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- [00:00]
Carlos Miller
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Will Lucas
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- [00:38]
Beatrice Dixon
Panoramic moonroof, ambient lighting, bows and massaging leather. Appointed seats are optional features.
- [00:43]
Carlos Miller
Taking control of your career is empowering. Just don't tell my boss I said that. Just kidding. I am the boss. This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. And building a career isn't just about a job. It's about creating a path that impacts our community and and future generations. Whether you're starting out or even making big moves, State Farm is here to support you with resources to help protect what you're working hard to achieve. They've got your back every step of the way because like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Find out more@state farm.com in business they say you can have better, cheaper or faster. But you only get to pick two.
- [01:21]
Beatrice Dixon
What if you could have all three.
- [01:23]
Carlos Miller
At the same time? That's exactly what Cohere, Thomson Reuters and Specialized Bikes have since they upgraded to the next generation of the cloud. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure OCI is the blazing fast platform for your infrastructure, database, application development and AI needs where you can run any workload in a high availability, consistently high performance environment and spend less than you would with other clouds. How is it faster? OCI's block storage gives you more operations per second cheaper. OCI costs up to 50% less for computing, 70% less for storage and 80% less for networking better. In test after test, OCI customers report.
- [02:05]
Beatrice Dixon
Lower latency and higher bandwidth versus other clouds.
- [02:09]
Carlos Miller
This is the cloud built for AI and all your biggest workloads right now with zero commitment. Try OCI for free. Head to oracle.com strategic that's oracle.com strategic My dad works in B2B marketing, but.
- [02:24]
Beatrice Dixon
I never really knew what that meant.
- [02:26]
Carlos Miller
Then one day my dad came by.
- [02:28]
Beatrice Dixon
My school for career day and told.
- [02:30]
Carlos Miller
Everyone in my class he was a big roaz man. Then he just kept saying things like the bigger the roas the better over and over My friends still laugh at me to this day. I think it means calculating a return on ad spend. One thing's for sure. I'll be known as the Roaz man's kid for the rest of my days. Why couldn't you just be a fireman or a lawyer? Why? You ruined my life, dad.
- [02:56]
Beatrice Dixon
Not everyone gets B2B. But LinkedIn has the people who do. And with ads on LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people based on job title, industry, likelihood to buy, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com customer to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com customer. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn the place to be.
- [03:21]
Carlos Miller
To be.
- [03:24]
Will Lucas
I'm Will Lucas and this is Black tech Green Money. Beatrice Dixon is the co founder, CEO and chief Innovation officer of the Honey Pot Company, a game changing feminine wellness brand that started with the dream, literally. From launching with a $21,000 loan to building a multi million dollar business stocked in major retailers, V has navigated the challenges of fundraising as a black woman, scaled the company without losing its soul and remained unapologetic about her vision for success. So I'm very interested in your take on this because I've lived by this idea of not being romantic about business. And I read that you also practice unromantic relationships with business. And you know, you say, like, don't look at your business as your baby. You know, I've read what you said. So many of us start because we're so passionate about the idea. So how do you, how do you admonish us to think about that?
- [04:23]
Carlos Miller
I think that, you know, because some, you know, every now and again somebody asked me, do I have kids? I don't have kids. You know, and they'll be like, well, your. Your business is your kid. I'm like, I mean, yeah, kind of, you know, but at the same time, our businesses are not our kids. Our businesses are businesses. They're here to make us money. They're here to provide goods and services to human beings that we serve. You know, I think that it's really important to. I think it's really important to give respect to what a business is. But I also understand that it takes a lot of you. It takes a lot of your soul, a lot of your energy, a lot of your, you know, especially when you're really trying to do the thing, you know, you give it all you have. So naturally it Feels personal, right? Because, you know, a lot of the shit is personal. You know, you have to sacrifice a lot when you're really, really, really in business. Like when things are really at scale and you're growing and moving and shaking and raising money and, you know, in a lot of retailers or, you know, you've got a huge brand online or whatever, it requires a lot of you. So it's like, on one hand, I understand that for the people that do it every day, it's not just business. There is a personal element to it. And on the other hand, we have to understand what the purpose of business is. Especially this is something in the black community, you know, because we are held to a standard that frankly is not able to be. You know, it's a standard that's not reality. You understand what I'm saying? It's not based in reality. It's based a lot in emotion. You know, we don't necessarily always see ourselves as just business people. We see ourselves as black business people, when in fact, we're just business people like everybody else is. You understand what I'm saying?
- [06:43]
Will Lucas
100%.
- [06:44]
Carlos Miller
And so even though the world wants to put us in that box, we have to do a better job of unconditioning ourselves to stay in that box. And, you know, because we're just trying to run our shit like everybody else is. Right? And so that's another part of it that's really hard because, you know, we. We grow up, we scale, we raise money, we do all the things. But what happens when you raise money and do all the things? You have to have some kind of strategic partnership. You have to have a way for your shareholders to be able to come become whole on their investment as well as yourself.
- [07:24]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [07:25]
Carlos Miller
You don't get rich. You know, I'm not saying that some companies don't, but typically, you're. You can be. You can be. Let me rephrase this. You're not getting wealthy off of being a business owner. You might become rich.
