How Fawn Weaver Built a BILLION DOLLAR Whiskey Brand

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How Fawn Weaver Built a BILLION DOLLAR Whiskey Brand"

The Journey with Morgan DeBaun
Host: Morgan DeBaun | YAP Media
Episode Release Date: October 22, 2024
Guest: Fawn Weaver

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1. Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Journey with Morgan DeBaun, Morgan sits down with Fawn Weaver, the formidable founder behind Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. The conversation delves deep into Fawn's entrepreneurial journey, strategic insights, and the challenges she overcame to build a billion-dollar whiskey brand. Fawn Weaver shares her unique approach to branding, marketing, and community engagement, offering listeners invaluable lessons on leadership and resilience.

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2. Building a Distinctive Brand

Fawn Weaver emphasizes the importance of consistency and boldness in brand building. She explains how setting ambitious goals captures media attention and fosters brand recognition.

Notable Quote:
"One thing I've observed is you genuinely are consistent about big." [02:54]

Fawn discusses the inception of Uncle Nearest, highlighting the strategic decision to honor Nearest Green's legacy. She underscores the significance of storytelling in differentiating her brand from industry giants like Jack Daniel’s, ensuring that Uncle Nearest stands out in a crowded market.

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3. Strategic Marketing and Press Engagement

Fawn elaborates on her innovative marketing strategies, particularly her approach to engaging with the press. She rejects the traditional method of merely sending press releases, opting instead to create earned media by making substantial, newsworthy announcements.

Notable Quote:
"I'm constantly thinking, what announcement can we make that is going to get the press more viewers, more listeners, more readers?" [04:19]

By setting high-impact goals—such as announcing a $50 million distillery—Fawn ensures that her brand garners substantial media coverage, thereby leveling the playing field against larger competitors.

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4. Overcoming Industry Challenges

Fawn addresses the inherent challenges of competing in the spirit industry, particularly against conglomerates with deep pockets. She explains the necessity of holding price points despite industry pressures to lower prices during economic downturns.

Notable Quote:
"We're now the seventh most visited distillery in the world. And we're not just the seventh most visited distillery in the world, we're the most diverse by far." [32:06]

Fawn’s decision to maintain pricing integrity, even when it strained finances, positioned Uncle Nearest as a premium brand. This strategy, coupled with strategic product launches like Nears Green Tennessee Whiskey, has been pivotal in driving the brand's growth and valuation.

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5. Valuation and Industry Positioning

Fawn provides insights into the valuation dynamics within the spirit industry, noting that Uncle Nearest's billion-dollar valuation is a testament to its unique value proposition and unreplicable brand story.

Notable Quote:
"There's that it factor that can't be replicated by anybody else." [15:14]

She explains that unlike traditional metrics like EBITDA, the spirit industry's valuation often hinges on the brand's narrative and market position, allowing Uncle Nearest to achieve a significant valuation multiple.

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6. Wealth Creation and Investment in the African American Community

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on wealth creation within the African American community. Fawn highlights the challenges faced due to historical generational wealth gaps and emphasizes the importance of investing in intangible assets rather than just tangible ones.

Notable Quote:
"For us as African Americans, specifically, because we're first generation wealth, it's a lot harder for us to invest in things that grow on paper." [17:28]

She advocates for educating the community on investment strategies, debunking fears around stock market investments, and encouraging the pursuit of wealth through equity and ownership.

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7. Authenticity and Excellence in Black-Owned Businesses

Fawn passionately discusses the necessity for excellence in black-owned products to combat stereotypes and ensure sustained support from the community. She stresses that excellence transcends racial identity and must be the foundation of every product.

Notable Quote:
"Stop calling what I do black. Black excellence. Because you put that same name on something that's mediocre." [43:35]

Fawn urges the community to hold each other accountable, ensuring that black-owned businesses consistently deliver high-quality products to foster trust and loyalty.

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8. Navigating Social Media and Combating Impersonation

The conversation shifts to the pitfalls of social media, particularly the rise of bots and impersonators that can tarnish a brand's reputation. Fawn shares her experiences dealing with fake accounts and emphasizes the importance of authentic engagement.

Notable Quote:
"People have to understand, you have to take what you're seeing on social with a grain of salt." [49:26]

She advises meticulous verification of information and cautions against reacting hastily to unverified claims, advocating for a measured and informed approach to online interactions.

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9. Embracing Resilience and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Fawn addresses the concept of imposter syndrome, debunking its existence from her perspective. She attributes feelings of inadequacy to historical and systemic factors that have severed African Americans from their roots, fostering a perpetual sense of not belonging.

Notable Quote:
"We have to walk into every space more confident." [25:04]

Drawing strength from her faith and ancestral legacy, Fawn emphasizes unwavering confidence and resilience as key drivers of her success, encouraging others to adopt a similar mindset.

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10. The Legacy of Nearest Green and Brand Storytelling

A pivotal segment of the episode is dedicated to the historical legacy of Nearest Green, the first known African American master distiller for Jack Daniel’s. Fawn recounts how her research unearthed the critical role Nearest played in perfecting Jack Daniel’s whiskey recipe, a story that has been overshadowed over time.

Notable Quote:
"Jack never took another photo with other people in it. He took one photo his entire lifetime with other people in it." [36:30]

Fawn explains how this revelation inspired the creation of Uncle Nearest, ensuring that Nearest Green's contributions are honored and remembered, thereby enriching the brand's narrative and authenticity.

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11. Leadership Philosophy and Team Motivation

Fawn shares her leadership philosophy, focusing on leading by example and setting seemingly impossible goals to inspire her team. Her relentless work ethic and clear vision motivate her team to exceed expectations and continuously strive for excellence.

Notable Quote:
"I have such a belief in what I'm doing that it is easy to follow a leader that clearly knows where they're going." [07:18]

She recounts instances where she challenges her team with ambitious targets, fostering a culture of perseverance and high achievement within the organization.

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12. Conclusion and Final Insights

In the closing segments, Fawn offers advice to aspiring entrepreneurs struggling to find their passion. She emphasizes the importance of being fully present in each moment, finding lessons in every challenge, and building upon past experiences to unlock future success.

Notable Quote:
"If you're not passionate about what's right in front of you, you will not be passionate about what is coming to you." [55:42]

Morgan and Fawn wrap up the episode by highlighting the necessity of authenticity, community support, and unwavering dedication in building successful enterprises.

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Key Takeaways

• Ambitious Goal Setting: Setting high-impact, seemingly impossible goals can attract media attention and drive brand growth.

• Strategic Marketing: Creating earned media through substantial announcements rather than traditional press releases enhances brand visibility.

• Resilience in Leadership: Leading by example, maintaining unwavering commitment, and fostering a culture of excellence are crucial for business success.

• Wealth Creation Education: Educating the African American community on investment strategies is vital for bridging generational wealth gaps.

• Authenticity Over Appearance: Emphasizing genuine engagement and product excellence combats stereotypes and builds lasting trust within the community.

