Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Robbin Pott, Co-Founder of Pott Farms L3C., located in Willis, MI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Pott Farms is a regenerative hemp company in Michigan. We grow our CBD hemp plants in living soil that we cultivate with compost that we make from locally sourced and on-the-farm starting materials. We hand harvest and trim our buds, then slow-cure our best ones to sell as a dried flowers. We use the rest of the trimmed buds to extract the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes from the hemp flowers, winterize the extract by cold-filtering out impurities, and then hand-craft small batches of CBD oil and topicals. We process our harvests in a non-profit commercial kitchen that is a hub of a local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For our first three years, the company explored regenerative farming practices and growing different hemp varieties as we designed a prototype cannabis farm that trains young adults from communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition and the war on drugs. Our customers value well-made, simple, and effective full-spectrum CBD products. And, they choose to use their purchasing power to support companies who are doing good in the world.
Tell us about yourself
I started my career studying and advocating for vulnerable children. I have degrees in psychology, law, and public policy and had a 20-year academic career as a public policy researcher and lawyer in child welfare and juvenile justice. During that time, I came to understand the myriad of challenges families face. In 2015, I decided to leave academics to start Pott Farms so I could create restorative solutions to those challenges.
I am motivated every day, knowing that we are building real solutions. I absolutely love farming, and I would spend every minute of the day on it if I didn’t have other responsibilities. The way we farm restores health to our soil rather than depletes it, and I get to grow one of the most amazing plants on our planet. I am also proud of our CBD products. They deliver plant medicine simply and effectively.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Staying true to our commitment to environmental, social, and economic justice as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of the cannabis industry. Pott Farms is co-founded by a diverse group of hopeful people who believe a company should be a wise steward of our resources, care for the people who both produce and consume our products and fairly distribute the wealth that it generates.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It can be hard to cope with the uncertainty that comes with starting a business. It takes courage every day to keep going, to be willing to change course when needed to reach your ultimate goals and to proceed even though you do not know how things are going to turn out. I counteract this aspect by recognizing that every day that I get to work on my business is a win for me and that no matter what happens, I’m living my best life now.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Build your business for the world that is becoming and not the world that is currently dying. Now is the time to have the courage to question everything and to re-write the rules. Think creatively!!
- Think win-win. Create a business that supports you while improving the world. For example, eliminate waste in your cycles, shorten supply lines by sourcing inputs locally, and compensate your employees fairly.
- Have a learning mindset and consider failures simply as lessons to take forward with you.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Be kind and find joy every day.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://pottfarms.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pottfarms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pottfarms/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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