#273 Francesca Vavala, The CBD Business and Conjoined Twins #EEP Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast
In this episode of the Entrepreneurship Elevated Podcast, host Mike Michalowicz, co‑host Kelsey Ayers, and guest Francesca Vavala discuss the intersection of personal identity, entrepreneurship, and the emerging CBD industry. The conversation opens with a light‑hearted banter about the show’s “succulent helmet” and quickly moves to Francesca’s unique background as a former conjoined twin who was separated at four days old. Francesca explains how that early experience shaped her worldview, especially the feeling of being labeled a “freak” and the need to redefine that narrative. Mike draws an analogy between conjoined twins and the owner‑dependent business model, arguing that the longer a business remains “conjoined” with its founder, the harder the eventual separation (scaling) becomes. Francesca affirms this, noting that both twins and entrepreneurs tend to stay in familiar, comfortable configurations until an external pressure forces change. The bulk of the episode shifts to Francesca’s current role as founder of Terrapin Select, a CBD‑focused company. She shares how she moved from a straight‑edge, drug‑averse upbringing to becoming a cannabis advocate after learning about the plant’s therapeutic properties, especially its antispasmodic effects that could have helped her sister Emily, who suffered from severe cerebral palsy and died from aspiration pneumonia. Francesca emphasizes education and representation as tools to shift public perception of cannabis from a “freak” stereotype to a legitimate health‑care option. She provides contact information for her brand and social media handles. Interspersed throughout are side‑bars: Mike’s personal PRP hair‑transplant story, a sponsor plug for Nextiva’s AI‑driven CRM, listener shout‑outs praising Mike’s book Profit First, and a playful “company‑name” game that devolves into comedic confusion. The episode concludes with a listener mail question about setting a fixed salary in the Profit First system, which Mike answers with a practical example. The show ends with typical podcast sign‑offs and a reminder to subscribe. Overall, the episode blends personal narrative, entrepreneurial philosophy, CBD industry education, and typical podcast banter, offering listeners both actionable business advice and a humanizing look at how unconventional life experiences can inform business leadership.
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You. It's time to pounce on your succulent helmet. We're about to discuss the business of cbd, but also how the lessons from being a conjoined twin translates into entrepreneurship. That's right. You'll learn all that and so much more in today's episode of Entrepreneurship Elevator. I'm ready to pounce on my succulent helmet. Actually, now it sounds vulgar.
It does sound a little vulgar.
It sounded vulgar all along.
It didn't. Do you think so?
Yeah. Initially I did succulent the helmet.
Not well.
Well, helmet can too.
Helmet makes it like the filthy. Hi, everyone. I'm Mike Michalows. I am the author on a mission. A mission to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty. You know what that is? That's the financial poverty that so many entrepreneurs are experiencing. We're running our business, but we're going broke doing it. We struggle on having a time, quality time for our lives. We fix that. We fix all that on this show. That's. That's our mission. I'm also the author, in case you don't know of Profit first and Clockwork the pumpkin plan. I got a brand new book coming out in 2020 called Fix this Next. You can go on Amazon. I don't even know if the COVID designs up there yet, quite frankly, but you can.
It's not grain, just says with black writing, Fix this next.
Okay, thanks, gals. So you can go on there and. And least buy it without knowing even what the COVID looks like. But I submitted yesterday. I submitted the manuscript to the second pass Manuscript. Join the studio by Kelsey Ayers. She completes all my thoughts.
Hey, Kelsey. Sorry, guys.
That's awesome.
You can find us on Spotify, iheartradio, itunes, stitcher, tunein radio, any podcaster anywhere.
Podbean. How you doing, Kels?
I'm doing so good.
Okay.
Besides being freezing in here, it is.
A little cold in here. Awesome studio is Amy Cartelli.
Hey there.
Also known as Gumperson. How you doing today?
I'm doing good. How are you?
I'm doing well. I'm excited for today. And J. Colone. Hello. Driving all the way from South Jersey up here. Are you in your new place now?
None in October.
So I started my hair transplant process.
Oh, how did it go?
So it was so freaking painful. So it's called prp. Yeah, stands for platelet rich plasma. What they do is they take blood from you. Well, apparently I've given blood on multiple occasions and it flows right out of me. Apparently couldn't flow out this time. So he pops Me one spot a little bit trickles out, pops me in. Second spot a little bit and I hate giving blood. Pops me in the third spot a little trickles out, fourth one. Thank God we got it. Because I was like, I can't. There's nothing left. Unless he goes for my jugular. There was nothing like every vein was tapped into.
Oh, Mike, that's awful.
