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

Jazmin, 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?

I am happy as a business owner, wanting to quit never stops. There are days that I do want to quit, but I continue. I have learned that perseverance, showing up and doing the things I do not want to do keeps the wheels turning. Continuing to work on the best version of myself its an everyday process, some days are better than others. It never ends, and that’s ok. Because I know whats on the other end is what I want. I fill my mind with information from mentors that have what I want, and one thing I learned from an entrepreneur that I see as a mentor is to “Win the day.”

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

From a very young age I had a independent thinking mindset. I believe seeing my mother work so hard to provide for me thought me the value of hard work. Soon after high school going to college just did not make very logical sense to me. I did not know why I felt this way, if it was the right thing to do per society. I felt confused & lost on why I felt college was not the only way to become financially free. Then at 19 years old I came across a book that changed my life, “Rich dad Poor dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. From there on it sparked the idea of one day becoming a business owner, it took me a years before giving it a shot to be a business owner. I tried different small start ups in my early 30’s. With none of them being solid or successful. At 38 years old a good friend and I sat down over lunch to talk about becoming business partners as I had started an airbnb short term rental. Instead the conversation turn into opening a smoke shop, she had smoke shop industry experience and I had operations experience. From that moment on we started working immediately towards our goal and by 5 months we had our first smoke shop open.

Its been a work in progress, I am not where I want to be just yet, discipline is a skill that must be learned and maintain. I realized that its going to be hard and at times I feel misunderstood but I accepted that its part of the process. Sacrifices have to be made to get what you want, to excel and become the best at what you do.

We do the best in our ability to test the products and the suppliers we purchase from. We want our customers to get what their are paying for, high quality products and experience great customer service. We practice treating our customer like human beings and not just another transaction. All our customers are important to us to matter the size of the purchase. We serve our customers not just sell products. Our brand is set by the following core values:

-Personal Excellence
-Hard Work
-Above & Beyond Customer Service
-Integrity

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Listening to Podcasts Daily. Podcasts in my bookmarks are”

AF by Andy Frisella
The Real Bradley
Business Owners
The Ed Mylett Show

Books:
“Rich dad and Poor dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.
“Think and grow rich” by Napoleon hill
“Outwitting the Devil” by Napoleon hill

Joining a personal coaching group lead by Brandon Burchard.
Investing and Becoming part of entrepreneurs groups, attending seminars or event when possible. Have significantly contributed to my mind set. These are skills that need to be learned, no one is born with them. Any one can learn them.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I recently learned this, when hiring someone to be part of the team, I ask them questions outside of the conventional questions. Like the questions I know ask are “What do you like do for fun?” “What would you do if you saw a shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot on your way to your car?” etc. Questions to see if I can vibe with that person.

In order to keep a high morale, my team must feel that this journey is also part of their journey by building people to become a better version of themselves where they can learned skills that can be used towards their passion outside of work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/homiezsmokeshop/?hl=en
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zen.blendz/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomiezSmokeShop/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZenBlendz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd4C-qduyMYvPvQiSpMWrDQ