Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Sharene Wood, Visionary President & CEO of clothing brands 5001 FLAVORS and Harlem Haberdashery, talks about expanding their business into HH Bespoke Spirits & Marvelous Water

Transcript

Sharene Wood, Visionary President & CEO of clothing brands 5001 FLAVORS and Harlem Haberdashery, talks about expanding their business into HH Bespoke Spirits & Marvelous Water · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she
0:07
Speaker 1: has the secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and
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Speaker 1: Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me
0:13
Speaker 1: advice on many occasions. In the casion didn't notice, I'm
0:16
Speaker 1: not broke. You know, He'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs
0:20
Speaker 1: and industry decision makers. It's what he likes to do,
0:22
Speaker 1: it's what he likes to share. Now it's time to
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Speaker 1: hear from my man, Rashan McDonald. Money Making Conversations. Here
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Speaker 1: we come. Welcome to Money Making Conversations. I'm your host,
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Speaker 1: ras Sean McDonald. It's time to stop reading other people's
0:35
Speaker 1: success stories and start writing your own. I always tell people,
0:38
Speaker 1: always leave with your gifts and don't let your age, friends, family,
0:41
Speaker 1: or co workers stop you from planning, you know, living
0:43
Speaker 1: your dreams. My interviews that I do on Money Making
0:46
Speaker 1: Conversations allows me to bring in celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs, and
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Speaker 1: industry decision makers. My next guest, she's an industry decision maker.
0:55
Speaker 1: She's a celebrity, she's an entrepreneur. She's sharene Woods. She's
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Speaker 1: the president of CEO of the fashion and lifestyle businesses.
1:01
Speaker 1: She operates with her husband, creative director Guy would sen you.
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Speaker 1: They create transferable wealth and legacy through their serial entrepreneurship.
1:09
Speaker 1: You're about to understand what I'm about to say. Sharene
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Speaker 1: has been featured in various media outlets Cafe mom dot com,
1:15
Speaker 1: CBS Posts dot com, New York Daily News, Essence dot com,
1:18
Speaker 1: Good Morning America, and MSNBC dot com, The New York Times,
1:22
Speaker 1: and numerous other press outlets. She is the administrative leader
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Speaker 1: and visionary for her families growing fashion and lifestyle empire.
1:30
Speaker 1: Please work with the money making conversations. Sharne would hello, Hello,
1:36
Speaker 1: thank you, but a great introduction. Is so lovely to
1:40
Speaker 1: see you and showing up so happy, well, thank you.
1:42
Speaker 1: You know we're coming out of COVID nati. You know,
1:44
Speaker 1: I'm happy to see all my friends that be able
1:46
Speaker 1: to come out of this. When you see a number
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Speaker 1: like over half million people uh dying from this uh,
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Speaker 1: this pandemic, you really feel blessed when you talk to
1:55
Speaker 1: people you call your friends. I'm happy to be seen
1:59
Speaker 1: and I to see you. Yes, you are so right.
2:02
Speaker 1: This year has been a lot a lot of personal reflection,
2:06
Speaker 1: a lot of business growth, a lot of strategy, a
2:08
Speaker 1: lot of sitting still, a lot of thinking about how
2:11
Speaker 1: to vibrate on higher levels. So this has been a
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Speaker 1: transformative year for everyone in every sense of the sense
2:17
Speaker 1: of the word. And you know your business is fashion
2:20
Speaker 1: is closed. It is tied to a lot of live events.
2:24
Speaker 1: And then you live in the state that basically shut down.
2:26
Speaker 1: They closed the Broadway, they closed movie theaters in New
2:30
Speaker 1: York City area, which of course affected Harlem as well.
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Speaker 1: Talk about before we get into why we really have
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Speaker 1: you even show to talk about this beverage that I
2:39
Speaker 1: have in front of me and this fantastic wall. I
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Speaker 1: only have one bottle left that I have won't display
2:43
Speaker 1: on my desk right now. But the amazing part about
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Speaker 1: making these transitions but also understanding that your dream is
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Speaker 1: being shut down by something that you can't control, which
2:52
Speaker 1: was COVID nineteen wow. So I think for a lot
2:57
Speaker 1: of business owners the routine of business just immediately stopping
3:03
Speaker 1: was a shock one You you are always prepared for.
3:06
Speaker 1: You should have enough resources for yourself personally for a year,
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Speaker 1: but no one had ever thought for your business. This
3:14
Speaker 1: was almost um an expense that you just didn't think
3:17
Speaker 1: that you would have to maintain a business for almost
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Speaker 1: a year without the regular profit that you have UM
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Speaker 1: mid uh mid twenty. I would never have thought that
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Speaker 1: both of my businesses and then I expanded during a pandemic,
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Speaker 1: but both of my main businesses will be shut down
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Speaker 1: for four months before. You know, a lot of people
3:37
Speaker 1: we talk about a pivot. Before there was a pivot,
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Speaker 1: there was a panic. What's going on. I'm concerned about
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Speaker 1: the safety of my family, my UM community. I had
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Speaker 1: started off dealing with my mom's recent stroke UM so UM.
