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

Hi James, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I was raised as the oldest of 6 children to carpenter and a homemaker/adminstration assistant. They both are very hard, honest working people. From the time I could hold a hammer, my father would take me to work with him on every break from school and all summer. When I turned 15, my freshmen year of highschool, my parents asked me if I wanted to homeschool and work full time as a carpenter’s apprentice under my father. I agreed and was excited at first. I loved the idea of not having to go to school like everyone else. Those feelings quickly wore off as I began to learn what real hard work and skill takes to learn. I often complained and questioned my father, as to why I should work while my friends only attended school and most didn’t have to work. He just kept saying that I would be thankful someday and realize what a gift this is. Fast forward 20 years, and all I can say is he was very right. Learning to work hard and take pride in what I did at a young age translated to being able to create and own a business that projects those same values into every aspect of what I do.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started my journey into holistic wellness back in 2007 when I was squeezed in a hydraulic machine breaking S3 and S4 vertebrae in my back. I went the traditional medicine route prescribed by my doctors but I knew within a week that I was not going to be able to function normally with my day to day activities. I had been prescribed an immense amount of opioids and steroids and I was fortunate enough to have a friend that was attending med school. We talked about the long term effects of anti inflammatory and pain meds and I knew I had to find another way. I called a friend that had moved to California to cultivate cannabis for a grow collective. I began interning to learn everything about cultivation and utilization of the plant in exchange for using my skills as a builder to construct professional indoor growing spaces. After several years I moved back to my home state of Tennessee and hoped one day legalization would take place. The 2018 Farm Act went into effect making hemp federally legal and I knew It was my opportunity to chase my dream of sharing the benefits of cannabis with my local community. The first year it was very difficult to find a contract to grow for a reputable company. I secured a small contract with a company out of Kentucky and I planted my first 1000 Cbd dominant hemp plants. It takes around 6 months to produce a fully matured cannabis plant. During the harvest of the 2019 season the hemp market crashed and most of the companies that contracted growers went bankrupt and closed before paying the growers. I was no exception. I had produced over 2000 pounds and could not find a single buyer. It was at the moment I decided to pivot, create a brand, and begin to utilize my knowledge of the therapeutic uses of cannabis. The first product and still my number one seller by far is my 5 ingredient all natural muscle freeze. I performed a simple heat extraction with my hemp into coconut oil and sent the output off for lab results. From there I added Eucalyptus, Camphor, menthol, and beeswax to create “Father”. It was very nerve wracking at first to produce something that worked for my injury and be willing to take direct feedback from clients to see if the results would be the same. Needless to say, the response has been amazing!! I was asked to reformulate father into a liquid version instead of a salve and “Brother” was created. Our rollerball muscle freeze. Two products have blossomed into 10 currently and counting. I am a true believer in less is more when it comes to ingredients for holistic wellness. It’s about the quality of the ingredients and the proper amounts. The Cannabis industry doesn’t have much regulation at this time and I believe that makes it very important to self regulate and lab test all of my products in order to give the client security and peace of mind knowing that our products are produced to the highest quality standards. We get to grow every plant ourselves and are privileged to able to follow each of the outputs to the consumer. Every product is made by hand in small batches to ensure consistency from day one. I enjoy working with clients one on one to help assess their wellness goals and to properly match our products to their needs and I enjoy answering any questions they have regarding cannabis. It’s all about proper education as this plant emerges.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy has definitely been to connect with the client on a personal level and engage them with confidence and honesty. Especially when selling something that has been taboo for so long like cannabis, being able to develop trust with the consumer is #1

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I talked a little about the Hemp market crash in 2019. What I didn’t say was that the market actually crashed right at the beginning of our month long harvest and 3 month trim and curing process. My business partners were well aware of the crash and began throw in the towel especially when our grown contract was not going to be paid. We had based our business model on being able to sell our hemp for $40 a pound to make a profit and when we created the business plan the price was around $200. The amount of producers that year far outweighed the demand for an industry that was just beginning. When my partners tried to quit, I had to remind them that we set out to hit a goal and until the product was harvested and put away properly, it was absolutely worthless. I wasn’t sure how we would fix the problem but I did know we had produced a very high quality crop and I would find a way to utilize it. 3 years later, our brand is growing daily, and our products are beginning to be distributed around the country. I’m glad they listened and kept at it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cannapham.farm
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannaphamfarm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannaPhamFarm/