July 27, 2022 • 17 mins
In this special series we are highlighting some of the entrepreneurs in our Greenwood community. Today we shine the spotlight on Brandi & Jermail Shelton owners of Just Add Honey Tea Company.
Just Add Honey has created thoughtfully blended loose leaf teas anyone can enjoy. Working with farmers all around the world allows Brandi to source the perfect leaf to cup experience. And with an extensive background in sales, Jermail loves creating relationships with brands to help them offer the perfect cup. Together, the TEAm works well in business (and marriage).
Host IG:@itstanyatime
Guest IG: @justaddhoney
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily podcast,
determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom of
financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guests are here
to spill the tea, quite literally, spill the tea on
(00:22):
their bootstrapping journey to entrepreneurship and the inspiration behind their
tea company brand Just add Honey Tea Company. Money Movers,
Please welcome Brandy and Jamaal Shelton. Hello, Welcome Brandy and Jamaale.
How are you. We're doing great? Hollo Hello, I'm fantastic. Well,
(00:43):
I love this. I just couldn't resist a little pun
about spilling the tea. And you know, I am a
huge fan of tea. I grew up in Canada. My
mom is actually British. My grandmother grew up with us,
this little old white lady, So we are huge tea
drinkers in my house. So I am excited to share
your journey and especially the journey of a husband and
(01:04):
wife team. So let's start at the beginning and talk
about how you found the inspiration to start a tea
company here in Atlanta. Well, yes, my name's Burn and
I am the founder of Just That Honey Tea Company,
and we are celebrating our sweet sixteen this year. We've
been in business sixteen years. Started just a hobby and
(01:27):
a passion for tea. Yes, and uh, it was just
a hobby and passion. I traveled the world and saw
that people connected over a cup of tea, and I
wanted to bring that energy and that spirit to your point,
like the tea that you would have with your grandmother,
or an afternoon tea with your mom, or even just
(01:48):
like tea from Morocco or wherever I traveled. I wanted
to bring that back to the States. So here we
are and uh we we do wholesale retail. UM, we
do shows, and uh we have a magazine and we
do all kind of fun things with um T and UM.
(02:09):
I love that I get to work with my favorite
person and my husband. Oh that is fantastic. All right,
hubbs chime in. So, as Brandy just mentioned, Brandy is
the founder of Just That Honey. Growing up, Brandy and
her family has always had a love for tea. I've
always had a sales background and joined the company about
seven years ago. Um it was a situation where I
(02:29):
saw Brandy. UM, I won't say struggle, but she was
kind of burning the candle on both ends, as they say.
And Um, I was looking at my career and just
being in corporate America and just not really feeling the love.
And I said, with my skill set and brandy skill set,
we can make this really a family business. So um,
that's what we did. We gave ourselves one year to
(02:51):
kind of turn into family business. We were able to
pick up a lot of on online and wholesale accounts
and we really never looked back as far as creating
a husband wife, family owned um tea business. I love
this and I want to talk a little bit more
about this because tell me about the scale of your
business right now. You guys have also just opened up
a brick and mortar store right here on the belt
(03:12):
Line in Atlanta, So you guys are growing, you are scaling,
you know, sixteen years in. I think there's an incredible
power in sharing this because oftentimes people think, oh my gosh,
I started this business. It's two years in and look
I'm not sitting on a beach yet. You know, I'm
not the entrepreneur that everybody thinks or sees on Instagram.
So this has been you know, a life's work. And
(03:34):
I think this is the true story of what entrepreneurship is,
and now you've sort of created it into this growing
family business. So I'm going to go back to you, Brandy,
talk about like sixteen years ago, what it looked like
starting your business. You know, did you have a store
there or were you just like assembling like some tea
bags and trying to sell and create a brand. Yes.
(03:54):
So my background is I've had several backgrounds, but the
longest running job I've ad was I was a wardrobe
and pop stylist for movies and commercials and television and
so I um, I was working as a freelance stylist
for quite some time. While on downtimes I would make tea.
(04:16):
So I had a full time job, so to speak,
and tea was a part time hobby and UM outfit it.