3:51
Speaker 1: I had already had a medical experience that had taken
3:54
Speaker 1: hold of my life, and I was ultimately half a
3:57
Speaker 1: caregiver from my mom, who was hopefully getting better and
4:01
Speaker 1: recovered from that. I was not prepared UM. I literally
4:05
Speaker 1: had to sit down and restrategize so many different things,
4:08
Speaker 1: and I am so lucky that I was able to
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Speaker 1: and had the forethought UM knowing that I was already
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Speaker 1: changing my business, but COVID made me change it in
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Speaker 1: ways that I didn't know that. I had to limited
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Speaker 1: ability to have in person live events. That was the
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Speaker 1: main source of Harlem Habitactionally, we are very social family.
4:28
Speaker 1: We love social gatherings. Our liquor is built around creating
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Speaker 1: these big um, fabulous events where you can enjoy our cocktails.
4:37
Speaker 1: So we ultimately had to redefine covid. We had to
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Speaker 1: build a robust e commerce platform, We had to build
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Speaker 1: strategies that didn't involve going to meet and do everything virtual,
4:50
Speaker 1: and my customers, for you know, my celebrity customers ultimately
4:54
Speaker 1: had to sit down and some are still sitting down
4:57
Speaker 1: for more than a year because no live events. So
5:00
Speaker 1: we really had to reposition our personalize, our professionalize, our
5:04
Speaker 1: strategies into something that is not gonna be a back
5:08
Speaker 1: to normal. It's going to be a new routine. And
5:10
Speaker 1: I think businesses that thrive are have to restrategize and
5:14
Speaker 1: reposition themselves in every sense of the word. And it's
5:17
Speaker 1: really amazing because when we're talking about well, you you're
5:20
Speaker 1: used to big transitions and the unfortunately one that you
5:23
Speaker 1: can you can control those transitions. When you were from
5:25
Speaker 1: five thousand one flavors to the incredible store that you
5:29
Speaker 1: have in hall and called Hallam Haberdashar, Now let's talk
5:32
Speaker 1: about that transition and then we'll talking about how you
5:34
Speaker 1: always are. I like to believe ahead of the curve.
5:38
Speaker 1: That's what the visionary part of our love about you.
5:41
Speaker 1: You do you sit around, You're not satisfied by your
5:43
Speaker 1: current success. You're always looking at lanes of future success.
5:47
Speaker 1: And then we're gonna get into the spirits in the water.
5:50
Speaker 1: But let's talk about that transition from five thousand one Flavors,
5:53
Speaker 1: which is amazing successful in the hip hop community, to
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Speaker 1: Hallam habadash Tree. Well, one thing I like to tell
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Speaker 1: any entrepreneur is that where I'm at is not where
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Speaker 1: I started. And this it seems like a seamless plan
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Speaker 1: of great strategy and ultimately being an entrepreneur as being
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Speaker 1: ready and available for whatever opportunity comes umo. I started
6:14
Speaker 1: five thousand and one Flavors with my business partner then
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Speaker 1: boyfriend now and husband happily married to Mr guide Wood,
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Speaker 1: creative director of five thousand and one Flavors. It is
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Speaker 1: a creative custom clothing company with designing manufacturer clothes for
6:30
Speaker 1: artists and entertainers to wear on album covers, tours, red carpets,
6:35
Speaker 1: live events, and we've ultimately been doing that for twenty
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Speaker 1: nine years. Next year, in two we are celebrating our
6:42
Speaker 1: thirty If you're in business started as a junior in
6:46
Speaker 1: Columbia University and just started working with any and every
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Speaker 1: mainstream gospel, hip hop, R and B country rock artist
6:54
Speaker 1: that you can imagine, So you can think DJ Khaled,
6:58
Speaker 1: Daddy Yankee, Lady Gaga, uh P Diddy, Mary J. Blige,
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Speaker 1: any and everybody that you know and love and music.
7:06
Speaker 1: We've worked with UM athletes who work in Colin Kaepernick,
7:09
Speaker 1: Lebron James, so we have a long history that's still um,
7:14
Speaker 1: you know, very vibrant. We decided about twenty years ago
7:18
Speaker 1: in twenty UM to start Harlem Habit actually to address
7:26
Speaker 1: the increase in customers who are not celebrities but have
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Speaker 1: their own red carpet moments. So we have a lot
7:30
Speaker 1: of UH customers who love to look great, who love
7:33
Speaker 1: statement pieces. So Harlem Habit actually was our attempt to
7:36
Speaker 1: create a retail experience for people to get that same
7:39
Speaker 1: celebrity treatment. But we knew that Harlem Habit actually always
7:42
Speaker 1: had to be lifestyle. Lifestyle is such a grand category
7:46
Speaker 1: because lifestyle is anything that you love, touching, feeling where
7:51
Speaker 1: on a on a daily basis during your lifestyle. So
7:54
Speaker 1: for us, it was an instant um recognition that we
7:58
Speaker 1: can go from clothing and to home beauty accessories. UM.
