Brandelle Palmer is a hemp advocate and owner of the CBD store Green Wellness Life. She lives in “a pretty conservative area in West Michigan,” where she raises her 2 children together with her husband Jim.
Before founding Green Wellness Life, Brandelle Palmer admittedly did not know much about hemp. For her, the word “cannabis” was just the same as “weed.” She also says that she smoked in college, though she found that it wasn’t her thing at the time. However, as she got older, she became more interested in living an organic lifestyle that won’t cost them millions of dollars. This interest was stoked even further when she took a job as project manager at a hemp company. While working at the hemp company, Brandelle discovered more information about the plant, and soon fell in love.
After having done lots of research, Brandelle Palmer found that a lot of studies have shown exciting possibilities for CBD. Some studies show that the compound have shown the ability of tumor shrinkage, anxiety reduction, joint pain reduction, and seizure reduction in children. She has also heard personal stories from people who swear by CBD.
While Brandelle Palmer says that she does not prescribe or treat anything with CBD, she is greatly excited to be able to help out people who may need its help through her shop, Green Wellness Life.
Check out more interviews with generous business owners here.
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Brandelle Palmer: We stand out for a couple of reasons. Our target consumer is not a kid looking for a buzz, but rather a mother or grandfather or pet owner looking to live healthier. That’s different from the norm in the hemp space. We don’t just focus on one company, but rather sell more than 30 different manufacturing lines. We also believe in educating first. We know that an educated consumer will be a better, longer lasting customer for us.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Brandelle Palmer: That’s a great question. I volunteer with Junior Achievement, teaching kids about entrepreneurship. The advice that I would give colleagues is the same thing that I give those kids. Follow your passion. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you’ll do it better and longer. You’ve got to care to be successful.
Jerome Knyszewski: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Brandelle Palmer: There’s certainly more than one! My husband is always the “straight man” when I get anxious or overzealous. He keeps me centered. My nieces and girlfriends were fabulous product models who worked for free. Even my mom was a fantastic sounding board, always listening and affirming. I couldn’t imagine embarking on a journey like this without a support network. Yikes!
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. The Pandemic has changed many aspects of all of our lives. One of them is the fact that so many of us have gotten used to shopping almost exclusively online. Can you share a few examples of different ideas that eCommerce businesses are implementing to adapt to the new realities created by the Pandemic?
Brandelle Palmer: Absolutely! Even though their popularity is not decreasing, eCommerce businesses still have to adjust — especially when there is so much increased competition. Flexibility really is paramount to building a successful eCommerce business. People enjoy the experience of shopping small, so you have to ensure that personal, small business feeling transfers to your online presence. People also want their products fast and they don’t want to pay for that to happen. That eCommerce business needs to be able to get product out the door right away, in a well packaged fashion, and incorporate that shipping cost elsewhere for the best customer experience. Lastly, they’ve got to be responsive — give the customer multiple options for communication and when they utilize them, respond! And do it quickly or they won’t be coming back any time soon.
Amazon, and even Walmart are going to exert pressure on all of retail for the foreseeable future. New Direct-To-Consumer companies based in China are emerging that offer prices that are much cheaper than US and European brands. What would you advise retail companies and eCommerce companies, for them to be successful in the face of such strong competition? I think that we need to recognize that US based eCommerce and retail stores will never be the cheapest. That can’t be the “platform,” if you will, so you’ll have to stake that claim elsewhere. Be the cleanest, most informative website — the smartest — the fastest — even the store that rewards consumers for coming back or includes fun “extras” with every order. Find a more personal niche than cost that you can make your “platform” — and be the best at it.
Jerome Knyszewski: What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start an eCommerce business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Brandelle Palmer: I think that you have to take something where you already have a skillset and expand upon it, rather than just looking for the next financial windfall. If you think that elephant dung coffee (that’s a thing you know) market is exploding, you better already be making coffee if you’re going to capture that market. You need expertise and passion. If you are going into a venture without them, you’re likely just looking to make a quick buck and there won’t be any longevity in the business.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your experience, which aspect of running an eCommerce brand tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?
Brandelle Palmer: I think that customer retention is the most critical and one of the least discussed factors in running any business — especially one that is literally based on a tool designed to detract attention to any one thing. Any time that you’re on a website, you’re being bombarded by emails, notifications, even advertisements — all designed to take the attention of that customer away from you. Putting together a site and a process to keep them through that transaction AND bring them back again is both critical and super challenging.
Jerome Knyszewski: One of the main benefits of shopping online is the ability to read reviews. Consumers love it! While good reviews are of course positive for a brand, poor reviews can be very damaging. In your experience what are a few things a brand should do to properly and effectively respond to poor reviews? How about other unfair things said online about a brand?
Brandelle Palmer: While it’s true that poor reviews can be damaging, they are also necessary in order to ensure that you run an honest, transparent business. Own the poor reviews and respond to them openly — not defensively. If you screwed up, admit it. If not, still own it and manage the customer expectations. Prospective customers will appreciate your honesty. If you’re seeing common threads in negative reviews, then you likely need to dig into that and make a change in your business.
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Brandelle Palmer: Oh, I love this question! I would start a movement of presence. Put down that phone or even that laptop and be in the moment. Spend time every day living in that moment — and find a little joy in it!
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Brandelle Palmer: Please follow us on social media or sign up online for our weekly blogs — we’d love to chat with you!
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