I had a I bought my first house at twenty seven,
and I outfit and entire basement full of tea. Um
do you remember that, jamal um. And so my whole
basement was just tea. And I would uh make tea
(04:38):
in the basement and mixed by hand, and do farmers
markets and some festivals and um. And then From there
I moved to a commercial kitchen. So it was like
a slow and steady growth and climb with our brand
and um the light switch of changing it from like
(04:59):
an hob into a profession. Uh, I don't think it
happened toil like our third employee. Now we have and
so it definitely, you know, payroll looks completely different than
it did before, but initially it was still we have.
UM even Jamel helped me change that hobbyists to business
(05:20):
mindset and uh, and that part is just that transition
as well, you know, thinking about money differently or how
you opergrade business different I'm want to talk about this
transition too, because a lot of people start their businesses
as you know, a passion project or a hobbyist you
know outlook and I I love that because I think
(05:42):
it's a great outlet and it allows us to set
the framework for learning how to run a business. But
at some point, you guys made this decision to really
look at this as something that would support your whole
family and needed to grow in scale. So what was
that turning point and how do you think you really
what were some of the steps that you took to
(06:02):
really scale your business and understand how you could increase
revenue profits, gross revenue in the sort of the bottom line.
So I think for one of the first things we
looked at was just the landscape in general when it
came to loose lea T. One of the things I
did when I was kind of debating going back and
forth between UM becoming a full time employee for just
that honey is I did my own personal research on
(06:24):
just loose le te um in America and abroad and
UM everything anything T related, especially loose le T everything
was just going up by I mean just year over year.
So I was like, Man, this thing that Brandy is
really doing as a a expensive hobby at we would
call it UM. You know, if we kind of bubble
down and set up some process procedures, you know, hire
(06:47):
a small staff, we could really especially at the time
in Atlanta where there wasn't really as many loose leaf
tea companies. It's still really not not a whole lot,
but back when Brandy started, there was really no loose
leaf tea companies around, so we wanted to kind of
lay the groundwork down UM, especially here in Atlanta, and
kind of build our way. So one of the I
think in terms of getting serious, it was really just
(07:08):
kind of sitting down and looking at our process of
procedures and little by little seeing how we can create
systems where we don't have to be so hands on.
We find ourselves more hands on right now because we're
definitely in the scale the scale portion of our company
right now, so we're kind of going back in and
adjusting and uh, making some process a little bit better
as we consistently grow grow more and more employees. But
(07:32):
I think between looking at um how much time we
were spending on te, looking at all of the opportunity
was in the T industry in general, it just made
you know, perfect sense. Um Brandy was kind of going
in and out of corporate America. I was fully in
corporate America. We're making good money, but you know that
soul thing, right, that thing that really touches your soul
(07:52):
that you wake up and you're happy and excited the
bet every day. We really didn't have that. So while
you know, finances were decent and UM, we just didn't
feel like we had that that that real sole purpose
to really reach out and do something big and really
create a legacy for our family. So when we kind
of merge all those things that just made sense um brand.
We were really in the game for UM a few
(08:14):
years and it was like, you know, it's one of
those things. We were kind of in the middle of
the ocean, and we can either keep going straight or
we can turn back. And turning back at that time
it just was an option. So what we quickly learned
to do was kind of we call it divide and
conquer um, you know, and we talked to we have
a lot of husband and wife teams. I know, you
have a husband and white team. UM. One of those
(08:35):
things was how do we create a sound business, but
more importantly, how do we still remain friends and lovers
and a happily married couple. Apples And what we quickly
realized was, um, we needed to have certain roles and responsibilities.
I always say the first year that I joined, just
that honey, Brandy fired me probably mean times and I
(08:56):
got about eighteen times. But I think we were trying
to do we were trying to do everything together. And
when we realize that we have very specific skill sets, right.
I love to sell, I love to get in front
of customers. Brandy loves to make things beautiful. She loves
the bloomage in your sane really kind, especially if you're
working with the husband and life team. Yes, um, he
(09:19):
started to work out a lot more smooth, a lot
more smoothly. I was listening to a couple of other
podcasts and it was about, you know, husband and white
teams that have worked together and built really successful businesses.
