Navigating Partnerships, Growth, and Legal Insights in the Cannabis Industry: A Conversation with Greg Odom | 101

"Quick to realize if someone used one of our machines and got injured, we need a proper release form" - Greg Odom 

Episode Title: Navigating Partnerships, Growth, and Legal Insights in the Cannabis Industry: A Conversation with Greg Odom

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Don't Skip the Legal podcast, host Andrew J. Contiguglia engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Greg Odom, a seasoned entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. Greg shares his journey, experiences, and valuable insights on managing partnerships, achieving business growth, and the crucial legal considerations within the dynamic world of cannabis.

Keywords: cannabis industry, partnerships, business growth, legal insights, entrepreneurship, Greg Odom, Don't Skip the Legal podcast, cannabis business, business relationships, operational agreements, brand protection, entrepreneurship, technology integration, growth strategies.

Episode Highlights:

• Greg Odom's journey from a single location to a multi-state cannabis business empire.
• Maintaining a personal touch and relationship with clients even as a business scales is significant.
• Balancing work and life through efficient use of technology and remote management.
• The role of lawyers in drafting effective partnership agreements and protecting the brand's equity.
• Insight into creating a waiver for a unique business model involving specialized equipment rentals.
• Strategies to ensure partners remain aligned and committed to the brand's growth.
• The evolution of technology's impact on business management and communication.
• The importance of direct communication and straightforward advice in maintaining a successful business relationship.
• Greg's personal definition of success and lessons learned from his grandfather's advice.
• The power of maintaining personal and professional relationships to enhance business growth and development.

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Disclaimer:

Please note that the legal information shared in this podcast is for general informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitute for consulting with a licensed attorney for specific legal matters. Past performance does not indicate future results; every legal case is unique. Consult your own attorney for personalized legal advice.

Transcript

00;00;01;13 - 00;00;33;07
Andrew J. Contiguglia
This is Andy Contiguglia. your corporate casual Denver based business attorney bringing you the Don't Get to legal podcast where you can listen in on the real stories, the real stakes, and the real legal lessons from real business owners just like you. These behind the door conversations about business are instrumental to your success. This is where the deals are made, negotiations are discussed, and company problems are identified, leading you to overcoming the challenges we all face in our business.

00;00;33;07 - 00;00;57;18
Andrew J. Contiguglia
This podcast is your invitation to where the real business happens and also where the best ideas take place. So let's get behind the doors and business and break down these legal lesson in overall. Remember, don't skip the legal. I'd like to introduce Greg Odom. He is the owner and the proprietor of the Trimmer Store, which has multiple locations in several different states across the United States.

00;00;57;27 - 00;01;10;01
Andrew J. Contiguglia
The main one being in his sort of enterprise store is located here in Denver, Colorado. So without further ado, Greg, I'd like you to introduce yourself and please tell us about your business. Tell us what you do. Tell us how you got into the business.

00;01;10;10 - 00;01;32;13
Greg Odom
I am the owner of the Trimmer Store. We have five locations across the country now. I took over sole ownership of the business in 2019. I had partners before. That's the gist of our business is the rental, cannabis and trimming equipment and processing equipment. In the cannabis name industry. We are a very specific business that not many others do.

00;01;32;28 - 00;01;36;18
Greg Odom
It's a small niche, but we've become sort of the experts in it.

00;01;36;25 - 00;01;47;29
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So tell us how an ordinary day in your business operates. You mentioned that you sort of rent trimming machines. What does that look like? What is a trimming machine? How do your customers benefit from your company?

00;01;48;02 - 00;02;10;01
Greg Odom
We sell service and rent and our main source of revenue is the rental equipment. As this is equipment that is expensive and cannabis or hemp can only be grown X amount of times per year, depending on your different various growing methods. So a lot of this equipment is something that a mid to smaller sized grow would use 4 to 6 times per year.

00;02;10;01 - 00;02;33;28
Greg Odom
And so the cost of a rental versus the cost of buying it makes more sense for them to rent instead of buy. And so we service that niche and it's a very specific industry that we've learned and become experts on. There's many, many different grow stores, many different methods of growing cannabis or hemp, but there's only really so many ways to deal with it after the plant is cut down, which is a huge part of the harvest.