- [07:41]
Will Lucas
Okay? Okay.
- [07:42]
Carlos Miller
And when I'm. When I'm. When I'm talking about rich, you may have money in the. In the bank. You know, you might. You might be able to stack a couple million, right? But having the ability to stock 20 plus in your bank account, which is fu. Money, right, where it can just sit there, you never have to think about it, and you can just earn off of interest. You can just live off of that forever and ever. You understand what I'm saying? Having the ability to do that means that some sort of an event is happening, Right. Some sort of a strategic event? Is it that you've been acquired by a private equity fund? Is it that you've been acquired by a conglomerate? Is it that you took your company to be to ipo, you know, and you were able to let it sit long enough and actually be able to make money off of that? Right?
- [08:39]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [08:39]
Carlos Miller
These are the things that we have to do in business. Our skin color and what's between our legs shouldn't matter. But. But this is another way that I think business is romanticized and emotion emotionalized. I don't even know that that's a reason or a word. Right. But, you know, but you understand what I'm saying? Like, we have to, we have to stop. I shouldn't say we have to do this is just my opinion. I. I think that we need to do a better job of respecting what it takes to make this shit happen, because it takes a lot. And if you're lucky enough, which most companies, whether you're white, purple, brown, green, most companies will never, ever, ever experience what that is to go through some sort of an event like that because it just doesn't happen every day. But we shouldn't be penalized because we. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like, we shouldn't be in a position where investors are afraid to invest in us or strategics are afraid to acquire us because of what the community is going to say. You know, I think that that's another way that business has been romanticized because once you do it, then. Then you're penalized for doing it. And that's not really cool because you're just doing what you have to do in order to run your business and in order to, you know, go through the motions of what it means to take in venture capital or private equity money.
- [10:15]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [10:15]
Carlos Miller
The day you do that, that's the day that you've just signed that you've just, you've just signed the dotted line to say that you're either either selling your company or your. Ipoing it.
- [10:24]
Will Lucas
Yeah. Yeah.
- [10:25]
Carlos Miller
Right?
- [10:27]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [10:27]
Will Lucas
I think I'm gonna throw away all the questions I have prepared and just let the spirit move me on this one.
- [10:32]
Carlos Miller
No problem.
- [10:32]
Will Lucas
This was this. Okay. Okay. So I think listening to at least the beginning of your talk, your statement there that so many of us get into whatever business we start because we're so passionate about it. And I wonder, your take on, do we even have to be passionate? But, oh, can we also be opportunistic also? Like our counterparts might be, they Just see an opportunity and go. Because I see an opportunity.
- [10:59]
Carlos Miller
Yeah, yeah, I think, I think. Sorry, I didn't mean to.
- [11:05]
Will Lucas
No, no, go ahead.
- [11:06]
Carlos Miller
Were you done with your question?
- [11:07]
Will Lucas
No, no, I didn't really have a question, but I wanted to have this conversation.
- [11:10]
Carlos Miller
Yeah, I absolutely think that there's businesses that are what they are, you know, because of opportunity. Look at Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, right? There may be somebody wealthier, but like, you know, he, he's high up, right? He, he got to where he is because he saw an opportunity, right?
- [11:36]
Will Lucas
Do you see enough of us doing that or is. Because I believe, at least from my perspective, that we are more taught, like what do you care about? What are the things that move you and then go start a business off that.
- [11:48]
Carlos Miller
Yeah, I, I, I actually agree with you, right? We are brought up to care about things. We are brought up to feel responsible for what we put into the world. To, you know, we're, we're more, we're, I don't want to say more. We're a communal community, right? We, we, that those types of things are important to us. So I'm not going to say what, what anybody should or shouldn't do, you know, I'm kind of both and I can only speak for myself, right? I'm very much passionate about what I do. I think that this is part of the reason why I was put on this planet is to do what I do. I have, I am very lucky to have found my passion, right? I am very lucky to have found what, what my purpose is on this planet, right? For me to be alive, I feel that way. And you know, I am a conscious capitalist, right? I do believe in wealth. I do believe, you know, I do believe in what it can do for you. I believe in how it can change your life. I believe in how it can change others lives, you know, And I, and I, I deeply believe in business and what, the capacity of running a business, how that can make you wealthy and how if you do that right, and with the right responsibility and the right care and the right love, you can do all those things, be wickedly successful or wildly successful rather, and still care, right? So you can, because you have to, if you want to be successful in business, you have to be opportunistic. You have to be able to see the shit that most people don't see. You have to be able to be able to be like, huh, you know, you have to be able to see a white space. You have to see 20 steps ahead. You have to know the direction that something is going. Right. So you have to be. I believe that you have to be both. Right. I believe that. I believe that, and I. I'm not projecting that onto anybody else. But as it relates to me, I believe that being able to be opportunistic and also being able to be relatable and also being able to be responsible and loving and caring, because I make products that people use on their bodies, that people use on their vaginas. Right. That's not something that I think is to be taken lightly. So that has to be done with a lot of care, love, responsibility. That has to. You know, because we're not just making things for people to use. Like, there have. There has to be beautiful energy infused into these products, so it's actually helping to heal their lives. Yeah, that. You know, and that. That's a very esoteric view of business, but that's how I see it, you know, which. Which makes the way we run our business very special and beautiful and hard, you know, But. But yeah, to answer your question, I think you need to be both.