And I think it was Peloton Bike Founders and say
that it was a husband and my team that started it.
And it was like we had to decide very quickly.
We had the husband and wife lane and then we
had the business partner lane, and you know, we had
(09:41):
to create very deliberate delineations about which lane who could
drive in because once you start serving into my lane,
you know, it's like you're stepping on the husband wife
toe and like the red flags go up. So I
think that's really interesting. But it's also being able to identify,
and I think this is true for any sort of
corporate structure, what your strengths are and what you're role is.
Of course, in building any team, you want collaboration and
(10:04):
you want to respect to other people's opinions, but understanding
like who is driving which parts. So Brandy, you are
the creative brand part and the mixologist and Jamaale if
you were the one who's gonna like run and run
sales and operations like it works, and all the puzzle
pieces have to fit together. I want to ask you
guys about funding. You know a lot of people who
(10:24):
listen to our podcasts, they're really curious about how you
can scale your business. And I think one of the
questions we get a lot is, hey, we have this idea,
we're working on it, but we need to get investment
right now, you know, and this comes at various stages,
but you guys seem to have bootstrapped it. And I
want to share these stories in particular because I think
the narrative right now because venture capital and getting funding
(10:47):
is so popular, But sixteen years ago, people weren't out
there looking for venture capital. They were growing their business
and they were relying on the best type of cash influx.
What I would say is customers and venue. So can
you talk about how you guys have sort of approached
looking at funding and bootstrapping? Yes? So, um, I mean
(11:08):
today we are still a debt free company, which you know,
there's a lot of advantages, but um, what we're quickly learning.
Right now, as we scale really in a point where
things are growing that there's some disadvantages. Um, I think
one of the advantages. What I think oftentimes what a
lot of people don't here are the negative stories. Right.
So the people hear about a company raising X amount
(11:29):
of dollars, but what they're not hearing is when something
happens with the company, that debt still needs to be
paid and that's just an additional stress on top of
the company, on top of the business owner. And we
decided early on that we just didn't want that at
that time. So what we think, we made a very
conscious decision that we're gonna bootstrap. That means kind of
tighten up the belt, and that really means from a
(11:50):
perspective of the Shelton family, we may not be able
to take all the trips that we normally may but
you know normally can take, or we may not be
able to. Let's talk about the sacrifice, right, Let's talk
because everyone thinks entrepreneurship means you are running your business
on a computer and a laptop on a beach. Yes, yes,
and and know that yeah, like tould your Mail's point,
(12:12):
we had to find our strengths because he drives the
boat a little bit different than I do, and you
know I crossed the tease and dot the eyes a
little bit different. But we're both headed in the same direction.
We both want the best for the brand, the company,
our family, each other. And so when you know that
(12:33):
that's at the top versus our egos, then the way
he does it um as long as it gets done
is uh, definitely something that I had to wrap my inn.
So essentially, you know, you are purchasing a commodity, everything
from cinnamon to tease to this. How did you understand,
(12:56):
you know, the profit and lost balance of like all
those teas, you know, because sometimes teas can be super expensive,
and really learning that side of the business, because I
think sometimes people forget they just buy a bunch of stuff,
they mix it up, but like your bottom line is
based on understanding the nuances of every ounce of tea
and how you mix it. How did you learn that?
(13:17):
Because that's a that's a really deep skill and it
could be Jamoral. I'm not sure who's that person. Brandy
does oversee um the what we we we we both
look at how expensive certain items are. But Brandy, because
she is the herbalist. She does make essentially the final
decision as far as what product from what vendor that
(13:38):
we're using and um, So she has a herbalist background.
Um and that's just one thing that she's just good at.
She's taken to India to find kind of really the
best herbs, the best products. So we love the fact
that we are essentially a farm to table style. We
have really good relationships with all the vendors we work with.
We have tea agents and about eight different kind trees
(14:00):
ranging from Kerala, India, uh South Africa, Egypt with some
of our camel mill so building those relationships up front
um and also purchasing more tea so a lot. Once
we knew the tease that will work well, we started
working on better relationships with some of our vendors to
get it at a better price. So that means that
(14:20):
we have to purchase more product, but because of that,
we can get at a cheaper price and we're able
to a lot of times pass that along to some
of our customers. But it was not something that was overnight.