• Historical Legacy: Honoring and integrating historical legacies into brand narratives enriches authenticity and emotional connection with consumers.

• Navigating Social Media Risks: Vigilant verification and measured responses are essential in managing brand reputation in the digital age.

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Notable Quotes

• Fawn Weaver: "We have to walk into every space more confident." [25:04]

• Fawn Weaver: "Stop calling what I do black. Black excellence. Because you put that same name on something that's mediocre." [43:35]

• Fawn Weaver: "If you're not passionate about what's right in front of you, you will not be passionate about what is coming to you." [55:42]

• Fawn Weaver: "I'm constantly thinking, what announcement can we make that is going to get the press more viewers, more listeners, more readers?" [04:19]

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Final Thoughts

This episode serves as an inspiring testament to Fawn Weaver's visionary leadership and strategic acumen. Her ability to intertwine historical legacy with modern branding techniques has not only elevated Uncle Nearest to a billion-dollar valuation but has also paved the way for future African American entrepreneurs. Morgan DeBaun and Fawn Weaver's insightful dialogue offers listeners a blueprint for building impactful, resilient, and authentic businesses.

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Connect with Fawn Weaver:
For those looking to learn more or engage with Fawn, she is accessible via Instagram, where she actively responds to her direct messages.

Transcript

[Morgan DeBaun]

Hi friends, it's Morgan debann and I have some exciting news. My book, Rewrite youe Rules the Journey to Success in Less Time with More Freedom is now available for pre order. Pre orders are so important, not just for me as a first time author, but for the message of this book. Ordering this book helps amplify the message that more people can break free from the grind, rewrite their own rules in life, and live a rich, juicy life full of joy and empowerment. So if you resonate with any of the content that I put out over this last few years, this podcast, any of the stories I share on social, and you've been inspired by my work at Blavity or Afrotech, pre ordering is the best way to show your support and your gratitude for any of the work that I have done. Plus, you'll be the first to get your hands on the book when it launches next spring. And that will mean literally the world to me. So make sure you check out morgandebond.com to secure your copy and join me in this movement to create a life of freedom, abundance, and more importantly, to have the tools and the frameworks that you need to take control of your life.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes, but imagine the same exact tour.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

A cruel, accused big black man, A family, A family of Trump supporters, like literally sing tours. And here's the thing, is they all feel like they belong, right? They all feel like they belong. And that is the gift that we have to give to represent who we are as Americans.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes. Hey, everyone. I'm Morgan DeBaun, a passionate entrepreneur and life advisor. With the Journey podcast, you'll discover that success isn't about the destination, it's about the journey. I'm sharing stories of amazing people who've taken control of their lives. Join me on my own journey to discover the secret sauce behind reaching success. With permission from no one else. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Journey podcast. I'm here today with the incredible Fawn Weaver. Fawn, welcome to the show.

[Fawn Weaver]

Thank you for having me.

[Morgan DeBaun]

We are here in Nashville, Tennessee. Well, not in Nashville, Tennessee.

[Fawn Weaver]

Not in Nashville.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Shelbyville, Tennessee, right outside of Nashville. You all know I live in Nashville. I'm so happy to be here. This is the first time that I've been able to make it to the distillery and it's like I underestimated the scale.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It's so big.

[Fawn Weaver]

I tell African Americans literally all the time, if you have a dream, step foot on the nearest green distillery and take off your shoes if you need to, because there's something about this ground that makes people dream bigger, think bigger, think ownership. But it literally happens by no one saying anything, just by showing up.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It was. It's. It's actually overwhelming. You know, we walked into the. This room and walked into the building, and then I go into the bar and I say, there's a lot of seats up in this thing. Fond don't do nothing small.

[Fawn Weaver]

Not at all.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Not at all. One thing I've observed is you genuinely are consistent about big.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And everything from. I went way back, so I went to your community that you had started Happy Wives Club.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And it was a million.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You know, that was the goal. I noticed you have a lot of 100,000. A million.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You've got the biggest bar in the world.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You've got. When you did your book signings, I was watching the live. I was like, my girl's still here.

[Fawn Weaver]

Doing the book signing, 24 hours straight.

[Morgan DeBaun]

So tell me, where does that come from?

[Fawn Weaver]

It comes from my first business, which is pr. Right. And bringing that forward because understanding that I'm in a space, the spirit space, in which a brand, one of the big spirit conglomerates, will spend 60 million, $70 million in a single year to promote a single brand in a portfolio of 10 brands. Right. And that's just what they're spending on one brand. And so there's no way for me to compete with that. There's no way for me to come into this industry and disrupt and challenge. I can't go dollar for dollar with them. And so the question becomes, how do I make sure that everyone knows about uncle nearest knows about the brand, knows about love and whiskey, the book. How do I do that? Well, it's earned media, but for a lot of people, they confuse the purpose of the press. They assume, like, a product comes out and they're like, send out a press release, the press should report on it. And they don't understand that's not how this works. That's not what the pressure. Therefore, we want to believe that the press is there to share our stories, but that's not how the press works. The press is there really to do one of three things, depending on your platform to get more viewers, more readers, more listeners. That is what the press is truly there for. Because you can't continue to be the press.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

If you can't pay to be the press. Right. And so because press by nature is free for all of us, that means that somebody's gotta pay for it. It's the advertisers. Well, you can't get the advertisers if you don't have the viewers, the listeners, the readers. And so I have a true understanding of that. I never go to the press and ask them for anything. I go to the press and say, okay, this is what I can do for you to get you more viewers, readers and listeners. So I'm constantly thinking, what announcement can we make that is going to get the press more viewers, more listeners, more readers? And then I work toward that. So I always set a massive goal. When we said we were building this distillery, we were only 18 months old. I don't even know how many states we were in. I don't know how many cases we were selling at the time. All I know is it wasn't enough to announce a $50 million distillery.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

But what I knew is that if I announced a $10 million distillery, CARE. Nobody would care.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

It had to be a number that viewers, readers, listeners would care about, because if they care about it, then the press cares about it. Now I'm able to share the story. So the nature of what I do is I set really, really big, almost seemingly impossible goals. I put it in the press, and then once I've done that, I have to achieve it, because otherwise.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

Otherwise, the next time I do a big announcement, no one will report on it because it's like, ah, she's the girl that cried wolf. Right. And so that's a part of. So every year, I lay out all of the big announcements for the upcoming year, and most of those announcements that are on the schedule, for instance, for next year, to make, we gotta hit those goals in order for me to be able to make them. And so it keeps us on this perpetual sort of always achieving more than people think that we should be able to. But really, I'm just chasing the press story every single time.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Incredible. I think that we're similar in that way. One of my challenges has been because when I first started Blavity, I said, I want to be the voice of Black Millennials. And I said, we are the voice of Black Millennials. We had all of five people reading the site, but there was no one else who was the voice of Black Millennials. So I said, I'm going to claim that absolutely. But it made my team very uncomfortable. They were very much like, well, how are we defining this? How are we? And I'm like, you guys, we gotta be something.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You know, we have to achieve towards something. And my responsibility and our responsibility is to become the voice of Black Millennials. So how are we going to do that? And how have you been able to encourage your team when you set such an ambitious goal that maybe goes against their natural grain? How are you able to motivate them to.