Awful. So he takes it, he then puts in a spinner and your blood gets separated and to four levels. And then he's like. Because he's a doctor, he feels compelled to show me. Everything's like, here's the. This is the liquid gold, your plasma. Here's like this coagulate component, here's the red blood cells. And I'm like, yeah, you don't need to show me. I'm like, oh my God.
Yeah.
Then he injects it, the stuff in your head. But they put a numbing agent, two of them. First they put like this, this topical numbing agent on your forehead.
Okay.
Which when it's hot in the room. Because the air conditioning was not on on the weekend. I had to go there in the weekend. They didn't realize that air conditioning, it's high tech. So I rubbed my face, right? And apparen rub my lip. Cuz my lips, my lips started going numb.
Now I kept talk.
So that's. I'm like, this is a process thought. And he's like, I. He goes, are you inebriated? Because I can't work on someone. I'm like, I haven't been thinking, I swear. I swear I haven't been thinking. And then he puts a nerve agent into your back. And if.
Are you lying?
What? Do you lie? A nerve block. Not nerve agent. Nerve agent. Yeah. He puts agent orange into no a n. A nerve block. And then it felt, it felt like I was wearing a hat or something. But there's nothing. You can feel nothing. But the nerve block only lasts for about 15 minutes. He starts the procedure and the nerve like I can feel it fading. I'm like, this is getting more and more painful. And then he starts injecting it in your head. The whole procedure, said and done, took two hours. Mostly because the bloodletting process was like.
Took too long.
Took too long.
But I met the 1800s, right?
Yeah. Then he ended by putting leeches on him. Yeah.
So they're so weird. In Myanmar they would come on me and it's like they don't. You don't feel them and you take them off and it's like you had leeches on you? Yeah, a lot. Like off a pinhole.
Why? Where were they coming from?
What were you gardening?
In Myanmar, they clean the outside of.
The nunnery with leeches. Yes, but aren't leeches in moisture?
Water? So it was like this super monsoon season, so the garden would get, like, totally swamped with water.
Oh, that's more disgusting than my story.
Were they hard to pick off?
Did you eat them? But not really, no.
Sometimes in Myanmar, they prepare leeches for dinner.
Liar.
No.
Spreading lies.
See, I never know. High in protein, you never know.
Look, Google right now, eating leeches.
This is going to be in Myanmar for dinner.
Nobody Google.
Don't have to be that specific. That's too long tail. All right, but. No, you said it. Well, I'm just saying it's tradition in Myanmar.
Think here's a big question, though.
Yeah.
Is it worth it if your hair regrows?
Well, no. In three months? Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's a good question.
That's where.
If my hair regrows, it is worth it.
Where was the nerf block? Tell me where that was.
They put it at the base of your skull.
Ow.
Both sides. Ow. Here's the. They stick the needle in. And he moves it around.
Move.
Don't move.
Don't move.
Yes. Your head's kind of your lodge. They kind of wedge your chin. This thing.
I don't like this, Mike.
And he moves it around and. Yeah. Listen, dude, listen. Women have a greater pain tolerance.
Start shaving your head, we'll look like twins.
Now, dude, you have a good head. This is like a cantaloupe that was sat on.
We don't know that. We've never seen it.
Bald.
Let's shave you down.
Exactly.
Let's see how it is.
The funniest thing, just to finish out the story, I go to Amy. I want to do this PRP thing and try it out. I'm like, can you book it? She goes, yeah, but, Mike, you really don't need it. I mean, you kind of do. You really don't. That's what you said.
I said you don't need it.
Yeah, I totally. From the right angle, I don't need it until you stand behind me and you start dry heaving.
I'm married. Nobody. I definitely am that dry.
He can wear his. He can wear baldness. And by the way, just so you know, I did meet with a cancer patient, mastectomy, and had prp, and she has full hair. It's Tracy. I'm not gonna say the last name.
Yes.
But yeah.
So it worked well for her.
She attests to. And here's the greatest thing, is no maintenance needed. She said it was two or three procedures and she's been done for life. Where someone that has a genetic.
Yeah.
Balding pattern. I have to do this for life. But you just have to do two or three times.
So that is encouraging.
Yeah, that was encouraging. So if you wanted to do it, that's my story.
Wow.
Kelsey, anything else we have to talk about besides my balding head?
No.
Hey, you know, we have a sponsor that supports this. Yeah, I went to the board meeting, by the way. It was a lot of fun.
Tell us about it.
So they did. They flew me out economy and I had to pay for it. And we then.
So not so much. They flew you out.
Right, right, right.
But there was six other business experts, if you will. Barry Moltz was out there. Remember Barry?
