Paid twice a month, then you have to pay everybody else, and then a lot of times you you don't have the financial literacy when you're coming into the league, so you know, you all of your stuff is kind of like out front.

Now you got to kind of pay it back, right, So can you.

Just talk about that briefly as far as like because you you are you weren't inside, so you know, as far as like.

That, and you played for multiple teams for a few states, Yeah, I mean obviously the text stuff and you know, that is what it is. And you know, I got a story of my rookie year, you know, they they sent me and then they sent me my taxes to sign or whatever, and you know it was like all these books, you know, yay high And I looked at it and I ain't know what it was.

So I took in, I put up in my closet.

I was singing Antonio Davis as a ripper, And like two weeks later, I came home and he was sitting there and he was signing those same books. One day and when I came in, I'm like, what's up, big fellay, like chilling, like what you're doing. He's like, I'm signing, you know, paying taxes. He's like, you got yours. I was like, I got some books like that. A couple of weeks ago, on the day of my closet. He's like,

The challenges this man, it's like we first generation money exactly. You know what I'm saying. That's the thing is like we didn't learn how to make that money. You understand what I'm saying. We didn't.

Really I'm not gonna say we didn't earn it. Definitely earned it, but we didn't learn how to make it. We didn't run a business. We didn't learn how to balance books and the running the p and ls and all that type of stuff.

You know what I'm saying.

That's kind of after the fact that a lot of times what happened with the players, which sucks, is that we had financial advisors and agents and all that that discourage us to learn how to do that. They just like, pay me, I'll take care of keep to the blood, you know what I'm saying. And that's the issue that

Money was actually going up.

Until that point, I was just having fun and I was just trusting that they had my back, you know what I'm saying. So that responsibility of first money is just is very tough man, because you know, it's nobody in your family you can really go to. You know what I'm saying, They don't know. The mothers, you know, have credit bad, Dad, credit bad, Grandma, credit bad. They don't know, you know what I'm saying. So you end up having to trust somebody that you don't know, and

And that was a great mindset to give me.

So now I'm not gonna go and buy five five hundred thousand dollars cars now two point five million. I oh, you understand what I'm saying that, Like, Okay, if I'm gonna spend five on I gotta get what I can get you for that.

You see what I'm saying. So little things like that is what helped me, you know what I'm saying.

And you know the players I just say, you know, it takes some time, you know what I'm saying, Like you kind of got to get your feet in then start figuring it out or whatever. But I will always tell these guys like, you know, take the time to learn about your money and learn like how you spending it and who's spending it, where it's going and finding out tax breaks and starting now for profits and if you're gonna pay take care of your mom, do it this way. You're gonna take care of your family, do

Like they like you own. I want you, I want you to want you will.

Cook, you know what I'm saying, And you feel bad. Next thing, you know, you're gonna spend some bread, you know what I'm saying.

So it's tough. But you know the good thing about these guys making so much money down I think they.

Definitely more of a window to kind of make some mistakes and still be okay that.

Keep getting better. To absolutely that's a game.

And it's important too because so I'm a financial or choice of teacher and educat, so yeah, I see it firsthand.

As far as like a right, they're not a lot of financial advisors that.

Look like me, right, So a lot of this Some guys offers they might work with athletes things that nature, and I can just tell they're not looking at them as the peers, because they're at the peers, right, and they're looking at them as I mean, took it, and it's like, Okay, when you're done playing, it's over right. Like, so I think that it's important, like you said that the athletes have to start empowering themselves or work with

Down with you and we'll talk about you know, your business now in the next segment.

But you really have to You can't the days of just letting somebody do with whatever they want and being blind and over right. We can't afford that to happen because we've seen it happen every generation.

Right. We want the article page about Chris Bobs R. Yeah, twenty five million dollars said you know nothing.

About finance or telling you so do you never walked? I'm uncle exactly. It's like how possible his state was?

Like back to Chris Bosher's like his main focus is I have to train, I have to perform and to keep my body up.

That's the only thing in folks. And it's like, but you're getting paid to do this, like that's.

Almost as equally as important, right, like to say you have you don't know anything about finance, you just sign one hundred and twenty five like it's mind body, right.

Well it's it's really, it's reality and put the thing about it, not even not even the put because nobody really do anything about finance.

