Tiny Town, Huge Risk: What Buying a 60-Year-Old Business Really Takes (Ep. 333)

"Just be open-minded about things. And the negativity, you're going to have to let it go. Otherwise, it will eat you alive. And yes, it will lead to failure. I think negativity, it's either going to drive you or it's going to eat you alive. The negativity drives me. But I think a negative Nelly is probably never going to be a business owner. And if they are, they're not going to survive long. The Debbie Downer is going to find everything wrong before they even go and approach the guy with the ad in the paper. They're going to see every negative thing ever. I mean, I'm kind of the rose-colored glasses lady. Like, that's such a good idea. Let's do it. Like, I can go from here to here and I skip all this stuff in the middle. And that's where Scott comes in. You're like... Because he's like, yeah, that's not going to work that way. That's why we buy shithole farms and we fix them up. Because Mary Jo missed the middle of how much work there was to fix it up. I just went from here to this vision. And I'm like, it's grand."

Hello, hello, hello. And welcome back to the podcast. Thank you very much for being here. We have an amazing guest today. Erica Lantz is from Iowa. And she is a client of mine that came to town to record a podcast. So, and I'm going to be on her podcast. So be on the lookout for that as well. But I am super excited. Hence the reason for the studio. Yeah. So thanks for coming, Erica.

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to hang out in your new studio. This is pretty cool.

It's so fun to have you here. Yeah. Because when you call... Right. Erica does like 20 minutes... She schedules 20-minute phone calls with me. That's silly. It's like what? An hour, hour and a half. Maybe two hours sometimes.

Yeah. We always have a lot to talk about.

Yes. Because she's also a business owner. And so we're going to talk about... I want to hit everything today. I want to hit the farming side. I want to hit the business side. All the things. Okay. So that people have an opportunity. So how long this is going to go? I don't know. We could be Joe Rogan today.

No idea. No idea. You never know.

Right. Right. So let's start with...

I hate when people ask me to introduce myself.

So I'll do the best I can... Okay. ...to give them a little bit of history. Okay. And then you can throw some stuff in there. Sure. So you are from Iowa. Yes. And you own a feed company, Feeders Grain and Farm Supply. Correct. What town in Iowa?

Corning, Iowa.

I've not been there. I tried to go one time on my way through, but it did not work out with our schedule. Anyway, so she has a farm store. When I met you was in 2020?

Yes. Before I bought the store. Yes. I was still working.

But that was pre-COVID, right?

Yes. It was 2019, maybe. No, it was 20. Yeah, it was 2019. Yes.

And so you got your policy. You read the book. You got your policy in 2019 because you and your husband have a ranch. Yes. I remember having conversations with you during COVID about how everything was going at work and if you guys were shipping because where were you working?

I worked for Conagra Foods at the time. So I worked in food manufacturing.

Okay. Yeah. And so I was like, oh, how is everything going? And you're like, oh, I'm going to buy a store.

Yes. Yes. Yes. And here we are today with the store. Yes.

So you were with Conagra for how long?

Just about 14 years.

Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. Y'all, she did not look her age.

Yeah. So just about 14 years. And then I bought the store. It's been four years that I've had the store now. So, and when I purchased the store, it had been open for, the gentleman had it for over 60 years. Yep. I bought that.

So let's talk about the ranch first. Sure. And then let's, because I'm squirrely.

That's fine.

So we get into all kinds of stuff and not in any particular order.

Well, that's just a good half talk.

So let's try to keep me on track a little bit. So as far as the ranch goes, what do you guys have?

A little bit of everything, honestly. So my husband's the fifth generation on the farm and we didn't buy into the family cattle herd. So what we ended up doing is kind of going a niche route. So we raise Dexter cattle. So those are smaller, unimproved cattle. So when people think of those, they think really small. Cows are about 42 inches. Bulls get to be about 48 inches, right? And then we have heritage hogs as well.

Oh. Yeah. I just learned about those not that long ago. Yes. Because they're fattier. Yes. Right? Yes.

And I actually brought you some bacon today to try. Oh, nice. So, yes. Very exciting. But no, we have a closed breeding plan in general. My husband, right? That's his thing. Okay. And so we have about 12 different heritage breeds that we've bred for our hogs to get the ideal pasture hog that we want.

How many hogs do you have?

Enough. Enough.

This is all new to me, people.

Yes. Yes. So, probably around...

I don't think we've ever had a conversation about hogs.

Probably not.

We have with the Dexter cattle. Yes. And that was actually my first time even kind of hearing about what they are. Because I've never had anybody... I mean, I had heard about them one other time, but I had to Google it to remind myself... Yeah. ...that they're little. Yeah. They're the other cute cattle.

Yes, they are. Yes. They're very much so a lot of homesteader... People with a couple acres, they will have one or two cows. Oh. Okay. So, very efficient. That way, we're not that case. You know, I've got at least 50 cows. So, we're those that we do direct to consumer with the beef and same with the pork as well. Okay. And then we also have hair sheep. So, that's meat-based. So, they shed their wool unlike regular wool sheep. So, not as strong flavor when it comes to like the lanolin. You know how some of the lamb can be very strong flavor. Yeah. So, it kind of... Because there's less lanolin there, then that meat is a little milder.

Interesting. Yes. Because there's a lot of people out there that don't like lamb because it's so strong. Do you have anything else?

Yeah, of course we do. Why did I not? Like, clearly, we talk a lot about the store and not the farm. We do. So, we also raise North American curly horses, which are hypoallergenic horses. So, I...

I just need... I don't even... Yo, I don't even have my phone here. I would just be Googling all this stuff because I've not heard of curly horses.

So, I developed an allergy to horses when I was in college. I always grew up with horses, right? And so, my husband found the curly horses. So, I actually have a stud and some mares. And so, we kind of raise our own.

They're like the poodles of horses.

I know. Yeah. Yeah.

And they're actually curly.

Yes, they are curly. I have some that look like regular quarter horses. They're straight-haired, but they are hypoallergenic.

Really? Yes. Like, how many of those are around?

In general or at my house?

In general. Like, how... I've never heard of them.

You don't see a lot of them. So, they also introduced, at one point in time, curlies into the wild mustangs. So, we have a couple of wild mustangs that are curly as well. So, they're around.

Do they shed?

Yeah. They shed, just the same. But it's a very interesting concept. They don't smell like a horse, right? So, they don't have the dander. Dander. So, that's the essential part of that. So... Oh. Yeah. No, we have everything, Mary Jo.

So, do you sell them? Do you breed them to sell them?

Well, I feel like we collect them more than anything.

That's a you, probably.

No, I think, you know, it's... Well, they're going to get older, and you have to make sure you have horses to ride, right? No, we have to sell them.

So, are there breeders around the country?

There are.

That obviously you got yours from?

I did get mine from an older lady. The stud that I have was her last foal that she had, and so I had gotten her. But most of her stuff, when she sold it, actually went over to Europe. Really? Yeah. So, she didn't have a lot of stuff in the States. So, it was really neat.

So, how many breeders are there in the States? Do you have any idea?

I'd have to look it up and see, because there's a couple of different associations. There's not a lot, a lot of curly horses. There's quite a few.

I'm just thinking what a great business opportunity. Yeah. Right? Because everybody has allergies.

Right. So, we've...

And that's why poodles have become the big thing.

Yes, the doodles.

Besides the no shedding. Yes. But everybody's got allergies. So, like, if your little girl wants a horse, there you go.

Yes. Yes. So, we have bred to, like, a POA pony, essentially, so that you have that smaller statured and sold ponies that are hypoallergenic.

What's that temperament like? Because ponies can be kind of odd.

Yeah. So, they're a POA, Pony of America. They are crossed for a horse. So, it kind of waters down that naughty pony. Oh, okay. Attitude that you get. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

And what else?

So, what else do we have? Oh, what else do we have? I'm telling you, we have everything.

You have furry foot chickens, too, I suppose.

Yes, we have silky chickens that my boys raise. So, they hatch them out. So, we have our colored, just a few, right? A flock, maybe. There's, like, 10 colored ones. And about that of the white. Okay. As well. So, they love them.