[Fawn Weaver]

I think two things. One, they've watched me now long enough. In the beginning, it was, I would set a goal and everyone would second guess it.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

But they would watch how hard I worked. And I think that there's that sense of, well, we can't let her work this hard by herself. And I would challenge my team and go, none of you will outwork me. Don't even try. I am going to always outwork you. And no matter how hard you work, I'm still going to outwork you. Because that is my job as the leader.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so I think a part of it is, is that I have such a belief in what I'm doing that it is easy to follow a leader that clearly knows where they're going, even if you can't see where they're going. If you've been on the journey with me long enough, like my chief business officer, in the beginning, I would set goals, and she's like, fawn, come on. That's not like, when I gave the task of, I want to be in all 50 states within the first two years. No independent had ever done that, ever. And everyone was telling her, that's literally not possible. It is possible. I will be on the plane every day in a different state pitching our brand. You'll be on the plane every day? There was three of us. I mean, my air mileage for that year, in fairness, my air mileage every year, I usually hit the top status of every airline by March of the year for the following year. It's absurd. I'm constantly on planes. But I think that motivation comes from once you set an impossible goal and you lead to hit it, and you hit it. Even if you fall a little short, as long as you've gone further than anybody expected you'd be able to, that's still a win.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I think so, too. I agree.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so I've done that so many times that when I set an impossible goal, the team goes, well, we don't know how we're going to do this, but let's go. That's just the. That is the thought process around it. So, like, a couple days ago, we announced New Year's green Tennessee Whiskey, which I'm sure you. I don't think anybody online missed that role.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I said, the king and the queen.

[Fawn Weaver]

And the queen.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And actually I walked in the door, I said, where's the green bottle?

[Fawn Weaver]

Look. And they said, it doesn't come out til Saturday. And I said, yeah, it doesn't come out til Saturday. And they're literally bottling it right now. If you were on the other side of campus, you would see them bottling it for the release this upcoming Saturday. And even with that, they're looking at this and going in. Our industry is called O and D. October, November, December. This is where you make the majority of your money, but it's also where the big guys spend the majority of their money on advertising and on marketing. And so you can't get a message through an OND if you're not a big guy.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And an election season.

[Fawn Weaver]

And an election season. So they will tell you, do not release a product.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

Exactly. When we released this product. And this product is easily outperforming any other launch that we have ever done.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I believe it.

[Fawn Weaver]

And. But it's. It came from watching the market all year and watching all the big guys lower their prices like crazy.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

In a manner in which they're not going to be able to get those prices back. So they've lowered. They. Now the consumer, if you used to be at $40, if you lower it to 30 now, that's where the consumer expects you to be. So next year or two years, when we're on the other side of this in the industry, where the industry isn't having a Covid. Correction.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Then. Now you're going to want that $40 back. And no, no, honey, now you gave that up. And so we made a decision with our distributors. Top of the year, when we started seeing. When they started seeing everybody come to them and say, drop it, drop it, drop it. Our distributor said to us, if you can afford to hold, you will be wise to do so. And I looked at my team and said, we cannot afford to hold, but we're going to do it anyway. We will not lower the price on Uncle Nearest. And when you look at. We use Nielsen reports, that's our. What we use. That's what I think almost every industry uses it, right?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

But when we're looking at it this period of time where everybody is declining every month, we're getting stronger and like a lot stronger. And looking at the top hundred between tequilas and bourbons. Because we compare ourselves to both American whiskey and tequila. Because same consumer group. Okay, Same consumer group, those who drink preparation Premium tequila are also drinking premium.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That makes Sense.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yep.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yep.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so when we're looking at the Nielsen, we're not just looking at American Whiskey. We're always looking at both categories. And there's only two brands. One a tequila, one a bourbon American Whiskey and the entire top hundred that is green across the board with Nielsen growth in every single category that Nielsen tracks, Uncle Nearest is one of them. And understanding that almost everyone else in that top 100, certainly everyone in that top 25, which is where we are, are all big guys. They're all owned by big guys. And then you got this, this little independent right. That is just hanging this year and you look at it and go, how the hell. But we said we're going to hold price, we're going to work like crazy. We're going to figure this out. We're going to release Love and Whiskey right in the middle of it. We're going to get people excited, we're going to create, create ambassadors. And then while everyone is looking here at Love and Whiskey, then we're going to drop Nears Green Tennessee Whiskey. Something that was bit has been in the works for almost eight years, but the plan was to drop it in 2026 or 2027. Because if you think about it, the brand is called Uncle Nearest where you are right now, Nearest Green Distillery. Why we were always going to move in this direction.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You're always going to have a portfolio, right?

[Fawn Weaver]

Always going to have a portfolio. And that brand that is in that 29.99 mark that end up on the shelves around 25, that's the volume brand that was always going to be named Near Screen Tennessee Whiskey.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Really?

[Fawn Weaver]

Always.

[Morgan DeBaun]

What a beautiful rollout.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I have so many things. One of the things that I've noticed a few different things. So you all are approaching 100 million in revenue. If not have hit it, we'll hit it this year. And $1 billion plus valuation. So that's a 10x revenue. That's an incredible multiple. And is that because of your growth rate?

[Fawn Weaver]

That's actually not a incredible for this industry. Right. And when that valuation I'm pretty sure is that closer to like a 12.9.

[Morgan DeBaun]

If I were at the time.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah. And because I've always done my raises at a 12.9 multiple. The spirit industry is very different from every other industry. We don't. When you're a fast growing spirit brand, when you have something like we have that it factor that nobody else has that you can't even quite put your finger on or you can, you just can't replicate it when you have something like we have, where this is going to still be on shelves 100 years from now, there's not many brands that come out that have a story that have. I mean, we're now in negotiations on the movie rights. Do it. And I got literally a text message this morning from one of the biggest producers in America and said, I'm reading your book right now. We got to talk about a documentary. And I gotta, when I leave here, send him a text back and say, sorry, we're already accepting proposals for the feature film.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Let's go.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah. Right. But that's not. That is all of these things for this brand is really unique to this brand.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so I could put it out at 15x18x people are. It's still going to be worth every penny of it because this can't be replicated. So there's that it factor that can't be replicated by anybody else, that there isn't enough additional amount on it. But the reason why the spirit industry is the way that it is in terms of multiples, the reason why we don't look at the EBITDA and we don't really look at the noi.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

Is because everybody in this industry essentially sells to a big guy.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And the big guy, because of economies of scale, are able to bring it down. Yeah. That fly, we gotta acknowledge that we have. We have a horse member at our distillery. We also have 50 horses, which are.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Beautiful, by the way.

[Fawn Weaver]

Gorgeous.

[Morgan DeBaun]

They're gorgeous.