Yes.
Anita Campbell, who's big in this space, and some other people who I didn't recognize. And There was about 10 people from Nextiva Developers and so forth. And we sat down. They're developing. Developing the next version of Next os, which is their CRM, but it uses artificial intelligence. I will tell you, it does stuff that is off the charts. For example, you can do individual, client and prospect tracking on their happiness quotient based upon an analysis does on the web. So you're a big Walmart shopper, Amy. We all know that. Like, I see you there all the time.
Yes.
You know, and so when you're at Walmart and you're doing your checkout Walmart, things are. Things are fine. Amy keeps on showing up. But offline, you may be Walmart, such an unpleasant place, the way people, you know, present themselves there. Like, you go very sloppily.
Yes.
We wearing your sweatpants and stuff.
Yep.
Tweety Bird sweatpants.
Exactly. The big stain on it. The big stain on it. And braless. Braless. Like things just hanging out that shouldn't be hanging out. And you're complaining online. The system from nextivo actually tracks your online sentiment and will come back and say, she's actually not happy, she's not content, and start profiling this person's feelings. And it listens to phone calls because Next phone system, if you activate it, it listens to your tonality. So you may say, oh, I had a great experience at Walmart again. And I'll say, oh, no, you did.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Isn't that wild?
What if you're just a monotone person?
Yeah, well, it's an amalgamation of all your inputs, like you would be like, really? Could a person always be this happy?
Exactly.
She loves everything.
I love Walmart. I would devote my life to Walmart. And they're like the system goes back and computer says actually she would devote her life to Walmart in Myanmar eating leashes. So thanks nextiva and having me on the board. I'm actually have a call today with Thomas Gorney, the president of the company. It's a 300 million dollar company, wants to have a call with me to discuss some insights I shared there. So I feel very happy that I was able to share stuff that triggered that phone call. Thank you. Kelsey. Before you enter our interview, do we have any.
We have a shout out.
Shout outs.
Who's the shout out from? This one comes from Kelly Ashton. She writes. Hi, Mike. I'm on my fifth round of listening to the book. It's the background to my life and my daily motivation. I've just had my first night's full unaided sleep in about four years. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am that I found your book. The work you do changes lives and you should be very proud.
Aw, that's super. Which book does she say?
Profit first.
She's saying the book put her to sleep.
That's why she's on the fifth round.
Isn't that great?
I've never slept so well in my life.
I read it, I sleep within one page.
I'm zonked out every single time.
Best sleep of my life.
Dude, that was funny. That was funny. Hey, before we get into what do you guys want to do is the game today? We can do weird products. We can do a riddle. Amy's here. I like to do riddles because she ruins them. Or we can do the company like names, like the original names of the companies. What's your preference for today? I gotta get mentally prepared. Jay Bone. What do you want? You got food jams in your mouth.
I like the. The company names.
Okay, all right, we're gonna do company names. Okie doke. All right, so just, I want everyone to be prepared. That's. That's our big cliffhanger. Okay, I got stuff flying all over here. Her name is. I don't know. I didn't have the document in front of me. It's Francesca Vivala and she was born as a conjoined twin. It's a Babila.
Yes.
You can just say it out loud. I told her I was messing. Babila. She's born as a conjoined twin. We were actually talking about at this event we were at together. It's just a fascinating experience. There's a lot of parallels. I think it's into actually running a business. She went on to become an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. She's an advocate speaker for CBD and the other variant of cannabis, which is what? Th. Something. C. C THC thank you. You know, it means you do. It travels the world. And speaking about these topics and so much more, it's my pleasure to have Francesca on the show with us today. Welcome, Francesca.
Welcome, Francesca.
Thank you. Thank you.
I told you I'd mess up your name. There's so much pressure on this show, Francesca, to get everything right. And it's not. It's not that the stuff isn't in front of me. It's just the criticism that's gonna come from Kelsey and Amy is so. It's so thick in the air, fingers coming out.
We did it silently. We didn't. You were the one who said we could say it out loud.
No, it's more insidious.
Yeah, I like it.
So, Francesca, when we were talking, I shared an analogy and you said, you know, actually how it was a conjoined twin and want to tell you about it. You know, a lot of people, when they talk about entrepreneurship, they say it's a parent child relationship. You bring life to a business, you nurture it, you grow it, and you hope one day your business will come back and serve you. Like, when your kids come out of college, you think they'll come back and serve you, which they never do, by the way. But. But I believe business is more that of conjoined twins. That we share a biology that we're linked in together, and the health of one influences the health of other. The separation, therefore, is a very careful surgical process. But when you do it, in some cases, both entities will thrive. And there's an independence. But that's just an analogy. You're a person who lived through this. Do you mind sharing the experience with us? What your experience was?
No, no, I don't mind at all. I'm happy to. And, you know, when I remember when you. You said it, and you're like, well, people say it's parent child, and I say it's conjoined twin. And I was like, oh, really?
I think I had an awkward moment right there.
So, yeah, it's an interesting experience because it's one that I know I own. But because we were born conjoined, we shared the liver, we were joined chest to abdomen, and we were the youngest conjoined twins to be successfully separated in the United States. So we were separated at four days old. So we. In terms of what is it like to be a conjoined twin when you're actually conjoined? I can't speak to that in terms of a memory or an anecdote or anything like that, but it's still a big part of my story because it's very much become an identity for me. And I think in terms of businesses, that. That absolutely rings true because, I mean, even in small talk and cocktail parties and networking events, it's like, oh, who are you and what do you do? And if you're an entrepreneur, it's like, well, what does that mean? Or an entrepreneur in what industry? So there's always the same, you know, similar questions. And it's like, who. Who I am is a conjoined twin even though I'm still separated? Well, not like they would rejoin us, but even though I am.
You would be the first ever surgery if they did that.
That actually was the SNL joke on Weekend Update when we were born. So they were. Conjoined twins were rejoined today.
Oh, that's. So you. You were featured on snl. Kind of.
We were a line on Weekend Update. Yeah, we were. Finland. Yeah. Yeah, it was. I just. It's so funny, the timing, because I just got back transferring VHS stuff to dvd, and it was all these news clips of when Emily, my. My sister, came home from the hospital because I was sent home first and she had some more complications and she had to stay. And so it was the only press that my parents let happen was when we were home. So it's all these news clips, and one of them is when Oprah was a news anchor and she. And I was like, oprah says my name, Oprah talks about it.
That's pretty freaking cool. So. And I gotta be careful about treading this work because I don't know anything about it. I have heard stories where there's conjoined twins at a certain point, elect to not become bits to be separated, to not go with the procedure. Have you followed the stories of other conjoined twins?
Yeah, here and there I have. It's. It always. It fascinates me because it's like a club that you don't intend to join, and yet you're a part of and you feel funny enough a part of all of those people that have had some similar experience, the shared rare experience, even though the experience is totally different. Emily and I didn't have a choice. My Parents didn't have a choice because she had an intestinal blockage that was going to be life ending if they didn't try to separate us and then do the surgery on her. So there was no option there. At the same time, we were incredibly lucky that we only, the only major organ we shared was the liver, which is a regenerating organ in your baby. So we. And have it grow back. And I'm a very big lightweight when it comes to drinking, and I just blame that.
There you go. There you go. But I've heard the stories and the parallel I made to business is that as conjoined twins, the stories I've read, the longer before they consider the operation, the less likely they're to proceed. Conjoined twins, if they have cognitive ability, because, well, whatever, there's almost a acceptance or more than that, there is a routine that's established at the. They prefer to retain, remain together. Well, in business, I find the same thing. The longer that a business is dependent upon the owner, the more likely the owner is to be dependent on the business and ever separate from the business. So the earlier you separate yourself from the business, the more likely you'll be able to grow a business that runs on its own. Now, Francesca, you also run a business. What has been, has there been any kind of parallels you've seen like that or any learning that's come out of that circumstance for you?
Oh, yeah, plenty, I think. And some of them are subconscious and some of them I, you know, I pull out and try to articulate and understand. So I think it's, it's everywhere. And your analogy is a very good one because I think what it is, is we get used to things and what is our normal, we are hesitant to shake up. And I think that's true if you're a conjoined twin electing to stay conjoined, or if you are a business owner and electing to stay a part of your business instead of apart from your business. So it's about that. Whether you want to call it a groove, a rut, a normal, a whatever, we are all about maintaining what we already know because different is scary. And that I think we're just programmed as human beings to avoid that risk at all costs. And risk is always anything that's changed. So, yeah, I absolutely agree. And for me, a lot of that comes from the fact that I didn't elect to be a twin and I certainly didn't elect to be conjoined twin or to be separated at that. But there's these Moments in our lives that are either determined by outside forces or that just happen. They happen, and they're pivotal. And they can be good, they can be bad, they can be indifferent. Your business, you could write one blog and it goes viral. It could be one tweet and it destroys your brand. It could be, you know, whatever it is. And they. They just happen. And we can't separate from them. We don't necessarily have control over them. We just have to decide what to do about it. So it's all about, like, this is, these are the cards you're dealt, or these are the cards you've played, and here's the outcome. So it's all about just going forward from there and learning from that past. So to me, being a twin and Emily was born with severe cerebral palsy because they didn't know that we were conjoined and complications happen. So I grew up with, basically, if you want to define a conjoined twin, in the 1930s, we were freaks. And I think a lot of people would still consider that maybe subconsciously today, if you see conjoined twins, you're going to stare. So that identity of freak is something that maybe was a label that I was born into that I have to decide what to do with it. With Emily being disabled, it's like, these are just, you know, people would look at her as a. As a burden to our family or as an obligation or something. And it's like, oh, no, no, that's not. That's not it at all. You guys don't. You're from the outside, and you don't see what's going on here. And so it's like, well, we get to decide how to present our story as a family and under the conditions that we're born in. And I think business is the same way. You have to decide what you're going to do, how you're going to present it under the conditions that you have. And then from there, you do end up shaping your story and influencing the story people will retell about you.
Well, I really want to explore this now. So with Emily, which I know she subsequently has passed away about six years ago, I'm curious about the bond a. The bond you had, do you. And maybe you can't judge it based upon other sibling relationships, but I'm curious what was there from your perspective? And then secondly, how do you make the story or how is the story different than with the outside seats?
So we do have an older sister, and my older sister Sarah and I are very typical sisters. A year and a half apart, like Irish twins and everything. And so we were, we fought all the time. Typical sibling rivalry. And then we both had Emily in very different ways. And I think in terms of the bond it was, I felt, you know, she was a part of me and I was a part of her. And very much the things that I did or said would influence her if, you know. And so it's like we connected on a deeper level. I was able to take care of her. Maybe I don't want to say better because Sarah's just going to get mad at me if she hears this, if I say that.
Don't worry, I cloaked your name. I called you Bavilla, so she'll have no idea who you are.
Excellent, that's a good point. But I was, I was able to communicate better with her and our connection was stronger and there was an understanding there intrinsically, instinctively, I think genetically, biologically, that isn't there when you are separated from. By years or by a year or whatever it is. So that bond was very strong in that we could, we could just see each other and know what was going on or what we were trying to communicate. Not always. It's not magical, it's not a movie. You know, there were times when, because she was non verbal, she point with her eyes, nod yes and no, use her computer to talk. And if she wasn't used to her computer, then it would be like, okay, I've got to figure out what exactly it is she's saying. But nine times out of 10, I was better at it than anybody else. And then my, my mom and I were the best at it. So it's that bond, that kind of connection, and the fact that I felt fiercely defended of, of her. I was protective of her. And so I think that kind of protectiveness is how we are with our business. And that kind of understanding is instinctive. Sometimes you just go with your gut and you know, just. You just know something and you make a decision because you know it better than anybody else. And maybe you can't explain it, but you know, it's the right decision. So.
So just me. One favor. I don't know. On our side, the audio, you're starting to fade a lot. So you can lean into the microphone a little bit. Question for you is now, how does this translate into business? So you're in a business that is, you know, use a term that, it's a horrible term, but it's the reality that people perceive from the outside. Oh, you're a freak. You know, you enter the cannabis business that has that same perception. You know, you're in a formally illegal business. You know, how's this translated into your business in cannabis?
It's done so much for me because I. So I was totally like your dare kid slash straight edge. Like, I never did drugs, I just said no. And I, I certainly stood on my high moral ground for that and was proud of it until I learned exactly what cannabis is and what it does and the fact that it is nothing like what I was told it was. And that that changed everything. So suddenly I saw this with new eyes and I was like, wait a minute, this isn't dangerous. This isn't a gateway, this isn't addictive. This is actually something that belongs in our bodies. This is something we need to be doing. And there's a lot of social justice issues wrapped up in it. This is my jam. I am into it.
So I love that. I love that. So as you get into this business, what are, how do you navigate the outside vantage point? Because that's the parallel I see here. Is it just resist the resistance or is it education? How do you start kind of changing the perception?
It's everything. You know what the biggest tool that I have is, funny enough, the same one that I have as formerly conjoined twin is that nobody looks at me and thinks, oh, you're a conjoined twin. Nobody would be able to label me as that unless they, you know, and even when they see my scars, they can't necessarily do that. Well, the same thing's true in the cannabis industry. You know, I've been doing some public speaking and one of the, the pieces of feedback that I get from it is people come down to like, yeah, you are not what I picture when I picture cannabis, because I don't have dreads and I'm not the, you know, listening to Bob Marley 24 or whatever it is like that you think of when you think cannabis. It's like all those stereotypes are gone. So part of it is just being a face that is already familiar to people, that is already maybe safe in some way, or. I hate the word normal, but let's go with it because that's what people are really meaning. It's like a quote unquote, normal looking face for cannabis that they can relate to. And that's the biggest tool. And then next to that, I think, is education. It is right up against it that we have to be able to tell people that. But I've been using kind of both simultaneously and getting in front of people and being like, hey, listen, here's what I used to. I used to be where you are with this, and now I'm here and here's my journey for it. And the biggest part of that to me is actually a big part of Emily and learning that cannabis has incredible antispasmodic properties to it. And one of the biggest issues with Emily was the spasms that she would constantly have with cp and that ultimately the spasms that she was having when she would swallow would cause aspiration pneumonia. And the pneumonia is ultimately what killed her. It wasn't the cp, it was the pneumonia. And if I had known then what I knew now, I would have a tool that would be able to change her life. And that, to me, is an incredibly important thing for people to hear. It's like we're not changing this perception for vanity's sake. We are changing it because it can change lives. When we change the way that we think and when we open our minds and. And shed old beliefs that are no longer serving us because they've never been true.
I love it. It's put you on such a mission. I mean, you can hear in your energy and your voice. Would you trade any of your past for where it's gotten you today?
No, I couldn't because I very much use it for where I am today. Everything from how I was born and the family I was born into to the careers I've had. Because I certainly didn't start as a cannabis entrepreneur. I never thought I would be here. My first life after college was as a high school English teacher in a private Catholic school. So that was a very different path. And I was busting kids for pot instead of.
Actually, now you're smoking with him behind the. In the back alley. You're the dealer.
I have to go back and apologize.
Francesca, it's been a joy having you today. Thanks for sharing all these insights and such a personal story. Where can our listeners get more information about you?
You can always find us on Social, our CBD businesses terrapinselect.com so you can hop on our website and pop in there and see all of our education articles and tools and things and learn for yourself more about cbd. And you can always find me on social. It's Francesca can c a n n on Instagram and on Facebook and I'm happy to friend and have conversations. You can usually find me pretty much anywhere. You can always email me@francescaerapinselect.com if you want to talk privately.
Francesca Vivala. Thank you so much for joining us today. We'll talk to you later.
Thanks, Mike.
That's the theme song for cannabis. Did you know that? No, it's not. You were a subscriber to High Times, weren't you, Amy?
Sure.
Remember the covers of High Times, that magazine? It was always a guy in dreadlocks or woman that just totally baked. Can you imagine Francesca, like, in a business suit now? Like, that's the new standard for High Times. Pointing it out. All right, you guys are asses. I really don't like you. I. I set you up so well.
So well. Did you set us up so well?
You could have ran with that. Are you my singing partner or what?
Always.
All right, so here's what we're gonna do. I don't know why I announced. You know, I announce this every time because there's a lot of listeners that come in and they haven't heard before. So we're gonna recap what we learned. Yeah, it doesn't make sense at all. She goes, it makes sense. Then she whispers. We're gonna recap what we learned. We are going to play that amazing game of what the original company name was or was not, and. And we're also gonna answer some listener mail. But first, we are going to thank our corporate partner, nextiva Voice over IP phone system. And now, arguably, are developing the most advanced CRM in the world. So check them out. Nextiva.com and your business will never be the same. Plus, you'll notice that you can actually do the voice recording of the show and say, oh, Mike really is the. The system will come up and say, balding bastard. All right, who wants to go first with what you learned? You're up to first. Everyone's looking at you.
Jayvon, I like what you said about, you know, once you make a decision, you don't always have control of the outcome, so then you just have to deal with the cards that you're dealt. I think that that's a good mantra to keep yourself grounded.
Okay. Like that. Amelish.
I was thinking the same exact thing. I love that, and I love Francesco's Powerful Reasons to be in the CBD business. It's so compelling. The. The information we have, the information we don't yet have, but the research that's coming, I think this is. This is so phenomenal. There's so many applications. I'm so excited to hear more. Like, I want to get on there and figure out, like, what else could it do for people? That anti spasmodic thing, I didn't even know about that. That's really cool.
Was that represented to you when you went through your treatment for cancer?
What people did was like, sneak me edibles and you know, sneak me this and sneak like. And, and my husband went to my oncologist. He's like, I want to get her medical marijuana. He's like, well, there's one dispensary, it's like a five day wait. And there's only one doctor in the county who actually has this particular license to distribute. So it was really difficult and impossible to go that route. And I just suffered because I don't like, I didn't like the opioids. The opioids are terrible.
Opioids are horrible. There was just a judgment against Johnson Johnson for potentially being, supporting opiate distribution in Wisconsin.
Like, like something like 500 pills per person in a particular county or state or something were developed or something.
I was gonna say, Amy, you could have just gone to your kids high school and hung out there.
Right, exactly right. Exactly right. I mean, it was offered to me, but I didn't know what I was doing. But like my son was telling me, he's like, there's so many cannaboid receptors in our bodies that are, you know, were made for this.
So you, you, did you take marijuana when you had cancer?
I didn't, I didn't know what I was doing.
So what did you do with all the supply you have? Kelsey wants to know.
They went. They. I.
Well, you give them two kids?
No, I didn't give them my kids, but I could have, I could have.
Kelsey, what did you learn? Besides, Amy's a dealer now, so I.
Just love the way that she questioned a belief system, even like as a Catholic school teacher, to the point where she researched and became educated and then became an advocate for something. I feel like that's a super important lesson for all of us to never take anything at face value and that it is, you know, it's just a thought, it's just a belief. It's not necessarily true or real. And to judge other people based on that is harmful. And I love that she made that comparison of like instinctual care for siblings and parents, daughters to the instinctual thoughts you have around your business. Like, don't trust what you think is right or wrong based on other people's opinions. Trust your instincts.
I. Wow. So that was, that was my biggest takeaway is the inside reality is way different than the outside perception. So much so that I want to actually do a formal interview for potentially a book around this concept I'm thinking I'm calling in my head the disadvantage advantage. And so, Francesca, if. Francesca, if you're listening right now, just make a mental note. I want to interview you for the book. But also that sometimes success is kind of thrust upon us in the weirdest ways. It reminds me of Brene Brown's story. You know, she's the author of Dare to Lead. She is this phenom right now. And she did a presentation, I think, at TEDx or something like that. And it's funny, she talks about that now. She's like, oh, maybe 100 or 200 people will watch this. And she felt very uncomfortable that that many people would watch us and became like 2 or 10 million.
Right.
And so it was kind of thrust upon her, and she's embraced that responsibility from something that she didn't plan for, didn't expect, or didn't even actually want. And now she knows she actually did want that. And I hear the same in Francesca's story is, you know, it's sad she used the word freak. And that's the. That is what people. Some people will see for that circumstance. And I don't think Francesca would have asked for that, but that was her circumstance. She was a conjoined twin. And now that's become such an advantage to her. It's a blessing. Right. So it's just interesting.
Absolutely.
Okay, Kelsey, what else we got? Should we do the game now?
Yeah, let's do the game.
Okay. Let me get some perfectly queued up music for a great game. Wow, that's. That's spot on music. So here's the game. We're going to play aim.
Okay.
Oh, no.
It was Jay Schlone who wanted this. J. Schlone.
Yes.
So Jay Schlone says, I want to play the before and after or name game. And what this is is these companies. Is that what he said? Something like that.
Say a lot of things.
You're such an ass. Every time I think of you, I'm like, she's an ass and I love her. It's the weirdest feeling. It's like this is like abuser syndrome.
Yeah, right.
Some form of massive. So here's the. Here it is. I'm going to name these three companies. They're all companies that you probably recognize, and I'm going to tell you their company name prior. And then you tell me which one of these is a fake. There's only three companies that make sense. First, we're going to talk about Xerox. You all know Xerox, right? They Were originally called the haloid photographic Company. The haloid photographic Company. That's how they would announce it. Like, if you watch a commercial they like, you should use the haloid photographic. That's a good point.
I don't know.
All right, next company is aol. You've heard of the America online. You've got bail pattern baldness was also or had a prior name of Quantum computer services. Quantum computer services. And then you're not coming. Nike. You're wearing Nike clogs right now. Is that Nike or. That's Adidas. What is that?
Adidas?
Oh, okay.
Well, I don't wear Nike.
Okay. You know, Nike was originally called Apollo. He's talking like, Greek God or goddess kind of mentality. So which one do you think? What?
It's a God, by the way. Nike is no Apollo.
No. But isn't Nike a goddess?
Oh, I have no idea.
I think Nike's made up.
Please, please. I want slap either. Do you have a phone on you?
Yeah.
Look up Nike. If she's a God. I say God for Apollo and then go, God, goddess. Because I believe Nike was a goddess. I hope so. So bad.
I hope so for your sake too.
Okay, so aim. Do you want to go first?
Sure.
What's your guess?
I'm guessing Nike's the wrong one.
Okay.
Nike is a winged goddess.
He's so pleased with himself. Oh, Kelsey, you won't listen.
She's always correcting me. She's always completing my sentences. And she's usually right.
And she's right.
Finally. James, Sloan, you're up. Which company was not renamed?
All right, so I know for a fact that Nike, the one that you said was wrong, but they did have a name previously to Nike.
Yeah, I used that on the last one. I think I used the Nike one right now.
Stop. No, stop. That was the best.
That was the best mutley ever.
You gotta stop smoking.
That was Kelsey ruins everything.
Emphysema.
Loud.
That's my name.
Kelsey ruins everything. That's your name. Kelsey ruins everything. So then.
Xerox, I believe. I think that that was their original name. So I'm gonna go with Quantum for ao. I think that's the correct one.
The wrong one, Hunt.
No, no one's right. No, no, no two are right. One's wrong.
Oh. Oh. Nike's wrong.
Okay. Jesus, Chase.
I was so confused.
You're up, Kelsey.
I say the Nike one too.
What?
I say the Nike one too.
So you guys are all right? This was this. These games are no longer fun.
Maybe you shouldn't Reuse the same one.
Did I really use this one before? Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is the dumbest.
We should create the games and then. Yeah.
Have you do the. Oh, no. The last game we played was with my wife when they got a fight at home. Oh, like, wait, I want to hear.
This because I missed that one.
You're making that up.
No, in my head, I'm making it up, but Jeremy's asking questions like, oh, what annoys you most about Mike? The way he clears his throat.
That was one question out of, like.
10, but they're all like that.
And what's your worst day? It was really like trying to pull up all the bad memories.
What's your worst day ever with Mike?
I said, if you had to pick.
A celebrity, when did Mike disappoint you the most? It wasn't bad.
It wasn't that bad.
You had to pick 10 things that miked us wrong.
Which celebrity do you hate the most but still would rather date because Mike's such a jerk?
I was gonna bring up your first kiss, but then you already told the story about, so I couldn't do that first date. I was gonna bring up, like, all these romantic memories.
No, you said, when's where your first kiss was someone other than your spouse?
I asked her what your favorite body.
Part was, and I was so awkward. And what did she say? She said something weird. Your beard. No. You sound like that, right? She said your beard.
Yeah.
She goes, what's your face? That's not even a body part.
That's just the hair that you're missing from the top of your head.
And my answer was yes. True.
It's true.
This lack. I wrote down, like, you said, what's your favorite body part? And like. So the thing was, I had a respond. I had to write down what I said.
It's like the Honeymooners game kind of thing.
Yeah, Honeymooners. Yeah. Okay.
Whatever.
Newlyweds.
Oh, yeah. That's what I meant.
You're just like the Honeymooners.
I love that. I correct you. Don't say anything. You would jump. The truth comes out. So I say, arms. I say, she likes my arms. Arms. And she goes, it's your beard. It's probably the best feature.
I think she was going somewhere else. And then she cleaned it up.
Yeah, that's exactly what she cleaned it up.
I don't think there.
It was too awkward.
For a minute there. It was awkward right There wasn't. The whole show was disgusting.
Okay, I can't wait to hear that one.
Okay, callous Give me something to get me out of here. Let's do listener mail. Okay. Thank God. Oh, here. Here's a punch for listener mail.
Okay, you ready?
Yeah. Now I am.
This comes from Dan Stramer. He writes. Hi, Mike. Question about tap. When setting up my taps, we set a percentage for our salary. What if I could. What if I would like the salary to be a set number, for example, $12,000 and not a percentage of the total income.
How can I set that up, Dan? Good question. So you have to set then the percentage to equate to the 12,000 on your minimal or slowest month. So most businesses are volatile in their income and, you know, not necessarily massive sways, but you may have one month that's 50% more revenue than the next month. So you set. You look at your weakest months out of the year and set the salary based upon that. So say I make 10. Well, that's not a good number. 100,000amonth. Because he wants 12,000amonth, right? 100,000amonth in a business that's a very healthy business. Well, that's your average. But some months you make 200,000. You would set actually at 100,000. You set 12%, because that represents 12,000. So your lowest number, if your lowest number is 100,000 during any given month or in a year, you set the percentage based upon that. That way, when you have a $200,000 a month, you actually put away 24,000, but you only take out 12,000. So it starts building that cushion. Did I explain that well enough?
Yeah, I think so.
I just want. I want to get so scheming.
You're angry today.
I just want to get out of here so badly.
He hates us.
Get out of here. I do hate you. I love you. I love you guys so much. It's like a. Like a real family.
How many times did he.
I don't know. A lot. But I like. I love you, but I really can't stand you. I love that you're becoming. I love that you're becoming president of the company, too. You're taking it over. All right, cows, take us out.
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Bye.
Now that we're off the air. I really do hate you guys.