Because you got two boys.

I have two boys.

And they are how old?

They are six and eight.

Let's not forget about the husband and the boys. Yes, yes.

Not that I've ever talked to the husband. But, you know. All right.

Yes. So, all of that is direct to consumer. All of the meat is direct to consumer. Yes.

So, are you doing eggs and chickens direct to consumer as well, then?

With the silkies, we let the boys kind of do their thing and they'll hatch out chicks. And then we allow them to barter with their chicks so that they learn the bartering system that way.

What are they bartering for? Bicycles and more chickens?

Well, sometimes, yeah. Some toys or maybe a movie or they've gotten a DVD or, you know, something.

Oh, my gosh. That is funny. Yeah. So, how does that even come about? Hey, you want a chicken? What do you got for movies?

Well, we just explain to people, you know, we don't necessarily want to do the cash piece when it comes to the chickens. It'd be fun to have a barter. So, if you have something that you can barter with with the kids when you hit the chickens.

That is such a good idea because then they're learning how to negotiate, essentially.

Yeah. And communicate with them. Right. Which they enjoy that. So, if there's people, they had a litter of baby kitties here this summer. And so, whoever comes over to our house, they're like, do you want a baby kitty? It's $5. We have two available. They're getting it, right? So, they're getting it.

That is so awesome.

Yeah. So, they enjoy that stuff and they've caught on to it. Yeah. Yeah.

Which is going to be necessary for real life.

Oh, 100%.

And it's going to be super, it's going to be normal for them to sell stuff. Yes. I think it's funny. I have a family member who, you know, the kids come around and they sell their popcorn or they sell their candy for school or whatever they're selling. And they're like, well, is that all you want? And my family member is like, you guys. And I'm like, oh, no. Let them sell. If they want to upsell, if they want to ask somebody if they want more or suggest something else, why shut them down? And it's funny how parents do that, right? They will shut their kid down. Oh, no, no. Don't bother. Don't bother. Yeah. When in fact, you're just killing the natural salesman in them. And you have to sell at any point in your life. This stigma that sales is bad. If you want to make more money in life, you sell things. You're not going to make a ton of money in life by punching a clock. I mean, you can make money by punching a clock. But you have a ceiling. And somebody else is setting that ceiling. Right. So that's a great skill for them to have.

Yeah. They enjoy it. I mean, it's... And we don't really even think about it, right? Right. In our household and people... You're okay with selling a kitty? And they're like, yeah, it's $5. Yes, because I don't want it. And it's going to cost me money. We have plenty. Yeah. Or this one's a male. We don't need this one. Yeah. So they're... It's funny.

So you went to college for what?

Food science.

Okay.

So now the store just kind of comes naturally in the aspect of... So we've got a little farm store.

So you sell what at the store?

So we sell fencing supplies. I have a mill. So I mill my own feed and feed truck. And then seed. And then small 50-pound bags. And also just in-store items. You know, the smaller fencers, solar fencers. You know, your boron, back rubbers, things like that for you.

Okay. So the food science, where I want to go here, is the food science. That's fun to talk to you about. Yeah. Because not only are you a weirdo like me and fresh milling your own grain. Yes. Because on the human food side of it, you're paying attention to that as well. Right. But on the food animal science side of it, you're actually at the store. You guys are making your own chicken feed. Yes. And making your own mixes. Right. So can you tell me like what makes your mix different or what you're looking at there or why that is important for us to say, hey, can we just call you and get our, get a shipment of food for our chickens and our cows and whatever instead of going to Runnings or instead of going to, you know, TSC and buying it. Right. Or now we have a wheat farm.

Oh, yes. And they have chicken feed too, I see. Yes. Yeah. So the big thing is, is that ours is fresh mill. So we're milling the corn that goes and so you're grinding the corn. And actually most of our stuff is sourced locally where all my ingredients are coming from. And then we have a balancer that we're putting in there. So it's a fresh ground. I'm not doing a bunch of fillers or anything like that in the feed. So it's very bioavailable for the chicken per se.

So are you picky about what kind of corn you're getting or what kind of barley?

So I source from one farmer my corn that is there locally. And then say there's soybean meal in it. So there is a plant locally that I can, I go and get it from. So that comes from farmers that are around the areas. So from the aspect of it's still regular dent corn, but I know the practices in which the farmer has.

Well, that's kind of where I was going is that a lot of people are like, oh, I don't want GMO this or I don't want sprays and chemicals and stuff on it. And so are you finding corn that is grown in regeneratively or organically? And is that what this is made out of? Or does it...

Not necessarily. My background in corn is kind of a little bit different than most people because that is where I focused. My career started in manufacturing. And so when you think about it and the kernel itself, I know it'll be controversial when I say this, but doing the testing and seeing the residual that's actually left in the kernel because a lot of that spray...

The residual of spray.

The residual of spray. Okay. So when you look at that and you see, okay, what's the timing in which the farmer is spraying that crop versus when that ear is actually placed on and starting to develop? Mm-hmm. Those are different timings. And in my previous life of manufacturing, I had to do a lot of send-off samples, do testing for chemical residual, you know, because we were shipping overseas. And there's really not much of anything left. You know, you might get a hint of certain things, but it's not to the fact of price point for people is a big deal. And when you look at organic side of things, it's significantly higher than if you're doing regular commercial.

That's interesting because that's not what we hear.

I know.

And if you're listening, this whole thing is controversial because it's life insurance. Right. Yeah. So if you're on my channel, you're here for controversy anyway. Yeah.

So...

And I recently found that similar comment from the person I get my wheat from that I mill. And she had to send it all in to get the nutritional facts on it. And then she grinds it and she sends that in to get the nutritional facts on it. She's like, there's no evidence of anything. And they don't spray Roundup. Right. But they are spraying a herbicide. Right. Right. And she's like, there's nothing on it. There's like, there's not even a trace of anything. Right. For that herbicide. And so a lot of... I don't even need to get into that piece of it because I don't know enough about it. But I would think... Yeah. And you can answer that for me. The people that desiccate that grain, there's going to be traces of a chemical on there versus somebody that's spraying when that stem is just a couple of inches. And a lot of times, you know... Is that what you're saying?

Yeah. Oh, we tested it. There's nothing left. Right. Yeah. Because that's... It's all in the stages of the growth of it and whether or not there is an ear set on that stalk. So can I get non-GMO? I can. But non-GMO is sprayed as well. Yeah. So, you know, there's a chemical factor.

So if I'm buying chicken feed from you because I'm homesteading and I got these chickens and I think that I need to have a better grain. Right. It's not making a difference. The only difference is if you bought a so-called better grain... Yeah. You're at the price point is going to be higher.

Well, when you think of, say, like a branded, a lot of times they put other things in it. Whereas mine is...

They have the fillers.

Right. Yes. They have the fillers.

So what are those fillers?

Sometimes they're just byproducts is what they'll put in there. So that they can put less of the good stuff in, still fill the bag. Right. And they can still be...

This might sound stupid. Y'all, like, this might sound dumb, but I don't have chickens. Okay. And I'm not feeding calves. And I'm not... But they still have to meet that nutritional threshold, right?

Yeah. So there's still the nutritional...

But there's ways to do that cheaper.

Yes. Yes, there is.

So that is their way of making more profit.

Right. Yes. Okay. Not saying it's good, bad, or otherwise. It's just saying they derive at their nutritional label differently than what I do. And at my store, it's not as though I don't sell those as well. You know, there's a time and a place and there's a preference for people. Mine is a little bit different than, you know, it's not pelleted and things like that. Some people prefer a pelleted feed versus mine is a ground feed.

So will you do a custom mix? Like, oh, I want this. Yeah. And will you just create whatever I want?

Yeah. So that's the nice part about my husband and the background. So he's the animal science guy who has the nutrition background and so he can balance rations.

So he went to school for animal science. You went to school for food science. Yes. Interesting conversations at your house.