I know a lot of doctors don't anything about find the difference that their career is. Don't be forty years exactly.

You you were fortunate when you had a second contract, right, but what if you didn't have that second contractor you say you have thirty thousands not out the league.

Now you're now you're really screwed and you're what twenty four at that time, maybe twenty two?

Right?

Yeah, so all right, my whole life in front of me. Yeah, disasterous.

All right.

So now we're going to go into the business side of things. All right, So now we're gonna talk about you know, you you you built an empire. This is an impact band person, so you.

Know, especially like you said, in our community, right, Unfortunately there's countless people during ten, fifteen, twenty years, thirty years, fed time, stay time for marijuana.

Right, for marijuana.

So now we're in a position where you can actually make money legally off of marijuana. Right. So it's one thing, all right, because I get this question a lot Instagram and people just in general, they're like, how do I get involved in the marijuana business? So you can buy stock, we'll talk about that. But you actually built a company, right, so can you just talk about that because I'm sure

A lot of times we don't have mentors. We figured out as we go, you know what I mean.

That's why we make so many mistakes exactly because there's no mentorship. They don't there's no blueprint to follow. So it's like, Okay, I'm just gonna go out there.

I think one of the things you like and what you've done is like you've kind of the blueprint for people from what you're the.

Saying, like I remember watching the HBO Sports special and.

I was like, wow, this guy literally created a farm and went and played the seed to himself.

I think that was dope. I was like one of the best posts.

I was like, you said, make sure you're an expert of what you're asking people to do, right, So if I'm gonna hire you, trust it, I know what I'm doing.

We'll talk about the Harrington group.

Yeah. Man, it's funny, bro like like you' said. Man, Like, I don't really have like a financial background or any of that. Like it was literally like I just took my work ethic that I took from how I got into the NBA and played sixteen years. Like you know my background. I saw who was a freshman iceed to really really. I never that my mom used to beat me on the one all the time.

That's hard. That's even as a freshman, I was hard.

I was the worst player on the team as a freshman, and I probably was like the eighth best player as a sophomore.

He went from that to then the play like in two years. But it was I lived in the gym.

It was work that they learned like and and thank god I was able to get the results because it showed me what all wor can do for you. You know what I'm saying, and what I've done is I was just taking that same approach into the Cannibis centry. So like you go back there, tell my office you see it. I got a big plaque on my wall and say, nobody with our workers. You know what I'm saying. Like the reason why I played sixteen year was because I swear every year because I remember my mindset as

Take my minute, you know what I'm saying. So and I take that same thing with cannabis.

I'm like, yeah, Vayola may be popping or whatever, but like I don't sleep, you know, I don't sleep any better at like you know what I'm saying, Like, I'm still constantly thinking there's another black company coming behind me that's gonna try to claim the things that I've done it, or either just regular companies, you know what I'm saying.

So that's always my age. You know what I'm saying. I always can constantly do that.

But to answer a question like what they've done, and I mean the lawmakers and stuff like that, because they have so many.

Different people influencing their decisions.

Because the issue that we have in cannabis right now is that the people that are actually writing the laws don't have any business acting.

They're just politicians.

So they writing these laws and putting these taxes and all these different things, and they're killing the industry. You know what I'm saying, What I think they should have did it. They should have went to some of the people that were successful in the black market and used them. That's consulting, because there was a thriving industry until y'all stepped in, You understand what I'm saying.

So that's that piece. But why it's tough is this.

They're trying to monopolize the process, right And like what you said, you know, our communities was you know, most impacting on drugs, eighty five percent are all black men. Drug arrests on cannabis related You know what I'm saying, and we have no representation in the industry right now, with me doing what I'm doing in a couple other people, you represent one percent in the enagry. Like that's ridiculous,

I look, black person own land, not understand what I'm saying.

New Jersey was you know, you had to show fifteen to twenty million dollars in a workable capital part of your application process.

You understand what I'm saying. So what black person can do that?

I'm like, even I struggle getting people to put up money to have twenty in the account. You undertand what I'm saying, that's what all the resources I had. So just imagine somebody off the block. And I'm not saying this is discouragure what I'm just trying to give you is just like what's going on, right, So how I look at it is like, you know, one of the things I want to do is I want to start incubating or whatever for the for the black communities. Right.

