Hey, it's Shalicia Harris, your host of Buzzworthy.
Join me as I sit down with entrepreneurs to talk
about their innovative businesses and their unique
stories. Remember to follow us on social at Hamilton
Hive on all platforms. And don't forget to rate
our podcast. Let's jump into today's story. Hello,
everyone. Today we have Krista Holiday in the
booth with us, and we're really excited to dive
into Krista's story. There are a few things that
I think is really ripe for the climate right
now with a lot of people, you know, unsure about
their employment. And Krista has a really unique
way in which she, you know, pivoted from being
an employer to an entrepreneur. Krista had a
really interesting way where she pivoted from
being an employee to an entrepreneur within the
same company she was working with. So I'll leave
that for Krista to tell us about, but it's really
exciting to have you here, Krista. Thanks for
having me. I'm so excited. I'm really excited
that this is your first podcast. Me too. A little
nervous, but we'll get through it. You guys are
going to love this story, and Krista's going
to be such a natural. You'll be like... Don't
lie to us. But Krista, one of the questions we
love to start off with with our entrepreneurs
is, you know, what set you up to be an entrepreneur?
That's such an interesting question. And when
you. just asked me that. The first thing that
came to my head is driving in the car with my
mom as a little girl and I was probably about
10 or 11 years old and I wanted this lipstick
and I remember the lipstick being like $20 or
this was a while ago so I'm aging myself a little
bit but it was a lot of money for a lipstick
especially for a 10 year old girl. I mean, $20
for lipstick now is still a lot. Yes, fair. So
I said, Mom, I was bugging her. I'm like, I really
want this lipstick. I really want this lipstick.
And she's like, well, save your money. And I'm
like, well, I don't have any money. I'm like,
can't you just buy it for me? And the conversation
shifted. And she looked at me and she said, don't
ever depend on anybody to buy you a lipstick.
And for whatever reason, that story has always
stuck with me. Yeah. Those are the moments that
sometimes, you know, it's like this is meaningful,
but why is it meaningful? How am I actually going
to action it? And it gets buried somewhere in
your subconscious. And it's incredible that you've
been an entrepreneur now for 15 years and now
this story is coming back to you. Yeah, it has.
And it all of a sudden, you know, resurfaces.
And then there's those little moments, you know,
as you go through life and when you look back.
you're like oh that was a changing moment for
me yeah I definitely have had a few moments like
that and it's just like Everything just ultimately
works the way it should work. And sometimes we
feel like we're not in control. Sometimes we
feel like all these bad things are happening
to us. Because I'm sure you were very disappointed
in your mom at that moment for, like, not getting
you that lipstick you really wanted. Oh, for
sure. Such a key life lesson learned at such
a young age. I'd love to show you my lipstick
collection now. I want to see it. I truly do.
Yeah. Well. You, since you were 10 years old,
this has been sitting with you. But eventually
you started out, you got a career, you're working
for some really big companies. Tell us about
that and how you eventually became an entrepreneur
and what was that opportunity you saw? Yeah,
for sure. So I've worked, I've been really, really
blessed to work for some amazing companies. I've
worked for Holt Renfrew corporate office. I worked
for Rexall. Then after Rexall, I was recruited
to a company called Jarden Home Brands. And they
have 200 different household brands. And I was
on a baby company, Nook Gerber Baby. And I was
one of the only Canadian employees. So I started
there as a marketing manager and was working
on the business. Then I got promoted up to sales
and marketing. And the business was going well
and we were getting great distribution across
Canada. And they said, hey, do you want to work
on this other business that's not doing so well?
And I'm like, sure, give me all the stuff that's
not working. Let me fix it. And, you know, was
really enjoying myself and really just learning.
I was super young, really networking, meeting
a lot of great retailers and buyers and people.
And then one day I thought, hey, like. I'm learning
so much and there's a really big need in the
market for independent consultation, for new
brands coming into Canada and really trying to
navigate this retail market and get into those
big stores and partner with the big guys. But
I didn't want to start with no clients. I didn't
want to quit my job. and try and, you know, make
a dollar from nothing. So I'm like, I went to
my boss and I said, hey, listen, I know I'm the
only Canadian employee. You pay me X, pay me
less. Don't worry about my benefits and all that
stuff. But hire me as a consultant and I'll do
the exact same job. And they're like, OK, works
for us. So my boss was now my first client. And
it just kind of went from there. That is one
way. When you first told me this story, I was
like, if I told the boss, hey, I'm just going
to, you know, quit and you hire me as a consultant
at a lower rate, they might look at me sideways.