00;02;33;28 - 00;02;58;08
Greg Odom
It's where people's money can be made back if they do it properly and a large amount of revenue can be saved on their end by using this equipment versus using hand trimming, which requires several people scheduling issues, staffing issues, our equipment and our consultation really can drop the bottom line for the dispensary and owners and cannabis and CBD growers, they grow.

00;02;58;08 - 00;03;01;18
Greg Odom
So we really, really help their bottom line in efficiency.

00;03;01;18 - 00;03;22;09
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So if I owned or operated a we'll call it a farm, right? That grows either marijuana products or marijuana plants or hemp plants. I need to have a way of getting that plant processed and into a way that people can then use it and utilize it for whether it's CBD production, whether it's in the dispenser or is.

00;03;22;17 - 00;03;23;10
Greg Odom
Processing.

00;03;23;10 - 00;03;26;02
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And processing the plant itself. And that's where you come in, right?

00;03;26;04 - 00;03;49;12
Greg Odom
There's a lot to do after the plant is cut down before it goes to its final destination. Whether that turned into a processed product like a shatter or wax, or the several different ways that they transform cannabis or flower. But this is a very timely and expensive process if done by hand. And our machines really speed this up and make things more efficient.

00;03;49;12 - 00;04;03;24
Greg Odom
I mean, just a quick mathematical example would be the average person can trim 1 to £1.5 in an eight-hour workday. And we have machines that can trim up to £80 per hour.

00;04;03;26 - 00;04;04;14
Andrew J. Contiguglia
That's crazy.

00;04;04;14 - 00;04;21;10
Greg Odom
And everything in between smaller ones that do 3 to 4, but even the smaller ones greatly reduce the amount of time that even a small caregiver that grows cannabis just for their own self, it relieves their arthritis, their use of their hands, and the products are now so good you really can't tell the difference.

00;04;21;14 - 00;04;41;13
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So this is a very specialized in a very niche industry that sort of buttresses and complements the marijuana and the dispensary industry here in Colorado. How did you decide that was where you wanted to go in your business, that that was the right direction for you to take in your business? How did this sort of manifest itself into your current venture?

00;04;41;14 - 00;05;07;10
Greg Odom
Well, I've always been an entrepreneur since I was 18 years old. I started my own car detailing business and just done different things like that. As my old business partner, we kind of came up with the idea together back in the day. You could grow cannabis in your house and sell it to dispensaries and he came to my house one day and just in conversation said, I look for a trimming machine on Craigslist and couldn't find one to rent.

00;05;07;10 - 00;05;32;08
Greg Odom
And the light bulb kind of went off and I said, Well, you need one. There's got to be other people. And so we put up a fake ad on Craigslist that said we had a machine to rent and just to test the waters. And within a day, we had three or four people that called. And so the next day we went to the Grow store where he got his supplies and we bought a churning machine and that was the birth of the store.

00;05;32;08 - 00;05;37;01
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And the interesting thing is you and I actually met through your old business, right?

00;05;37;05 - 00;05;37;17
Greg Odom
Yes.

00;05;37;17 - 00;05;39;16
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And that was ten, 12.

00;05;39;16 - 00;05;40;12
Greg Odom
I was in 2000.

00;05;40;20 - 00;06;03;11
Andrew J. Contiguglia
2010. So yeah, 12 years ago of years, which is ridiculous that the marijuana industry here in Colorado has been around and in building sort of since then. Obviously, it started off in the medicinal stage and now it's recreational. But I remember meeting with you and meeting you the first time and meeting with you and your business partner and coming up with an idea, how are we going to structure this business?

00;06;03;13 - 00;06;05;11
Andrew J. Contiguglia
How can we think and moving ourselves?

00;06;05;25 - 00;06;28;11
Greg Odom
And I was quick to realize that this isn't a business like where your lawn mowing and you may or may not have to do things technically properly. But I was quick to realize that, you know, if somebody use one of our machines that we rented them and they got injured, that's on us. And so that was where we quickly decided we needed you to help guide us with creating a waiver release.