It took us really a while to kind of get
into that space where we can determine where do we
get our tea source from and what's the best possible price.
There's a lot of companies that you can go here
(14:42):
in the States and get it, but you're paying most
times at least more than going straight to the soul.
So we learned that really quick control your supply chain
as much as possible, right, and that means that you
might have to travel abroad to do so, or you
might have to bring a translator when you don't when
there's a language bear here. But UM, once we get
(15:02):
past that, and that took us a few years to
get so, it just made relationships so much easier for us. UM.
Even transporting importing tea is just a much smoother process.
But we definitely have to get through the weeds in
order to get to a place where we know we
get our teeth source from the best place and we
know we can offer the best prices because of UM,
the price that we're getting it at. Wow, I'm incredible. Well,
(15:26):
you know this has been such a joy and money movers,
that is all the time we have for today. But
it was so nice tea meet you both. I couldn't
help myself. We have to have you stopped by the shop.
I will stop by the shop. I actually could use
a nice, warm, hot cup of tea today. And I
tell you I am a longtime tea fan. I love
(15:49):
to mix and mingle my teas. But I am also
it's funny, having moved from Canada, I am a fan
of the old British staple of like tea and English
breakfast with a little bit of milk and a little
bit of sugar. Um. It has definitely always been my thing.
So thank you so much, Thank you so much for
sharing your product. Thank you so much for bringing people
together over a nice cup of hot tea and allowing
(16:11):
them to leave with a souvenir of quality tease. I
could go on forever, but I won't bore you guys.
But again, thank you money movers. That's all the time
we have for today. And make sure to follow just
add Honey on the Internet and all their social media handles.
And if we have helped you make your money move,
(16:31):
please make sure to let us know by sending us alike,
sharing the knowledge and leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts. Also,
make sure to check out these incredible founders. Maybe you'll
see them one day at the gathering spot um and
say Hello, because you know you've got to find your tribe.
In the words of this incredible founder, that's all the
time we have today. Make sure to tune in Monday
(16:52):
through Friday and subscribe to the Money Moves podcast powered
by Greenwood, so that you too can have the keys
to financial freedom you so rightly deserve. Thank you so
much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please go to
the Bank Greenwood dot com and check out the Money
Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I heart radio
(17:15):
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For more podcasts on I heart Radio, visit the I
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podcasts from
Hey, Money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily podcast,
determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom of
financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guests are here
to spill the tea, quite literally, spill the tea on
(00:22):
their bootstrapping journey to entrepreneurship and the inspiration behind their
tea company brand Just add Honey Tea Company. Money Movers,
Please welcome Brandy and Jamaal Shelton. Hello, Welcome Brandy and Jamaale.
How are you. We're doing great? Hollo Hello, I'm fantastic. Well,
(00:43):
I love this. I just couldn't resist a little pun
about spilling the tea. And you know, I am a
huge fan of tea. I grew up in Canada. My
mom is actually British. My grandmother grew up with us,
this little old white lady, So we are huge tea
drinkers in my house. So I am excited to share
your journey and especially the journey of a husband and
(01:04):
wife team. So let's start at the beginning and talk
about how you found the inspiration to start a tea
company here in Atlanta. Well, yes, my name's Burn and
I am the founder of Just That Honey Tea Company,
and we are celebrating our sweet sixteen this year. We've
been in business sixteen years. Started just a hobby and
(01:27):
a passion for tea. Yes, and uh, it was just
a hobby and passion. I traveled the world and saw
that people connected over a cup of tea, and I
wanted to bring that energy and that spirit to your point,
like the tea that you would have with your grandmother,
or an afternoon tea with your mom, or even just
(01:48):
like tea from Morocco or wherever I traveled. I wanted
to bring that back to the States. So here we
are and uh we we do wholesale retail. UM, we
do shows, and uh we have a magazine and we
do all kind of fun things with um T and UM.