What do you think gave you the confidence to
ask for something like that, knowing that, you
know? An employer is just like, well, you're
my employee. We're going to lose an employee
technically. How do you create that sense of
comfort and stability for them while creating
this huge opportunity for yourself? So I was
a committed employee. I was dedicated to my role,
but I was also committed to myself and my learning
and my future. And I was really transparent and
honest with them on that. And I think that when
you have those honest, transparent conversations
and it's not coming from a threatening place,
just a self -growth place, and you can create
an opportunity that works for you and. the other
person, in this case, my employer, which it did.
I offered them a significant savings in my salary
and not having to worry about all the other stuff
that goes with an employee. It made sense. And
so I created a solution that worked for both
of us. I would say your employer, your boss at
the time, was definitely way ahead of where we
even are right now to be able to accept something
like that from an employee. But it definitely.
takes real guts and real risk taken on your end
to come up with a solution like this. Yes, it's
saving them. But just for you to put that together
and say, hey, this is what I want to do, I think
is so incredible. And I haven't heard a story
like that before. And I think it's really special
and unique. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.
And, you know, at the time, I weighed out my
options and it's what made sense, right? It's
what it made sense to me. You need to take risks
to have some reward. And I know that sounds cliche,
but it's true. And we continue to operate that,
operate just like that every day. Yeah, that's
really important. And that's what makes an entrepreneur
in the first place. Like, we aren't risk -averse
people. But we also don't take, you know, silly
risk. We just don't jump into something. It's
calculated. It's thoughtful. It's methodical
in so many ways. in everything that you did in
that scenario, it most definitely shined through.
Yeah. So that actually is in our company values
today. So we have five values and one of them,
I think it's number three, is take calculated
risks. I love it. I love it. So that, I think
it's such a good segue into our conversation
today. And going from, you know, stepping out
from being an employee to an entrepreneur, how
did you then... take your one client, which was
a big client, it comes with a big burden, and
start to grow that company that eventually turned
into Ray Management Group. So I think today there's
this, I don't know if the right word is like...
lore or around being an entrepreneur that it's
like a sexy thing to be from my experience there's
nothing sexy about being an entrepreneur and
it's a boiled down to hustle and hard work and
like you said calculated risks and it it never
stops sometimes when people ask me like why did
you choose to be an entrepreneur and I say I
tell them all the reasons why but I also say
you know It chose me. This is my path. It's in
me. It's who I am. Chasing opportunities and
creating solutions. I enjoy it. I love it. But
you're always doing that. It really never stops.
And after you getting, you know, Jurgens was
your first big company or? Oh, Jarden. Jarden.
Jarden was your first big company that you? you
were consulting for. How did you take having
one client that's so big and grow it into a bigger
company? Take us through that process and your
growth stages. Yeah, so it was just me working
on the brands that I was always working on. And
then at night, I would work on trying to find
new brands who were trying to do the same thing.
And my background and my passion has been in
beauty, personal care. baby type of product.
So I started with what I was passionate about
and what I liked. And I started going to trade
shows. Trade shows are often on the weekend.
So it didn't really interfere with my day to
day. And I would just network and meet people
and talk about what I was trying to do. And over
time, I was getting great referrals. I was getting,
you know, some good businesses, some not so good
businesses. But I wasn't saying no to anything.
I wasn't running P &Ls at that time across every
business. opportunity. I was taking every opportunity
that came my way and working really hard. And
I then hired a part time person and then a full
time person. And I got really lucky to meet some
wonderful people who were starting amazing brands
and they trusted me and they stayed with me for
a long time. And so we built our business from
there. That's incredible. And it shows like the
passion and the tenacity to just keep going.
And like you said, there's a lot of lore around,
you know, entrepreneurship just being sexy because
people only see the glamour and like, you know,
the awards and the lavish lifestyle, etc. But
before you got there, you had to work really
hard for what you have. Yeah. And there's nothing
that happens overnight. I've been doing this
for a long time. I've had a ton of failures,
way more failures than successes. And I know
now to fail fast and call it a day. But there's
always risk to take. And it's fun. You have to
love what you're doing or else you're not going
to do it. But it's what I love. And I'm super
passionate about it. And it's all around creating
solutions. And let's dive into that a little
bit. I love what you said. said, fail fast. And,
you know, it's kind of like a hot kind of phrase
right now. But what did that mean to you? And
how did you bounce back from those failures that
you experienced? Well, there's always a bounce
back, right, about not giving up and just keep
moving forward. In addition to Ray Management,
I own some smaller local businesses, and I can
give you some great examples there on Fail Fast.