00;06;28;11 - 00;06;48;15
Greg Odom
It was very specific to our industry and then, you know, for my old partner and I to create a real business operating agreements because I had always been an entrepreneur, but they were always things that I had done on my own, you know, that didn't really require too much use of a real business structure, you know, books, lawyer, things of that nature.

00;06;48;15 - 00;07;04;09
Greg Odom
This, however, was immediate that we needed guidance in both of those, specifically a waiver knowing, you know, somebody injured themselves using our equipment that could come back to haunt us if they didn't sign a proper release form. And so that was my first order of business with.

00;07;04;09 - 00;07;10;19
Andrew J. Contiguglia
You and making sure you were protected because other people using your product can be very stupid.

00;07;10;28 - 00;07;26;20
Greg Odom
Yes. If you you know, I mean, if when you rent any equipment from a giant home goods store, I don't want to use any specific age, you know, but they're going to do the same thing and ask you to sign a waiver. You know, if you borrow a chainsaw and you cut your arm off, it's not their fault.

00;07;26;20 - 00;07;53;08
Greg Odom
The same way with you use our equipment. And because of the different levels of legal and non-legal sides of the cannabis industry and that gray area that existed especially more at the beginning, we needed to make sure that we were protected if somebody's equipment got stolen and or confiscated while they rented it from us, that we were covered in that required and specific knowledge and creating a document that would hold up in court.

00;07;53;08 - 00;08;26;10
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And you bring up a really good point, and that is you're entering an industry that is highly regulated. Yes. That means if people are going to be utilizing the product or the service that you're promising, or at least they're promising that they're going to be using your equipment for lawful purposes. So one of the issues, if I remember correctly, that you had to overcome was making sure that the people who were using your equipment to harvest their marijuana were actually properly licensed by the state and that they, you know, were using it for a proper purpose.

00;08;26;11 - 00;08;48;13
Greg Odom
And that's where, you know, what we were doing and what the state laws are. That's where I've described that there's a lot of gray area because in Colorado is what we call a caregiver state, which means you at home can get a license issued by the state to grow six or at the time, if you got an edibles license, you could grow up to 99 plants on your own.

00;08;48;14 - 00;09;18;21
Greg Odom
But there's gray areas where people would say they would rent a warehouse and three people that had a 99 count license would all be in there. And they'd go, well, there was so much gray area. And that was where, you know, our waiver that you created, it was specifically protect us to say that it's assumed that you are using it under this state's laws, meaning, you know, if the cops or the DEA or anybody were to raid that place while they happen to be renting our equipment, well, they're going to confiscate it.

00;09;18;21 - 00;09;25;25
Greg Odom
And we would still be owed the money by those people. And that happened to us on two occasions.

00;09;25;25 - 00;09;28;20
Andrew J. Contiguglia
I was going to say, I remember a story you telling me about.

00;09;28;20 - 00;09;37;15
Greg Odom
So what happened, you know? And so we were able to recover the money because the contract stated that no matter what happened, they were responsible for it.

00;09;37;20 - 00;09;48;12
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Because in those cases, the police came in, they raided these will call them an illegal grow, for lack of a better term. And your machine happened to be there at the time. And of course, what happens under those circumstances?

00;09;48;12 - 00;09;49;18
Greg Odom
Everything gets taken.

00;09;49;19 - 00;10;01;09
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Yeah. So law enforcement comes in, they take your equipment, they take your property. Now we have some civil recourse against these people, right? I don't remember the outcome of whether you were able to get those machines and troopers.

00;10;01;09 - 00;10;22;09
Greg Odom
Recovered the machines. It was specific from the DEA, which is a federally agency. And cannabis, even to this day, is still illegal federally. So we understand that you're protected and we get what you do and we're sorry, but you're not getting your equipment back. But we were able to recover the money from the person because of the contract that we were awarded in that favor.

00;10;22;09 - 00;10;24;06
Greg Odom
So that was all because of Andy.

00;10;24;06 - 00;10;46;01
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And in the process of putting together an ancillary business to an industry is much different than you creating a car detailing company where you're out there providing the service and everything like that. Right. You talked about it a little bit with your business partner, but how does the idea come up that going into this ancillary or support industry is really a good place to go and plant your flag?