Right. That's one way that I feel like I can include more black people, right. Yeah.

The other way is this and this is real because my company right now, right, you know, I would like to I wish I hired, I wish I had more black employees, right.

But I promise you when I put out these job opportunities.

Online through uh you know all those yeah, all that stuff, they don't apply. It's nobody applying, you know what I'm saying. So and I can't figure out what jobs, like what jobs are, whether it's you know, whether it's working in the front or in the grow being a grower, being a packager. And this is this is gonna be my point. You got to start somewhere. You got to put your ego aside if you want to get into this industry. You know what I'm saying. I know so many people

They're not black, you understand what I'm saying.

Like they went through that, They went through the whole process, learn every part of the business, you know what I'm saying, and then figure it out because at the end of the day, what I will tell you is that if you do through that, you're gonna be valued with somebody.

You know what I'm saying.

I wish I could run to somebody that say, I packaged, I'll grow out this, that and the third, Like I'm.

Hiring you a set.

That's all the experience I need because what because of the way my company is kind of set up, you wear multiple hats. You know what I'm saying, we kind of eye attitude is like everybody do a little bit of everything.

You know what I'm saying, I don't have no problem going to clean the.

Bathroom dead ass, you know what I'm saying, Like, that's just how I operate when they see me going. Everybody know, it's not been anybody to going that to operate like that, you know what I'm saying. So, you know, so one of the things is just I would just say, you know, look at applying to get into the industry. Maybe you can't get ownership right now out the gate, you know, I would say that this industry is going to be.

Like liquor, where liquor has over forty thousand brands. You know what I'm saying. It's gonna be the same thing in cannabis.

So maybe right now in twenty nineteen or twenty twenty, you don't get your ownership and something, But twenty twenty one, it's always going to be opportunity because it's just gonna be just like the liquor industry, have craft beers or have all these different things. So I would just tell, you know, all the entrepreneurs or people that want to try to figure out how to get in, it's just go get a job, man, get a job in the space.

You know what, I'm saying, you guys are File Extracts operates from four states, right, California, Oregon, Michigan, and Colorado.

Yes.

So when you say like people are applying to do jobs, like the farming would be in Oregon.

Farm, it would be in Oregon. So like, you know, so my farm is like where it's at. I don't think a lot of black people there. Yeah, that's just because of the jar Recraft location, you know what I mean. But in Colorado, yes, California for sure, Michigan one thousand.

Percent is that's your newest one missions on the It's place or whatever.

So we opened up our retail in the next fifteen days, so exit about that's our first retail operation. And it goes back to what I was telling you, was like I'm learning every part of the business. You know what I'm saying. So I know all the cultivation, greenhouse, outdoor, indoor, I know all the manufacturing methods.

You know what I'm saying. Now we're going to dive into the retail part.

And you know and like and to my point that I was just saying, like I wanted to do retail five years ago, I wasn't ready.

You know what I'm saying, but I built up, built up to the.

Point where now we're ready and now we're opening up the spot, you know what I'm saying, and it's going.

So how all right?

So as far as scaling the business right, because you you started, I don't know exactly, like if you started with a dispensard, like, what was what was the first thing you actually started with.

I was just I was a caregiverer.

So what that means is, you know, if we're all patients in Colorado or whatever, you would give me your paperwork and I would grow when you were from twelve to sixteen dollars for you, right, And when we first started, we only had forty likes and it was in a twelve thousand square foot building and all of our patients either had HIV or cancer or whatever.

So we grew in them.

So we do you grow it, we will give them a portion of it and the rest of them would sell to the dispensers.

So what's your business model?

As far as sale to thee we had a restaurant on on and he actually was a great interview. And the thing is everybody might not be in the restaurant business, but in my personal opinion. Business is business, So no matter what, the key principles of scaling a business can you apply to anything, right, And obviously you've you've been able. That's what one of the things I'm really impressed about is that you've been able to scale your business in a very short period of time.

Right.

And like you said, like you didn't have a business background, so a how were you able to do that?

And like what's your kind of business business model like broad brains as far as like you know, looking at opportunities scaling.

Like you know, yeah, So my biggest thing is, like you know, my number one thing is to build a good brand. You know what I'm saying. I feel like once the brand is strong enough, you can take the brand any you know what I'm saying. There's a couple of examples of other brands that have sold to Canadian LPs and different things like that that don't on any of the supply chain. All they do is have a brand, you know what I'm saying. But what I'm trying to

So that's the reason why.