- [15:09]
Will Lucas
Have we dangerously over, no pun intended, romanticized raising money?
- [15:16]
Carlos Miller
I think we have.
- [15:18]
Will Lucas
How so?
- [15:20]
Carlos Miller
Because it was too easy to raise it over the past, you know, call it, you know, for when all the humans, you know, starting with. Starting with George Floyd, even though this has been happening for thousands of years, the brutality and killing of black men, Right. The world saw it. Everybody wanted to do something. Nobody was doing anything else because Covid had happened. So we were all sitting at home, so everybody only had the ability to pay attention. Well, what happened from that? De Diversity, equity and inclusion happened. Companies were sprouting up whole departments around it. Right. You know, venture capitalists and investors, all types of investors, were putting together funds for bipoc humans. Not just for black people, just humans, you know, diverse humans all the way around. Whether that meant, you know, think of all the different cultures and ethnicities, LGBTQ community, veterans, women. You know, I think money was just falling from the sky. Everybody could just go out and raise it. Even if you just started your business, that's not really the time to raise money, because you don't even really know what you have yet. Right. I think that raising money. I don't think that we shouldn't have access to money that's out there. You know, I'll speak now for. For. For our race as black people. I think that access should just be. Should just access. Should be access. It shouldn't have to. There shouldn't have to be funds that are focused on only black and brown humans. It's doesn't matter because it needs to be right because this is the world we live in, you know, but, you know, I, I am very much a believer and know how hard it is to raise money and how hard it should be to raise money because you, you literally ha. You literally are asking people whether it's angel investors who. That's typically money that they've made in their life that they're taking out of their bank account to invest in your business. Right. Those are typically the first ones that invest. Right. Then there's venture capital, which in my mind you shouldn't be going. I don't personally believe that it's time to get venture capital money until you've actually proven that you have something. Because venture capital money typically comes with rules. And I'm not saying that, you know, seed capital and all those things aren't important because they are. But I just, I personally think that when it comes to bringing capital into the business, you should know what you have. You should know where it's going. Right. You should know how you're going to invest it, how you're going to grow your team, all those different types of things. And I think for a few years money was just falling out of the sky and people didn't necessarily have the education. I mean, I can say that because at one point we didn't have the education. Yeah, right. You know, and my, my brother, sire, I remember I would used to say to him, bro, we need to raise some money. And he was like, we don't need to raise no money yet. What are we raising it for? We like, we're, we're selling on our, on a website and to some, into some small natural stores. We don't need no money. When Target came, that's when he was like, okay, now we need some money.
- [19:11]
Will Lucas
Yeah, right.
- [19:12]
Carlos Miller
Because now we have, we have somewhere to hang our hat. Like we, that when, when, when a mass market retailer comes, that's when you have the ability to really scale your business because they've got thousands of doors. Right? So, you know, I, I mainly speak for cpg, which you can. Is consumer packaged goods. You know, I don't believe that people should raise money in CPG until they've at least figured out how to make a million dollars on their own. Right. I just, you know, maybe I'm old school for believing that, but I think that it's important for you to understand the logistics, the operations. What do you actually need the money for? Where is it going, if you figured out how to make a million, you can figure out how to make 10. You understand what I'm saying?
- [20:04]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [20:05]
Carlos Miller
And so, you know, I, I do think that it was over romanticized, but it was also a beautiful thing because so many people, you know, the gap was able to, to kind of be filled a bit. But the problem is, is that a lot of those brands that were getting all that money, where are they today?
- [20:29]
Will Lucas
Yeah. Yeah.
- [20:30]
Carlos Miller
Because it kind of sets you up for failure if you, if you don't know how you're going to execute those funds and actually grow the thing. You understand what I'm saying? So if you getting money is just a very small fraction of it, you have, you, you have to. And having an investor that wants to be more to you than just money is also equally important. They need to be investing in helping you build your leadership team, which helps you build out the rest of your. They need to be invested in helping you understand how you're going to operationally run your business. Right. They need to be invested in, you know, regulatory and helping you understand what that roadmap is and how you're going to grow it. You know, because even if you just make a face wash at this point, it's it the way that the FDA is moving, everything is heavily regulated.
- [21:27]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [21:27]
Carlos Miller
You understand what I'm saying?
- [21:29]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [21:29]
Carlos Miller
And so if you don't have the tools and the resources to understand how to do these things, it makes it very hard for you to make money, you know?
- [21:40]
Will Lucas
Yeah. What is the difference between what you did or what you see as a, as a better roadmap versus people who make a potion, do it in their kitchen, sell it out of their kitchen, sell it out of their trunk, you know, quote unquote proverbial trunk. And they don't get past that.
- [22:00]
Carlos Miller
Hey, fam. This is Carlos Miller from the 85 South Show. If you're like me, you're always thinking about how to level up your career. Maybe you're fresh out of college, just starting in your field, or even looking to switch things up and find your true calling. Whatever stage you're in, remember that this is your time to grow, to learn, and to build something that lasts. State Farm understands that early career development is key to long term success. They've been a steady presence in our community and they know having the right support early can make all the difference. State Farm is there to help you make smart moves and to help you get the coverage you need. We all know that the journey to success is a marathon not a sprint. It's all about staying focused, staying grounded, and making sure you're protected every step of the way. Let's build our careers with confidence, knowing that State Farm is there to support us, just like they've always been. Because, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there first. Find out more@state farm.com hey, it's Ryan.
- [22:54]
Beatrice Dixon
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- [24:17]
Carlos Miller
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- [24:20]
Beatrice Dixon
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- [26:15]
Carlos Miller
I I think because we were that right. We, we started in our kitchen selling it out of our trunk. I you know, honestly, some of it, some of it is luck, some of it is the know how. You know. Like I I was lucky enough to be I worked in Whole Foods as a salesperson in Whole Body. So I knew how to talk to a customer. Right. My brother was my, you know, is my co founder. He, he was an accountant so he knew how to deal with money. He knew how to talk to high, high net worth individuals. Right. Linda had worked in marketing. She's one of our other original co founders. Not necessarily with the business anymore but you know, she, she knew how to build. At that time we considered her to be our cmo, right. But we were young so we, we were just, you know, we were just creating titles. Yeah, that's another thing you do when you're young, right? As a business owner. But I, I think we, we as a collective had the know how within our respective fields because it's what we did every day, you know. And then, and then after I worked at Whole Foods, I went on to be A broker. So I knew how to talk to a buyer.
- [27:53]
Will Lucas
Okay.
- [27:54]
Carlos Miller
You know what I mean? So I think, you know, I think some of it's luck. I think some of it's having the know how of how to like at least be able, whether it's going into a small retailer or a big one, knowing how to talk to them, knowing what they're looking for. I think, you know, it requires a lot of grit. I think having access and having something really, it goes down to mostly is having a product that has the ability to really catch fire and really go, you know, like it's, it's having a product that people need, I think on an everyday basis. I think that that's also something to it. And again, I can only speak to this in cpg. I don't, you know, it's what I know. You know what I mean? But I think, you know, I think it's a combination of a lot of things, you know, and some people have really dope products that people do use every day. But it's just so hard because there's so many products out in the world. It's just so hard to get off the ground. Some people have all that stuff and they, they may still never be able to get it to where we have it. It's not because what I have is better than what they have. I think also it's also about what's in order for you in your life, you know, and some of those things can't, you know, aren't predetermined. You know, some things you just. It just kind of is what it is. So that doesn't make it a bad thing or a good thing. It's just a thing. You know, some people will continue to do the same thing for the next 10 years and maybe they don't get past a few hundred thousand, maybe they can crack a million, but it's hard for them to get past that, you know, and that, that's that. And that's not a bad thing because that means you still have something. You understand what I'm saying?
- [29:57]
Will Lucas
Yeah, I think that's the question that I ask about. Like our relationship with raising money is like if you look pre Covid and George Floyd and almost because we're post Covid and George Floyd now, we've. Because we romanticized what TechCrunch was talking about, this company raised oh, my camera. I might have switched cameras, but I'm gonna get this question out first because they're recording. The concept of raising money was glamorized when you saw these companies raise a million dollars, you know, $500,000, then we start to think that that's the goal and profit isn't the goal. And I'd love to hear you speak to that.
- [30:35]
Carlos Miller
Right, right. Profit is the goal all the way, every day. You know, it used to be, it used to be that profit. You know, you think of like the Dollar Shave Clubs of the world. You know how they were able, they had the ability to scale their business, I don't know, to like 150 million or something like that. And then they were able to sell to. I think they sold to Unilever or somebody like that for like a billion dollars. I don't know that they were necessarily profitable. Right. But they came up at a time. Right. Where profitability was not necessarily what the Strategics were looking for. Yeah, yeah, they, what they were, what they were excited about when it came to Dollar Shave Club is the fact that they had over a million subscribers. Right?
- [31:26]
Will Lucas
Yeah, yeah.
- [31:27]
Carlos Miller
And that, and that was a time when direct to consumer was really hot. Right. Subscriptions were also a hot thing at that time. You know, now we're at a time where, you know, I mean, we all saw what happened when we were. Yeah, right. That shit was wild. Right?
- [31:48]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [31:50]
Carlos Miller
You know, and I'm in. Those guys are going to be fine. You know, they're going to just go out and do a million other things and be wickedly successful, you know. But now I think that it's really important to Strategics that it make that, that companies do have a, do have. At least if you're not profitable, you have a lot like you, you, you've got, you've got us, you've got the. What's the word I'm looking for? You at least have profitability in your view. You may not be profitable yet, but you have to be able to tell the story how you're going to get over there. Right?
- [32:32]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [32:32]
Carlos Miller
You know, you, you, you, you know, you have to be making a decent margin and these are things that you want anyway. Even if, even if the world was still the same back when Dollar Shave Club was able to go out and sell their company for billions of dollars or whatever. Just because we see that in my mind, it's better of you to be a responsible business person and make sure that you have a company that, that's making a great margin that's got this. Able to put money in the bank. Right. Because money in the bank gives you access to lines of credit. It makes you a sexy, it makes you sexy to be able to go out into the world when it is time to raise money, to be able to raise that money, it makes it so that your investors know that because you've already built the. You've already kind of put yourself in a position where you've built your business to be profitable. You've built your business to be lean, effective, to be able to drive revenue, to be able to print money, right?