00;10;46;01 - 00;11;10;14
Greg Odom
At the beginning of the industry, there was so much regulation and there still is. It's a constant change for the grower. Like I'll give a small example that they have to deal with something that I don't. Over the course of the last decade, they've constantly had to upgrade their equipment. You can't travel on a plastic table now you have to trim on a stainless steel table and now you can't use this kind of packaging.

00;11;10;14 - 00;11;34;06
Greg Odom
You need to use this kind of safety packaging. And that's all done by lobbying. And we don't have any of that regulation. We are simply an equipment rental, sales and service company. And so it doesn't matter if I'm in Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, all of those three states have three separate guidelines, rules how the cannabis is grown rules, but not what I do.

00;11;34;08 - 00;11;54;00
Greg Odom
I could rent them equipment, I can sell them equipment, and I could service their equipment with no red tape. So to me, at the time, it seemed like the right choice because I didn't have as much of a headache. Revenue is constantly changing. The tax rates are constantly changing. They're not. For me, our biggest issue that we've had to deal with it coincides with the cannabis industry is banking.

00;11;54;00 - 00;12;20;27
Greg Odom
We have been kicked out of three major banks and now we have to bank with the same bank that the dispensaries use and pay the absorbent amounts that they charge for checking for a month. And because we're directly funded from the cannabis industry, we have invoices sent to them. There's really no way around it. That is one of the several hurdles that myself and everybody involved in the cannabis industry has to deal with.

00;12;20;27 - 00;12;45;15
Greg Odom
I mean, if you're a guy, I would say probably like security people and maybe electricians and plumbers that build out the grows, they probably can bank anywhere. But somebody like me that advertises on our website, you know, that we have cannabis equipment and we use those words. Those are just some of the red flags and some of the things that with the help of our attorney, we've learned to minimize our risk with those and learn how to work things properly.

00;12;45;15 - 00;12;47;15
Greg Odom
And it's been a growing pain for sure.

00;12;47;15 - 00;13;06;04
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So here you are, sort of the initiation of your business, putting it all together. You're having discussions with your business partner. You're thinking about how you want to grow and how you want to scale this. What is going through your mind in terms of your fears, in terms of your insecurities, about what is going to happen if this doesn't work?

00;13;06;04 - 00;13;11;15
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Is the FBI going to show up at my door? Is the DEA going to show up? What's going through your mind at this stage of your game?

00;13;11;17 - 00;13;35;10
Greg Odom
Well, you're basically creating as we went. I did not invent the rental business. I mean, rental of equipment has been around for since equipment has been around. But we were the first to come up with the idea within the cannabis industry to rent equipment. And we had a scale when we first started. Colorado and California were the only places at the market and the business was already established in California.

00;13;35;10 - 00;13;59;23
Greg Odom
So we didn't feel it was the right move to take our business to California. At the time, California was very anti equipment trimming, it was very hand trim only, and it was a very negative energy of moving there. So we stuck in Colorado and as the industry moved east and we learned our business model more, we first opened a second store in Colorado Springs, one in Denver, one in Colorado Springs.

00;13;59;23 - 00;14;17;27
Greg Odom
And it turned out there had already been somebody that started I don't want to say they copied our idea, but they did copy our idea because they were came up to us at a trade show and said, that's a good idea. And then they opened a business with a very similar name to ours. I don't want to, you know, directly use their name, but competition is inevitable.

00;14;17;27 - 00;14;43;10
Greg Odom
There's more than one grocery store, more than one gas station, but it just proved to be too geographically close to our other location. We were taking money away from each one and making each one struggle. Little So you Oklahoma opened and I decided at that point as I had just become the sole owner to close that location and relocated to Oklahoma, which was absolutely the best one of the best business decisions I made.

00;14;43;10 - 00;14;47;06
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So just to clarify, you closed down the Colorado Springs location you do.

00;14;47;07 - 00;14;48;24
Greg Odom
With proximity to Denver.

00;14;48;26 - 00;14;49;07
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Got it.

00;14;49;07 - 00;14;52;07
Greg Odom
And they were just a little too close and taking business from.

00;14;52;07 - 00;14;56;23
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Each other and then what made you decide that Oklahoma in Oklahoma City was the right place for you to go?