For me, why you know, we continue to go stay by state and acquirity licenses so that every time someone opens up a BODYO package, they get an experience. You know what I'm saying that we control the experience because we control the you know, the supply chain.

So Harrington Group, right, it has three things under the umbrella. You have violas you got, uh is a baby butters just viola yea uh butter baby baby, I'm sorry. And then Harrington Wellness, which is our replay.

This is like a difference on the butter baby is the edible they just walked into.

Yeah they yeah, so they make so they make butters and coconut oil, they make olive oil. They all kind of stuff that you can cook with and they have vision and their messages that you know, a lot of sick people can't eat edibles, you know what I'm saying, because a lot of times people that have cancer where they have diabetes, you know what I'm saying, So you can't take all this sweet stuff trying to get the

Okay, and then the harrings and wellnesses. That's like the oils of the creams. That's yeah, that's the CBD line.

So right now on that on Harrington Wellness, our first product line is all people or whatever. It's really catered towards recovery, pain relief. Wee can warrior athletes, you know what I'm saying. So we have uh, we have cream teacture capsules, and we have this little recovery shop.

It was like a five hour drink or whatever that we take that we have as well, and you know that is expanding.

So why you actually you know, sell those products is on the line because we use use him, straight him or whatever, and the solo line Physical Therapy Clinics Small box Jam.

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And then we also have a program where it was like the Mary Kay whatever. So we allow on people from the community and opportunity to be a part of the brand.

To be able to sell products.

So I was reading when I think twenty twelve you had the surgery on you need correct and the staff infection and then trying to treat you like everything wasn't working right and you were using a cream.

I was like, huh.

And then when I kept reading, I'm like, oh, okay. And then from there then you start getting more guys. Steve Kerr right, I'm gonna start using it. And then you had this meeting with David Stern that churns. That's a game changer.

It was a game changing man.

That that was crazy man, Like, I mean, I seen him at this thing called a Milking Conference, which is a conference they hold here in LA I think it's like forty five hundred ticket just to come for three days and just kind of learn about all different Industries or whatever, and he was on He was on a pay talking about the effect of esports on like the NBA, NFL because the esports guys were saying like it's gonna trump love sports, you know what I'm saying.

And he was on there and he was just talking, you know, they was very witty, you know what I'm saying.

So he was up there talking circles around a lot of people up there, him Robber Kraft was up there that got from Univision or whatever. So after after they got done, I just went up to him like, heaby, what's up man? And uh, you know, his mind is crazy, remembers everything, bro, Like you gotta think about. He's seen over you know, two thousand players the least.

But when he sold me, its not like I was Lebron or somebody. First thing, he said, how's your knee?

Wow?

My knie?

You know what I'm saying. I never ever sat and talked with him about it ever, you know what I'm saying.

He just shocked like that. So we started talking.

I think that was my way of telling him like, yeah, actually okay, I actually was caim blah blah blah blah his face and I started telling him what I was doing, and he was just saying, you know, we don't smoke all the product. It's real funny about it. I was like, hey, you know, you get a chance. I want to sit and talk with you about a couple of things. And it took me like seven months to set up my

You know what I'm saying.

But now I was cool man, and a lot of people always say how much ownership did you give them in your company?

Gave him nothing, you know what I'm saying.

He believe that that conversation could change, Like the way Lee's look at it now like that, I feel like that's super imployant.

I think I think it's uphill you.

You kind of know, like, Okay, the tide is turning, right, So anybody that is intelligent, it's a fight that's not worth fighting, right, even if you're not.

Pro marijuana, And you don't have to be pro marijuana or eight or use it yourself, but.

It's really hard to be totally against it at this point because it's a battle that eventually you're not gonna win that back, right, So I think that when you see David Sterning and you know the guys who go there and tell that obviously intelligent people and they want to be on the right side of history.

You gotta remember, man, I swear bro like you know, it was so funny I first got done that. I was so scared to tell you what I was doing, right, just thinking of like how people do say yea. And I mean since I was retired, I've been offered the NBA jobs, don't coach, you know what I'm saying, I've been offered TV jobs like nothing.

I'm not saying that they don't care, but it's like they're.