Yes. Yes. Okay. So he's the one that's kind of in charge of the feed making. He'll balance a ration for me. Yeah. Yeah. So that we make sure we get the ideal phosphorus to calcium ratios and, you know, the essential things, the ideal protein. Yeah.

So it's chicken feed.

Oh, we do all feeds. So we do swine feed. You know, we have cattle feed. We have regular sweet feed that we'll make. Okay. Our house feed. Yeah. And then we have some that we get from our suppliers, some creep feeds and things like that, that then we supply to the farmers.

So if I don't live in Iowa and I get custom feed from you, I mean, they're 50 pound bags. Yes. Right. Yeah. So then you just ship them?

Yes. We can ship them. We've had people, you know, we're in Southwest Iowa. We've had people in Northern Iowa. Transportation is pretty easy. You can LTL things. So we've done that before. I know it's a little bit harder for people to find a mill that does any kind of custom feed. So that's nice for people as well. It's getting that diversity and currently transitioning and being able to do the non-GMO getting those available. Because that's our whole goal is to meet the needs of our customers. So if that's something they need, like I had a gentleman, he was raising meat turkeys. So we did a special blend for him for his meat turkeys.

So if I want the non-GMO, the organic, you can source that. Yes. And still make that feed. Yes. Yeah.

Okay. Interesting. So where was he at?

He wasn't far from me. He's probably about 45 minutes or so.

And I'm assuming he does direct to consumer with his turkeys.

Yes. Yeah.

So that those people know what they're getting from feed. Yeah. That's cool.

Yes. Yeah.

Because there's not a lot of, like we went to dinner last night and we were talking about the feed thing or we're trying to explain to my husband what kind of store you have. And we don't have a store like that here. Yes. That I'm aware of. We do not have a store that's going to sell penicillin and well, I don't know if you could sell that.

I can't sell that, but yes.

You can sell whatever they sell at Runnings for stuff.

Yes. Right. Clothing, boots, but then we also have the feed side of it. Right.

That we, it's like an all-encompassing store, which is awesome because you just don't get that a lot. Right. Because you got your fencing equipment too.

So it's kind of interesting, the grocery list on sometimes when I have customers coming in and their range of things that they're purchasing from us. Yeah.

How many people live in your town?

So in that town, it's around a thousand people, but it's a very nice town. The community is very supportive in general. And there's actually two feed stores in the town. Oh. And Main Street, I mean, they have tons of businesses and it's just a really neat idea.

So it's not, like your store doesn't need to like have milk and butter and some little convenience things? Or do you have that too?

No, we do have a little grocery store in town as well. Yeah.

So you don't need to have that.

No.

Interesting. Yeah. So we've got chicken feed. What other feeds? Swine? Mm-hmm. Beef. Yeah. You got all your stuff for your beef and then your sweet feeds. Yep. And then... Horses?

So a lot of the horse feed would be direct from... Sourced from a company.

Okay. So you're not making any of that stuff?

No. We don't typically make a lot of horse feeds. We make some. But a lot of people just... They want a specific brand of horse feed.

Okay. So let's just rewind a hair because I got sidetracked by the feed.

You're fine.

Because that's super fascinating to me. Yeah. That like you're making it. And I've talked to a couple other people that make feed as well. Sure. And the other guy I talked to that made it, he's selling it wholesale. Okay. To somebody that can retail it. Okay. Because he doesn't have the manpower to go retail. Yeah. Right. And so there's a... I have just found that there's such a need for all these chicken people. Yes. That they're raising chickens and they just have a few of them, but they want a higher quality feed. Yes. Than what's at Runnings. And a few years ago, there was a big thing with some company. Yes. About chicken feed. Yes. I can say it probably before you can. Yes. I'm not the store owner. Yes. But there was something about the chicken feed. And so then all of a sudden, like all I'm seeing on my TikTok is everybody's screaming about Purina. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Everybody's screaming about their chicken feed. And so it's a matter of like, who's got a better quality? Because we want the best quality of whatever it is. Yes. Right. That we've got going on. All right. So what happens if I want feed? Where do I go? How do I contact you for feed?

So we do have our website though. We've just relaunched a new website. So it's pretty awesome, but it's still in the works, right? Okay. So it's feedersgrain.com, or you can call our store. So our number is on our website.

Okay. We call the store directly. Okay. And then you will ship it.

Whatever. Yes, we can ship it.

Do you have like a standard shipping price? Have you figured that out yet? Because shipping is such a pain.

Yes. So we're working on that currently. Okay. Just because of the different territories and the regions in which, you know, for shipping. Mm-hmm. It varies. So.

The lady that I get my grain from, for milling, she just lives an hour from me. Oh. And so I was like, well, I'll just come and get it. Well, she charges like $18 for a 25-pound bag a week. Like, I can't drive there for $18. So I'll just have it shipped. And she has a flat fee. And I just wonder like, how are you making money on $18 shipping? Because I could get a 35-pound pail. Right. For $18 as well. So I don't know how she's shipping it. But yeah, shipping's tough. We spend $9 just for a book. Yeah. For. I know. For the post office to not lose it and have some tracking. Yes. Because they're ridiculous.

And so at my store, what I decided to do, which was super helpful. So I am a FedEx drop-off location. Oh. So I have pretty good rates through them being a location drop-off. And then I can negotiate. And I always have a truck there. Okay. For both express ground. So every day. Oh, that's nice. Yes. So that was, that's super handy. Because there was nothing around. Like you would have to go basically 25 miles one way or 20 the other way to go drop off a package. And you know how, the way of the world now, right? People have a lot of return items. Right. Yeah. So.

So how does that work? Like, I'm assuming you just, they return something to Amazon and you just throw it in a big box.

Yeah. So we have a drop-off in the backs of our warehouse where the truck comes and pick it all up for us.

That is so smart. Yeah. So. You're so smart.

Thanks. It was so, but it was handy for us.

And then you get better rates because you're a drop-off location.

Yes. And so they don't just let anybody. Right. There can't be multiple within town. So luckily. Yeah.

Do you guys not have a UPS drop-off location?

We do have one in town. Yeah. But it's not like the actual hub or anything like that. Yeah. It's just like a UPS store. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's the floral person. She has the drop-off. It's not even a UPS store.

What a great way to get people into your business.

Yes. So that has been super interesting because I've got a gal that does honey locally. And so I keep that on the counter and that's where people drop off the boxes. So she's gotten some good honey business with that.

It doesn't matter if you're a farmer or not. Everybody loves honey. Right. And you don't have to be the farmer to come to the farm store then. Right. Exactly. Because otherwise, it's just the farmers that are coming in or gardeners or somebody that thinks that they need you. But now it's everybody that needs FedEx. Yes.

And you have local goods from local people. Right. Because I think you do that. Like you have a whole section, right?

I've got a few items. Yes. Oh, okay. And then we have some home items. So real salt, you know, things like canning. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. That we've got in a store as well.

Okay. That is the business side of that that I wanted to touch on is like, we can do one thing or we can be smart and add things because you also have an Amazon storefront. Yes. And so now you can go get, and I know we've talked about the fact that you sell a lot of ivermectin. Yes. Via the Amazon storefront.

Yes, or my website.

Yeah. But it's interesting that people, a lot of people think small. They're like, well, my store's not making it. I'm not getting the local support of the store because there's only a thousand people in town. And so I can't grow and I'm barely getting by. And what's fun to have watched you kind of grow through this in the last four years is you're adding stuff like that. You're doing the chicken feed and the custom feeds. Yes. And I don't know, maybe he was doing that before.

Yeah, he did some of that to an extent. Yes.

But you know what people need. Like, you know that people are not, that guy was like in his 80s when you bought it. Yes. So you're not doing things like we did 80 years ago. No. Right. If we want the small town to survive, sadly, a lot of people don't support the small town business.

Yes. Which I'm very thankful.

Because you do have to be more expensive. Yes. Yes. Because you don't have the ability to buy in bulk. Right. Like Walmart or whoever. But if we can sell more. Yes. And we don't just have to depend on those thousand local people. Right. It makes it better for those thousand.