[Fawn Weaver]

But they flies like horses.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I'm not mad at the fly. We're in Tennessee, baby.

[Fawn Weaver]

We are in Tennessee.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And I'm from Missouri, so, you know, it is what it is.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah.

[Morgan DeBaun]

So welcome, Fly.

[Fawn Weaver]

Exactly.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Exactly.

[Fawn Weaver]

When you look at some of the deals that have gone on in the last five years, you're looking at 22x, 25x. It really just depends on that it factor that is there. I've always done a multiple much lower than where it could be because I'm not selling.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And so I was going to ask you that.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah. So I've got to create value for the investors that come in that give them an ability to sell on the secondary market because they're coming in with it being more valuable than what they're paying for.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right. A lot of my girlfriends are angel investors in the SPVs that have been put together for you. And I thought it was interesting. I was in Martha's Vineyard. I was in the back. When you were speaking at Farmneck. You were supposed to be on A plane and something happened. So that event. And I found it so interesting because I was listening to all the chatter and for many people in that room, they had never considered, despite their own individual wealth, they had never considered being an investor, that this would be something they could, that would be accessible to them.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And I'm curious, how much has that driven you, this wealth equity creation? I mean, what you just said, I think is incredibly impactful, but I really want to make sure we get into it.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah. Well, I think that for us as African Americans, specifically, because we're first generation wealth, it's a lot harder for us to invest in things that grow on paper. We want to see it in our garage, we want to see it in our closet, we want to see it on us. Right. Because there's something about that that we feel as though, you know, at least I know where this is. Right. And there is a history of that. If you look up in North Nashville, the 40 Freeway, that's there came right through a prominent African American neighborhood. Anytime you're walking around Central park, one third of that used to be Seneca Village, that was all an all minority prominent area. You go through Tulsa and every freeway through there came through black Wall Street. And so we can go almost any place in America. And anywhere that African Americans were able to create communities, to buy land, to buy property, eminent domain came in and took it.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Well, we still have trauma from that. And so what we tend to do is only invest in the things that we can literally hold on to with our hands.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

But that's not how wealth is created. And so this is one of the reasons I'm so open. And when even newer investors reach in and they have the money, but they've never done it before. I just had this call last week with really wealthy African Americans, but they've never invested in anything that simply grows on paper.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so all of their questions, and I had to keep sharing with them, don't feel as though these are dumb questions. We're first generation money. You're asking questions that other races learned when they were growing up. You're in your 60s, but you're learning it now. So ask all the questions, don't think any of them are dumb, because this is how we're going to learn is by being open. And so even one of the questions which was a very reasonable question was, you know, when we go in, we're usually not looking at shares, meaning this is the amount per share.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

We're usually looking at, this is the percentage of the company you get.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so in my company, because of the valuation, right, you put in a.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Million dollars, you're not going to get a 10%, right? Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

You put in a million dollars, you're getting 1%.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah. You know, maybe you put in a.

[Fawn Weaver]

Million, you're getting less. No, you're getting points.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Which is very terrifying for people, except you have to.

[Fawn Weaver]

And this is why I'm like, listen, y'all need to listen to Jay Z's lyrics. Like, somebody just take all of his business acumen that he has given us for 9.99, as he said in the Story of O.J. right. If you took his lyrics and broke down a lot of lyrics, it would.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Teach us a lot about ownership, equity and assets in the balance sheet.

[Fawn Weaver]

All of it.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Leveraging it.

[Fawn Weaver]

All of it.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I completely agree. I think one of our challenges as a community, we're getting better because we're talking about it more. But we were taught to save. We were taught to save.

[Fawn Weaver]

Hold. Don't take on debt.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Don't take on debt. And actually, saving is not how you become wealthy. That is not investing is how you become wealthy, without question.

[Fawn Weaver]

And even. And people entrepreneurs, I'm always trying to help us to not be so afraid to go broke. I know that sounds terrifying. Crazy, right? And it is terrifying for people. But I'm gonna tell you to do what I've done to build what I've built, I've probably gone broke 25 times. You listen, if you can avoid it, by all means. But when you're talking about someone like Elon Musk. Right.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Seven times.

[Fawn Weaver]

But not only did he go, like.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Legit broke, billion to zero, but even.

[Fawn Weaver]

Even not the part that we knew public, the part that never went public was. I think it was his. See, I was listening to him. I was at a thing that he was at, and I believe it was his Series D, that if the funding hadn't come in on that Friday, every payroll check was bouncing on that Monday.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Oh, yeah. Now, this man is risky it.

[Fawn Weaver]

But that's why he continues to be the wealthiest man in the world.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Absolutely.

[Fawn Weaver]

Is because he is. Or at least, you know, of the people that report.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Well, there's a lot. There's a lot.

[Fawn Weaver]

There's a lot of people not reporting.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It doesn't want to be on the lists and the Middle East.

[Fawn Weaver]

So of the ones who report.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so understanding that entrepreneurship is risky business, if you have a soft stomach, don't get in this business. If you feel as though the way that you're going to grow your company is to save.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's not going to work, baby.

[Fawn Weaver]

This is not. The entrepreneurship is not. If you're trying to build something. If you're trying to build something, you're going to have to take on debt. You're going to have to take very risky chances and see how things respond and how people respond and consumers respond. And if they don't respond the way you hope, you gotta pivot really fast.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I told my team we will die in the middle.

[Fawn Weaver]

Oh, absolutely.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You will die in the middle. You either have to be at the top or you have to be at the bottom. And I don't wake up every morning to be at the bottom.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

So we either gotta be at the top or nothing at all.

[Fawn Weaver]

At all.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And again, terrifying for people.

[Fawn Weaver]

It is. It is.

[Morgan DeBaun]

How do you manage your self? I was listening to you chat recently. There was a question about imposter syndrome and you said, I don't have imposter syndrome.

[Fawn Weaver]

I don't even believe it exists.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right. And I think a lot of black women, professional people are told this is what imposter syndrome is. And you know, you guys probably have this and here's how you manage it. I feel like sometimes we're like self fulfilling prophecies in our community.

[Fawn Weaver]

That's what it is.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It drives me nuts.

[Fawn Weaver]

Well, it's a little bit like, remember when WebMD came out and everybody thought they had like 20 different things? Cause it was like they're looking at that, and that's imposter syndrome.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

Is that people are backing their way into something that doesn't have anything to do with them by nature. As African Americans in this country, we don't actually belong here. Right. We don't have roots. Our roots are completely severed. So we're already at a disadvantage of not having roots like other races have. Right. And so because of that we feel a little bit. The best way I can describe it is like this. Do you know people that have been adopted?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Right.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Okay.

[Fawn Weaver]

I don't care how amazing an adopted mother and father has been their entire upbringing. They could be the most perfect parents ever. And that child is still going to long for the birth mother that gave them up. The birth mother. They want to know what were the circumstances. How like I want to know about my mom. I want to. There's certain things that I do that I can't explain why I do it, because it's connected to roots that I don't know. Well, that's every African American in America. There's a part of us that will never feel as though we fully belong because our roots were severed. So we have to be. We have to get more comfortable with understanding there are going to be spaces we're going to go into that are not going to be comfortable, not because we don't belong there, but because our roots were severed.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so that don't have nothing to do with imposter. Nothing.