Starting to come around to realize and like all the pharmaceutical stuff we're using, dog, like that's the real dangerous stuff. Like we can sit here right now, came and smoke for the next two weeks straight. I mean, back to back, you edibles asleep. We gonna pass out, but I guarantee

Don't it makes sense? You know what I'm saying. And I think that people are starting to really wake up, y'all.

We're not saying that, We're not saying that everybody should smoke, We're not saying any of that.

Always saying is that it's an alternative way for people.

To medicate themselves without the highly addictive and the dangerous from the suit and drugs that are being off.

You know what I mean.

You look at these commercials and it's like, you know, people are skipping and the commercials like side of things, internal.

Beating, give it on the beach, and they're still skipping. I'm like that, you know what I'm saying. So it's just like, you know, my own things.

I just feel like, man, sometimes man, it's just like commaisense is not always coming, you know. But you know the reason why I like the platform that I have is that, you know, when I go to these seminars and it is these doctors up there talking about fidal commanding.

Or is it this that?

And the third like you're talking to people that have no idea what you gotta talk to you know what I'm saying. You got talking to their language. And that's what I've been able to do with other athletes and other entertainers that are stepping out and being advocates. I think that we are starting to humanize the plant in the whole process in general.

That's that's dope, that's nope virus. And now we're gonna go into all last.

Second and talking about the future of the marijuana industry and company as well. All right, so now we're gonna go into the future. But before we go into that, because we like to paint the real picture of entrepreneurship. I don't know if you watch like YouTube a lot, but I do. And there's a lot of entrepreneur all guys on YouTube, and they always they talking circles for that you don't really know what they said, and it's all motivational.

Like if you don't wake up in five ahead, you know what I mean. But it's like, okay, but what does that mean? You know what I'm saying. What the good thing I like about you is that you actually started a few businesses right at that.

Yeah, So reading your portfolio was like, you've had businesses that haven't succeeded though. Right at the date you at the restaurant in Miami and you try a hotel in New York City, upstate, upstate.

That way too far. You were talking about it's important for people to understand that every business is not gone. Ye.

No, I mean most successful business people would tell you they took hell a l before they were successful, you know what I'm saying, Like, that's part of the process.

You just got to manage the loss. You understand what I'm saying.

So you know, in the beginning, like I used to be so like you could sell me on any idea, any idea, you was passionate about it. I'm like, how much shit we could do well? And I learned that that's not what we operate, you know what I'm saying. So, like the one operation was fully in the city. So you know, Felipo on fifty ninth Street has been over ten years, ten twelve. I think basket might put some money up. I think you know what I'm saying. And you know we in there every week.

It's cracking.

I'm like, in Miami, I gotta go ahead. What I learned about Miami, Miami seasonal, that's true, saying. What I'm saying people go down there during the winter. They don't go down there during the summers. You understand what I'm saying.

So I learned that. So now there's any Miami business deals and it's food or all.

That kind of related or service I know now like and now I know that about other places too, like places it is a seasonal place.

You gotta know.

The hotel business. What happened with that I think was more of just two thousand and eight happening is one of the May investment. It's just everything that just crashed. You know what I'm saying. I think the concept was good. I don't know how far upstate New York maybe, but you know they had, like Jack Nicholson had signed going to do the golf course. They had a hotel bed, the hotel was the anchor, and then they were gonna build homes around the golf course.

So you know that that model has.

Worked a lot of places. You know what I'm saying is, you know, I know a project right now growing up in Vegas like that. You know that model has worked. So I say that deal right there didn't come in fruition. I think more just because of the time. You know what I'm saying, I think the concept and everything was actually right on. You know, Mariotte had just signed on to manage the hotel, so you know, everything was coming in place with that, but I took that out, you

Your heart own money into it.

You need to fully understand how you're gonna get your money out, what all the risky involved, and what it's gonna be the ROI, what's the true ROI, not just something someone pitching. Because even in cannabis, I remember, like someone pitching me, I'm in the business already. Like I'm in it already. They came into my building in Colorado and show me a facility they want to put up in Nevada, and it was gonna make thirty million dollars

It's just impossible, you know, because you got to remember. And this is a gym for people to understand. It's like, you know, when you're launching a new market.

