We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brett Weiss a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brett, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I come from a long lineage of businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and hard-working people that are honest and courageous who never saw failure as an option. I’m probably considered “old-fashioned” to some because I base most of my business decisions on gut instinct, building long lasting relationships, looking people in the eye and believing in the power 0f a hand shake (or fist bump in the age of Covid-19).

This industry is extremely dynamic and often requires the ability to make quick meaningful decisions while pivoting strategically at a moments notice. I pride myself on being able to spot trends and being on the forefront in introducing new products. Of equal importance is ensuring that Smilyn Wellness only sources form respected and licensed operators that share our purpose of providing high quality, while not taking shortcuts to provide industry leading products.

My goals in life and business are united: have fun, make those around you happy, don’t take yourself too seriously and always keep smilyn!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I come from a long line of entrepreneurs and somehow recognized at an early age, that I wouldn’t ever be able to work a normal nine to five job or as an an employee for someone else’s business. My grandfather was an entrepreneur and businessmen who owned and operated a grocery store and various other businesses and real estate in Cleveland, Ohio including Car Washes. My Dad and Uncle recognized an opportunity in Phoenix Arizona in the mid 1950s and quickly moved to the valley of the sun to start a car wash business. Over 55 years later, their name and footprint is indelibly etched in the desert and their brand, Weiss Guys Car Wash is well known and well established. At an early age, I sold donuts and skittles to my class mates and would have $20 in my pocket before school started. Seeing the joy I brought to my friends and classmates and the new found money, something clicked and a salesman was born/created. I watched how my dad and Uncle operated their business and quickly learned the importance of honesty, hard work and treating people with respect.
My involvement/introduction into the Cannabis world started recreationally, as an occasional user and advocate. I’ve been involved in several businesses and was introduced to the “Vape World” in 2013when I was a salesman for a rewards company. I noticed the booming business of a local vape store and my entrepreneurial wheels started spinning. I had to learn everything about this space as quickly as possible and within months opened a retail store in Encinitas CA and the rest is history. I was always curious and watching the market evolve and keen to identify new and exciting trends before anyone else. Today, I own and operate a CBD Wellness Company offering a full spectrum of products and continuously looking to identify new opportunities and emerging trends.
I think our major differentiator is our commitment to quality, not taking short cuts with our products and always offering innovative and new products, usually as close to first to market as possible. We are a small, close knit team but remain very agile and lean and can pivot very quickly. I am extremely proud of the brand we built and stand behind the relationships I’ve made, the products we’ve created and the fun we have every day doing it. We celebrate life, enjoy what we do and always, Keep Smilyn.
We have identified an exciting new product that we are excited to talk about and will be launching over the next 20-30 days.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My team is my family, we work hard and wear multiple hats but continuously have fun while doing it. I have never been a micromanager and give my team leeway and the encouragement to make decisions, create new products and create opportunities. Every idea is considered, nothing is off the table and I feel that this brings out the best in everyone. If we didn’t have this type of culture, I don’t think we would be where we are today.

I also think it’s important to recognize our teams accomplishments and celebrate our wins together. Half days on Fridays, flexible work schedules, team outings and not too many internal meetings. Most important is to always have fun and keep Smilyn. Additionally, we celebrate diversity and our team thrives because of our different backgrounds and lack of egos.

I hope my team knows how important they are to me and that I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without them. Decisions are made as a team and we laugh our asses off everyday.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think that I have always been a straight shooter, honest, respectful and reliable. With me, what you see is what you get. My partners, customers and everyone in between see me as a real person. I’m no better then anyone else and no one is better or more important then me.

I believe in building relationships based on trust and performance. A handshake, eye contact, a simple agreement. I’m quirky and memorable and believe in doing what I say and saying what I do. Additionally, I am hyper focused on customer service and love making people happy. I probably think that I am funnier then people give me credit for but that’s just part of my charm.

At the end of the day, I feel at my best when I know I’ve treated others better then they treat me and will never try to take advantage of anyone. Delivering fair practices with intention, never taking shortcuts and helping people Smyle.    

Contact Info:

• Website: smilynwellness.com
• Instagram: smilyn.wellness
• Facebook: smilynwellness
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/companysmilyn-wellness-cbd
• Twitter: smilynwellness
• Youtube: smilynwellnesscbd

Image Credits
images by Kai Wade