[Morgan DeBaun]

No, that's by design, unfortunately.

[Fawn Weaver]

That is by design. And so for us, we've got to walk into every space so confident. And I do it because of two things. My foundation, my faith, the Bible. I am unapologetic about it. Everybody can. You know, I know we, we've gone through this phase where people want to believe in the universe, but not the person who created the universe. Cool. You believe in the universe? I believe in God.

[Morgan DeBaun]

G, O D, capital G, capital G.

[Fawn Weaver]

Capital G. I don't believe in no demigods, I don't know.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Capital G, God.

[Fawn Weaver]

So that's. So we start there, right? That's my foundation. So I walk into every space believing he put me there. Even if I make a mistake in that space, even if I make do something silly in that space, I believe that he is. Can do what they did in the Matrix and make everybody forget it. I don't walk into a space wanting to be flawless because I'm like, he'll cover my flaws because my flaws means I'm still learning in that particular area and he's not going to leave me uncovered. And so I go into a space believing even if I make a mistake, even if I say something silly, even if I'm out of my depth, he's going to cover it where people don't know that. So that's the first thing. The second thing is now we go back to our ancestry. Every single time I think about who I am in America, a lot of people think about that lack of belonging, that lack of feeling as though we are loved or we are appreciated or respected. I don't look at any of that. I go back to our roots. I go back to the fact that our African ancestors, 12 million, left the shores of Africa. Only 388,000 arrived in America. Yes, that's a lot of people who either died along the way, at least a couple million just in the middle passages alone. And you had us laying in chains. And I know it's uncomfortable a lot of times for us to see this or visualize it or think it, but I think it's important for how you walk into a room when you remember that your ancestors were laid side by side, foot to head, and that you had vomit and feces and all of this was going on. The only way you made it to America is you had to be so strong physically, emotionally, spiritually that, I mean, you had to be other level strong.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

We're all the descendants of 388,000 of the strongest of the strong, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

We can't fail unless we give up.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so my whole thing is that I'm going to walk into every room like, I can't fail because if I don't give up in that room, I won't fail.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. And it's almost as if the conditions in which they survived versus the conditions in which we are surviving. I'm like, if you all could make it through that.

[Fawn Weaver]

Listen, listen, who am I? Listen, who am I to be like.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I haven't slept today.

[Fawn Weaver]

Rolled their eyes. What?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah, that's it.

[Fawn Weaver]

That's what set you off. Somebody cut your foot.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Remind the people. Remind the people, Fawn. Because I feel like people are trying to get to quick gratifications people have. Because it maybe is looking so effortless on social media. Because it looks so effortless to, you know, sit there and sign books for 24 hours or. It looks so effortless. The book tour that you did, which was. I mean, I feel like you're still on book tour.

[Fawn Weaver]

I am actually about to announce Houston, I think, in a couple days. You know what I'm saying?

[Morgan DeBaun]

So, you know, like, it looks effortless. You look great, you look happy, you're married, you know, like. And in reality, it. Because the perception is effortless. I think that what's happened is that people underestimate for themselves what is required.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

To even do one of those things. And that is, I think, for this next generation, one of the challenges that they're going to have to manage for themselves. We didn't have all this exposure to all of these people.

[Fawn Weaver]

We were.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I mean, I grew up, and then we had maybe Facebook in college. Like, yeah, maybe just Facebook in college. And how do you think this new generation is going to be able to manage themselves so that they can have that grit and resilience?

[Fawn Weaver]

Well, I think, first of all, we've got to understand what authenticity is. People say they'll get on social and, like, I'm just going to be real with y'all, and they'll tell you everything wrong in their Business, what they just did tell every investor, run. That's what you've just done. I agree with. That's what you've just done. And so there are. What you have to learn the discipline of is being like a swan that's going across the water where all you see is the floating. That's what it looks like. It's. I mean, we have Canadian geese out here and you would swear that they are just floating on the top of our pond out here. But if you actually put that camera underneath, it is a furious. That is allowing them to do that. And we as African Americans are the one race that is terrible at that. It's terrible at it. We have to get better about it. Doesn't mean that it's simple. Let's just level set and just assume that anybody who is an entrepreneur, it's not simple. So let's just start there. But they also don't need to tell you every difficulty that they are coming across because number one, to actually take the time to verbalize it, to get in it.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Distraction.

[Fawn Weaver]

It's a distraction. You have to be focused on what's the solution. So if you are a great entrepreneur and you are on social, you're supposed to be delivering solutions. Well, by nature of delivering the solutions, that means you've already come through the challenge that provided you the solution. And so that the idea that anything that we will ever do in life will be easy is foolish. It's foolish. There's no aspect of. And again, I have to go back to my roots. There's no aspect of the Bible that ever says easy. Even when you're talking about God. When you're talking my face is Christianity specifically, my burden is like my yoke is easy. So the yoke around. When you're in the South, I think when you're in other parts of the country, they think we're talking about egg yolks. My yolk is easy, my burden is light. But here's the thing, by nature of that, that means there's a yoke and there's a burden.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Always.

[Fawn Weaver]

Always. And the question is, do you buckle under the weight or do you place the weight where it's supposed to be? And if you're placing the weight where it's supposed to be, then you won't be on social media running down a list of everything that's going wrong. Because the yoke is easy, the burden is light. And so the stuff that I deal with on a daily basis, I am absolutely convinced would take most entrepreneurs out.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Oh, yeah. I Believe it.

[Fawn Weaver]

Take them out.

[Morgan DeBaun]

This operation is incredible. I mean, that's the first thing that I said, pass. First I was like, damn, this thing is big. And then the second thing I said, I wonder what the operation like, the staff. I actually talked to your team, I said, well, how many bartenders does this have? And they said, well, 18. Then you have the servers. That's 18 wells. Then you have the servers.

[Fawn Weaver]

Then you have so got the back bar, you got the. And that's just one part woo of it. Right? Then you've got all the tour guides. Because we're now the seventh most visited distillery in the world. And we're not just the seventh most visited distillery in the world, we're the most diverse by far. And so on any given day, we are serving Trump supporters that are 75 year old white man at the same exact time that we've got a group of buffalo soldiers that rode up on their motorcycles for a bunch of akas and deltas and alphas and omegas. And let me tell you, every single time we got a Q in here, we know he's here.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Absolutely. He gonna let you know the purple.

[Fawn Weaver]

And the gold and the bands.

[Morgan DeBaun]

My dad is a Q. So my whole house, listen, tell my team, do not put any. They probably don't know why I say don't put purple on anything. Listen, I grew up around so much purple.