(02:09):
I love that I get to work with my favorite
person and my husband. Oh that is fantastic. All right,
hubbs chime in. So, as Brandy just mentioned, Brandy is
the founder of Just That Honey. Growing up, Brandy and
her family has always had a love for tea. I've
always had a sales background and joined the company about
seven years ago. Um it was a situation where I
(02:29):
saw Brandy. UM, I won't say struggle, but she was
kind of burning the candle on both ends, as they say.
And Um, I was looking at my career and just
being in corporate America and just not really feeling the love.
And I said, with my skill set and brandy skill set,
we can make this really a family business. So um,
that's what we did. We gave ourselves one year to
(02:51):
kind of turn into family business. We were able to
pick up a lot of on online and wholesale accounts
and we really never looked back as far as creating
a husband wife, family owned um tea business. I love
this and I want to talk a little bit more
about this because tell me about the scale of your
business right now. You guys have also just opened up
a brick and mortar store right here on the belt
(03:12):
Line in Atlanta, So you guys are growing, you are scaling,
you know, sixteen years in. I think there's an incredible
power in sharing this because oftentimes people think, oh my gosh,
I started this business. It's two years in and look
I'm not sitting on a beach yet. You know, I'm
not the entrepreneur that everybody thinks or sees on Instagram.
So this has been you know, a life's work. And
(03:34):
I think this is the true story of what entrepreneurship is,
and now you've sort of created it into this growing
family business. So I'm going to go back to you, Brandy,
talk about like sixteen years ago, what it looked like
starting your business. You know, did you have a store
there or were you just like assembling like some tea
bags and trying to sell and create a brand. Yes.
(03:54):
So my background is I've had several backgrounds, but the
longest running job I've ad was I was a wardrobe
and pop stylist for movies and commercials and television and
so I um, I was working as a freelance stylist
for quite some time. While on downtimes I would make tea.
(04:16):
So I had a full time job, so to speak,
and tea was a part time hobby and UM outfit it.
I had a I bought my first house at twenty seven,
and I outfit and entire basement full of tea. Um
do you remember that, jamal um. And so my whole
basement was just tea. And I would uh make tea
(04:38):
in the basement and mixed by hand, and do farmers
markets and some festivals and um. And then From there
I moved to a commercial kitchen. So it was like
a slow and steady growth and climb with our brand
and um the light switch of changing it from like
(04:59):
an hob into a profession. Uh, I don't think it
happened toil like our third employee. Now we have and
so it definitely, you know, payroll looks completely different than
it did before, but initially it was still we have.
UM even Jamel helped me change that hobbyists to business
(05:20):
mindset and uh, and that part is just that transition
as well, you know, thinking about money differently or how
you opergrade business different I'm want to talk about this
transition too, because a lot of people start their businesses
as you know, a passion project or a hobbyist you
know outlook and I I love that because I think
(05:42):
it's a great outlet and it allows us to set
the framework for learning how to run a business. But
at some point, you guys made this decision to really
look at this as something that would support your whole
family and needed to grow in scale. So what was
that turning point and how do you think you really
what were some of the steps that you took to
(06:02):
really scale your business and understand how you could increase
revenue profits, gross revenue in the sort of the bottom line.
So I think for one of the first things we
looked at was just the landscape in general when it
came to loose lea T. One of the things I
did when I was kind of debating going back and
forth between UM becoming a full time employee for just
that honey is I did my own personal research on
(06:24):
just loose le te um in America and abroad and
UM everything anything T related, especially loose le T everything
was just going up by I mean just year over year.
So I was like, Man, this thing that Brandy is
really doing as a a expensive hobby at we would
call it UM. You know, if we kind of bubble
down and set up some process procedures, you know, hire
(06:47):
a small staff, we could really especially at the time
in Atlanta where there wasn't really as many loose leaf
tea companies. It's still really not not a whole lot,
but back when Brandy started, there was really no loose
leaf tea companies around, so we wanted to kind of
lay the groundwork down UM, especially here in Atlanta, and
kind of build our way. So one of the I
think in terms of getting serious, it was really just
(07:08):
kind of sitting down and looking at our process of
procedures and little by little seeing how we can create
systems where we don't have to be so hands on.