- [33:45]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [33:45]
Carlos Miller
When you build a business from that point of view, that's going to make it. So whatever you decide in the future. Right. Especially if you've brought in private equity or venture capital money, knowing that you're going to have to have some sort of an event that makes it so that you've built the muscle to be able to go out to market, to be able to potentially sell to a strategic. Or to be able to go out and IPO. Because IPOing is really hard, right? You know, I know. I mean, I've got a. Several friends that have IPO'd, you know, some of them are, have, have penny stocks right now. You understand what I'm saying? That's not a terrible thing. It is what it is. But it's a very hard market to be in because everybody is in your business. And at that point. Right. All it takes is one viral moment that can make the stock plummet. You know, and so, you know, amongst many other things, you know, all the, all the regulations, all the things you have to uphold on a monthly, daily basis, it's wild. So, you know, I think building the muscle to be profitable, to be lean, to make sure you're, you're covering a high margin, to understand your business inside and out is really important. You know, building that muscle from the beginning is really important because that's where, that's where we are at this point. I think the strategics of the world learned that profitability is actually really important because you have. Because that tells them that you have a business.
- [35:21]
Will Lucas
Yeah, yeah. You know, what is missing? Like when you see these conversations around and you don't have to say the name, but I'll say the name Target and you see that, you see all these things happening. What's missing from that conversation that you wish we understood? Because we're all looking at the targets and you, like, y' all need to understand this, but what should we understand?
- [35:45]
Carlos Miller
I think the thing that's important to understand, I'm not going to speak from a target point of view because I'm not, you know, my brand isn't Target. We, we. We sell There. I think what's important to understand in a time like this is what it takes to get the opportunity to be in a Target. What it takes to get on shelf at Target. What it takes even bigger than that. Because getting on the shelf is. Is actually. It's not easy, but it's easy. What's hard is staying there.
- [36:27]
Will Lucas
Okay.
- [36:28]
Carlos Miller
And what's really hard is when your business is not. When your velocities aren't growing and turning, when you're not meeting your dollars per store per week. Right. When your sales are down, you know, when your cells are down and then when. You know, and then when. How do I give this example without alienating anything? When you're. When, when you. As a brand. Not, not just honeypot, just in general. Right. When your numbers may be down due to what's happening. Yeah, Right. But they're actually seeing that their numbers aren't so down it makes it look like your numbers are down because of another reason, when in fact your numbers are probably down because of what's actually happening.
- [37:31]
Will Lucas
Right, right. I got.
- [37:36]
Carlos Miller
Makes it hard for brands to be able to survive in a space like that.
- [37:40]
Will Lucas
They don't take into account the landscape.
- [37:42]
Carlos Miller
You have to take into account the whole landscape of things, what it takes to get on shelf. Like a lot of people are talking about right now how they're seeing a lot of the brands marked down. People are saying, you know, they're seeing a lot of the black brands markdown. Right. Well, right now is the time right before they're about to launch all their new stuff on the shelf. So quite naturally, typically the things that are going to be discontinued off the shelf are happening right now. So what do they do? They mark it down. They try to sell through it until right before they're going to. They're going to set the shelf for the rest, for the new things that are going to come on shelf because you have to make space on shelf for the new stuff. Right?
- [38:32]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [38:33]
Carlos Miller
But the average person doesn't know that. To them, they think, oh, they just made an announcement about DE&I and now they're marking down all these brands and throwing all these brands out. That's not the case. These brands were going to be marked down whether they continue their DE and I practices or not, because you have to make room on the shelf. Because some of these brands probably have new innovation coming or some of them maybe weren't meeting their requirements. Right. There's. There's a multitude of reasons why a brand has to discontinue things or why they have to come off shelf. Why? Because it's really hard to be in mass market retail. It's very, very, very, very, very hard. Right. There's a real art to it. There's a real intellectual side to it. There's. It's heavily operational, it's heavily logistical. You know, it's heavy with trade spend. You know, not understanding trade spend can literally murder your business. You could have, you could have a million dollars worth of purchase orders and only get paid back a hundred thousand. Because it may have been late, may not have showed up. It may have not showed up on time. It may not have been stickered the right way. It may, like there's so many things that can happen that can cause for them to just charge, you charge, you charge, you charge. You understand what I'm saying? The chargebacks, right? And so, you know that. So trying not to. Trying not to. Even though they just made the announcement that they made. Trying not to make everything so literal because some of these things are just things that just not like we were talking about earlier. These are just things that just naturally happen in business. Right. It's not, it's not that they had a plan to let some of these companies go. They are literally making space on the shelf for new products that are about to be launching. Because April, May.