00;14;56;24 - 00;15;17;08
Greg Odom
Well, Oklahoma was an emerging market. And to be honest, when I took over the business, it was in financial trouble and I secured a loan to the business over solely on my own. And within months really started turning it around. And then my employee, you know, he offered and said that he would run a location there. And I thought, why not?

00;15;17;08 - 00;15;39;01
Greg Odom
And when we went there, it began to succeed immediately, which that opened my eyes to see that I have the ability to run a location in another state, to succeed at it and, you know, do it on my own. And as it became more my own and I'm not saying there were issues with partners, everybody has that. But when it's all yours, you're not doing part of the work and they're getting part of the money.

00;15;39;01 - 00;16;08;14
Greg Odom
All that's over. It's all you. So you really begin to dove in and take it as a passion and a love. And then I realized if I can open a store in another state, why can't I open another store in another state? And then I had people approach me from Saint Louis that as Missouri became a legal state, they wanted to get into the business and realize without knowing me, they looked at ancillary businesses too, and thought that my model was a good one and approached me to be partners.

00;16;08;14 - 00;16;29;10
Greg Odom
And that was a big learning experience to go back and forth with contracting on whether we should do licensing and become a straight partner. Right. And I think for our particular business model, partnership is the way to go as there's a lot less red tape. But it taught me and it gave me the confidence. And with your guidance, those contracts are now solid.

00;16;29;11 - 00;16;48;02
Greg Odom
I've opened two more locations where there was no we're going back and forth with the operating agreement. It was me saying, I've already done this. Here's the deal. If you want to take it, take it. If you don't, then maybe this is the best thing, because I'm not willing to give any less than this for my knowledge and my time that I'm putting in and all that.

00;16;48;02 - 00;17;09;05
Greg Odom
Was a lot of your guidance to help me make sure to protect myself mistakes that were learned from the first time going around with Persians. I don't want to say really, you know, mistake, because that makes just things that you learn that you could do better and write the language better to make it so that there's absolutely no gray area when separation or sale time right comes.

00;17;09;20 - 00;17;22;10
Greg Odom
And those were a learning experiences. And because our industry is new, our specific industry and our business is a new one. It was challenges for you that you had to learn or help us with, and you really did.

00;17;22;10 - 00;17;46;17
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Well, let's talk about that event. Your business has come so far. You had your business partner to begin with. You ultimately dissolved your business relationship with your former business partner. And now you are the sole owner in your business here, which is great. And I think everybody who starts in this wants to be able to build something. But you have managed to build a brand for yourself as the Trimmer Store, which you are proudly displaying here in your shirt today, and appropriately so.

00;17;46;27 - 00;18;04;12
Andrew J. Contiguglia
But when we looked at these other states, when we looked at Oklahoma was a little bit different because that was your Colorado Springs business being relocated. It's still you. You just brought on another person to help you manage and then run that show. But St Louis and the whole Missouri event, we'll call.

00;18;04;12 - 00;18;05;10
Greg Odom
It that was that.

00;18;05;27 - 00;18;32;03
Andrew J. Contiguglia
That was a different animal for us as we discussed it because my opinion originally was let's do this as a licensing gig. You have managed to build your brand as the Trimmer Store. Let's now take your brand and let other people use your brand in other locations. Much like when you go to the airport and you see a little coffee kiosk and it's branded, it's licensed under a certain brand.

00;18;32;03 - 00;18;57;13
Andrew J. Contiguglia
It's not the actual franchise store or a store of the parent company. And we had approached it that way originally, but through our negotiations with the other side, we changed that model and we went more into, as you mentioned, a partnership phase. Right. I want people to understand why you thought that was a better place for you to go as a business partner rather than somebody who was, for lack of a better term, renting your name.

00;18;57;13 - 00;19;21;29
Greg Odom
The main reason was the licensing agreement, in my opinion. Let me use Subway as an example. I feel like it's more modeled after something that we're just not on that scale and I felt that licensing out the name meant that somebody using my name without me having a lot of oversight or input into it, because you can only do so much as the licensee or license or excuse.