8:03
Speaker 1: You know, so anything on your lovely set will be
8:05
Speaker 1: considered lifestyle. You have clothes, you have furniture, you have electronics,
8:09
Speaker 1: and so ultimately, as long as the category that we
8:12
Speaker 1: were in um and categories and different products, as long
8:16
Speaker 1: as it had the same brand aesthetic that delivered quality
8:20
Speaker 1: and bespoke and customization that Harlem Haberdash we had, it
8:23
Speaker 1: was a no brainer for me. So when people say
8:26
Speaker 1: what's the what's the transition? To me, it's kind of seamless.
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Speaker 1: As we work with our clients and they have on
8:32
Speaker 1: these fabulous outfits that we have on we're participating in
8:36
Speaker 1: various celebratory events. Now instead of wearing just out clothes,
8:40
Speaker 1: they're wearing our close in holding our spirit products and
8:44
Speaker 1: the same celebratory events. So it was very seamless for me.
8:48
Speaker 1: And when people think about it, they go, oh, same party,
8:51
Speaker 1: different products, same brand. So I totally thought, um that
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Speaker 1: it knew that lifestyle was where we wanted to go. UM. So, ultimately,
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Speaker 1: transforming from five thousand one to Harlem Have a Dash
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Speaker 1: me the Spirits Spoke sperience wasn't another brand expansion that
9:09
Speaker 1: was a no brainer. Firm me now before we get
9:11
Speaker 1: over to that, because you know, one, you know, I
9:14
Speaker 1: love talking to successful people because they make it seem seamless. Okay,
9:18
Speaker 1: and we know and you know you're so articulated. And
9:21
Speaker 1: because you're talking almost thirty years when you talk, when
9:23
Speaker 1: you talk about next year, and I will definitely be
9:25
Speaker 1: at the shop in thirty years, I'll be knocking on
9:28
Speaker 1: the door because we should be all I'm already vaccinated,
9:31
Speaker 1: so I'm ready to travel now open absolutely, so you'll
9:36
Speaker 1: you'll more likely be seeing me this year in fact
9:38
Speaker 1: up in the New York area because I'm doing a
9:40
Speaker 1: lot of things with Stephen A Smith in that market.
9:42
Speaker 1: But more importantly, when I look at what you're doing,
9:45
Speaker 1: and I always like this whenever I interview you, I
9:47
Speaker 1: would like to slow you down because you're so smooth
9:49
Speaker 1: in your transitions. And what I try to deliver on
9:52
Speaker 1: the show is some type of information, and you dropped
9:55
Speaker 1: nuggets because when you made that transition, was there any
9:59
Speaker 1: degree hesitancy or people question you about making that transition
10:04
Speaker 1: because you said, like you said, the same customers, you know,
10:06
Speaker 1: same customers, You're the same people. But there's always people
10:10
Speaker 1: who say why, So you know, the the problem probably
10:16
Speaker 1: is understanding that, in my mind is seamless. But it's
10:20
Speaker 1: two different industries. So it's not as seamless as it seems,
10:24
Speaker 1: because for me, it's just about introducing my brand to
10:28
Speaker 1: a different industry. The one thing that I know now
10:31
Speaker 1: that I didn't know them because a lot of times
10:33
Speaker 1: you're like, um, I'm fabulous, you know I can do it.
10:36
Speaker 1: I can do all things, is that there's a different
10:39
Speaker 1: set of people that you have to manage, there's a
10:41
Speaker 1: different set of skills, there's a different set of contact
10:45
Speaker 1: that you have to have. So long as you know
10:47
Speaker 1: that you have a commitment to your brand and a
10:50
Speaker 1: product and that that is a process that you have
10:52
Speaker 1: to wade through, it's not a problem. The problem is
10:56
Speaker 1: knowing that one I'm trying to reach a new set
10:59
Speaker 1: of customers in the new category, but I'm telling the
11:02
Speaker 1: same story. I still have a commitment to my brand,
11:06
Speaker 1: and I know that anything that I want to associate
11:08
Speaker 1: it with my brand. I wanted to be quality, I
11:10
Speaker 1: want to be consistent with the product. I want to
11:13
Speaker 1: have a certain brand position, already have a certain price.
11:16
Speaker 1: So I was always committed to the brand but now
11:20
Speaker 1: when I go from a consulting UH Image wardrobe, consulting
11:24
Speaker 1: a five thousand and one to a retail to a
11:27
Speaker 1: spirit those are all different industries. And so what slowed
11:30
Speaker 1: me down and the bumps in the roads are learning
11:33
Speaker 1: that industry and learning the you know who's who, and
11:35
Speaker 1: learning the players and who is your strategic partners. Those
11:39
Speaker 1: are always hard to identifying any business in any industry.
11:43
Speaker 1: But as long as you're committed to delivering a certain
11:46
Speaker 1: product or service, it's just about navigating and finding out.
11:50
Speaker 1: The one thing I like about being in business is
11:53
Speaker 1: that if you are truly with like minded individuals, you
11:56
Speaker 1: really almost have to know who's in your network and
12:00
Speaker 1: who you can access. And so when we talk about
12:04
Speaker 1: spending time with like minded people, were talking about people
12:07
Speaker 1: that can help scale our business, that can help you grow,
12:10
Speaker 1: that can point you to the right person. And so
12:12
Speaker 1: that's why it's important to surround yourself with like minded
12:15
Speaker 1: people that are vibrating on the same level that you are.