Absolutely. So I have a preschool, and it's six
years old. It's been in the works since I was
pregnant with my daughter, who is now 10, so
11 years ago. So the first five years was trying
to create this preschool. And I had bought a
building with some little savings that I had
at the time. And we're like, OK. I say we. It's
like me and my husband, poor guy. I've been dragging
him through this. I was like, OK, I'm going to
renovate this great building. And I love it.
And it's going to be awesome. And we started.
renovating it and i'm literally there like taking
down walls with my brother and there was asbestos
in the walls and so i just sent all this money
on this building our savings and i can't do anything
with it um so I'm like, we either spend time
and money and try to course correct this asbestos
issue or we sell it now and we call it a day.
And I'm like, OK, we're going to sell it now
and call it a day and try something else. And,
you know, we were able to sell it at a little
bit of a loss and I didn't let that get me down.
I was like, OK, well, that was fun. Now I know
to maybe check inside some walls before I purchase
a building. Right. Or do a little bit more due
diligence. And that's us. That's a small but
also a big example of failing fast. Also, I've
learned along the way, like if you don't know
something, like as an entrepreneur, you don't
know everything. Don't even really know anything.
You don't specialize in anything, right? You
have a passion. And you have to be good at everything,
but you're not great at everything. So find the
resources and create the network of the people
who are great at the things that you're not and
lean on them. Ask for help. What I found is people
want to help. Yeah, absolutely. And if you don't
ask, like you just can't get it. They just don't
know that you need it. Yeah, always ask. The
worst they can say is no. Again, I know that
sounds like, yeah, okay. But it's true. I mean,
very few people say no when you ask for help.
And it always comes full circle. It does. It
most definitely does. I've definitely learned
that in my own entrepreneurial journey. So the
point where there's so many people saying yes
to me in terms of helping me, I just don't even
know what. to do with all of the yeses. Oh, that's
so nice. So such a good problem to have, but
yet still a problem that I need to find a solution
to. But back to like rate management group. So
you're growing this company. You're going to
trade shows. You're learning on your feet. Like
you're doing what you love. You have some not
so ideal clients. How did you evolve into Ray
Management Group? And what is now your specialty
at Ray? Okay. So we used to be called Global
Edge Brands. And Global Edge Brands was growing
really fast. And it was just me where I started.
Then I noticed that some of the brands had different
needs in the market, like warehousing and logistics
and freight and things that I didn't really know
too much about. So I found a partner. And my
partner at that time, he knew about all that
stuff. So his job was to manage that. As you
take on new responsibilities within a company,
you know, you need cash. There's cash flow issues.
So we needed another partner for capital investment.
So we went to we asked a bunch of people that
we knew. We found somebody, this awesome guy
who is still I consider a mentor today to be
a capital investor. Those two people ended up
costing me, you know, 70 % of my business. So
now I'm just over 30 % owner, which was fine
because we were building something and I was
excited. But as you learn and you grow, you say,
okay, like what makes sense for me and what's
working? So the business is growing. I now have
two partners. Partners in a business is like
a marriage with people you're not in love with.
That's very difficult. And it comes down for
me to a values. conversation. And when there's
misalignment within the values of an organization,
that can cause a lot of chaos. So that company
was great. We did it for a long time, but it
got to a point for me where those values weren't
aligned anymore. And it was time for me to say
this isn't working. And that was a two -year
decision. It was very difficult for me because
this was my baby, right? And I had to walk away.
I didn't have to. It was a choice. And so I made
that choice. I said, oh, I'm going to take it
easy. I'm going to do something a little bit
smaller, focus on my local businesses. And that
lasted a year. And Ray Management came up and
running. And I really said, OK, well, this time
I'm going to do it as a value -based company.
And I'm going to stick to those values. And I'm
older now and I'm wiser now and I have the experience
and I don't need to compromise myself and my
beliefs to be successful. And then I think it
comes also down to defining what success looks
like for you. And what does success look like
for you? And if you can take us also through
your values, that would be really awesome to
hear what those are. For sure. So success for
me is waking up every day and loving what I do.