00;19;21;29 - 00;19;49;17
Greg Odom
But I felt in the end that a partnership bonded me to the people running that store a little more, that they could lean on me without feeling like they were bugging me, I guess would be to say ultimately they were very new to me. They knew nothing. They just knew that it was a good business idea. They needed me to be able to answer questions for their clients that they couldn't answer until they were comfortable in their shoes doing it the way that we ended up finalizing the agreement.

00;19;49;18 - 00;20;19;12
Greg Odom
Part of it is in a way still a little bit of a licensing agreement as they are using our trademarked name, the term or store and our brand in our watermark. Things are still owned by me so that if things go south they cannot keep or retain that name. So it was a blend, in my opinion, a little bit of licensing and ending up with a partnership where I'm a minority partner, but I'm still on paper as a partner.

00;20;19;12 - 00;20;43;15
Greg Odom
And I felt in the end, for the smaller size that we are, that was the way to go and it's worked out so far. I have a very good working relationship with them. I don't feel like they're just using my name. I feel a part of that store. I feel that I can go there and if they needed me to do a larger consult or demo that we're all part of the team, I like that environment.

00;20;43;15 - 00;20;55;14
Greg Odom
So for me and my particular likes, dislikes of of a way to run a business and having a personal touch, I don't want to use the word a blue collar guy like I clean my own machines.

00;20;55;14 - 00;20;57;04
Andrew J. Contiguglia
You're no color guy. What are you talking about?

00;20;57;04 - 00;21;18;24
Greg Odom
Well, I work on the machines. I'm not just a manager. I believe that the owner of a business should know how to do everything in there. Now, they may not stay in that role forever, because eventually, if a business has to grow, the owner shouldn't be the guy cleaning the machines. He needs to be the guy thinking about where the next location should be and how to accomplish that.

00;21;18;24 - 00;21;36;12
Greg Odom
If I want to give my guys the weekend off and go work, I'm not above that. It keeps me grounded. It keeps me knowing what to do in my business, and that's just who I am as a person. So I felt for me as a person and comfortability for me that the partnership over the licensing agreement was the way to go.

00;21;36;12 - 00;21;57;16
Greg Odom
If this were to go international and grow in the next 10 to 20 years, then that obviously might need to be modified because I can't be in 50 locations and I can't help people in 50 locations and speak multiple languages. Those are things that as we grow, we will overcome those hurdles. But for the first five stores, I wanted it to be.

00;21;57;16 - 00;22;16;14
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Partnership and as you and I discussed it more, I like the idea of having somebody have the proverbial skin in the game, which I think your business partners in St Louis, they do. They're very nice people. They work very well with us as we were putting things together. And it sounds to me like you have a great business relationship with them now after God has probably been.

00;22;16;14 - 00;22;18;23
Andrew J. Contiguglia
How long now? Two years, maybe more.

00;22;18;27 - 00;22;23;00
Greg Odom
Actually. They just opened their store in July of Toke One.

00;22;23;02 - 00;22;24;15
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Okay, so it's been about almost a year.

00;22;24;15 - 00;22;27;11
Greg Odom
Working on the contract maybe this year.

00;22;27;11 - 00;22;27;23
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Okay.

00;22;27;29 - 00;22;35;15
Greg Odom
We finalized it. I want to say in May of 2021 and just after July 4th was the official opening.

00;22;35;15 - 00;22;57;04
Andrew J. Contiguglia
But it's like it's one thing to own a house and have some be rented. The renter rarely has the interest in keeping the house clean and tidy, as the owner does, but when they co-own it with you, they feel that there is some form of equity and value in the ownership, in the co-ownership, which then, as I said, gives them an opportunity to help grow and scale and maintain.

00;22;57;04 - 00;23;22;01
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And I think that's where you can really take advantage of in scale at a broader length in order to do those types of things and still maintain and protect the brand because you still get to put in some checks and balances. How are you maintaining? And I can imagine that this is probably a little bit of a problem for you or not really a problem per se, but a management issue that you have to deal with, which is making sure that they are a true and honorable to your brand.

00;23;22;01 - 00;23;23;00
Andrew J. Contiguglia
How are you managing that?