- [40:29]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [40:30]
Carlos Miller
Is the time. Right. And so, you know, so it's. So. I mean, some of what I mentioned is something I think that needs to be taken into account. I think the biggest thing that needs to be taken into account is to not make brands pay for something that a retailer chooses. But I also understand that, like cert, companies don't necessarily always listen until their bottom line is affected. And so I also understand the point of these things, you know, so I, so I also want to, I also want to preface what I'm saying with. You also have to make your own decision about what you want to do. Some of the things that I'm saying is just my own opinion, but I'm not trying to tell people what they should do. You have to choose where you want to shop, where you want to spend your money, who you want to spend your money with. I just think that it's important to understand the plight of a business owner who is essentially renting real estate from Target, from Walmart, from, from these, you know, these retailers in order for us to run our business. It's not. If we were, if, if, if you tried to just pull your products out of a Target that literally would be deaf to your brand by A million cuts, right? Because you, you wouldn't survive. You, you don't just pull your products out. They charge you to pull those products out.
- [42:01]
Will Lucas
Wow.
- [42:02]
Carlos Miller
And then what are you gonna do? Some people say, well, you can just sell your products online. Well, when you sell products online, that's only one store you have to pay for. You have to pay your, your 3 PL fees. You have to pay for shipping one one. Unless you have a product that, that is an expensive product, it's very hard to make money direct to consumer. It's a misnomer to say people, it's a misconception. People think that you make so much money by selling direct to consumer. But if you make a product that's under $20, I'm sorry to tell you, that's just not the case. Hey fam, if you're like me, you're thinking about how to level up in your career. Maybe you're fresh out of college, just started in your field, or even looking to switch things up and find your true calling. Whatever stage you're in, remember that this is your time to grow, to learn, and to build something that lasts. State Farm understands that early career development is key to long term success. They've been a steady presence in our communities and they know that having the right support early on can make all the difference. State Farm is there to help you make smart moves and to help you get the coverage you need. We all know the journey to success is a marathon, not a sprint. It's about staying focused, staying grounded, and making sure you're protected every step of the way. Let's build our careers with confidence, knowing that State Farm is there to support us, just like they've always been. Because like a good neighbor State forum is there. Find out more@stateforum.com hey, it's Ryan Seacrest.
- [43:36]
Beatrice Dixon
For Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th, score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kinder Bueno Cheesy Crackers, Oscar Meyer lunchables and Just Bear chicken bites. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health, but what about our sexual health? I've been there feeling totally stuck when it comes to my libido. That's why I started taking Addi and let me tell you, I have seen firsthand what a difference it can make in how you feel. Addi is the only FDA approved pill clinically proven to help certain premenopausal women have more interest in in sex, have more satisfying sex and lower the stress from low libido. ADDI has helped hundreds of thousands of women get their drive back, including me. Talk to your doctor or visit a d d y I.com to learn more about Addy, the Little Pink Pill. Individual results may vary. Addi or Flibanserin is for premenopausal women with Acquired Generalized Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder HSDD who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past who have had low sexual desire. No matter the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner, this low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in the relationship or medicine or other drug use. ADDI is not for use in children, men or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks. Close in time to your ADDI dose. Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking ADDI at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC or herbal medications or have liver problems and can happen when you take ADDI without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you are allergic to any of Addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur. Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and dry mouth. See full PI and medication guide including boxed morning at addy.com PI addy. Visit a--y.com to learn more about Addy. Get this Adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, Us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving and investing and this investment costs less than that. After school treat start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk free trial@greenlight.com iheart greenlight.com iheart yeah, so.
- [46:19]
Will Lucas
I guess my my question then is you know I've heard and I don't know so you maybe you know more about this. Like they were taking away the section of those products like the black section, you know and then putting it in with other, like, they will just not be a section. But maybe the question is.
- [46:38]
Carlos Miller
And we want that. We want that. We don't want to be in a black section.
- [46:42]
Will Lucas
Yeah, that's my question. That's my question.
- [46:44]
Carlos Miller
We want to be. We want to be. If you make. If. Listen, if you make body wash and body lotion, where is your product best sold?
- [46:52]
Will Lucas
In the body wash. The body lotion section.
- [46:55]
Carlos Miller
If you make hair care products. Right. Where is your hair care best sold? If you make shampoos and conditioners, it's best sold in the place that you go and buy shampoo and conditioner. I make vaginal wellness products. Why would my products work in an area of the store that's allocated for humans of color? That's weird. That's not weird to you?
- [47:18]
Will Lucas
Yeah, I guess you take it to the level of like, why is there an organic section of the grocery stores? Like, this is just.
- [47:23]
Carlos Miller
Yeah, but, but brother, they. All the, all the retailers stopped doing that. I don't know where you live, but I remember back in. And this is only because I come from retail. I remember back in the day, Kroger used to sell, used to have an organic section. Yeah, right. Well, they found that people didn't want to just go to the organic section. People wanted to buy their organic potato chips in the potato chip aisle. They want to get their organic cereal, their kashi or whatever in the cereal aisle. I want to buy my organic milk in the milk section. I don't want to have to go over here and then go over there. It's a better shopping experience when you can walk a store and navigate a store and navigate it the way that you would typically navigate and experience the way that you would. When you can just buy your things where you traditionally go to buy them. Otherwise you're trying to get a human consumer to practice a different way of shopping, which. Your condition which makes it harder for them to do. Do you understand what I'm saying?
- [48:33]
Will Lucas
No. This makes total sense.