And I do that. Even hard days. You know, this
morning was a really hard day, but I still wanted
to be there. I didn't want to go home and shut
it off. I wanted to. persevere through the issues
and learn from it. And I think if you're not
in an environment that you don't love, you don't
necessarily always feel that way. So getting
up in the morning and having the energy to want
to go to work and persevere through the good
and the bad to me is success. Absolutely. I get
to work with amazing people that I get to choose
who I want to work with, which is, I don't know
if there's any more success than that. I love
the people that I get to work with. They are
friends and family to me. I get to work on really
cool brands that I get to choose what brands
that we want to work on, which is very successful
for me. And all of that comes with sacrifice.
Right. And that's OK, because at the end of the
day, like I'm living my values and to lead into
that, my values really are the company values
as well. And so that's understanding your why.
That is our first value. And no matter what you're
doing, no matter what decision you're making,
no matter what problem you're facing, you know,
take a step back and understand why am I doing
this? Why is such a huge question that I don't
think we ask enough of. And sometimes, you know,
I'm guilty of it as well. You get caught up in
the day to day or you get caught up in a situation.
And if you just take a step back and go, why?
The solution is a lot easier than we think. Yeah,
and it resets your frame of mind, right? And
you get to, okay, what is the real root of all
of this? And how do I, you know, get to a place
where I can solution this and be happy with it
and be happy with myself at the end of the day?
Yeah, absolutely. The second one is take calculated
risks. We take risks every day. And, you know,
my colleagues that I work with, I'm always encouraging
them to take calculated risks. That's how we
grow. That's how we learn. We don't need to play
it safe. If we want to do big things, we got
to make big moves and hard decisions. So that's
another value. And that's, again, personally
and professionally. Collaborate. is huge and
that goes down to the importance of your network
and the people around you and I didn't always
understand that as much as I do today but for
me relationships and the relationships that I've
been able to make along the way are so important
to me and you know I don't know what I would
do without the team I have. Yeah. The fourth
one would be to find creative solutions. Oftentimes
the right solution is right in front of you and
we don't need to overcomplicate it. But also
there's creative ways to do things and it's not
A or B. I for a long time was a person that was
black or white. It's this way or it's that way.
I've learned along the way that there's always
a gray and there's always something in between.
And we need to think creatively in order to get
there. Yeah, I love that. So when you actually
talked about collaboration and really talking
about what that team looks like, I go back to,
you know, thinking about how superheroes are
portrayed as today. Like superheroes, they're
typically pretty independent or they have like
a sidekick. But really, like when you're finding
solutions to bigger things and things that make
a lot of sense, it's not just one person that
does. that. It's, you know, it's this massive
team of people. Yes, there might be a face to
the front of that, but there's that huge support
system that's in the back. And those are the
folks that are collaborating with you to help
bring your vision to life. Oh, absolutely. I
mean, we had a really tough decision to make
today. I never make decisions in a silo. I'm
always like calling group meetings or family
meeting. Let's have a discussion. Let's get everybody's
perspective. And it's so interesting when you
take the time to do that. What comes out of it
is never really what you're thinking. And oftentimes,
especially, I mean, today is a perfect example.
My team pushed me out of my comfort zone to do
something that I wouldn't have done otherwise.
And, you know, they asked me, why, Krista? Like,
why are you doing this? Why don't you want to
do this? And I said, well, I'm scared. You know,
I it's a it's a scary thing. And basically they're
like, we got your back. Do this. This is the
right thing. This is why we're doing what we're
doing. And we got to stand up for what's right
for us and our values. So let's do it. That's
incredible. Yeah, it was such a proud moment.
It like brought tears to my eyes. Wow. Wow. That's
that's huge, because as a leader within your
own company to have a team that. supports you
in those moments when you're kind of on shaky
grounds and you're just like I just don't know
what to do I think That's a huge win and probably
another marker of success for you too. I would
absolutely count that as a marker of success.
Yeah, absolutely. And I've also learned to be
transparent with your team. Yeah. Right? And
just have those open, honest conversations with
them as well. And they get it. Yeah. Yeah, most
definitely. So Ray is growing, but you've found
a really unique niche within the agency world.
because there are agencies on every corner agencies
that say we do everything agencies that only
do one thing but you've carved out a really unique
niche tell tell us about that and how you identified
it yeah so I like to say if we were a hashtag
we would be the brand behind the brands and we
take international brands we bring them into
the Canadian market we work with our retail partners
and we help to sell launch analyze market take
care of from an operations perspective those
brands as if they are our own Oftentimes, the
Canadian market is deemed small to some of these
global companies. And for them to put a dedicated
team on it just doesn't make sense for their
P &L. So it makes sense for them to have an external
partner that acts as their team on the ground.