It takes a while to get that cuts to my acquisition because most people are going to the dispensary that first time, and a lot of times those dispensaries aren't gonna be carrying the fire fire either. So you're gonna go in there, You're gonna spend sixty dollars for an eighth smoke it, and remember your man got it on the corner for twenty five, you know what I'm saying. So it's gonna take you a while to realize that your man stuff isn't tested, it's not as safe as.

What you actually smoke in the dispensary.

It takes people time to get you used to that and realizing, like, this stuff out of this dispensary is way safer for me and my family or my girl or my own boy or whatever, you know what I'm saying. And that's when people start going back to the dispensary and realizing that smoking the other stuff is potentially dangerous, you know what I'm saying. So you know, they're sitting there telling me, like we're gonna make all this money in the year one of a market that's brand.

New, or like it's impossible, you know what I'm saying.

And it's shown if you look at the market out there, people still kind of struggling in the body market and it's been three.

Years now, you know what I'm saying.

So that's just you know, you know, like I said, you just got to really educate yourself when you investment, and you know it's not easy, and you know a lot of times you know, especially depending on the industry, like cannabis is so new, a lot of people getting tripped.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, because it's so crazy because everybody's looking there like it's the gold rush.

Right you just go to La or Las Vegas and open a dispens people believe are thinking like.

That, And it's not even that easy to open it, right, Like you just can't go to any state and just open up the dispension.

All these places right now, that's kind of that open It's Oklahoma.

I would say that I know of right now that it's pretty easy to go get a license and open up you know what I'm saying. But a lot of these markets, man, they're so regulated, and you know, the markets that are smart to me, they make it somewhat restricted just because you know that oversaturation, like a place like you know, Washington and orel You know what I'm saying.

That's another thing I learned.

You know what I'm saying that you know, I'm not really going to run and be so excited to run into a state where it's unlimited licensing, you know what I'm saying.

Where it's a place where it's undimit licenses. What I'm gonna do is I'm.

Gonna go partner up waring those licenses producers come in, give them my expertise, my SOPs, and just having to feel of like ola job.

You know, I see what I'm saying.

It don't make sense for me to go spend all the capex to go buy something to be competing, because then it's just a race to the bubom.

You know. I use my example of like in Oregon.

In Oregon, when I went out there in twenty sixteen, and outdoor pounds was being sold for any living too.

A Loanan nine hundred high end thirteen fourteen hundred.

By the time I harvested in twenty fourteen, the price of pounds outdoor pounds was like three four hundred bucks.

But you know why because the market was oversaturated.

When I went out there in twenty sixteen, it was only forty operators by the time I harvested it, and the year later it was over four hundred producers. And now you look at the market right now, they got a million pounds of surplus in Oregon, you know what I'm saying. So so these are the some of the

Not that's dope, and that was the dope when you do that platform that you're speaking up too, because like I said, there's so many I'm sure people hit you up all the time, but there's so many people that want to get involved in it, right, and it's like it's not easy a and you know it's it's pitfall for any other business. So you know, I think that the more, like you said, the more you the more you learn, right, you're gonna educate yourself.

And it also is important what you said before as far as to say, Okay, a.

Lot of time people just want to come in and open the dispense, Like nah, just work your way up, like it takes time.

You know, you don't have to.

You're not gonna be over tomorrow. I think everybody's gonna rush like I need to do this right now before this blows up. I just wait, Like two years isn't gonna kill it.

I said, you're right because you know, like know, and I feel that pressure sometime.

There's a business owner too where you know, you see all this consolidation happening around me, and it's like, damn man, they got access to Marnie million. And I'm still trying, you know what I'm saying. But at the end of the day, you know what I'm saying, I think that, you know, being a little patient and I'm seeing move too slow, be a little patient cause I'm at the table.

You know, that's all you can ask, is I'm a ask. All I need is an opportunity.

So I'm at the tape. That's what am I gonna do? What am I gonna do with this opportunity? And you know, I feel like, you know, sticking to you to what I'm doing and just building an unbelievable brand that everybody knows, like I said, every time they pick up a package, they have a great experience.

I think I'll be all right, you know what I'm saying. I think I could be okay.

Yeah, So I read you know, you guys evaluation over one hundred million, but you said billion's not off the question, So you got what's the next market that you guys are trying to tap it?