And the other thing is, I know you're a lot like this as a person, but I try to negotiate when I'm buying things so that if I'm buying a pallet of something, that I can get a better rate. Mm-hmm. Versus if I were to buy a single box. So having that other outlet available, then I can bring my prices down to a reasonable amount so that I can be competitive that way.

Do most people negotiate with the wholesaler selling it to you? Do you, or are they kind of taken back when you start negotiating for a better price? Because I feel like a lot of business owners are just like, well, that's what they told me it's going to be. Right. So that's what it's going to be. And I don't have any room to negotiate because I'm just this little store in Southwest Iowa.

Right. So my thing is that you don't get anywhere being rude or angry. Right. Right. So I'm just, I just ask them, you know, can we do any better on that price based on what I'm purchasing? Mm-hmm. You know, and a lot of times, yeah, they can do that. And I feel like myself as a business owner, if somebody's going to come in and buy stuff in bulk from me, it's the same way. Right. Everybody wants a good deal. And if I can get a deal myself so we can pass that along to people, you know, that's great. But no, I really haven't had a lot of pushback with the companies that I question that on. They're receptive, you know, they know that that can mean more sales for them as well.

Right. I just don't know that a lot of people think that way. Like even when you and I first talked about freeze drying. Yes. And you're like, oh, that's really cool. And then instead of you just buying a freeze dryer, you're like, I'm selling them now. Right. Yeah. Because it's a better deal for you. Right. How is that going?

Good. So I haven't sold a lot of them, but I've sold a few. They're a very high ticket item, right? But I guess when you find something and you know from an nutritional standpoint how good it is for you and at the end of the day, the amount that you save, just preserving stuff. You're like, well, I'm going to have so much of this in my garden. Oh my gosh, I can go freeze dry it. You know, I can go mess with it later or, you know, whatever that might be. And it's nice to be able to work with companies and their Harvest Right freeze dryers, they're great. And the company's good to work with. And I can direct ship to people. So you don't have to come to my store and pick those up. I can direct ship on T.

So we can just call you for that too.

Yes. You can just call. So if you guys need a freeze dryer, yes, I have them on my website, actually.

Oh, they are on the website. Yeah. That's interesting. So you don't have to have the overhead. Right. I mean, you're seeing them everywhere now. Yes. We don't hardly ever use ours. And when we bought ours, I didn't realize it was so much work to freeze dry.

Yes. So that is a misconception. It's definitely not a dehydrator. Yeah, right? Right. Yeah.

But it's just, you gotta prep it, you gotta freeze it, then you can freeze dry it.

You don't have to freeze everything.

No, but even like candy. To freeze dry candy, it's crazy, because you have to put some candy in the oven first, like Starburst were my nemesis. Oh, yeah. You have to do a lot of research first. I just thought you put the food on the trays and stuck them in and you're good to go. There's all these settings and there's all this stuff. And Scott wanted to be a prepper and he wanted to have freeze dry foods, you know, in case the world ends, but the boy doesn't cook. So I'm like, who's doing it all? Hello? You don't even know how to make mashed potatoes and you want potatoes freeze dried.

I haven't done the whole food thing yet because you can't have them too greasy and then it goes rancid and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, your fat content. But I have had a lot of, I've talked to a lot of people that like it for convenience purposes. Yes. Like, oh, we're running for sports for the kids and we have all this stuff going on and I just want a soup that I can reconstitute and I can quickly have a decent supper instead of going to the drive-thru every single time. The kids are, got some activity. Right. A hundred percent. And my thing was, so I made up taco meat, right? So you cook it up and then I freeze dried it so it's crunchy and you can use that over a salad or, you know, same with. Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah, boiled eggs, same idea and then it's a crunchy, you know, instead of having a crouton. Oh, that's such a good idea.

So the taco meat wasn't too fatty to go rancid?

No, because you render it down when you're cooking essentially. Yeah, and my Dexter beef is typically about 97, 98 percent.

Oh, so there's not a lot of fat. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

Yeah, so it's, I mean, that kind of stuff, it's fun and then it's fun to see what people do with it. Yeah. When they get those.

I'm not that creative with food, but I wasn't the food science major.

Yeah, so that's, when you grow up in a restaurant. Oh yeah, that helps. That helps. Yeah, the food piece is just, that's part of who I am. Yeah. It's just the big thing.

You do a lot of canning and stuff too.

Oh yeah.

Which is nice because if you're gonna sell that stuff in your store, you're using it. You're not just selling it in the store and then you don't have the ideas or the knowledge to share with people.

Well, and I feel like that's a lot of the things in the store, right? So we were customers in that store for 10 years before we bought the business and before that, I mean, my husband's grandfather did business there. You know, it wasn't something that we were unaware of this business or anything like that, but we are farmers that did business there. And so, I knew it was important. It was important to me to have that type of business around and I love agriculture. It's huge. Just developing those relationships, seeing how people are doing, it's fun. It's a lot of fun. I enjoy it.

So there's a huge movement. You have the Codie Sanchez's of the world and the Alex Hormozi's that talk a lot about, Codie Sanchez is a big one right now, that buying small business and that's where the money's at and do that. So, how did the store purchase come about? Like, let's talk about how hard or the good, the bad, and the ugly of buying a small business and what people should look at and what they should be aware of because I think that a lot of times we're hearing the good. And of course, we're only hearing the good on social media from Codie and those kind of people and she has courses to tell people how not to buy a bad business. But why the move to the store?

Sure. So, some of it had to do with obviously wanting to get into my own business and the opportunity of having a business that's been around for years was a wonderful opportunity. The other piece was I had younger kids and I was working in manufacturing and at that time I was doing roughly about three manager roles and I figured if I'm going to do it all, I might as well own something. And people think that's a crazy way to go about doing things but it's a different kind of stress that you take over. So, just approaching this 80 some year old man about buying the business was very interesting.

Was he, was it for sale?

It was for sale. Okay. Yeah. So, the business was for sale and basically he had put an ad in the paper that if he didn't sell it, he was just going to close the doors and so, I approached him about it and it went pretty fast. I think I approached him in April and I had purchased the business by the 1st of August. So, it was a pretty quick but there was a lot of negotiations going on there. One thing I think that was a benefit to me that a lot of people don't have is I put together all the paperwork to purchase the business. So, the contract, all of that, my lawyer was the one we sat down and wrote it up. So, there was stipulations in there that I was able to say, you know, if there's any product expired, I was just that as part of the inventory. Things that were oversold, you know, there was, you know, there's just even inventory.

Oh, inventory.

Yes. So, there was discounted rates, you know, things like that when I bought it. Accounts receivable. So, he did not have an attorney or he didn't have any kind of thought of what he wanted.

And I hear Codie talk about that. Yeah. That the older, that boomer generation doesn't really know, right?

So, he had an idea, right? Because he knew how much inventory he had. You know, like, he knew what he should roughly get. It was more the contents of within the business, you know, like, this is how much the computers are worth and this, you know, was more his thing than inventory-wise because there was a lot of him.

And then... I remember. Yeah. Clothing. Expired vaccine. Yes. Just all kinds of stuff. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of accounts receivable.

Yes. The accounts receivable.

So, did you go through all, like, did you know that? So, if I'm stepping into a business, let's just say I'm going to buy a business. Yep. Like, were you just smart enough to understand you didn't want that stuff or did your attorney say, hey, these are the things you need to watch out for? Because it's not like you had done this before.

No. So, I had lots of people, financial world type people, worked with a gal that did financing at the company I was at, actually. So, I got seven years worth of information. So, between that, you know, my sister is big into finance as well and it helped come through that and, you know, when I pulled those accounts for Tiffel, I was like, what? These are way, from way back when. And so, it was like, no, you will take the current 60 days. So, he was still allowing some people to charge that's owed him money previous. So, I said, I will not take on this person. I will not take on, you know, and kind of go through it that way. And then, basically, just reviewing that with him. It was a hard nut for him to swallow.

Right? When you came in. Because he thought, great, I just walk out the door. Right. And she takes everything, but now I'm responsible for stuff. Right. I mean, I remember you had, like, fencing or something that had just been sitting around forever. Yeah. Like, big things that took up a lot of room.