And that's what we do. That is really cool. How
did you first identify that? I know you worked
for lots of big brands before in your previous
company, but when did you say, hmm, the Canadian
market's a great market because it's so diverse
and we need options for people, more and more
options because of... Our diverse culture is
here and bringing in these brands that people
can probably resonate with, solve very unique
problems for them. How did you see that this
was an opportunity and these brands still have
a huge opportunity within Canada to be successful
as well? Yeah. So when I was on the other side
as a buyer or even as a country manager with
Jarden, I would hire. big companies or a bunch
of sales reps to manage different accounts or
different retailers within their territories.
And when you have a bunch of people who aren't
focused on doing the same thing, it can take
away from the brand. And it can take away from
the objectives of the brand. So we have a very
holistic approach across the country. We deal
with all the major retailers. We are extensions
of that brand. And we make sure that we are aligned
and create KPIs that not only nurture that brand
as our own, but help it to grow and succeed.
And when I was... On the other side of the business,
I could never find that. There wasn't a company
that really offered a service like that. There
were really mass companies that would have, let's
say, an account manager who managed maybe five
or six brands. But then I would just be a part
of their portfolio. And I wouldn't have the representation
that I wanted as the brand owner. So we have
a very niche approach where there's not more.
then um team that's working on two brands at
a time. So they really live and breathe those
brands. And that's even like, that's better than
people in the whole corporate world. Because
I come from the corporate world where as a marketing
manager, like you said, you yourself had over
200 brands, right? So having someone solely focused
on, you know, pretty much half their time is
dedicated to your brand. You couldn't even do
that in Internally. So that's a huge win. Yeah,
we're really helping organizations streamline
their P &Ls and drive more profit. Oftentimes
when these global companies come to work with
us, we run P &Ls for them to say, here, here's
why it makes sense to work with us. Just look
at your net profit at the end of the day. And
they're blown away because we really do have
a very specialized, focused approach. we don't
have certain P &L expectations. We take on brands
for a plethora of reasons. First of all, we have
to love the brand. We have to believe in what
they're doing and their values as an organization.
And we have to love working with the people that
represent the brand because this is where we
spend so much time. So if all of those things
come into play and they work, then we go back
and we number crunch and we love to number crunch.
love to look at businesses as a whole, but we
don't have a certain expectation. We look at,
again, success as a bigger, broader picture.
So while we may be making more money with one
company versus another, there is a certain level
of... If we look at revenue in a broader way,
what else are we getting from this brand? So
if we can contribute to, for example, a women
-owned company coming in from the U .S. and we
get them on the shelves of a shopper's drug mart
or a Walmart and they have this amazing give
-back program that we can contribute to, but
we have to take less revenue at the end of the
day from it, we look at that as awesome success.
And we get to be part of that. And that's what
really transforms the world in a lot of ways,
right? And it's not a loss on you because, like,
you're happy at the end of the day. And, like,
can we put a price on your happiness and joy
versus taking, like, other customers that will
give you that really high, like, you know, profit
margin but is the biggest pain in you -know -what
to deal with on a daily basis. I know that. Those
are the clients you fire. Yes, yeah. And that's
the other thing, you know, we work really hard
to identify that and say we're not happy either.
And just because you're our client doesn't mean
that you can treat us any way that you want to
or that we're going to do things that we don't
believe in or doesn't make sense for us. And
so that's a hard place to be in, right, when
clients are paying your bills. we do work to
stand up for what we believe in. Yeah. And I
think anytime you have standards and expectations
and they're clear and transparent, whether you're,
you know, a business, a person, I think you always
attract the right people that will, you know,
meet you where you're at and help you go where
you want to go and vice versa. And so we kind
of have to set that standard. And because when
you're one, One thing to everybody, you're not
really making anybody happy or you're not really
solving something in an incredible way. And that's
including like for yourself, like you're not
happy at the end of the day because you're being
too flexible for everybody. And that's not really,
you know, sustainable. No, absolutely. And I
think as women, it's important to know your worth
as well and remember that. And that's hard to
do. sometimes. Yeah. Do you find being a woman
in today's climate challenging as an entrepreneur,
even when you started? Like what was that experience
in your journey? Yeah. So 15 years ago, very,
very challenging. I remember going into a meeting
with some men and the two men said, are you going
to go get the coffee? I'm like, what? I'm here
to do the same thing you are. Why am I going
to go get the coffee? And I mean, that would
never happen today. Thank goodness. Like we have
come so far. But I definitely see it and it definitely
still exists today, unfortunately, on some levels.