So you know I'm being honest, man, like, I never really, I never came into this thing with a dollar mind a dollar in mind.

You know I'm saying.

It was never about I'm gonna make a million a billion dollars. You know a lot of times when I do interviews, they kind of woke me down that road. I fall for it every time. But one I think that what I'm creating will be worth multi billion dollars, not just one whatever.

One is too small, right.

But the reason why I think that is because the good and how many people we're gonna help is the reason why you're gonna have that kind of evaluation, as you know, like with I, yo, like, I'm trying to make this brand and brand of the people, you know what I'm saying. And I got a couple of different ideas of trying to figure out just how to get regular people involved and investing in BODYO let them take ownership, you know what I'm saying.

I think that's the kids like adding you know, adding customers.

Feel like they own the brand, you know what I'm saying, Like like I always worference the Puffins sarat You know what I'm saying. Puffers created the environment with Sarac where people feel like they are part of that lifestyle. Right, It's like you pick up that bottle like you win in there looking got a suit like that out, you

Then let me ask before we wrap it up. I just had a question.

They just passed the Safe according and passed the past the person that Safe Thinking Act. So if anybody coind of familiar the it still is a major problem because marijuana is not legal on the federal level.

Even though it's legal, it's on sustain levels.

Right, So a lot of things, most things don't really want to do business with marijuana company because it's a great line they can get in trouble from the FETs.

Right.

How have you dealt with that as far as like and what do you think the future? How do you foresee the future in that, because that plays a major part in my opinion because once the thanks.

Legal, that's kind of like you know, right that people can get a loans potentially get into the space, but not black people once again, because you know, we got student loans and why it's gonna be tough or whatever.

But you know, when I first started, I had no banking.

Obviously, credit unions have come around, so every state I bank with the credit union and then there's also a third party company that I hope with also made pay quick that they're pretty much like the middle man between the producers and the bank, and they have a whole you know, due diligence and a process that you know, the banks, the credit unions are.

Comfortable with being able to bank. But you know the banking is smart, like the credit unions, they making a lot of money.

You know what I'm saying they charging twenty five hundred dollars a month just to hold the bank account. You know what I'm saying it let alone the fees on all the money that actually comes in. So banks realize it's a billion dollar opportunity for them too.

But it's just that the federal government as it ends, you know what I'm saying, that they could Yeah, that's dope, man. Now we want anything else you want to talk about you now, we want to thank you for coming in.

Also before we wrap it up, it's important, I think for people with aid to follow that passion right because you, like you said, you're you're passionate about this.

It's not just about the money. It's not even about the money.

It's to help people, right, And I think that's one of the biggest mistakes that people and even we've made that mistakes in the Bath with the other things that we were successful now with the podcast because we actually like doing it.

We're passionate, but but we've done.

Stuff in the Bath well honestly just different money, and it didn't work.

It never.

It's hard to wake up everyone and do something if you don't really care about what you're doing, right, So I think that that's encouraging. And then also it's very important first impressions and work act it too, So I would be talking off camera.

So if anybody followed the podcast, you know.

That I went to like eight different high schools in high school with basketball, but I went to school in Florida for a little bit at im G Academy.

So when I first met Al, this was.

Years ago, and he probably doesn't remember, but one thing I always remember because he was in IMG training. He was a professional, so I everybody's not familiar. IMG is one of the top prep schools in the country. Actually just won so they have they have pros that come in as well, like football and basketball.

At the time. Yeah, so he was.

He was there.

He's one of the pros that was working out, and we used to run pick up games every once in a while. So I can't say I had a lot of interactions with him. I had some interactions with with some other people. Harold Jamison real good, Oh my god, Harold James.

He's different. I've never getting them stories. Jamison. He's the first person. So I missed my school box one day, right, somebody He's like, what's to school here?

You wrong?

He had a drop top lesus and he had the air conditioner on full blast. Well he had the air conditionings. We got to the top then because it's cold, he's gotten colder.

So he's the first person I've ever seen to have a footballing air conditioning in the drop.

Now you know anything about Al Jamison, So when you like he's sweat at the dropping like yeah, like dropping hat bro So Like he was the type dude where we used to work out.

Bro Like during the workout, he's had to always wipe the court.

That something he'll go through an our workout, bro, no bs our workout, he go through four teen shirts.