We find ourselves more hands on right now because we're
definitely in the scale the scale portion of our company
right now, so we're kind of going back in and
adjusting and uh, making some process a little bit better
as we consistently grow grow more and more employees. But
(07:32):
I think between looking at um how much time we
were spending on te, looking at all of the opportunity
was in the T industry in general, it just made
you know, perfect sense. Um Brandy was kind of going
in and out of corporate America. I was fully in
corporate America. We're making good money, but you know that
soul thing, right, that thing that really touches your soul
(07:52):
that you wake up and you're happy and excited the
bet every day. We really didn't have that. So while
you know, finances were decent and UM, we just didn't
feel like we had that that that real sole purpose
to really reach out and do something big and really
create a legacy for our family. So when we kind
of merge all those things that just made sense um brand.
We were really in the game for UM a few
(08:14):
years and it was like, you know, it's one of
those things. We were kind of in the middle of
the ocean, and we can either keep going straight or
we can turn back. And turning back at that time
it just was an option. So what we quickly learned
to do was kind of we call it divide and
conquer um, you know, and we talked to we have
a lot of husband and wife teams. I know, you
have a husband and white team. UM. One of those
(08:35):
things was how do we create a sound business, but
more importantly, how do we still remain friends and lovers
and a happily married couple. Apples And what we quickly
realized was, um, we needed to have certain roles and responsibilities.
I always say the first year that I joined, just
that honey, Brandy fired me probably mean times and I
(08:56):
got about eighteen times. But I think we were trying
to do we were trying to do everything together. And
when we realize that we have very specific skill sets, right.
I love to sell, I love to get in front
of customers. Brandy loves to make things beautiful. She loves
the bloomage in your sane really kind, especially if you're
working with the husband and life team. Yes, um, he
(09:19):
started to work out a lot more smooth, a lot
more smoothly. I was listening to a couple of other
podcasts and it was about, you know, husband and white
teams that have worked together and built really successful businesses.
And I think it was Peloton Bike Founders and say
that it was a husband and my team that started it.
And it was like we had to decide very quickly.
We had the husband and wife lane and then we
had the business partner lane, and you know, we had
(09:41):
to create very deliberate delineations about which lane who could
drive in because once you start serving into my lane,
you know, it's like you're stepping on the husband wife
toe and like the red flags go up. So I
think that's really interesting. But it's also being able to identify,
and I think this is true for any sort of
corporate structure, what your strengths are and what you're role is.
Of course, in building any team, you want collaboration and
(10:04):
you want to respect to other people's opinions, but understanding
like who is driving which parts. So Brandy, you are
the creative brand part and the mixologist and Jamaale if
you were the one who's gonna like run and run
sales and operations like it works, and all the puzzle
pieces have to fit together. I want to ask you
guys about funding. You know a lot of people who
(10:24):
listen to our podcasts, they're really curious about how you
can scale your business. And I think one of the
questions we get a lot is, hey, we have this idea,
we're working on it, but we need to get investment
right now, you know, and this comes at various stages,
but you guys seem to have bootstrapped it. And I
want to share these stories in particular because I think
the narrative right now because venture capital and getting funding
(10:47):
is so popular, But sixteen years ago, people weren't out
there looking for venture capital. They were growing their business
and they were relying on the best type of cash influx.
What I would say is customers and venue. So can
you talk about how you guys have sort of approached
looking at funding and bootstrapping? Yes? So, um, I mean
(11:08):
today we are still a debt free company, which you know,
there's a lot of advantages, but um, what we're quickly learning.
Right now, as we scale really in a point where
things are growing that there's some disadvantages. Um, I think
one of the advantages. What I think oftentimes what a
lot of people don't here are the negative stories. Right.
So the people hear about a company raising X amount
(11:29):
of dollars, but what they're not hearing is when something
happens with the company, that debt still needs to be
paid and that's just an additional stress on top of
the company, on top of the business owner. And we
decided early on that we just didn't want that at
that time. So what we think, we made a very
conscious decision that we're gonna bootstrap. That means kind of
tighten up the belt, and that really means from a
(11:50):
perspective of the Shelton family, we may not be able
to take all the trips that we normally may but
you know normally can take, or we may not be
able to. Let's talk about the sacrifice, right, Let's talk
because everyone thinks entrepreneurship means you are running your business
on a computer and a laptop on a beach. Yes, yes,
and and know that yeah, like tould your Mail's point,
(12:12):
we had to find our strengths because he drives the
boat a little bit different than I do, and you
know I crossed the tease and dot the eyes a
little bit different. But we're both headed in the same direction.