12:20
Speaker 1: That's a nugget right there, girl, pulling that out this interview,
12:23
Speaker 1: is sharing it out there because people don't understand, you know,
12:26
Speaker 1: I remember when I stopped managing Steve Harvey in two sixteen.
12:29
Speaker 1: You know, I was struggling to find my footing because
12:33
Speaker 1: I didn't have like minded people around me. I didn't
12:36
Speaker 1: have people who who respected me. I have people who
12:40
Speaker 1: looked at my resume with wow, but I didn't have
12:42
Speaker 1: that support system. And that's all you're talking about. You
12:44
Speaker 1: gotta have people that when you say, hey, I want
12:47
Speaker 1: this idea, they're not always trying to shoot it down.
12:48
Speaker 1: They try to show you how you can be successful,
12:51
Speaker 1: or show you a different route so you can be successful.
12:54
Speaker 1: But it's all about being like minded. You don't know words,
12:57
Speaker 1: you don't surround yourself with haters. That re leads the
12:59
Speaker 1: frustration and also leads to leads to you going doubting yourself.
13:03
Speaker 1: And when you're being an entrepreneur, it's not like I
13:06
Speaker 1: eight to five. You know, eight to five basically you
13:08
Speaker 1: go to the job, they're gonna tell you what you do.
13:10
Speaker 1: You go home, get your launch break, and might complaint
13:12
Speaker 1: all day. You're still gonna get paid. When you're an entrepreneur,
13:15
Speaker 1: you can't complain all day about what you said is
13:17
Speaker 1: your dream? That really is a problem correctory. You have
13:21
Speaker 1: to be so uh or we're thinking problem solving and
13:27
Speaker 1: you really do have to tell the universe what you need.
13:30
Speaker 1: And when I mean tell the universe, that means that
13:33
Speaker 1: if you have a contact that has a certain network,
13:37
Speaker 1: you have to be very honest. You know if this
13:39
Speaker 1: is what I need, and you'd be surprised with that
13:41
Speaker 1: openness and transparency will will will get you a lot
13:45
Speaker 1: of times we sit there with these ideas and we
13:47
Speaker 1: don't tell anyone, Oh, I need an account and I
13:49
Speaker 1: need a I need help, I need a resource. Like
13:52
Speaker 1: minded people are gonna point you in the right direction. Um.
13:56
Speaker 1: I had a great of experien orient when I'm part
14:01
Speaker 1: of a great organization called Support your Girlfriends. I went
14:05
Speaker 1: to a wonderful retreat with some young ladies that I
14:10
Speaker 1: that I became friends with. But we had this great
14:13
Speaker 1: experience with lou send Across and Lucinda says something at
14:16
Speaker 1: a dinner and it and it blew my mind. She
14:19
Speaker 1: was like, everything you need is in the room. And
14:21
Speaker 1: that means that if you're in a great group of
14:24
Speaker 1: people surrounded by like minded that you guys are speaking
14:28
Speaker 1: each other's bringing in names and rooms that you're not in.
14:32
Speaker 1: So when we come together, I Support your Girlfriends and
14:35
Speaker 1: then we go out in the world, it's about thirty
14:37
Speaker 1: of us and someone knows that I'm looking for a
14:39
Speaker 1: liquor distributor, or someone knows that I'm looking for a
14:41
Speaker 1: retail and they connect me. That is what you need
14:44
Speaker 1: need when you need like minded people in your circle,
14:47
Speaker 1: people that are looking for connections, people that are looking
14:50
Speaker 1: for opportunities for you when you're not in the room.
14:53
Speaker 1: And so I've really been blessing this last year to
14:56
Speaker 1: build some great strategic partnerships from work that I've done before,
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Speaker 1: or networks that I've built, what people know that I
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Speaker 1: the AD Council. You know, it's really interesting. Uh. I
17:03
Speaker 1: tell people that, you know, I wish COVID on no one.
17:06
Speaker 1: It was. It was thrust upon us. But I didn't
17:09
Speaker 1: stop thinking. You know, you know, I still paid my staff.
17:12
Speaker 1: I was in position to do that. I would apply
17:15
Speaker 1: for that little p P P long and really angered
17:17
Speaker 1: me so much. Serena, Why why I wish I had
17:22
Speaker 1: stayed on the sideline? Said, I couldn't get it because
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Speaker 1: what they gave me was like, really, where are these
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Speaker 1: people out here out there ripping on people and buying
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Speaker 1: cars and homes and taking a vacation. Why I'm not
17:33
Speaker 1: getting that check? What did they? I don't know what,
17:38
Speaker 1: you know. So when I but the beauty of when
17:41
Speaker 1: I was introducing you, that I wanted to point out
17:43
Speaker 1: to people, it was just the range of media that
17:46
Speaker 1: you crossed. You know, you're not a black town. You know,
17:48
Speaker 1: you're not a person that that fashion is only for
17:51
Speaker 1: urban You your fan fashion university of who I want
17:54
Speaker 1: to point out The New York Times when the point MSNBC.