But I do think overall, you know, we're changing
and you have to be able to stand up for yourself
and know your worth. I have more moments than
than not where, you know, you start to second
guess yourself or you're feeling threatened in
a meeting based on just the energy. Right. You
know, females tend to be a little bit softer
and a little bit more gentle. And so my business
partner used to joke around my old business partner
and say, you know, the softest thing about you
is your teeth. And I'm like, well, I've. been
forced to be like that, right? Like you have
to get tough, but you don't anymore. You can
be soft. You can have a feminine, gentle approach
and still navigate through the world. So I love
that that's changing. I'm definitely a big proponent
of that and support women in leadership. Yeah,
that gives me a lot of hope because. The industry
that I'm in, which is the financial industry,
is so dominated by men. And that was a big fear
of mine when I started. I was just like, how
do I, with no experience in this financial industry,
come in and be also a woman at a table that's
dominated by men, you know? And that have been
in this world for so long. How do I carve that
credibility? It goes back to like having that
confidence, being true to who you are and that,
you know, that space is then created for you
to be there. And even when it's uncomfortable,
it eventually gets a little bit more comfortable.
Yeah, absolutely. Or you get comfortable in the
uncomfortable. Yeah. Right. And I think that's
super important, too. Yeah. I love that. I love
that. I actually had a shirt that said that once
upon a time. I need that shirt. I just thought
I made that up. No. It's a big thing? No, no,
no, no. It's, you know, the smart people, we
get it. We get it. We just know. Okay, fair.
Yeah. Yeah, so you've grown the company, and
it's here. You've carved out this really unique
niche. What's next for Ray? So there's so many
exciting things on the horizon. We actually are
working on some of our own brands. And we are
so lucky to see brands at every different stage.
And we also see it from the retailer side and
we see it from the consumer side. So it gives
us this really unique advantage to say, what's...
actually needed. What do consumers want? What
do they need? How can we create a solution there?
And we've carved out two really unique opportunities
that we're working on. So I would love if one
day one of those or both of those opportunities
to come to fruition and we are able to operate
our own brands as well. That's something that
we're working on. Another big initiative for
us is working hand in hand with the retailers
and helping them understand new ways of looking
at shelf space and what they call planograms
and what's on shelf today. What should be on
shelf? Should it be just the big guys with the
deep pockets who are able to pay for space? Or
can we make room for smaller brands that have
a different purpose behind them? And I think
that's so important for the economy. Especially
in the Canadian market, there's not a huge retail
landscape. There's not a lot of competition.
So that's a big initiative for me personally
as well is to say, hey, like, why are you putting
that on the shelf, you know, and try and transition
our values outwardly as well. So that, you know,
maybe those buyers or the leadership team is
saying, like, why are we doing this and what
are we contributing to and how can we do better?
Yeah. I love that. I think, you know, real estate
and those planograms is really real estate for
real. Yeah. You know, the housing market's crazy
right now. Well, it's wilder in the grocery store.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm glad you know that because
it's, you know, I know you have some background
and experience in retail. A lot of people don't
know that you've got to pay to play and it costs
huge money to get on those shelves. And so how
does a startup with a really amazing product
and a really amazing mission get on the shelf
when they're just trying to get by and create
awesome things? And so when you come to a company
like Ray Management Group, we've learned how
to navigate those waters and really help. Talk
to the retailers and educate them on why that's
important. Yeah, maybe they're going to lose
some, you know, dollars per square foot on that
on that particular shelf. But what are we doing
to build a better economy? And I know that sounds
like really grandiosis, but. Everybody has power
in what you choose to buy on shelf. And so, you
know, that's another side of the business that
we're working on is educating consumers on the
power of their dollars. Yeah. And I think that's
something huge. Like people should be. And I
think people are switching to more of that mindset
where where you spend your dollars is what you
care about. And, you know, you know, dollars
are tight these days. You know, we have the scary
R word around the corner. So how do you how do
you put your brands? And how do you put your
dollar to the brands that really matter? How
do you make sure that your own backyard is taken
care of? And that's something I, you know, I
really love. And that's one of the reasons I
started this podcast is because I think it's
important to support entrepreneurs and businesses
in your own backyard. Yes, a lot of us love the
big, big companies. And especially when we think
about, you know, this time of year when people
are spending so much money. We just had Hamilton
Day. I think is such a huge opportunity for businesses.
