Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brandon Bird . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Yesterday I decided to take the day off with my wife. We had an impromptu date during the day and had a great time. Few jobs will ever afford me that free reign. In terms of income, business has been good to us. In terms of net free time, it has been good to us. However, for every gift there is a pain. When one owns a company, they become not only the most entitled person at that company, they become the only person they can legally abuse. Everyone is sick at the same time? They’re going to work, sick as a dog. 2 week vacation plans? Ya right, their mental health is not the priority, getting orders out is. Sudden catastrophic expenses? Guess who ISN’T getting their paycheck for a month. Something dangerous or stupid needs to be done in the warehouse? Guess who is doing it. Non business owners are unlikely to ever know the most frightening 3 words in the English language for the gut stab that they are, “you’ve been served”. They will never know what its like to have everything they own as collateral on a shaky proposition. Business is not for everyone. I don’t mean that in a self aggrandizing way. I would also say being a model or plumber are not for everyone. But do I regret it? No, absolutely not. As far back as I can remember I wanted to run a business and resolved to try until I was successful. But to make that decision for another, I would suggest they truly consider whether they would be better off developing their chosen profession which is essentially a guarantee of comfort and wealth. Business will usually be the romantic (read: irrational) choice. In almost all cases, it will be the more painful path and most adverse to health.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Brandon J Bird (not the artist Brandon Bird -though I also do some art which Im sure would badly annoy the other Brandon Bird if I pursued it publicly. If you’re reading this Brandon, I’m a big fan and sorry about getting your PayPal shut down that one time). My wife and I have 2 companies, Golden Rule Botanicals and Lore Silversmithing. I started GRB out of my girlfriends (wife now) apartment living room using a thousand dollar loan from an ex girlfriend. Take that, Jeff Bezos. GRB actually grew from personal need. I have a series of serious health issues which at the time had been badly mismanaged and misdiagnosed by clinical medicine. I eventually found natural options that helped me greatly such as kratom, the plant which we are best known for. The problem was that I couldn’t afford any of it at the time. In an attempt to simply afford my own wellness, I accidentally positioned myself to be a fairly competent retailer. I began doing my own packaging and sales and pretty soon, my own personal cache of natural remedies had become a small retail business. My background to this point was in public health education which meant I was qualified to speak publicly on what I saw as an incredibly powerful, harm reducing option for people like myself who had been suffering. Public exposure meant business traffic and the company began to grow. To this day, what I do is motivated more from an interest in helping others than an interest in the specific industry. consider it half outreach, half business, hence “Golden Rule” in the name.
What sets us apart is likely that first principle, that it was about helping people first and business second. Because of that we simply operate differently. Im not just saying this, we’re possibly the best. In terms of quality and how many products we offer, I don’t think we can be beat. And sure enough we’re extremely well rated among our consumers with fantastic brand loyalty. Our business model is not the most profitable in the industry but it is the best for the clients… and ironically, when people see that about you, the business side of things works out pretty well too.
LORE silversmithing is fairly new but amazingly successful brand for the time its been in existence. Unlike GRB, this biz is my wife’s brain child. We’ve essentially taken everything we’ve learned about business and applied it to an enterprise that’s all about creative expression and generating art. Many of the rings, pendents, hair pins and other silver objects LORE sells are made on custom commission. For the most part clients find us on instagram.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I’ll keep this short and sweet. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR DELIVERING A GOOD PRODUCT. All the marketing and psychological tricks in the world will not get you so far as simply becoming known for the price and quality of whatever it is you do. Marketing still matters but before anything else, deliver. Deliver the goods and do it better.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

A bloated bureaucracy with a conflict of interest and open secret of corruption announced they would be passing legislation that would 100% shutter my business in 30 days. I had 30 days to lose everything. We spent that time calling and meeting with legislators. We spent that time protesting. We spent that time fighting the government and choosing not to go gentle. In the end we won. Really the people won, truth won. But we faced powers much greater than ourselves and prevailed… Forget about the federal government, its a distraction. Open lines of communication with your state representatives if you can. Thats where the real work can be done to help your community.

Contact Info:

• Website: GoldenRuleBotanicals.com
• Instagram: The_Other_BrandonBird, LoreSilversmithing
• Facebook: Brandon Bird
• Linkedin: Brandon Bird
• Twitter: Oscar_Domestice
• Other: Brandon@goldenrulebotanicals.com