17:57
Speaker 1: Yes you've been on ebny dot com. Yes you've been
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Speaker 1: on is dot com. But you've also been in New
18:01
Speaker 1: York Daily News. You've also been in humforton Post. When
18:04
Speaker 1: you get that range of media coming to you, how
18:08
Speaker 1: does that allow you to UM promote your business? First
18:12
Speaker 1: of all, and I also develop your point of view
18:14
Speaker 1: for for your for the brand that you're putting out there,
18:16
Speaker 1: which is fashion and now we're gonna go into water
18:19
Speaker 1: and now we're going to go into spirits. So I
18:23
Speaker 1: have been blessed with a celebrity adjacent brand UM. So
18:27
Speaker 1: the second that you can mention Beyonce, jay Z, Mariight Kerry,
18:33
Speaker 1: they want to talk to you. So I I am
18:35
Speaker 1: not um not knowing that that is such a blessing
18:38
Speaker 1: for me. So unfortunately I do have kind of a
18:41
Speaker 1: leg up in terms of press, but I also know
18:44
Speaker 1: it is a great opportunity for me want to tell
18:46
Speaker 1: my story, for me to build a future, UM plan,
18:51
Speaker 1: for me to seek strategic partners. So everything that I
18:54
Speaker 1: want I'll put in the I'll put in the universe.
18:57
Speaker 1: I'm looking for a strategic partner, I'm looking for national distribute,
19:00
Speaker 1: and I'm looking to expand this and so when you
19:02
Speaker 1: speak it, it happens people read. A lot of times,
19:05
Speaker 1: people don't realize that social media, when you press in
19:08
Speaker 1: there are end users who look at that and know.
19:10
Speaker 1: So you're you're you're engaging in a conversation with the
19:14
Speaker 1: unknown when you do press. So I'm always thankful for
19:17
Speaker 1: the great press. I'm always looking for the next thing
19:20
Speaker 1: to talk about, because no one wants to only talk
19:22
Speaker 1: about what you're doing now, what you're doing in the future. Um.
19:25
Speaker 1: I love planning, uh expansion. I love creating my own economy.
19:29
Speaker 1: So for me, the entrepreneur is not just about talking
19:32
Speaker 1: about what you're doing, but what you're going to do.
19:34
Speaker 1: So the platform has allowed us to really think about
19:37
Speaker 1: brand expansion. We love to circle back to some of
19:41
Speaker 1: our favorite favorite press outlets and talk about what we're
19:45
Speaker 1: doing in the future. It becomes something that grows, evolves,
19:49
Speaker 1: and I think COVID made a lot of people, including me,
19:52
Speaker 1: literally sit still and think about everything. Your whole life,
19:55
Speaker 1: your strategy, What are you doing, how are you moving? Um?
19:59
Speaker 1: I felt like I was doing a lot of moving,
20:01
Speaker 1: but I wasn't progressing in some areas. So it allowed
20:04
Speaker 1: me to restrategize, and as much as it was a
20:07
Speaker 1: lot of strategy, unfortunately I had a lot of you know,
20:09
Speaker 1: death in my network and my family. Unfortunately I lost
20:13
Speaker 1: I lost my beloved grandmother, my oldest member of my family,
20:17
Speaker 1: and my beloved niece, the youngest member of my family
20:20
Speaker 1: unfortunately succumbed to a brain um tumor cancer. And so
20:26
Speaker 1: in between all of that tragedy, there was a lot
20:28
Speaker 1: of great success for a lot of businesses, and you
20:31
Speaker 1: you wouldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that my business
20:34
Speaker 1: grew while I was in the house, sitting right in
20:37
Speaker 1: front of my family wall. But it really just allowed
20:40
Speaker 1: me to strategize about what I wanted to do. When
20:44
Speaker 1: we talk about building a transferable business of legacy and wealth,
20:47
Speaker 1: that's really what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to
20:49
Speaker 1: make it better for my daughter who's twelve Sitney. I'm
20:53
Speaker 1: already made it better for my brother, who when I
20:56
Speaker 1: started with twelve, and so I see that becoming an
20:59
Speaker 1: aren't anywhere and creating a platform that my family can
21:03
Speaker 1: benefit from, it's easy. It's easier to to build wealth,
21:07
Speaker 1: it's easier to grow your business is easier to do
21:10
Speaker 1: things when you have a connection. I had no connection
21:13
Speaker 1: to business, I had no network, I had no understanding,
21:16
Speaker 1: I didn't understand how they operate, how they were structured.
