This week’s guest on the Local Talent podcast is Ken Ray, a badass veteran army nurse who started a CBD products company called Band of Brothers. When Ken retired from the army, he struggled to adjust to civilian life and to cope with his knee injuries, so he started taking CBD oil to manage his pain and anxiety. He experienced great results and decided to become an entrepreneur in the CBD industry. Despite opening his store on the day that Texas shut down for COVID-19, the business has gone from strength to strength and Ken has ambitious plans to start his own CBD franchise.

Ken walks host Jason through the process of starting Band of Brothers, from the first few weeks when he was too nervous to hand out business cards to the problems of securing a location and getting his credit card processes sorted. He also explains some of the strategy behind his business, telling Jason how he decided on his pricing strategy and what makes his store different from the others out there. Listen out as the guys shoot through a question lightning round and swap stories of what happens when you take too many CBD gummies!

This episode has great advice about breaking through in the CBD industry and what it takes to change your life around and to become an entrepreneur. If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to leave a review and to subscribe to the Local Talent podcast.


Timestamps

[0:00] Intro
[0:52] Ken introduces himself and his business, Band of Brothers
[2:08] Transitioning from military to civilian life
[3:17] Trying out CBD oil
[5:38] The first phase of marketing your own business
[7:06] Directing sources products and quality control
[8:40] Ken’s “ambush sales” technique
[10:16] The learning curve of opening a store
[15:04] The life cycle of construction companies
[17:51] A win-win relationship with employees
[18:53] Growing Band of Brothers
[22:12] The results that Ken sees in his customers when they start using his CBD products
[23:11] How Ken developed his pricing model
[24:27] Breaking through in a saturated market
[24:58] The problem of credit card processing and waiting for a $20,000 payment
[28:38] It’s friendly competition
[29:28] Lab testing and spot checking CBD products
[30:38] What Band of Brothers offers to their customers and how Ken adapts the products to the local market
[32:48] Lightning round!!
[36:00] Ken’s five-year vision and his marketing strategy
[37:39] Ken’s biggest mistake when opening the store
[38:13] CBD isn’t a gateway drug
[41:10] Trying to find a second location
[42:24] Who are Ken’s regular customers?
[44:47] CBD products for cancer patients
[45:41] The munchies are real!
[46:00] This is why you gotta manage your gummy doses
[48:59] Putting in the long hours
[50:00] Ken’s parting words of wisdom: “Be honest with yourself”