Yes. Reorganizing a store.

Right. Yeah. Retraining. How did that go? Retraining customers that you need to actually pay your bills. Because he was really nice and allowed that to not happen. Like, I think that's going to be, that would be an issue regardless of what business you took over. Right. The other person is not going to run it financially like the new person coming in. And that could have been better the old way. The new owner could be worse. Whatever. But now you're having to retrain people.

Yes. Well, and a lot of them—or let them know there's a new owner even. Yes. And the other thing is, is that, you know, those people that, I mean, if they still had outstanding bills with the previous owner, they would be a cash-only customer. You know, you have to build trust with me when it comes to, if you have over $100,000 outstanding with the previous owner, I'm going to be real hard press to allow you to— To charge. Yeah. You know.

So did they get that or was that a, what do you mean? No. I was just in here last week and charged something.

No, I mean, it was pretty blatant. No, it looks like you have an outstanding bill. We don't have credit. And it was okay. Now, did I lose some people that way? Yes. But was that a bad thing? Right. But I have such great customers that are in there and that was, that's wonderful. And keep getting, it's an interesting business to step into and try to get your hands around, especially when it came to the inventory piece and understanding the average age of a farmer being 60, right? And in our area, we have plenty of veterinarians. So they had a huge amount of cattle tech. Although a lot of times the vets are doing bagging when they're working the whole group in our specific area. So that's where I went to a third party like an Amazon to put things out there and get inventory moved. So that kind of triggered that is, all right, I've got all this inventory and I'm tied up with the bank, right?

Yeah. Because you've got a line of credit. Right. And that's because she did not have enough in her policy. Right. Okay.

Yes. I bought, I bought a lot of them. I bought a lot of them. I bought both the bank and policies. Yes. And that's where it was nice to come in and into that business saying, okay, where do we want to be at having that conversation with you so that I know what our goal is going to be. But we got to get the inventory down. Right. And what happened when I took over that business, the interest rate started going up and I'm like, oh my goodness, it's going to eat me alive if I don't get... And essentially, it comes down to days of supply. How much of... And the system that I had was very old school system. So, I got that transition over this year so that I can see it gives me data. I can pull ideal reports. You know, it talks to my website. All those things that was pretty flat before.

And I have heard from other people that have farm stores, the inventory system itself is so ungodly expensive. And I don't think that people truly understand, especially those of us that are just walking in and saying, hey, we need some ivermectin. We don't understand the amount of money behind keeping that store open. The employees, the point of sale system, like, all the stuff to keep the feed mill going and repaired and the trucks for delivery. Yes. And so we're like, well, why is it so much more than it is on Amazon? I can just get it from Amazon.

You could, but there's a cost to move all that over and if you buy a store that's completely outdated or you buy a business that didn't have any inventory tracking. Right.

How do you even know where to begin? And I've talked to other people that have stores and it literally sounds like an absolute money pit to me. Because you, the cost to get that store up to where it's at because it's been run, it's like a slumlord. Yes. Right? I have this apartment building and it's paid for. Right. And so I'm not going to put any money into it because I'm finally making some of it. But then when it comes time to sell it, you want top dollar for it, but all of this stuff is wrong. That needs to be fixed.

Correct. That's on me.

So it's like you're buying a shell somewhat and you're buying a little blue sky with the customer base. Correct. But there's so much behind the scenes that has to go in to update it and the expenses. And as we've talked through the years, I'm just like, oh my God. Like she is taking more money in.

Oh, more?

Yeah. Like at one point you were saying customers didn't even know that you had taken over. They still thought it was owned by someone. Yeah. How long did that translate?

Well, sometimes, I mean, even in the last year I've had, I didn't even know you were open, you know, because he had put the ad that he was, I'm like, and that same paper I've put in our sales, you know, things like that. But it's still, people will come in, well, I remember, you know, and I'm like, okay. Okay. Yeah. Well, are you related? That's what I get a lot of. Oh. So they just assume that I'm some sort of relation. No, I'm not related. Not at all. So.

Interesting. Yeah. So have you gotten, and you've, four years, and people still are saying that. Yeah. Which is so interesting. Because you're doing old-fashioned advertising. Right. In newspaper. Right.

I've been doing that. I've recently kind of halted that and do it sparingly. But yeah, even with putting it on the radio, you know, things like that. Yeah. That those same people read that one time and just assumed that it was closed. Yeah.

So here's the thing that I see with people that have blue-collar businesses, especially blue-collar. I don't, you don't see it so much in maybe small business or medium-sized businesses. Right. But they don't want to hire. And so, did he have more employees than needed? Did he have like a decent amount of employees?

I had a decent amount of employees, but maybe not the right fit, all of them. So that's been a transition as well. But that kind of naturally happened. I'm different than the person that was running it before.

Right. So they either like you or they don't.

You know, just basic employee handbook, you know, just simple things that needed to be.

Well, you didn't need to do that 80 years ago. No. No, probably not. 60 years ago, 50 years ago, an employee handbook. Why? Right. Everybody showed up for work. Yeah. Right. They didn't want to wear Crocs to work and shorts and hoodies with their hood up.

Yes. Now, in today's world, it's a lot different. Yes. And I think it's probably more so in manufacturing. So I just kind of carried that over. You kind of just have to draw it all out, right? So it's all black and white. And so I made sure that I did that and some just didn't really like it, which was fine. But at the end of the day, it's about servicing those customers. And if I don't have that right person that has the same values or beliefs in what I'm saying we need to have as a business, then we need to...

And I think that's my biggest thing with blue collar. And I have a Facebook clip right now running of me saying, don't make me text you because I'm not your secretary. Yeah. So when you answer the phone, don't answer it if you can't take down the information that I need to come and see me and bid a job or whatever it is I need. But I think when we have a business, we forget that we're like, oh, we're so busy, we don't need to have this amazing customer service. And you just said it, right? Why should they come here? Yeah. Like, do you guys have a Shields?

It wouldn't be close to me.

Okay. But you've been in a Shields.

Oh, yes.

Okay. So we can, you can go into a Shields and there's people everywhere. Oh my goodness. Right. You go into Bass Pro or you go into Dick's Sporting Goods or whatever and you're like, is anybody working? Right. Because I want, you need the service. Yeah. Right. They have more employees than they need. Right. And so I think that as small business owners, we are just like, oh, we're busy enough. We don't need to have, we don't need to worry about service because they don't have anywhere else to go.

Yeah, they have Amazon.

They do. I mean, if it's an actual labor business. Yes. Where maybe I can get Ivermectin on Amazon, but I can't get this quality of feed. Right. Off of Amazon. And so if we want to excel that part of the business, we're going to have to provide the service. We can do the custom mixes, whatever that is. And think outside the box to grow that business. He was most likely sort of in a box because he was ready to be done. Yes. And we're not expanding our business till the day we die in most cases. But why are we not, when we take the business over, are we being as absolutely creative as we possibly can to advertise and take care of our clients and have somebody answering the phone when it rings?

Yeah. That's huge.

So are you, did you adjust business hours at all?

They would start at 7.30 in the morning and I moved it to 8. Okay. And that was just more because you have, since it is a small business, typically those people are working five and a half days a week, you know, because we're open half days on Saturdays. Being able to get enough employees to float, you know, being seven days a week and then just hours wise, it's fine if they come in at seven o'clock and then they've got time to prepare for the day. You know, my front office manager, that gives her a chance to make sure she's got her stuff organized and ready to go for the day and you still have guys and you don't want something, but it's one of those things where it wasn't value added for us to be there. Eight o'clock, eight to five, Monday through Friday and then we do 7:30 to noon on Saturday.

Oh, okay. Which makes sense because on the weekends I'm up early and want to get started.

Yeah. To get stuff going. Yes. You know, I've flirted with Sundays, but I'm there every day, typically. Obviously, I'm here with you today, but I can't imagine an employee being, you know, then that's a whole nother stack of employees.