21:19
Speaker 1: And so generational wealth is not just about money. It's
21:23
Speaker 1: about information, knowledge, access and resources and creating those networks
21:29
Speaker 1: so that your kids can stay and stand on something
21:31
Speaker 1: so that they're not starting from scratch. That's the goal
21:34
Speaker 1: for me as an entrepreneur, and I see it now
21:37
Speaker 1: after thirty years that it really it is working, and
21:41
Speaker 1: it is something that the next generation and the future
21:43
Speaker 1: generations of my family will benefit from. Change your water,
21:48
Speaker 1: change your life. I'm holding this your water marvelous. Uh
21:52
Speaker 1: why why water? We're gonna get to the beachball, We're
21:55
Speaker 1: gonna get to the spirits a minute. But why because
21:57
Speaker 1: it's a very competitive feel out there. And then people
21:59
Speaker 1: some people look at water's water. You know, what's what's
22:02
Speaker 1: the different drinking water out of water hose or water
22:05
Speaker 1: out of the store. Are you go to office depot,
22:08
Speaker 1: they got their water. You go to you go, you
22:10
Speaker 1: get the water and going to your five gallons and
22:12
Speaker 1: get water out of there for forty cents a galland oh,
22:15
Speaker 1: you have so many options. You have Coca Cola out there, water,
22:18
Speaker 1: so many options at water. You come out and package
22:21
Speaker 1: of fantastic water I've tasted. I had to fight off
22:24
Speaker 1: the rest of my staff. I got one bottle left.
22:26
Speaker 1: I wanted to make sure it lasts for this interview.
22:28
Speaker 1: After this interview, I will be drinking. In fact, I'm
22:32
Speaker 1: gonna bust this over right now. Three okay, cool, I'm
22:35
Speaker 1: gonna I'm gonna send you guys. More So, we briefly
22:38
Speaker 1: got into our rand expansion, and yes we did start
22:42
Speaker 1: to spoke spirits and uh now we are h spoke
22:46
Speaker 1: spirit and beverages. So I'm excited about that. Um so
22:51
Speaker 1: I'm excited about that. So we have a drum agin
22:56
Speaker 1: and let's talk about Le's talk about the water first,
22:58
Speaker 1: because it's as fantastic as you know. Of course, the
23:01
Speaker 1: orderless is uh. It just went down very good. It's
23:05
Speaker 1: something I would prink on the regular basis. But why
23:07
Speaker 1: did you decide to go? Because it says super anted. Uh,
23:10
Speaker 1: it's a AC line water is uh pH is N
23:14
Speaker 1: point five plus change your water, change your life? Well
23:17
Speaker 1: exactly that slogan, right, that means regards to this particular
23:20
Speaker 1: water that you call marvelous. So what actually happened is
23:24
Speaker 1: that we partnered with a family member who had Marvelous Waters.
23:29
Speaker 1: It's an alkaline water product. We partnered with him. He
23:33
Speaker 1: was already in the marketplace but needed needed to scale up,
23:38
Speaker 1: needed to expand, director consumer, needed to expand as national retailers.
23:42
Speaker 1: So Kenneth Marvin Barnes is a family member, so he
23:45
Speaker 1: already had Marvelous Border, so we brought him into our portfolio.
23:49
Speaker 1: As h spoke our spirits and beverages, we expanded some
23:54
Speaker 1: of his sales channels. But it's alkaline border and so
23:56
Speaker 1: for us, it was about having spirits and order, and
24:02
Speaker 1: it wasn't about creating it because it already created. It
24:04
Speaker 1: was about working with a family member of I was
24:07
Speaker 1: who was already in the industry and help until expand it.
24:09
Speaker 1: So it's been a wonderful addition to our portfolio. We're
24:13
Speaker 1: excited to bring it to market. We're expanded to national
24:16
Speaker 1: um to national distribution and nationwide retailers, so we're looking
24:19
Speaker 1: for retailers to expand. But yeah, I will absolutely say
24:23
Speaker 1: you and your staff more so, please don't worry. It
24:27
Speaker 1: won't be the last that the Rashan McDonald's staff get
24:30
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put it in. I'm gonna tell you just
24:32
Speaker 1: what we're gonna do. I'm gonna do you this, you know,
24:34
Speaker 1: because my show right now is uh, it's on YouTube
24:38
Speaker 1: and it's also on podcast. Will come May six, it
24:42
Speaker 1: will be broadcast the Atlantam market two million homes and
24:46
Speaker 1: in the fall will be syndicated. So I'm doing my
24:49
Speaker 1: shows that I tape starting in May six. I'm always
24:52
Speaker 1: complain about being warm in my studio, so I'm gonna
24:55
Speaker 1: keep if you don't mind. If I ain't got to
24:57
Speaker 1: sign a release, I'm gonna keep a bottle of Marvels
25:01
Speaker 1: water on my desk, just like I have it right here,
25:04
Speaker 1: and I was shipping in between interviews. But I need
25:06
Speaker 1: me a little week. So starting May six, May six,
25:10
Speaker 1: right till the day, right just May six, that I
25:12
Speaker 1: will be doing this starting next month, So you are
25:15
Speaker 1: the official water of the morning making conversation host about
25:19
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald. How about that. I love it. Thank you, Roshan.
25:22
Speaker 1: I love you, and I'm gonna send you a bunch
25:24
Speaker 1: of your staff a bunch of the time. So I
25:27
Speaker 1: love it. Refreshing. It's about, you know, optimization, for your health.
25:32
Speaker 1: It's about fleshing your body, it's about living your best life,
25:35
Speaker 1: and I'm all for that. Um. I love the product,
25:38
Speaker 1: which is why I brought it into our portfolio. I love,
25:42
Speaker 1: like I said, to create generational wells, bringing another member
25:45
Speaker 1: into our family, we learn the industry together. Spirits is
25:49
Speaker 1: very different from water, but who doesn't drink water? Everybody,
25:54
Speaker 1: So it's a more diverse customer base that we can reach.