- [48:35]
Carlos Miller
Yeah.
- [48:35]
Will Lucas
Yeah. In the few minutes I have left, I want to ask about, like, your leadership style, how that's evolved, you know, over time from, you know, let's say a small company know you talked about in your kitchen proverbially to now 70 plus people. Like, how has be had to change?
- [48:53]
Carlos Miller
That's a good question. I think that. I think that my leadership style has definitely is constantly changing. You know, in the beginning, you kind of have to be everything. You know, when you're, when you're scaling, you're Typically bringing in people who have more expertise. So then your leadership style has to redevelop a bit because you're bringing in leadership. So you need to give them the ability to lead you. You have, you have to be able to step back and not be, you have to be trust, you have to trust them. Right. And you also have to have the ability to be open to them making mistakes because that's how we all learn. So, you know, but it's hard when you go from doing everything to bringing somebody in, especially bringing somebody in that's probably replacing you a bit. Right. Because you know, in the beginning it was, it was me, me inside. But then over time, you know, I'll speak for myself. My investors felt like we needed a president, which they weren't wrong. We did. I've never ran a multi million dollar business before. This is my first time. You understand what I'm saying? So like my, my, my understanding of running a company has limitations. So they were like, hey, we really feel like we need to bring in a president because, and the president, the person that they brought in, Allison Zavaya, who's incredible, you know, she, I mean she's worked at, she's, she's worked at multibillion dollar businesses. Right. And so she knows she's going to know what needs to be done, how to build this team, how to strategically, how to strategically grow it, how do we put in services and tools in order to be able to grow our teams and give them the resources that, you know, she's just going to have a different level of experience than I have. And so I have to have the ability to respect that. There's only so much that I know. And if I want this business to go where I know it can, I have to let her lead. I have to step back. Right. You know, and I have to still know what, know and respect what I do because nobody can do what I do. Right. For as it relates to this business.
- [51:47]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [51:47]
Carlos Miller
You know, and I, and I have to realize that there's things that, that I don't have the ability to do. And so the art of being a good leader is understanding what you don't know how to do so that you can get the right people into the job, so that you can trust them and give them the ability to grow, you know, but also understand what it is you know how to do and you know how to do best so that you can do that all the way.
- [52:18]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [52:19]
Carlos Miller
You know, so I think, you know, if I had to give it a name, I'M probably very much a transformative leader. You know, I. I really respect the leaders on my team. I really respect their opinion. I really respect their, you know, their backgrounds. I respect what they bring to this business, you know, and I. And honestly, I welcome it because, you know, in order for this to be what I know it can be, you know, Honey Pot is a conglomerate brand within itself. Even before we sell to a conglomerate at some point.
- [53:01]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [53:01]
Carlos Miller
You understand what I'm saying? Which would be the final home of Honeypot. Right. But in order for us to get there, you know, we have to be able to ebb and flow. We have to die to our egos. We have to. We have to know why we're here and who we're serving and keep that human at the forefront of why we do everything that we do, you know, because that's what's most important. That human with the vagina is the most important to us. Right?
- [53:39]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [53:40]
Carlos Miller
And so, you know, and then also our team is very important. It's also the most important. Right. Like, we work really hard to make really beautiful, efficacious, beautiful skin care, vaginal care, menstrual care, personal care, but we have to treat each other well in the process. If we're working in a toxic work environment, the output of that is going to be toxic. And so also how we treat each other within the company is very important. How we respect each other, how we talk to each other, how we build our businesses with each other. You know, it. It's so. It's. It's a. It's a culmination of a lot of things, you know? You know, but I. But I. But. But it definitely changes all the time. And, and, you know, for some people, change can be really hard. For me, change is not hard. I actually welcome change. I'm a very, very, very hyper present person. And. But I know, you know, the evolution doesn't happen without change, you know, and I want Honeypot to be here for the next however many hundreds of years, you know, and in order to do that, you know, I think that you. You have to be able to flow to be.
- [55:22]
Will Lucas
Respectfully a time. I'll give one last question for you. And I think about. I have this conversation with friends a lot and this idea of building a business on support. And I'm. And I feel like we have to, at some point, get past support. I buy this because I support it. Like, even before this whole Target thing, I was like, like, you don't go to Target because you support Target. You go to Target because they out what you need. But so, so many of our businesses are like, you got, I need your support to, you know, keep the lights on. And I'm like, we got to move past that. So I'd love to. Your thoughts, to hear your thoughts on how, on that and how we get past just support.
- [56:02]
Carlos Miller
Yeah, I mean I, I agree with you. I, I think that, look, I think I, I have a few thoughts about that. I think that, I think for the brand that is literally Target is about to be their very first retailer, their very first mass market retailer, right. And they're about to go on shelf and maybe they're a decent sized brand on their own, right? Like they, they've, they figured out how to make some, some real money and they've gotten them into Target and they're looking to grow their business. That company needs support.
- [56:47]
Will Lucas
Yeah.