So if you're there on Sunday, do you open the door?

No. I typically do not go in. Now that I have everything, everything's on my computer now, right? So I don't have to physically be there to be working. Which is nice because...

Would you do it all over again?

I would probably do it a little differently.

What would you change?

I would change probably some of the negotiations around the inventory piece, I think, more than anything.

To buy less inventory? Yes. So you didn't have so much to get rid of?

Yes. Yeah, because it was a lot. Millions.

I remember you... Of dollars in inventory. You put me on video. Oh, yes. And I saw all the boots. Yes. And I was like, oh, they're all gone. I have just what's in the store. Yeah. And you did Amazon. Yeah. For a lot of that stuff.

Yeah, I did. Because, you know...

Which is so cool, though, because it gave you... You were forced to go to Amazon. Right. Because you may not have gone there otherwise. Correct. But now you're like, oh, look, this is a whole other outlet for our store that I would have not thought of. And you could have gotten stuck in that same rut of, well, this is all our people need in our town. Right.

And my mentality was, if it could be moved this long within the store, then what outlet can we utilize to get... Right. We need to get a wider audience. Well, what better place to go to than what... Amazon to have that...

I mean, good Lord. But it's a mentality thing too, Erica. Very true. You and I talk about that a lot when we visit. That there's this, oh, well, I'm stuck with all these boots and it was a horrible decision to buy this store and to have all this inventory. And so, I can't do anything with it. Or you can go, well, how can I get rid of it? And you're asking the right question. Right. And I talk about that how can I non-stop. Because it's not a question people ask, but it is the question that will give you the answer to think outside the box. And so, how can I get rid of these things? And how can I make this store better? And how can I do X, Y, and Z? Correct. Versus, well, I guess we just can't because a thousand people in this town do not want to support us. But I absolutely, the word can't does not exist.

No. No.

And I think that's natural for you and I. Yes. That is not a natural mindset for people. They have to either be told that or they have to rewire their brain. Like, I want to have little bracelets made up that say, how can I? Like, I was talking to one of my farmers not so long ago and he was complaining about farming. And so, I'm like, I'm going to have little stickies. Like, and I'm going to send them out with all these affirmations of, you know what? This is a cycle. Your cattle prices, everything is a cycle. How can I not be affected by this cycle next time? Yeah. And it's the preparation of that, right? Instead, we're just like, well, that's awful and we're all stuck where we're at because we're not asking the right questions.

Exactly.

So, it kind of forced you to go there where it may have taken you longer had you not. So, we can redo that piece. And redo the, redo the negotiations a little bit. Yeah. But, I mean, was it a blessing in disguise? Yeah. It was. And I just, did you lose money on that though? Was that a money loss to have all that inventory that you had to sell at a discount? Like, did you end up paying more for it or was it a break even?

I would say, it depends on which one it was. So, it varied. But, there is the downside to the Amazon piece that people don't understand either because they take X amount of dollars from you. You know, right? So, they take so much from you as well. So, we had to make sure when you're listing stuff, like, was it some of that stuff? Yes, you had to take it at a loss. But, did I need 25 of these, you know, little watering things for small animals in a store? You know? No, I didn't need that. But there's other items.

But you needed the space to put something else that would sell.

Right. Or clean up the store just to make it look like it's clean. Yes. And presentation. Yes. Which has been very interesting as well. Like, when people come in. It's just so neat and organized. I'm like, yeah, I have to know where things are.

Isn't that funny? Because I feel like I've talked to other people that were going to take over businesses that were old as well. And stuff is dusty and unorganized. People can't find stuff. And I think that if it's not selling as a store owner, you don't want to take a loss on it. And so, you leave it there. But then you just keep piling things up.

But essentially, I mean, you're paying the interest on it. Right. You know, you're paying the dollars in one way or another. And that was my thought.

But they don't get either the merchandising piece of it. That this has to be organized and clean and then people are more likely to buy. Like, it's more than just, oh, I'm going to buy this business and then we're going to run the business. How are we going to run the business? What does that look like? Like, I just think there's a lot to it, that sometimes when you look at that, you go, what have I just been better off to start over?

Yes. Because I was already there. Yeah. Like, the building was already there. The people were already coming through town. They would have never known if it got completely wiped out and I refilled it.

Have you ever looked at the numbers on that and thought that because of the pain?

Yes. Because it's not been painless. No. It's not been four years of just, oh, I bought this business and I did exactly what these people on social media are saying. Right. Buy this business and immediately you're turning this massive down. Oh, you got cash flow like crazy. No, that's not the case because there's always those things that, especially when you're taking over a business that you don't, you're going, what? You know, as simple as the internet and phone, right? So, they had signed a contract around that and it included all kinds of stuff, right? Just, it was ridiculous and people were like, oh, well, that's small dollars. If I can save $400 a month, that's huge in the grand scheme of things. Like, when you start doing that and you're doing that over and over again on certain things, you're going, oh my. So, then you start combing and you start digging and you're like, we don't need to do that. Why are we doing this? And then you start with the terms. What do our terms look like? How do, you know, when, and you just, you snowball into all of those things because those are all factors that you don't necessarily think about right away and then you're like, why am I paying for this upon receipt when I'm really not getting but 1% off? Is that really pay?

That is so interesting because that is not something, like, and granted, I've never taken a Codie Sanchez course, right? But the people that are taking those courses are not Codie Sanchez. They don't have Codie Sanchez money. Right. Say, oh, that $400 isn't a big deal. It's somebody that's coming from a W-2 job. Right. And they're wanting their freedom like you did. Yeah. And we have a limited amount of money. And even if we took the course, depending on what the business is, these are all tiny little things that don't show up anywhere. Right. And are they teaching us to look for those things or, you know, whatever? That's super interesting because I would have not thought of that.

Yeah. It's those things you start, again, being in manufacturing and we got down to the nitty gritty of those kinds of things. You know, when you had a new product coming in, looking at those things, kind of seeing the turn, seeing, and even in the mill, like, were you paying your employees when you were factoring in the price of that bag? You know, are you paying them? Or are we just pulling that fund just out of thin air? Right. On a wish and a prayer. You have to build in those costs. You have to think about, I mean, and you're buying a business, right? So your overhead is going to be much higher than that person that owned it for 60 years. Right. Because he's got it all paid for. And, you know, if you're like me, yes, it's going to take getting a loan, right? Yeah. You're going to have to have a loan to do that. And then the bank, then you're going to have to answer to the bank. Yes. Yeah.

I do remember having conversations too with you about the bank saying, quizzing you, right? Because he's not going to quiz you any differently than he's going to quiz a farmer. Correct. About how are you going to pay this? What is your inventory? Yeah. All of that kind of stuff.

And then paying myself. Right. That was a big factor as well.

For the bank? Or just for you?

Taking away. Yeah. Yeah. Because you can't put your job there to lose money. Right. Like that wasn't the point.

How much did you use your policy? For the business piece?

Yeah. I didn't use much of the policy around that. I've been just trying to get that policy. So utilizing that for farm right now and then building up that policy is what we've been working on. Yeah. So that we can start—

So the policies, you've segregated the policies. This is just farm related and the business is going to take care of the business.

For now. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

And so for the farm you've been using them to do what?

So and for my line of credit. So if I need something that way then I'll utilize that. But most of the time I mean the farm's doing pretty well now. So I don't need to utilize it as much. And that was where I was at with the bank, right? So I kept renewing a line of credit and it was small amount, right? Yeah. Why am I doing? I'll just utilize my policy. And it's always that pinch, right? So where you're in between well, I have the opportunity to buy this right now but we're not quite there on that cash flow piece. So just kind of supplementing that way.

Has the policy helped as far as the control of when you want to pay it back or how you're going to pay it back? Yeah. Has that given you some opportunities to do some other things to create cash flow?