[Fawn Weaver]

The one thing that Q does not stand for is quiet when a Q walks through and when they come through in the groups. But imagine the same exact tour.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

A cruel, accused, big black man, a family of Trump supporters. Like literally same tour. And here's the thing is they all feel like they belong. They all feel like they belong. And that is the gift that we have to give to represent who we are as Americans.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Is the ability to connect with everyone, even if we don't agree with their thoughts, their views, their political positions. If we just look at it and say, you know what, your worldview is different from mine because we grew up with two completely different understandings of how this country came to be. We grew up with two completely different understandings of what needs to happen to advance in this country, what needs to happen to be safe.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

I want someone to actually do a scientific, whatever you call those models where they wire black people and they wire white people and then they turn on police sirens.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Oh, like the reaction, the stress levels. Do you feel comfortable and you feel stressed?

[Fawn Weaver]

So one is going to feel. One is going to feel more protected.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Because they grew up with the police Providing protection.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And one is going to absolutely have their heart go into palpitations.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

We need to understand the differences and responses are based on worldviews. Doesn't make one right or wrong. It's just different worldviews, different lived experiences, different triggers.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. That's right. And I think one of the things that makes uncle nearest and the story for those people who are watching this, that don't know the story, that haven't had a chance to read your book, I mean, part of how this brand came to be, and you're a historian, you know, of course not just a historian, but part of this was an inspiration as a historian. Talk us through just the beginning. You know, your first chapter really outlies it. So you all read the book, buy the book, definitely get through the book.

[Fawn Weaver]

I spent a lot of time reading that book for the audiobook too. So yeah, do all the things.

[Morgan DeBaun]

So talk about how those principles have influenced how you've decided to run this brand.

[Fawn Weaver]

Well, even if you think about it, how most African Americans came to the story of nearest Green was this understanding that Jack Daniel stole the recipe, hid the slave like that.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That is theory.

[Fawn Weaver]

That is the theory. Right. That was rooted in nothing. It literally started at black Twitter. No proof, no research whatsoever. And what they did is they took a photo that we now know was taken in 1904. And it's a photo of Jack Daniel. And there is an African American to his right. It's nearest Green's son, George Green. And nearest Green is hopefully everyone knows by now, first known African American master distiller, teacher of Jack Daniel, mentor of Jack Daniel. And then he was the first master distiller for Jack Daniel distillery number seven. Right. So the old number seven that everyone drinks nearest Green is the only known master distiller for that distillery number. And so when Jack was going out and putting down silver dollars on bars and challenging people to taste his whiskey versus the bourbon that they were calling for, what he was challenging them with was near screens whiskey. And so when you're, when you're looking at that, everyone looked at that photo with George Green next to Jack and somehow we came to the conclusion that we, that person had been hidden. And I looked at.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's a very intentional photo. Yes, which is why it's on the COVID of the COVID up.

[Fawn Weaver]

And not only is it on the COVID of the book, but it's. I start off the actual book with this photo, but the full photo that shows he didn't just have a black man to his Right. He seated the center position of the entire photo right here to George Green.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

But even more importantly, is that what George Green is doing and the person in front of him is his nephew?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

What they're doing is Jack. A lot of people didn't know this, but they learn about it in this book is later in life, Jack was incredibly ill and he gained an enormous amount of weight by all things. I've seen medical records, it would seem as though he had diabetes, but I don't have medical records to confirm it. But what I do have medical records to confirm is that his right leg was amputated by the time that photo was taken.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's why they're all sitting down.

[Fawn Weaver]

Everyone is sitting down, but he standing. And they're covering. George Green and his nephew Lim are covering the fact that he's on a cane. He only has one leg. And so I look at this and I go, wait a minute. That is an entrusted position.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

That out of all of the people that are in this photo, the one you choose to put right next to you to help cover your infirmity, your weakness is an African American man. That's one thing. The other thing is, is that in that period of time, if you did not want to acknowledge an African American, you didn't have to.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

You simply left them out in Tennessee. Listen.

[Morgan DeBaun]

What?

[Fawn Weaver]

And so the fact that not only did they make sure, did Jack make sure, George is right there. To me, what it said, and I believe this almost immediately after seeing it, what it said to me was Jack was making sure that America would not be able to write this story out of history. And thank God he did, because the entire time he was alive, Jack was alive, ran the distillery. Then he turned it over to his nephew Lim four years before he passed away. And then Lim later on turned it over to his great nephews. Well, under their leadership, the story of nearest Green always told George Green, Eli Green always a part of it. It was a part of their tours down at the distillery when they started doing it. Even when they sold the company in 56, they continued to run it and to be the influence of it. It wasn't until the very last of Jack's descendants, Rhaegar Motlow, who was the president of Jack Daniels and he went over to be sit on the board. Wasn't until he passed away in 78, story disappears almost immediately after he passed the keepers away. They were the keepers of the story.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And once they were gone, the story disappeared. Well, guess who knew that was going to happen. Jack Daniel.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so now you have this strategic positioning where he. Jack never took another. And a lot of people don't know this. Jack never took another photo with other people in it. He took one photo his entire lifetime with other people in it. Wow. And that one photo, he made sure that the entire photo was centered around an African American man.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Incredible.

[Fawn Weaver]

So we would never be. We would never be able to forget who this person was. Even if America tried to wipe him out. Wouldn't be able to be successful.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

And then they were great about when they would do press. The only distinguishment between Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky bourbon, other than geography, is the process that Nearest Green taught. This process of taking traditional bourbon and running it through sugar, maple, charcoal, and that before it goes into the barrel. So you're removing purities. It's still every. Every bottle of Uncle Nearest is a straight bourbon whiskey. Every single one. But it's also a Tennessee whiskey. Because we did that extra step. It doesn't add anything. So it remains bourbon. But because of the impurities that it removes, it is more costly for us to make.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

It takes longer for us to make than our friends up in the north in Kentucky. I argue all day long that it is a more premium product and we got the hardware to back it up. This is. We are now going into our sixth year in a row as the most awarded bourbon in the world.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Wow.

[Fawn Weaver]

The masters medals came out yesterday or two days ago. And Uncle Nears got 10 awards, all gold. Got one silver. I gotta go and look to see what that silver was.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Lord, let's celebrate the gold.

[Fawn Weaver]

I want to.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I want to challenge the silver because.

[Fawn Weaver]

I'm not going for it. And. But. But the point is, is like all goals.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And. And the only other. The only other distillery we were even really competing with was Buffalo Trace, who puts out the top Kentucky bourbon. And so you've got us going to.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And they've been around for, oh, forever. Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

Everybody has been right. And so we've got the hardware to prove that this is a super premium. But when it comes to us as a group of people, as African Americans, if we don't drink nothing else, we should be drinking Tennessee whiskey because it's the only spirit in America that we were equally credited for the process. So you can't be a Tennessee whiskey without going through the Lincoln county process. Jack Daniel's descendants made sure that when the press asked them where did that process come from, they said it came with the Africans Interesting. It came with, we say enslaved. Now they didn't then.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

It says the slaves in the hills.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Talk about this.