I always had weight issues, like, bro, how you overweight?

That's what if he was playing but heat at that time and that's when they want to don't play with the body fat and all that type of stuff.

But you got to have issues with his weight and he used to sweat. I'm guaranteed he was dropping shout wherever you are in the world right now, man, shout out to you. But I was saying that. You know, one thing I never forget is that you know how he always worked hard.

He was a hard worker. Like I'm never the job so that the head basketballs. He used to always reference him, like, you see how how how hard I works.

You gotta work like that. That's how hard.

He always worked hard. And he always smiled like he was never in a bat I never saw him in the bat. Move boy had smile his pace, right. So it's funny when people remember because I was fifteen years ago and I still remember that, right. So I say that to say, you never know how it's come full circle now he's on our podcast, right, So it's important to just be a good person, right and to set that exam.

You never know who's watching you, exactly like reality, and you never know when it could come back.

Right.

So I just always tell people, man, it's just so much easy to be cool. Like it's so like it takes no effort to be cool. It takes no effort. Somebody go up in the room and give him a D nine, takes no effort. You ain't got to go out your way or nothing. Just acknowledge people just be cool. And that's what I'm saying. Like I've never had no issues no where I've been. You know what I'm saying. I live in LA and people getting rods here in

To say about regular fear And you know my word is my bonds. I said, do something period, keep it calling clean, right, you got to keep you another one too, charging Billups.

So he was down there too, and enough to get my dad. So when my dad he took it, took me to school and everybody knows what he's talking.

Billups, you know he is.

So he walked up to my dad and he introduced himself. He's like, you know, I'm charging Bill Up. So my dad is always impressed to this day, because it's like he took the time to walk up to a stranger that obviously knew who he.

Was, but he treated everybody the same.

Right, So I say that to say in business and just in life in general, it's I think he's completely underrated.

It's just to be a good purson.

In addition to that, it's like, look at this sets that the two individuals are saying, have had post and there's no, it's no, they've treated people with respect.

And look at this said they had posts. You're right, right, you're right.

So yeah, so do you have any initiatives or how can people contact how can people contact viola website?

Yeah?

Yeah, well, I mean so we're about to So we got some big, big announcements coming up. Hopefully the first one that you first be on. We're on schedule to get that done. So we're potentially bringing somebody on to the company. It's gonna be a huge name for what we're doing. You will follow us on Instagram if iola that lifestyles, follow me and Al Harrington three and just you know, we will obviously do everything through social media. That's the world we live in. You know what I'm saying,

Appreciate that. Short before we go, can you just talk about our Patreon.

Yeah, so Patreon is for those of you who listen. You know that it's always for us to connect with some people who want extra content. It also allows us invite to do things like this, you know, come to LA and touch with people who are doing things in business and in real estate that can help everyone. So one of the things I was saying is like he's having a tough time finding people. Well, you just spoke to a bunch of people right now, probably thinking like, hey,

Yeah, probably pay proaly americanforting. Of course, you see what's our guy. Everybody knows that we reference them every episode.

But yeah, you know, like I said, I alway said, we're gonna.

Give you the information for free, but if you would like to financially support the podcast, that's the way.

We also have merched Our merch shop is up on the website or a lesion dot com. So make sure you got that. We got the assets over life. Sure yeah, season too coming, it's coming at New Collection.

And then and then we want to just thank you guys about like I said, to be you know, a couple of months in and to be ahead of Wall Street.

Journal in Bloomberg and Susie Orman and we we just did it. You know what I'm saying. Now, we have a crazy budget. I have any budget I was like, Yo, we just passed all the shot.

No.

He was like, no, we did.

It just shows how hungry the culture is for financial good financial accountment, right, So we might keep giving you guys some information and we appreciate your support. Before I leave, I always do a book tip. So my boot tip this week is actually the first book that I ever read.

When I was getting into finance, like eighteen years old. His dad, boy dad. Everybody knows that I actually had like the whole thing, like Michael.

Shout out to we had. I'm because that that's a great book. But the first person I heard read it was Mike and I was like, yeah, the first that I heard he's he's a sound.

Big mic.

So when they said that, I was like, his name is not Mike big Home. When he had said he read it, I was like, wow, that's flying me to go read it.

So yeah, that is my book tip of the week. And yeah, thank you for rocking this.

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