Yeah, definitely. For the farm that's been helpful because we do direct-to-consumer for most of our stuff. But we're getting to a place that starts selling our breeding stock stuff because, you know, they're not potato chips. We're not going to collect, right? So... So... So... But in order to do that I have a fully registered herd. So you go through, you're doing all your DNA, so parentage, and you're doing your registration. So that gives you the opportunity to get everything registered, ready to go, so then start selling. Mm-hmm. So that's a factor that I've had. And then not having to worry about the farm piece while having this business. Right? So I have that policy available while I'm doing this. Mm-hmm. Because no, do I make the same amount of money as when I was working in manufacturing? Absolutely not. I am not there yet. Mm-hmm. Getting there. And we will get there, right? And then some. But it takes time. And I feel like...

Well, it takes five years for any business... Yes. ...to get on their feet to break even. Yeah. And I have interviewed hundreds of business owners. I did this way back when I started. And five years was the magic number. For whatever reason, I don't really know. I've never dug into that. Yeah. But it was over and over and over and over and over. It's a five-year mark. Even for people that are homesteading, people that are starting a farm from scratch. Oh, my goodness. It is always five to six years before I see their numbers start to flip because of the infrastructure that you have to build. Yeah. And so, yeah, five years... I mean, you're on year four of the business. Yeah. So, another couple of years...

Yeah, we're into year five now. Yeah. Like, we're gonna... We're gonna get this going here. No, but... And that's the thing for me. You know, people are very impatient when it comes to that. And I guess growing up in that world, both sets of my grandparents had their own businesses. My mother had her own business. You know, and then people... So, it was just normal.

It's normal. I understand. The capitalization period of starting that and what that's gonna look like.

Now, does that look different from when my grandparents started a business? Heavens, yes.

But at least you're... Life was different then, but... At least you're not struggling on the farm and struggling in the business.

Right. The farm...

Like, you've kept those finances very separate. Yes. The farm is the farm. Yes. And it's gotta pay for itself. Right.

And that's where we're using the policy and the...

The business. The business is the business. Yes. On the policy side, what money did you use to get your policy started?

I actually utilized... I pulled a Mary Jo. I mean, I utilized my 401(k) to start with. I did. I did do that. Because I felt, you know... Listening to you preach sometimes is how we can put that. It made sense to me.

Yeah.

But it was creating cash flow. We didn't have the cash flow.

Exactly. Because you stuck all this money into your retirement accounts. Right. You were doing what you were supposed to do. But now we need to start a business. We want to put money in the farm. Right. Which is what you understood. Yes. More than, oh, what stocks and bonds should I be buying? Right.

Not saying we don't have them. Right. Like, not saying that's not existent for us. But it made sense to me to get it started that way. And have some liquid money. Yes.

You're either going to borrow that money from the bank on a line of credit or you're going to borrow your own retirement money. Make that money liquid so you have access to it. And then you have control to build and pay back when you want.

Exactly. Exactly. And honestly, the policies have been great and it makes sense to me. And it's kind of fun having conversations with people about it because they're like, what? You know, I'm like, well, you gotta go buy this book. Because she won't talk to you unless you buy her book and read it. Yeah, right. Yeah. They're like, oh, okay. I'm like, but it makes sense. Yeah. It makes sense to, granted, I couldn't do that to start with with the business, but at the end goal, 100%, that's what I will look for. That's where I want to be. I don't want to be tied like I currently am.

Like when you say that, you know, a lot of farmers... The bank is questioning you on all sides now. Yes. Because the store, the bank doesn't separate the store and the farm. Oh, heavens no. The bank is like, hey, you have all this inventory at the store. How is that moving? Because if that goes under, now the farm comes with as collateral.

Correct. If we've got the farm as collateral, right? Well, because they may, typically you have a personal guarantee. Guarantee. I don't know, is anybody, there's a lot that don't do that honestly anymore. So yeah, I mean, it does tie a lot of it up.

And so, even though the books are separate and you're treating it separately, to the banks, it doesn't matter. No. And so, it's nice to have the death benefit too and just to say, hey, I've got the death benefit, so get off my back.

Well, we did do a separate policy so that I could just put the bank on this policy, you know, just so we add that. Yeah, to give them peace of mind that way. And that was just a term that we can eventually... Convert. Yes. So that made sense. Let's do that. And then I have my own yet, you know, don't mess with those types of things.

And that is something that I don't want you having, the bank, having their name on a whole life policy. Right. So we did the term. Yes. So that, yes, they can have that. It's term insurance, it's cheap, whatever. Right. But their name should not be on whole life because now they're controlling cash value. Exactly. And we don't want them to control the cash value for us a bit.

Well, and we already have them controlling the other, you know, all of my loans. Right. So I don't want them controlling that cash.

And you had a partner, you're buying them out now in the business. Yes. But you had a partner that helped you start the business. And we have a policy on that partner. Correct. Because you insured them. Yes. So that also is that like you kind of did everything. Yes. Like, we implemented all the fun things, right? Yes. Yes. Because we want, like, I remember saying, well, if you're going to need to pay the heirs of that person back, then we need to have a policy on that person. And so I don't know that they ever got a policy on you, which is not any of, that's not your problem. Right. That's their problem. Right. Because they weren't looking at, and this is interesting too, right? As a partner, they're willing to partner with you, but they're not looking at how to protect themselves. Like, they didn't dive into infinite banking. They didn't dive into that piece of it. So they went unprotected. If you died, now they're on the hook for everything and not getting life insurance on you, but you are smart enough to say, hey, you're a partner. If something dies, I don't want to be put in a position where I can't pay you out. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Which is, should happen on a farm or should happen in any business. But you did it right away.

Yes. You know, and we bought some land on contract initially from a family member. And, you know, I'm like, if I would have bought this, you know, back then, yeah, that, you know, it makes sense to do those things. Yeah. To even have a policy on that person. Yes. Yes. Yep.

And they should have a policy on you. It's not you getting rich. Right. It's a two-way street. Correct. Correct. Everybody in that business relationship should have insurance.

Which, it makes sense. It makes total sense. Now, getting the other party to jump in the boat with you is another story. Right. Right. If they don't want to jump, there's nothing you can do about it. Right.

Which I think is a little bit funny because this happens a lot where my client is insuring the partner. Right. And then the insurance company says, well, why isn't their insurance the other direction? Right. Because in their minds, they're like, okay, who's being killed here? Right. Who's going to take off at this death benefit? Right. Right. Right. And I'm like, what do you want me to do? Hold a gun to their head and be like, you need to buy insurance for me. Like, if they don't want to protect themselves because they don't want to see the value of it, there's nothing we can do about that. Right. So, I don't know what you want from me. But on the insurance side, they get that. They understand that that should be insurance going both ways.

Well, it makes sense. Yeah. A hundred percent.

So, I think that even just to mention that a little bit, that when you quit your job, you did go to the bank and get a loan. But you also had a business partner that had the financial backing to help you. Right. So, again, it wasn't a, I can't do this. It was a, how can I? And I remember walking through those strategies of, okay, if you do this, this, and this, I mean, I'm no expert. I've never bought a business. Right. But having somebody else to walk through those strategies with is also very helpful. Yes. If it's the banker, if it's me, if it's the attorney, it doesn't matter. We've all talked to different people that have done similar things. Yes. And so, getting, not just trying to do it yourself and say, oh, well, I guess I can't. Right.

You know, and then there's the Google machine. And that helps as well. Yes. To give you ideas or ChatGPT is really good for that kind of stuff right now too. Yeah. Of giving people ideas of how to go about getting those things done. But you know, at the end of the day, and this has kind of been this year in general for me, and I would say I've been doing it, but more so this year. It's the who, not the how. Yes.

Did you read that book?

Yes.

Who Not How. It's so good.

Yes, I did. And it makes sense. It makes sense that, I mean, I can't do everything. You can't do everything. And utilizing the tools available is one thing, but being able to find the person that's an expert with those tools is even better.

If you guys have not read Who Not How or not heard of Who Not How, like it's on audio. Yeah. That's right.

I listened to it. I didn't necessarily get the book.

Right. But it is such a good book. Yes. Now you got to be smart and not just hire somebody to do everything for you.

Right. No, yes.