[Fawn Weaver]

Well, who were the slaves in the hill? Nearest green? His boys, his friends.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

That's who was in the heels making the best whiskey that was coming out of America. And so we should be uniquely proud to buy Tennessee whiskey. Uniquely proud.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And I think one of the things that I've been thinking through when I'm thinking about my next phase in life and what I want to continue to do with Blavity and Afrotech and different businesses, I get so frustrated because I think that sometimes our community doesn't realize how much power we already have.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yes.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Our buying power is already really incredible. And if we were more intentional with just the dollars we already spent. I'm not saying go spend more money. I'm saying the dollars you already spent, the drinks you already are drinking, the clothes you are already wearing. If you were more intentional, yeah, the impact would be incredible for our own economy.

[Fawn Weaver]

But there's a flip side to that. Tell me we've got to be more intentional about putting out products of excellence. Just because it's black is not black excellence.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I agree.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so I started telling people, stop calling what I do black. Black excellence. Because you put that same name on something that's mediocre.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. I don't disagree.

[Fawn Weaver]

Right.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

So this is one of the backlashes we're seeing right now with black owned products. Yeah, everyone. Black owned businesses, Black owned products. Where they're like, nobody is supporting. Okay. But this is. We had such an opportunity between 2020, 2021 and 2020 to capture. To capture. But we had to capture with excellent.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And we put out a lot of garbage. And we need to be clear about that.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I agree.

[Fawn Weaver]

To be honest about that. And so now we're. We're now having to deal with the fact, those of us who put out excellent products, that the reality is a lot of people that specifically went to support black owned products got garbage.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Had a bad experience.

[Fawn Weaver]

Had a terrible experience.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Absolutely.

[Fawn Weaver]

And so we have to across the.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Black, white, green, Asian, blue, everybody.

[Fawn Weaver]

But this means that when we see each other putting out something that is not of excellence, we need to call each other on it. Don't pretend it's okay.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I think we do. I mean, I think that our community is incredibly. I do. I. If I go on a young black products page, typically consumer cpg, we tend to play a lot in the CPG space. And I look at their comments. There's a Lot of negativity there. And sometimes I think that the standard that we hold ourselves to also can be like, wait, how are you expecting a two day turnaround from a small business that just launched last year? Well, but there's not Amazon.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah, but that's. You got to ignore the comments. Yeah. The reason you have to ignore the comments is you have to remember that we are. We have been tagged as very gullible from other countries. And so there is a. People should just read Putin's Color Revolution. It's spelled C O L O U R. But one of the things, things he says in the Color Revolution is that I will continue to spread a water hose of lies because America will respond with a water pistol of truth.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

It's important to understand that other countries are in our comments. So when I see somebody that is like all over trolling, I don't spend any energy talking to them. I don't even know that they're black. Just because there's a black photo there does not mean that's who I'm talking to. So we also have to really be diligent about understanding There's a lot of bots out there.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

That are specifically looking to divide our power. They're trying to divide us. Literally. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Right. And so you have a lot of countries that. The one group that they are targeting in America is us.

[Morgan DeBaun]

We're the most vulnerable.

[Fawn Weaver]

We're the most vulnerable because we don't check our resources.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Listen, as a media company, I get on my team all the time. Just because the tweet has been retweeted by credible sources does not necessarily the origin of the tweet.

[Fawn Weaver]

Check the source. Check the source. The whole story. We were up in arms about Nears Green being a slave whose recipe was stolen, who was hidden from us.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Viral.

[Fawn Weaver]

It went viral. And I still to this day, I've done thousands, thousands of interviews.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Where did it come from?

[Fawn Weaver]

I still have to correct people. I mean, I'll be out in the marketplace and people will be so excited to tell me about the story. They won't know who I am. And they're like, this is Uncle Nearest and da da da da and Jackson. And I'm like, okay, so first of all, the woman who you're talking about, who did the research, that's me. And that is not what I have ever seen. Right. But it just takes on a life of its own. And so we got to get better about checking our sources and not getting so angry the moment we see Something we will jump on an injustice.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

Without simply checking the source and making sure that what is said is accurate. And so the reason I'm not up in arms almost at any point ever is because most of the stuff we're up in arms about, we have it wrong. There's an element of it that got left out in the translation of it going viral. And we gotta understand that's not even us. That's Russia, that's Iran, that's North Korea, and that's China, all in our chats.

[Morgan DeBaun]

I completely agree with you. We see it all the time. And I'll give you guys an example for people who are listening in, who still don't believe what we're saying, they'll create. You guys know how when people's Instagrams get hacked and so they take your page, they're cloning it, they'll clone your page. The reason it's hard to figure out is because they've cloned somebody else who's real. If you go on TikTok and you look up my name, you're going to see seven versions of me. Because every time I post it, posts. It's a bot. So it literally just copies and pastes. So literally looks. People can't tell the difference between me and. How would you. It's the exact same content.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And they are commenting. They're DMing people. People are having whole conversations with me.

[Fawn Weaver]

Complete conversations. I had someone try to convince me that they were ludicrous. Now, mind you, I know ludicrous. No, no. And he. This person, I kid you not, this person saw me comment or saw Luda comment on one of my posts or something like that. He comes in my DMs to convince me that. That Luda is the bot and that he is the real ludicrous. And I'm looking at this like, you what?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes, it's real, but it's real. And there's sometimes there's people. But to your point, I've gone back and forth with someone like, hey, can you take this down? They're like, no, I really need the money. I'm like, but it's my page, it's me. No, I'm so serious.

[Fawn Weaver]

No, it is. And so people have to understand, you got to take what you're seeing on social with a grain of salt. Unless you're going to take the time to dig in. That's right, what's really there, and go past the layers, then you can't be bother. I mean, I literally look at it and go, I Don't even know if you're real.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

So I'm going to get worked up and I don't even know if who you're commenting is real.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. Yeah, that's a good point. What's coming to mind for me is our good friend Monique Rodriguez and Mielle, the situation there and wait, I don't.

[Fawn Weaver]

Know, I don't keep up.

[Morgan DeBaun]

No. You know, Mielle went viral a few years ago with her rosemary oil product and she recently sold the business to Unilever, I believe, or maybe it's P and Gilever or Plan G. And so our community has a tendency when we sell our companies to non black owned companies to say the product's going to change, the formula is going to change, you know, everything's going to change. And Monique specifically is a woman and a family run business. I mean she has been very intentional about her business and how she built it. And now a couple years later there's been reports on TikTok of women's hair falling out from the product. Right. So now there's this entire conspiracy that and the people are just throwing, I mean people are just spending all this time and energy just throwing out their entire cabinets of my own making, this entire movement on TikTok to say, is.

[Fawn Weaver]

This happening right now?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes, this has been happening for the last few months. It's absolutely heartbreaking for Monique because I mean, for so many different reasons. So to the point where now Monique is like going to the factory to say, this is the factory we've been with for so many years, this is the product. Like we have not changed the formula. Hiring, you know, people to say like, no, it hasn't changed regrets, you know, and my heart breaks for her because.