00;23;23;01 - 00;23;45;25
Greg Odom
Well, unless you're there or you have a camera system wired into their store and can monitor them, there's no way to know for sure. I know by what I hear from my clients, the reviews that we get, we use a phone tracking system they for analytics that let us know where do our calls come, Google, Facebook, organic, etc. And we record those so that we can listen.

00;23;45;25 - 00;23;59;22
Greg Odom
And that's really how I learned by listening to the way that they talk to the clients, the way that they've really gained knowledge and answer the questions and rely less and less on me for a small little thing. They have come along. We've groomed him well.

00;24;00;09 - 00;24;17;10
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Well, listen, I want to be respectful to your time, and I know we're coming up sort of on the end of your availability here. So I want to try to get us to a good, solid conclusion and maybe some really good nuggets here for everybody to take with them here at the end of this podcast. But in your operations, you're running your store here in Colorado.

00;24;17;10 - 00;24;22;07
Andrew J. Contiguglia
You're running a store in Oklahoma, I should say, multiple locations in different areas, right?

00;24;22;07 - 00;24;25;27
Greg Odom
Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Michigan and Florida.

00;24;26;03 - 00;24;37;10
Andrew J. Contiguglia
So how are you maintaining your productivity? What are you doing to maintain your Greg Odom's work life balance is I love watching you play golf all the time. How are you.

00;24;37;20 - 00;24;58;28
Greg Odom
Maintaining the answer to that question? It's relatively simple. In our business model, it isn't. Bryant's surgery. It's were renting equipment. So once the store is opened and the people are trained, they're relatively on their own. And I can do everything from my phone. So I worked hard to be able to work hard part of the day and be able to enjoy life a little bit.

00;24;58;28 - 00;25;21;04
Greg Odom
My grandfather was an entrepreneur as well, had his own business at the end of his life. His advice to me was, don't do it exactly the way I did because I didn't get to enjoy it. I got sick like not too long after I retired. Do more when you're younger and enjoy life a little bit more. And I had a very good relationship with him and I took that to heart.

00;25;21;04 - 00;25;47;19
Greg Odom
And so my definition of success is being able to accomplish what he's asked or the advice that he gave me. And I like my life. I'm not ashamed that I go golf on a Tuesday afternoon because I worked hard to be able to do that. I don't miss phone calls. I talk to my clients, I help them if they have a problem with a machine they bought for me, I deal with it, get it done, get the part to them.

00;25;47;19 - 00;25;49;13
Greg Odom
And then the next hole.

00;25;49;16 - 00;26;05;11
Andrew J. Contiguglia
There you go. And that's the luxury. It gives you the opportunity while you're on the golf course. Still, you get to manage the Oklahoma store. If you're in Oklahoma, you get to manage the Michigan store. If you're in Michigan, you get to help manage the Florida store. And you have people you trust in each of those locations that I think.

00;26;05;19 - 00;26;26;09
Greg Odom
They lean on me if they have to. Obviously, the cannabis industry wasn't around 25 years ago, but if it was, you know, I was starting this, I wouldn't be able to do that because technology is not the way it is now. I mean, I can't you couldn't answer your phone on the golf course 25 years ago and create an invoice for someone or even face time them to tell them how to fix the machine in 5 minutes.

00;26;26;09 - 00;26;36;17
Greg Odom
And I can do all of those things now. So what is wrong with blending technology? Your business in your own personal life, I guess, would be to create a good balance.

00;26;36;25 - 00;26;41;26
Andrew J. Contiguglia
All right. So in closing, tell our listeners three ways how a lawyer has helped you in your business.

00;26;42;06 - 00;27;05;07
Greg Odom
That's very easy. I mean, one of the easiest is operating agreements with a partner or whether it even be a sole proprietorship to understand your responsibilities. For my specific industry, creating a waiver for our business. You know, when we rent this very specific equipment that has very wide open ranges of uses, what could be legal or not legal, and you've guided us through that.

00;27;05;07 - 00;27;27;29
Greg Odom
I would have to say the overall thing, you know, what I do is partnerships. So having very good language in your partnership agreement, your exit strategy with your partners on what we're going to do if we sell the business, who gets a vote on whether we sell the business or not? Because I overall own my brand, even though I have partners in different locations.