And it was such a mobilization of like the community.
So shout out to the chamber on that. That was
fantastic. Such an exciting day. But if we can
do that every day. Right. We can do that every
day. And something I wanted you to talk about
before we even wrap up the podcast is, you know,
this. thing you have called fish food oh yeah
uh let's talk about fish food and um tell the
people about fish food what it is and um and
how people can potentially participate in the
future for sure so we we work with big brands
big companies a lot of celebrity founded type
of brands and so we're sitting around earlier
maybe a year ago at this time and just having
some brainstorming and we said you know we do
all these amazing things for these big brands
or maybe even smaller brands that are coming
into the market but what what about locally like
what can we do that's a little bit more local
a little bit more community -based we have this
awesome city that we're in and there's some great
talent and we thought about you know you know
the show fish tank where everybody's going up
and basically fighting for position for investment
in the business and for guidance on what they've
created. We said, why does it have to be? a fight
and so we created fish food and fish food is
about partnering with local community -based
brands or businesses and either providing investment
or guidance or strategic overview and partnering
with them in a bigger way to help them grow and
help them become some of those big brands and
they're right next door. Yeah that's really really
exciting because I mean Hamilton has so many
creatives in like so many different ways whether
it's like these home -based businesses that have
something so unique that can like come out and
become something really cool. I went to a show
at the Cotton Factory a couple A couple of months
ago, I want to say it was September, and I came
across this business that has this whole, like,
bath experience. Wow. And I was so perplexed
by it. I have her card somewhere in one of my
purses, and I need to reach out. But it was such
a curated, thoughtful process. I was just like...
more people should experience this. And I think
businesses like that would be such a great opportunity
to take part in fish food and, you know, grow
that experience organically and grow it even
faster and reach scales that they never really
imagined. Yeah, and oftentimes, you know, what
I've noticed as an entrepreneur in very different
perspectives is... You know, some people want
to go into business for themselves because they
have a really great product or a really great
idea. And that's awesome. But they don't always
know how to scale that or how to manage that.
And so, you know, if we can help, we definitely
want to help. You know, that's what we're all
here for as well. Similar to you with your financial
side of the business. People need help and guidance.
So we want to, you know, allocate some of our
time to. be community focused and locally focused
and see where that goes. Yeah. Well, that's so
exciting. What's something you're proud of, like
as an entrepreneur? So that's something I'm learning,
still learning to be proud and celebrating the
successes. I can't say that I have figured that
out a hundred percent, but You know, the first
thing that comes to me is my team. I'm so proud
of my team and so proud to be around such great
people every day that I truly do feel blessed
because I've been in a lot of situations where
that's not the case. So I don't take that for
granted at all. That's awesome. I like it. Krista,
this was... an incredible conversation. I learned
so much about you. Loved your like your your
five. What did you call them again? Your five
values. Values. Yes. Yes. Those those are great.
And I can't wait to share them with our audience
and, you know, challenge people like create your
own values for your business and yourself. And,
you know, once you kind of. put those out there
and you say, here's my standard, you'll get the
customers that you want. And you just have to
make sure that you're demonstrating those as
well yourself. Yeah, absolutely. Exciting. Yeah.
So thank you again so much for being here. It
was such a pleasure. And I know everyone definitely
had, you know, their little notepads, taking
all the notes from all of your experiences, because
I definitely learned a lot from you today. Thank
you so much. It was so great to be here. It was.
Thank you so much, Krista. Bye. A huge thank
you to you, our listeners, for tuning in every
week to hear about our buzzworthy businesses.
Don't forget to rate us on whatever platform
you're listening and following us at at Hamilton
Hive on all of the social media platforms. But
most importantly, we want to thank our team of
dedicated volunteers who make this podcast possible
on a weekly basis. So here we go. Cesar Cardena.
Khaled Imam, James Clark, Trisha Ford, Ratri
Toon, Hirsh Kumar Patel, Fernando Rodriguez,
Yvette R., and yours truly, Shalacia Harris.
Don't forget to tune in next Monday for a new
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