[Fawn Weaver]

She'S such a sweetheart.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah. But not even just that she's a great person, but from a business executive perspective, what she built was incredible. And to sell it to a huge conglomerate, that was her goal. She was able to accomplish that goal. And then for now, my fear is that people then look at these acquisitions and say it's so risky your whole brand could be just demolished by a conspiracy theory that our community is so.

[Fawn Weaver]

Gullible, we're so gullible. They're very good about it, about dividing.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And you really, unless you can have something where that voice is louder. So one of the things that I'm really intentional about, if I don't have something of meaning to say, I don't say it. You don't see me on social just chit chatting about nothing. You don't see wardrobe changes. I think that leaves us more vulnerable. And I. Why people do it. It gets the likes. It gets, you know, a lot more followers. I get that. The downside to that is that then because you've done that, someone else can more easily pretend to be you. For a bot to pretend to be me, they got to be wise as hell. Because I don't just say anything.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right.

[Fawn Weaver]

So the tone of. I don't. I don't even know if there's, like, how many fake pages are out there. I've never looked. It doesn't matter to me because someone would have to copy my tone, my cadence, my words of wisdom. People will know immediately if somebody starts.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Just talking about silly stuff, making stories up.

[Fawn Weaver]

You're very consistent. If you're coming for me, you better be real.

[Morgan DeBaun]

You're very consistent. I'll definitely give you that. And it is clear, I think the stories you tell, how you motivate people, the hope that you sow, the brand that you represent. Very consistent. And I think that it's not easy for people to do. It's not easy.

[Fawn Weaver]

Yeah, but who's looking for easy? If you're looking for easy, then this is not. This is not the lane. You should be working for someone if that's. If that's what you're trying to do. If you're looking for easy, I can tell you there's nothing that I do on any given day that is easy. But easy isn't my goal. So it's a. The best way. The way I like to describe it is Cindy McLaughlin. You take away those hurdles, she's still smoking everybody, but she's a hurdler. That's. She expects to see hurdles. That's how she excels, right? So that's how I look at challenges. I expect to see hurdles on the track. And what sets me apart from everybody else is that I'm able to jump over those challenges without giving them much attention. My focus is on the rhythm of how I run to get to the trial in between. What's that rhythm? What's that cadence? What's my focus? That's how I'm looking at it. I'm never expecting a clear track. And so where we get thrown off is if we're expecting a clear track and then there's hurdles, we've fallen all over the place, right?

[Morgan DeBaun]

We're like, where does that.

[Fawn Weaver]

And then it's.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Why.

[Fawn Weaver]

When people ask me, what has been your greatest challenge and building the company, you have never heard me Answer that question never. Because that's like asking a hurdle which one of the hurdles is the hardest.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Right.

[Fawn Weaver]

They all hurdles?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yeah.

[Fawn Weaver]

Like, that's. They're not my focus.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It's expected.

[Fawn Weaver]

It's expected. And so we as African Americans have got to get to a place where we expect the hurdles and that we're able to smoke anybody. Even those without. Without hurdles, those that have a clear track, we're still able to smoke them. Going over hurdles.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Beautiful. Just in closing and wrapping up for.

[Fawn Weaver]

That was fast.

[Morgan DeBaun]

No, we're deep in it. How we doing, team? Well, time wise, I'm closing. I'm like, I know my. I got a sense of time. I mean, I can keep going. But you. Yeah, you're a busy lady. There's someone listening to this who aspires to be this confident about themselves, aspires to have a vision that is so clear to them. There's a chapter in my book coming up called simple but not easy.

[Fawn Weaver]

I love it. What's the book title?

[Morgan DeBaun]

Rewrite your rules. Yes, Rewrite your rules. What are the rules?

[Fawn Weaver]

They're all made up.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Rewrite them. So there's someone who is saying to themselves, okay, I want to be here, but I can't figure it out. And they don't feel passionate enough yet. They don't feel passionate about any one thing enough to have this level of excellence and focus. What would you say to that person who's still struggling to find themselves or find that passion for themselves?

[Fawn Weaver]

If you're not passionate about what's right in front of you, you will not be passionate about what is coming to you. Everything, every moment of our lives, to be fully present in that moment, to find all the gems, all the lessons in that moment. This entire company was built on lessons I learned from my company when I was 18 years old. This entire foundation of what anybody sees is an 18 year old girl who started a PR firm and learned what makes the press tick, what is important to them. And everything that you see has been built on that. Well, if I wasn't passionate about PR in that moment, what is here today would not exist. And so in every moment of our lives, we have an opportunity to be passionate about what we are involved in then. And to me, it's a little bit like an unlocking. I mean, I come from a generation of Atari, right? And so in Super Mario Brothers and all the rest of that stuff. But you got the gems that you took with you, and from every season it unlocked the next season. I think a lot of people are stuck in the seasons they're in because they refuse to gather the gems in that season that will unlock the next season. And so, yeah, if you're not happy with your life today, you're not going to be happy with your life in the future. I don't care what you have, how much money. If you're not content with the purpose of today, understanding that your purpose is you, your purpose on life is you, it is whatever God has given you to do in that moment, we got to look at these little things.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Yes.

[Fawn Weaver]

And understand this is a collection of gemstones. So every season of my life has had a lot of challenges, but I looked at every one of those challenges as literally as diamonds. These are the gems that are coming forward with me, and it's what I'm going to build upon in the next season. And so I am wildly passionate about what I'm doing right now. If you had Talked to me 10 years ago when I put out Happy Wives Club, I was wildly passionate about building that community and sharing what it's like to be happily married and going and interviewing couples 25 years or more that have been happily married 25 years or more around the world, I was equally as passionate then. If you go back to my PR firm and you talk to anybody who worked for. I didn't know what I was doing from a leadership standpoint, but I knew how to talk to the press. Passionate at that moment. And so if anyone who is waiting for their purpose to arrive, you've already missed your purpose.

[Morgan DeBaun]

And with that, thank you all for tuning in. Fine. Thank you, thank you for your.

[Fawn Weaver]

And thank you to the fly.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Shout out to the fly. Shout out to the fly who's still in our shot. No, no, but seriously, this is incredible. I appreciate you. And for those who are looking to connect with you, what is the best place for them to do that?

[Fawn Weaver]

Instagram. I respond to all my DMs.

[Morgan DeBaun]

It's not a bot.

[Fawn Weaver]

It's not a bot. But if it's long, you will get a message from me saying, condense this. I don't have time for all this.

[Morgan DeBaun]

That's right. Amen. Please give me the bullets.

[Fawn Weaver]

Give me bullets. Make it short. Make it concise. Yes, but I respond to all of my. All of my DMs to this day, no matter how many there are.

[Morgan DeBaun]

Incredible. You're an incredible woman, and I'm inspired by you. So thank you for today. Bye. Thanks for listening to the Journey podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a review and head to our Instagram and YouTube to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing how this podcast has made an impact on your own journey.