We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle Poindexter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about keeping costs under control when growing. How have you managed to keep costs from getting out of control?
We have purchased a lot of equipment on the secondary market to avoid the hefty price tag that comes with new equipment. You must be cautious when doing so because there is always a risk that it doesn’t
work, or that parts may be missing. There have also been times that we have been able to re-engineer
equipment to suit our needs. Additionally, some of our processes are still more manual than we’d like.
In order to keep it light and remind ourselves that we won’t be doing them manually forever, we like to
give them catchy names, like “milking the cow” which is what we call manually steeping the bagged
hemp to extract the oil. Overall, we approach our growth very cautiously. We want to ensure that
when we do purchase new equipment, to increase our product line or automate processes, that we do
have a high level of confidence that the increase in revenue will surpass the expenses.
At this stage of our company, we have been able to get by with part-time help here and there.
Otherwise, we bring in family members, on big days, and pay them with “quality family time”. Keep in
mind there is a trade-off involved, lower costs but increased attitude.
Michelle, 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?
We are a family-owned and operated CBD business. We started the company 4 years ago when we knew that hemp was going to be legalized federally. I grew up on a farm and after
years in corporate America, was ready for a change. I started researching hemp and its
myriad of uses and benefits and felt like this was an industry where I could do some good
and ultimately brought me back to my roots. We own every step of the process that goes
into making our products, which includes cultivating hemp, extracting the CBD oil, and
manufacturing our products. It was over four years ago now that we repurposed an old
feed store and started our extraction business. Since then, we have built our own brand of
products (Rural Route Hemp Co), and are finishing the buildout of a new 4500 square foot
manufacturing facility in Adrian, MO.
As we have grown our product line over the years, we have also evolved the mission behind
our company. Slightly. Our mission has always been to create the safest and most trusted
CBD products in our industry. As we have worked with many customers over the years, we
realized the need for a more holistic approach to one’s health. CBD isn’t a cure-all, but it fits
right in with the other elements of living healthy lives such as nutrition, exercise, balance,
and so much more. With that thought process in mind, we have worked with medical and
science experts on product ingredients, processing procedures and dosing. We also held
our first Women’s Health Seminar and had medical professionals speak on a number of
topics. It was a hit!
Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses
It just so happens we bought our first business this year! I was approached by an individual in our community that was selling his building and along with it, a working fitness center.
We kept the facility running and have been making improvements for our current members
while encouraging new members to join. All the while, working on the back of the facility
where we will be processing our CBD and manufacturing our products. Two months later,
we are putting the finishing touches on it, and it will be fully functioning in a matter of
weeks.
It was a perfect fit with our expanded mission to provide our customers with a more holistic
approach to health. Our retail store connects the gym (The Fitness Hub) to our
manufacturing and will soon be outfitted with CBD products as well as other health
products to serve both our gym members and the public.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Since starting our business, we have been heavily involved in supporting and building up the overall industry in Missouri, through associations, seminars, and one on one networking
with other farmers, retailers, and processers. We have been able to establish relationships
with other folks that seek to follow safe extraction processes and create great products,
which has enabled us to create a referral network of likeminded people that we trust have
the same commitment, values, and vision that we have for the industry and serving our
customers.
It has been a priority for us to give our customers easy access to answers to their questions
via email, phone, or simply stopping by our storefront. It has been a wonderful experience
getting to hear the positive feedback they have regarding our products. Through our one-
on-one discussions we have built strong connections with our clientele and look forward to
continuing to serve both existing and new customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: rrhempco.com
- Instagram: rr_hemp_co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuralRouteHempCo
- Linkedin: Rural Route Hemp Co
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ruralroutehempco.4575