25:58
Speaker 1: Everybody's into living their best life. So change your water,
26:01
Speaker 1: change your life is really about changing from other water
26:04
Speaker 1: products to an alkaline water product that's beneficial, that that
26:08
Speaker 1: you know, flushes your body of toxins that help you
26:11
Speaker 1: live your best life. And our black and brown communities
26:13
Speaker 1: we need every advantage we can in the health field
26:16
Speaker 1: to get rid of some of the healthcare disparities that
26:18
Speaker 1: we suffer from. And so it was a product that
26:21
Speaker 1: was a no brainer to us. Well, it takes fantastic
26:24
Speaker 1: and it's again the official water of money making. Conversation
26:28
Speaker 1: is Marvel started May six on our show starts broadcast
26:32
Speaker 1: on the a IP Network. It's fantastic, Like two billion
26:36
Speaker 1: homes in the North Georgian and Atlanta area and there's
26:39
Speaker 1: four hundred thousand subscribers on their YouTube channels, so and
26:42
Speaker 1: any percent of their audience on their YouTube channel is international.
26:46
Speaker 1: So I love it. So we ship director consumer marvelous
26:51
Speaker 1: waters dot com. We offer it in a six pack,
26:54
Speaker 1: twelve pack, and the twenty four packs, and so we
26:56
Speaker 1: are excited that we have a you know, a bunch
26:59
Speaker 1: of customers throughout the country previously was not distributed directed consumers.
27:04
Speaker 1: That that's been a wonderful sales channel for us. We're
27:06
Speaker 1: super excited. So it's easier to shoot water than spirits,
27:09
Speaker 1: so it's a great addition to our protfolio. Well doing
27:13
Speaker 1: covid uh spirits sales sword they said people was consuming
27:20
Speaker 1: alcohol at a very high rate. So I think you're
27:24
Speaker 1: launching a vodka line coming out of Covid. I think
27:28
Speaker 1: it's perfect because people want to celebrate, people want a
27:31
Speaker 1: good drink. I lively remember many years ago at a
27:34
Speaker 1: very popular comic cloth, So I am very aware of
27:37
Speaker 1: alcohol consumption and the power of vodka is great. So
27:41
Speaker 1: why did you choose vodka? And tell us what is
27:43
Speaker 1: the future of what you're gonna do with this? So
27:46
Speaker 1: in eighteen uh Carlem Habit, actually we expanded into hh
27:51
Speaker 1: Spoke Spirits. We have a rum Agennaa vodka. We've had
27:55
Speaker 1: that wonderful curated collection since eighteen COVID people were home
28:01
Speaker 1: uh quarantinings, you know, sheltering in place, and so sales
28:05
Speaker 1: of a lot of different industries were fantastic. So essentially
28:10
Speaker 1: you went from brick and mortar to click and order,
28:12
Speaker 1: so anything that you can access from home, it was
28:16
Speaker 1: a go. And Spirits, especially Black Spirits, really took off,
28:20
Speaker 1: you know, after the June teenth of celebrations and recognition
28:25
Speaker 1: that we need to support each other. A lot of
28:28
Speaker 1: black companies had a great prosperity and growth and I'm
28:32
Speaker 1: thankful for that. I just wish that we would understand
28:35
Speaker 1: that black businesses and small businesses need support and needs
28:39
Speaker 1: sales outside of a protest, we need to be part
28:41
Speaker 1: of your everyday buying pattern. And so that's sort of
28:45
Speaker 1: a highlighting black business and black business ownership. That's what
28:49
Speaker 1: really made our business really boom. Uh. The Spirits took off.
28:54
Speaker 1: We had a wonderful e commerce partner that came aboard,
28:56
Speaker 1: so now we could shift direct to consumers throughout our
29:00
Speaker 1: hro Spoke spirit dot com website. So we opened up
29:03
Speaker 1: thirty eight more states during the pandemic, so there was growth.
29:06
Speaker 1: Even when they would stay at home, you know, or
29:09
Speaker 1: just be in place. We actually grew because we had
29:11
Speaker 1: access to more demographic around the country. So we were
29:15
Speaker 1: excited to partner with reserve Barum available at hhro spoke
29:19
Speaker 1: Spirits dot com. You can get our products straight delivered
29:22
Speaker 1: to your home. Wow. So again the visionary I've always
29:27
Speaker 1: enjoyed speaking to you. You've already locked out another deal
29:31
Speaker 1: here or just in the end of you that's how
29:33
Speaker 1: good you are. You know you appreciate it. Talking about
29:37
Speaker 1: this is about opening your mouth. It's about connecting. It's
29:40
Speaker 1: about telling someone what you need or one I I
29:44
Speaker 1: contact you said, I need a forum to talk about
29:46
Speaker 1: my product. You need customers, you need someone to come
29:50
Speaker 1: on your show. So it really is about having a strategy,
29:53
Speaker 1: and a strategy as simple as an act a request.