Because you could take that book to the next one. Yes. And it's who, not how for everything. Yes. I'm not going to sit on the couch, eat bonbons while people do it. Yeah, exactly. That's not going to happen. There's got to be capital.

Yes. Yes. Yeah. But if you have the right people, if you hire the right who's, those things get done.

So a lot of times, again, it's, well, we can't do it. Well, you can't probably because you don't have the capacity. Right. But who can I hire to do those things? And that's also part of being a business owner that a lot of people miss. I was in Strategic Coach for a year and Dan Sullivan's the one who wrote Who Not How. Okay. And he owns Strategic Coach. Ah. And it's a great coaching program. And he has like, I love his book on procrastination too. Have you read that one?

No, I have not.

That's a really good one because Dan is all about, he's like, procrastination is not a negative thing. You are procrastinating because you don't like doing that task. Correct. Yeah. So if you don't like doing that task, then you go find the who to do it, to get it done. Right. I will procrastinate on paperwork. I will procrastinate reading an email because it requires me to print out a piece of paper, sign it, and then take a picture of it and send it back. Right? Yeah. I will procrastinate writing a check to somebody because I have to put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, take it to the mailbox. Right. I would prefer to get things done quickly. And so it very much is like, he's right. And the fact that if you have a lot of things you're procrastinating on, you should not be the one doing them. So it goes a lot with who, not how. Strategic Coach is a great program for business owners. Yeah. Sounds like it. Yeah. But you have to have the right who's to help you do Strategic Coach. As dumb as that sounds like. He has like all these plans of everything you need to do for workflow. Like, is this a good idea? Should I implement it? You have to do all these things to get to the yes or no. It requires filling out a piece of paper. They're like, oh, oh. When I was in there, I remember my coach, my coach that was teaching me, I'm like, I know you are not filling out this paper because you are no different than the rest of us as business owners in here. I know you are not. And he's like, no, I don't. He said, I have my secretary come in and she fills it out as I talk through it. I'm like, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So y'all are giving me this homework when in fact, I should have my assistant here. She's the one that should be in this course with me. I should not be doing this myself. Right. Because what happened is I went home and didn't implement a lot of it because she didn't know how to fill it out. And then I would have to teach her what I just learned, which is not bad, but she would, it would have been much more beneficial if you had the, your assistant with you in that course or send them and then they can come back and tell you what to do. Right. This isn't a bad thing either. Right. Because I have the right who in that position. Yeah.

And I think the other thing that people kind of get lost in is just because you find the who doesn't mean they have to be a full-time employee for you.

That's true. A contractor. It doesn't mean they even need to be an employee. Right.

That's what I mean. Yeah. Using a contractor of some sort to utilize. Right. You don't have to hire everybody. Right. As your employee. You know, some people, they have, that's their business is to do things, you know, to support, to have those tools.

My marketing people are contractors. Yeah. I don't, they're not employees. Correct. Yeah. Because you can't, in that category, you can't find someone to do everything. Right. And so, yeah, I don't have, like, do you want to kill yourself with unemployment, taxes, and all the other stuff? Or are you okay with a 1099? Yeah. And a lot of people are going to that, which, again, how do we do it so that we can be more efficient about it? Right. It's just a matter of asking the right questions. How can I get that done?

And just being open. Like, I feel like, just be open-minded about things. And the negativity, you're going to have to let it go. Yeah. You have to let it go. Otherwise, it will eat you alive. And yes, it will lead to failure. I think negativity is a matter of, it's either going to drive you or it's going to eat you alive.

Right. Like, the negativity drives me.

Well, I'm saying me being negative myself. Yeah.

I don't, I try to, but I think that, when people are negative towards me, I'm like, oh yeah? Let's go. Watch me. Yeah. Exactly.

But I think that we have to have a little of that in ourself as well. Oh yeah, definitely.

Like, if you're going to be a negative Nelly, a negative Nelly is probably never going to be a business owner. No. And if they are, they're not going to survive long. Right. Like, the Debbie Downer is going to find everything wrong before they even go and approach the guy with the ad in the paper. Right. They're going to see every negative thing ever. That's true. I mean, I'm kind of the rose-colored glasses lady. Like, that's such a good idea. Let's do it. Like, I can go from here to here and I skip all the stuff in the middle and that's where Scott comes in.

You're like.

Because he's like, yeah, that's not going to work that way. But it's okay. That's why we buy shithole farms and we fix them up. Because Mary Jo missed the middle of how much work there was to fix it up. I just went from here to this vision and I'm like, it's grand. We'll find the who's.

Yeah. Yeah.

And sometimes you can't afford the who's. Right. Exactly. But then get the contractor. Yeah. Figure out how to barter that.

I think that's a lot of business owners too. They're like, well, I can't afford it. So I can't do it. I had zero dollars when I wrote my book. I had my credit cards maxed out. I did not have enough money to pay the guy to create the cover and create the book file. I did not have the money to print the book. I could have gone and gotten another credit card. Right. I could have gone farther into that. But I was like, how can I do this without having to charge more money? Right. So I pre-sold the book. Heck yeah. So not only did I collect somebody else's money ahead of time, but I also then knew how many books I was going to need to print. Yeah. Which is super cool. Yeah. Well, this is going to work out okay. And then I was like, well, now I don't have money to pay for advertising the book because I sold enough, but it's not like I was marketing it online. And so then I had to do a barter system with my marketing person at the time and say, okay, I'll give you X amount of however many cases I close. Sure. Stupid on her that she decided to not work extra hard and stay. But I'll give you X amount of anything I close for doing the marketing because I don't have the money. So she worked for free up front, right? Okay. But she also had to be creative enough to understand that if I do my job, Mary Jo is going to be able to do her job. Yeah. And then we'll all be some money. Yeah. We'll all be okay.

And so if you're not going to have that kind of a mindset, like you went in and said, okay, I'm going to be able to change all these things or I'm going to be able to do all these things or I'm going to use my 401(k) money or some of my investment money to start my policy because it's going to pay off in the end. Right. And it's going to allow us to do X, Y, and Z. Right. I think that people are fast to say, well, that's just not going to work. And then it won't. No. No. No. No, it does not. Yeah. Positive mindset. Right. Huge. Right. Yeah. All right.

Well, I don't know how far we're into this. I can't even see my timer anymore. But I think we've hit it all. Is there anything I missed that you would like to share about anything?

I don't think so. I'm sure we'll think of something later.

Okay. All right. Well, if people want to find you, they go to, what's the website again?

Feedersgrain.com.

Feedersgrain.com. And what if they want to find you on Amazon? Like, what if they want to go to your Amazon storefront? Do you want them to?

Ideally, don't. I would prefer you go to the website.

Yeah. And it's secure. Yes. Right. So that's a big thing that people are like, oh, I want to go to Amazon because A, it's easier returns. Right. Which I get. But B, then it's just easier my credit card, whatever's in there. You guys, Amazon sucks all your money. So if you can buy it directly from somebody's website, go directly to the website. So go to feedersgrain.com. Get your feed. Just check it out. Just browse. Yeah. And look at it as an option. Yeah. Because it's, if you don't have an option in town and you can get it shipped to you, why not? And now you know Erica.

So. Thank you.

You're welcome. Yeah. All right. Well, I, that's all I've got. So thanks for coming. Yeah. I appreciate you driving all the way up here.

Oh, it's great.

Yeah. Well, good. All right, guys, you know the routine. If you have comments, questions, concerns, maryjo@withoutthebank.com. Otherwise, grab your book, grab Nelson's book, read it, get scheduled. I'm only booked out like four or five weeks right now. Um, so that is fantastic because what's going to happen is harvest is going to be over and then you guys are all going to want to get in at the same time. So get in before harvest is over, get on the schedule so that we can meet and see if it is a fit for you. All right. You have a fantastic rest of your day.

Thanks for listening to the Farming Without the Bank podcast. We hope today's episode has inspired you to take control of your finances in new ways. Don't forget to check out our website, farmingwithoutthebank.com, and engage with us on our Facebook page, Farming Without the Bank. Join us next week as we smash more financial myths and empower you to accomplish your financial goals.