00;27;27;29 - 00;27;46;24
Greg Odom
If someone were to come in now and make us an offer, I supersede, they would say We can sell the business or my name is going to go with it. And those are all things that I wouldn't have now. Learning from the separation of my previous partner created ways to protect myself and make down the line with new partners.

00;27;46;25 - 00;27;55;09
Greg Odom
And I think that overall gives me a high level of comfort and reduces any future anxiety because it's already been written down and said.

00;27;55;27 - 00;28;01;02
Andrew J. Contiguglia
All right, Greg, where can our listeners find you online and where can they learn more about your business.

00;28;01;06 - 00;28;24;18
Greg Odom
Locating five different states. We have a general website, the church store, e-com, all one word. And there's tons of information about what we do. Each location is on our website with that different kind of equipment that we have. You know, we have YouTube videos, we have Facebook and Instagram. You can find us if you know how to use a computer, really, if you need our help.

00;28;24;19 - 00;28;33;19
Greg Odom
A real personal conversation is always the best way because everybody's grow is different than the other person's. And so we can help you get in that right equipment.

00;28;33;24 - 00;28;50;02
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Greg, this has been awesome. I have been honored to be a part of your journey. You are a very close friend of mine. You and I have built a relationship and a friendship over the past 12 years, which I think is fantastic. I love bantering with you on Instagram and post in your chops and you give it right back to me.

00;28;50;07 - 00;29;10;08
Greg Odom
That's my life. I don't I life is about personal relationships and there is no nothing wrong with having a personal relationship that you have someone with a business relationship. I truly enjoyed it over the last 12 years to becoming friends with you and also really knowing that you have my best interest in mind. But I appreciate the way that you will give it to me straight.

00;29;10;08 - 00;29;25;27
Greg Odom
The same way that I give it to people straight. Right. You are very black and white to me and I don't always necessarily agree with you and that's part of our relationship. I listen to what you say are taken into consideration and then I make my own decision on it. And you respect that and I truly appreciate.

00;29;25;28 - 00;29;26;12
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And you.

00;29;26;12 - 00;29;26;29
Greg Odom
Don't I stay.

00;29;26;29 - 00;29;44;26
Andrew J. Contiguglia
With you? Yeah. And you don't hesitate to tell me if I'm lacking in some form or fashion if something's not getting done as quickly as you would like. The point being that our relationship as not only business associates, but as friends has really, I think, helped grow my business and also help your grow your business.

00;29;44;28 - 00;29;45;18
Greg Odom
I was just.

00;29;46;08 - 00;30;10;21
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Awesome. I know you're short on time again. Thank you, Greg. Yeah, always a pleasure, buddy. Thank you. And everybody, again, thank you for joining us. This is Andy Card, actually, and Greg Odom reminding you to don't skip the legal. Have a good one. Thank you for listening to the Don't Skip the legal podcast. I'm your host, Andy Accountability.

00;30;10;26 - 00;30;32;17
Andrew J. Contiguglia
I hope you enjoyed our time together in this great opportunity to peek behind the business door and examine the legal lessons in business. If you're keen to hear how these lessons can be applied in the real world, well, join us next week for another episode where you can listen in to another business success story. As always, you can head over to accountability icon Forward Slash podcast to sign up to our email list as well as check out all the links and resources in our shownotes.

00;30;32;19 - 00;30;50;00
Andrew J. Contiguglia
If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or leave a rating and review to catch all the latest for me. You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok at AGC. Q Thanks again. This is Andy Card to Julia reminding you to don't skip the legal.

00;30;50;10 - 00;31;16;03
Andrew J. Contiguglia
Good luck. The legal information contained in this podcast is intended for general informational and entertainment purposes only. It should only be used as a starting point for addressing your specific legal issue. The legal information I talk about does not create an attorney client relationship between you and me. This podcast is not a substitute for an in-person or telephonic consultation with a lawyer whose license to practice in your jurisdiction about your specific legal issue.

00;31;16;03 - 00;31;43;09
Andrew J. Contiguglia
And you should not rely on this legal information for those purposes. You understand that questions and answers or other information contained in this podcast are not confidential and are not subject to attorney client privilege. I am not providing you a legal service. Every legal case is different and past performance is not indicative of future results. Please consult your own attorney.