We both want the best for the brand, the company,
our family, each other. And so when you know that
(12:33):
that's at the top versus our egos, then the way
he does it um as long as it gets done
is uh, definitely something that I had to wrap my inn.
So essentially, you know, you are purchasing a commodity, everything
from cinnamon to tease to this. How did you understand,
(12:56):
you know, the profit and lost balance of like all
those teas, you know, because sometimes teas can be super expensive,
and really learning that side of the business, because I
think sometimes people forget they just buy a bunch of stuff,
they mix it up, but like your bottom line is
based on understanding the nuances of every ounce of tea
and how you mix it. How did you learn that?
(13:17):
Because that's a that's a really deep skill and it
could be Jamoral. I'm not sure who's that person. Brandy
does oversee um the what we we we we both
look at how expensive certain items are. But Brandy, because
she is the herbalist. She does make essentially the final
decision as far as what product from what vendor that
(13:38):
we're using and um, So she has a herbalist background.
Um and that's just one thing that she's just good at.
She's taken to India to find kind of really the
best herbs, the best products. So we love the fact
that we are essentially a farm to table style. We
have really good relationships with all the vendors we work with.
We have tea agents and about eight different kind trees
(14:00):
ranging from Kerala, India, uh South Africa, Egypt with some
of our camel mill so building those relationships up front
um and also purchasing more tea so a lot. Once
we knew the tease that will work well, we started
working on better relationships with some of our vendors to
get it at a better price. So that means that
(14:20):
we have to purchase more product, but because of that,
we can get at a cheaper price and we're able
to a lot of times pass that along to some
of our customers. But it was not something that was overnight.
It took us really a while to kind of get
into that space where we can determine where do we
get our tea source from and what's the best possible price.
There's a lot of companies that you can go here
(14:42):
in the States and get it, but you're paying most
times at least more than going straight to the soul.
So we learned that really quick control your supply chain
as much as possible, right, and that means that you
might have to travel abroad to do so, or you
might have to bring a translator when you don't when
there's a language bear here. But UM, once we get
(15:02):
past that, and that took us a few years to
get so, it just made relationships so much easier for us. UM.
Even transporting importing tea is just a much smoother process.
But we definitely have to get through the weeds in
order to get to a place where we know we
get our teeth source from the best place and we
know we can offer the best prices because of UM,
the price that we're getting it at. Wow, I'm incredible. Well,
(15:26):
you know this has been such a joy and money movers,
that is all the time we have for today. But
it was so nice tea meet you both. I couldn't
help myself. We have to have you stopped by the shop.
I will stop by the shop. I actually could use
a nice, warm, hot cup of tea today. And I
tell you I am a longtime tea fan. I love
(15:49):
to mix and mingle my teas. But I am also
it's funny, having moved from Canada, I am a fan
of the old British staple of like tea and English
breakfast with a little bit of milk and a little
bit of sugar. Um. It has definitely always been my thing.
So thank you so much, Thank you so much for
sharing your product. Thank you so much for bringing people
together over a nice cup of hot tea and allowing
(16:11):
them to leave with a souvenir of quality tease. I
could go on forever, but I won't bore you guys.
But again, thank you money movers. That's all the time
we have for today. And make sure to follow just
add Honey on the Internet and all their social media handles.
And if we have helped you make your money move,
(16:31):
please make sure to let us know by sending us alike,
sharing the knowledge and leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts. Also,
make sure to check out these incredible founders. Maybe you'll
see them one day at the gathering spot um and
say Hello, because you know you've got to find your tribe.
In the words of this incredible founder, that's all the
time we have today. Make sure to tune in Monday
(16:52):
through Friday and subscribe to the Money Moves podcast powered
by Greenwood, so that you too can have the keys
to financial freedom you so rightly deserve. Thank you so
much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please go to
the Bank Greenwood dot com and check out the Money
Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I heart radio
(17:15):
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