- [56:47]
Carlos Miller
Your first few years, your first few years in retail, you first of all, you may not have tons of money. Even if you're making money. It's hard to, it's, you know, marketing and all those things cost an absorbing amounts of money. Right. Um, so you may not have all the tools and resources that's going to take you to the next level as far as like being able to support your product on shelf. Most companies, we're just, you're just trying to figure out how to do that, right? If you're only in a hundred doors, it doesn't make sense to pay Target or any other retailer $25,000 for their in store marketing programs. Because you're only in a hundred doors. You pay that amount of money when you're in at least 1100 doors or more, right. And so when it comes to support, that brand needs support because they're testing right now potentially so that next year they can go back to Target and say, hey, you tested me in 100 doors. Now I want to be in 200 doors or 500 doors. But in order for them to get that 500 doors, what has to happen? Those hundred doors have to produce. So that brand needs support because they don't have the resources to go out and do big huge marketing campaigns and do all the shit that you know that, that, that a big brand has the ability to do wouldn't even make sense for them to do because they're only in 100 doors. So in the beginning they really need the support of their customer that's been following them, that's been supporting them the whole time, that's been buying their products online or buying it out of their trunk. Or whatever the circumstances situation is. Now I agree with you that you have to get to a point where it's not just like we, you're just living off of support. You have to get to the point to where you're living off of velocity, where you are scaling and growing. Right? You start in 100 doors. Now you got into 500 doors. Following year you got into a thousand. Now you're going to go talk to Walmart. Then you're going to go talk to Kroger. Then you understand what I'm saying? Now you want to go talk to cvs. But in the beginning you need some support, right? Because, because you gotta get, you gotta get off the ground. You got, you have to move past the support phase. But that is one of, that is phase one.
- [59:26]
Will Lucas
Yeah, yeah.
- [59:27]
Carlos Miller
Of getting into mass market. And I don't. And I think that, and, and that is one of the things to your earlier question of things that we have to realize as consumers that buy products off of shelves. Because you're right, Targeted Target, they're a machine. Yeah, yeah, right. Like they, they, they are, they are kind of the, the, the mother retailer and then the, the sisters and brothers are on the shelves. Right? We, we need to, in order for Target to be what it is, it cannot survive without brands, Brands cannot survive without human beings consuming our products.
- [60:15]
Will Lucas
That's right.
- [60:16]
Carlos Miller
It just doesn't work that way. We, we all, all, we need, we all need each other. Right? And so, you know, I, I agree with you. The goal needs to be getting out of the support phase. But every single business has to go through the support phase before they get to the next one.
- [60:38]
Will Lucas
Black Tech Green Money is a production of Blavity Afro Tech on the Black Effect podcast network and iHeartMedia. It's produced by Morgan DeBaun and me, will Lucas, with additional production Support by Kate McDonald, Sarah Ergon and Jada McGee. Special thank you to Micah Davis and Love Beach. Learn more about my guests and other tech disruptors and innovators@afrotech.com the video version of this episode will drop to Black Tech green money on YouTube. So tap in, enjoy your black Tech Green money. Share this with somebody. Go get your money. Peace and love.
- [61:09]
Beatrice Dixon
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kinder Bueno, Cheez It Crackers, Oscar Mayer Lunchables and Just Bear Chicken bites. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details. Hi, I'm Danielle Fishel from Pod Meets World. So for my two boys I got Samsung Galaxy Watch for kids.
- [61:44]
Carlos Miller
And I'm not saying I'm kind of.
- [61:46]
Beatrice Dixon
Jealous of my kids tech. I am saying I am definitely jealous.
- [61:51]
Carlos Miller
Of my child's tech.
- [61:52]
Beatrice Dixon
This thing lets them call, text and explore all from their wrist. No smartphone required. And don't worry, you're still the boss. You control who they can talk to and yes, you can totally stalk their location in real time. Get Galaxy Watch 7 on T mobile now. Kid ready with a new paired line? Visit t mobile.com to order yours today. Parent and child must have a Samsung account and Google account with family link requires initial pairing with a compatible Samsung smartphone and qualifying wireless plan with LTE service activated. Please check with your carrier for more information. Trusted contact applies to compatible apps. It does not restrict communication through third party or other communication apps. Emergency services and contacts remain accessible. Location sharing is dependent on network connectivity and device being recently active. T mobile terms via 24 monthly bill credits when you add a qualifying paired watch line. See additional offer terms on T mobile.com it's summer time to enjoy long days, lazy nights and great food because Uber Eats has deals all summer long. So when hunger strikes, don't sweat it.
- [62:47]
Carlos Miller
Delete.
- [62:48]
Beatrice Dixon
Delicious deals are just a tap away on Uber Eats. Enjoy all your favorite grocery items delivered straight to you. Get ice cream, soda and snacks from your favorite stores like Wegmans and CVS and make the most of every moment. Now that sounds like a good summer order now on Uber Eats terms apply. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Does friendly have a taste? If it does, it's probably like hello's Peppermint flavored Anti plaque and Whitening toothpaste. Brush away plaque, show tartar who's boss and remove surface stains to naturally whiten. Hello's thoughtful and flavor forward products make brushing your teeth feel like a confetti filled bathroom dance party. So say hello to hello with the always cruelty free never tested on animals toothpaste that's made to spread smiles. Visit helloproducts.com and let hello add some everyday yay into your life.
- [63:40]
Carlos Miller
This is an I Heart podcast.