29:57
Speaker 1: And so when you're in business, these are the type
29:59
Speaker 1: of things that you have to do. I tell a
30:01
Speaker 1: lot of people that have a business like you're staying
30:04
Speaker 1: too small because you're not opening up yourself to the universe.
30:07
Speaker 1: If you need sales, you need to talk to people
30:10
Speaker 1: um and that that's all sometimes what you need to
30:13
Speaker 1: do as a plan, and I ask, and you'd be surprised.
30:16
Speaker 1: Sometimes people say yes when you ask them a question. Well,
30:19
Speaker 1: first of all, soon as Samantha Commin said, miss Woods
30:21
Speaker 1: want to come back on your show, and said, fine,
30:23
Speaker 1: what she wants to talk about? Because I know she's
30:25
Speaker 1: not gonna call me just to talk. And so when
30:27
Speaker 1: I heard about the water, got shipped out of taste it.
30:29
Speaker 1: But more importantly, you know you can ask, but it
30:32
Speaker 1: tastes if you know, you know, it's it's hard to
30:35
Speaker 1: say the word taste the water because water not supposed
30:38
Speaker 1: to have a taste, but it's supposed to feel good.
30:40
Speaker 1: It's supposed to make you feel relaxed, all those things
30:44
Speaker 1: of what I felt when I dropped the water. That's
30:45
Speaker 1: where it Immediately. I didn't even have a thought of
30:48
Speaker 1: saying I was gonna make this water part of my
30:50
Speaker 1: show and have it sit on my desk because my
30:52
Speaker 1: staff is no, I'm always complaining because they were laughing.
30:55
Speaker 1: But you're coming in with these four piece suits. You know,
30:57
Speaker 1: you know you're always hot, because I was turning this at,
31:00
Speaker 1: turn on this at before we start recording. And so
31:02
Speaker 1: but this allows me to comfortably enjoy myself. Also promote
31:06
Speaker 1: a friend because I've always consider your friend and you're
31:08
Speaker 1: a guy who I love to deaf and can't wait
31:10
Speaker 1: to see you guys this summer. Definitely in the fall
31:13
Speaker 1: and visit your shop and everything. But again, get those
31:16
Speaker 1: banners up to me again. Starting May six, this will
31:19
Speaker 1: be there on my desk on every episode that airs
31:22
Speaker 1: every Thursday night at nine pm in the Atlanta market
31:25
Speaker 1: on a i B TV. There right now in over
31:28
Speaker 1: two million homes, So rich Woods. Again, it's about you
31:32
Speaker 1: being smart enough to open your mall. You're being smart
31:35
Speaker 1: enough to deliver a product that a customer wants. And
31:38
Speaker 1: I consider myself a customer not only in the water,
31:41
Speaker 1: but in the b spoke. This vodka is fantastic as well.
31:44
Speaker 1: My staff. When I leave the building, leave this room,
31:46
Speaker 1: they're gonna be grabbing me. Now. Can we have it? Now?
31:49
Speaker 1: Can we have it? No? No, I have this. I'm
31:52
Speaker 1: telling what I have this. I'm gonna send your picture.
31:54
Speaker 1: I have it in my trophy case with my Emmy's
31:58
Speaker 1: and my Image Award. That's how much I value my
32:02
Speaker 1: relationship with this is you said this to me. It
32:04
Speaker 1: is not being open in that camera, send your picture
32:07
Speaker 1: and show it to you that I'm telling you the
32:09
Speaker 1: truth is in my trophy case and it's a big
32:12
Speaker 1: one that has some of my top honors. And I
32:14
Speaker 1: considered you contacted me by launching a black on. It's
32:18
Speaker 1: a spirit like this should be recognized and helldo too.
32:21
Speaker 1: And they can go drinking on their own time, Okay,
32:24
Speaker 1: not in my cabinet, thank you. So I am gonna
32:26
Speaker 1: send the rum gin so they can sit side by side,
32:31
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna send your staff some because I know
32:33
Speaker 1: they're looking at you, like, come on, broy, But I
32:37
Speaker 1: was just letting you know when you send it, it's
32:39
Speaker 1: gonna be a pitch you're gonna be taking. It's not
32:41
Speaker 1: gonna be touched. It's gonna be a Resharce Award winning case.
32:46
Speaker 1: People he respected love and visionaries, and I consider you
32:49
Speaker 1: a visionary. Okay, I love that. Thank you so much,
32:52
Speaker 1: and thank you for all of your visionary work. I mean,
32:55
Speaker 1: it is sometimes hard for people to to change what
32:58
Speaker 1: they know, and I think being an entrepreneurs is literally
33:01
Speaker 1: going on a trip that you don't know where you're
33:03
Speaker 1: gonna wind up. And that's the hardest thing for people
33:06
Speaker 1: is having that faith, and so I think every person
33:09
Speaker 1: that you showcase on your show that tells people to
33:12
Speaker 1: think outside the box gives them one step closer to
33:15
Speaker 1: that freedom that we all as entrepreneurs feel. Thank you.
33:18
Speaker 1: We're talking soon. If we want to hear more Money
33:20
Speaker 1: Making Conversation interviews, please go to Money Making Conversation dot
33:23
Speaker 1: com or my YouTube chap Ra Sean McDonald, I am
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