Ingrid Weir with Cornerstone Hospice, Jenny Cantrell with Arbonne and Melissa Pearson with The Barter Company

Intro: [00:00:09] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by B’s Charitable Pursuits and Resources. We put the fun in fund raising. For more information, go to B’s Charitable Pursuits. Dot com. That’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruitt.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:46] Good, fabulous Friday morning. It’s another fabulous Friday. And we’ve got three more fabulous guests. If this is your first time listening to Charitable Georgia, this is all about positive things happening in your community. And I don’t know if I’m if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I’m the only guy in the studio this morning, so I got my favorite producer, though. Sharon’s back.

[00:01:06] Hello.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:06] Stone is actually on the golf course doing his thing with that. So, Sharon, I’m thankful that you came. And.

[00:01:12] My pleasure.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:12] Like I said, I’m the only guy. So we’ll see if I make it through this. But I do have. You’re brave. Yes. Yes. I do have three great guests, though, this morning. And you’re going to hear some some great stuff. We’re going to start with Miss Jenny Cantrell. So, Jenny, thank you for being here this morning.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:01:29] Oh, thank you for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:31] So Jenny is a naturalpath doctor and a master herbalist, right. So please share your story and why you’re passionate about helping people in their health.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:01:43] Okay. I’m happy to. Well, my story actually starts as a young child. I was born with great hearing loss. And when I was in my 20s, when I went to have my first exam, I was in my late 20s and the audiologist was amazed that I actually worked outside the home, had my own business, and I asked him why he was amazed with that. And he said, because people who have a great hearing loss such as yours really do not do well in life. In fact, they become totally dependent on their parents and never work outside the home. And I said, Well, I never thought about that. I just thought as a child when I was told that I would be deaf by the time I was 20, I just thought, well, you know, I’m just going to have to do the best I can. I’ll just learn sign language. And it never occurred to me not to work or, you know, be productive in society. And so that is really where it started. And I just want to encourage people that no matter what your setbacks are physically, emotionally or whatever, you can overcome that there is something that you can do. Now, one of the reasons I went into sales is because, you know, I’m kind of an old woman. I’m 68 years old. So if you go back in time, a lot of the phones did not have where you could increase the volume. So I knew that I could not do office work if I had to answer the phone. So but I’m a people person and I like to be out.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:03:42] So I just had to choose sales in in order. That was my really my only, only option. So and then later I went into business for myself because I had always been a healthy eater and I did not allow, you know, coats and candy and things like that in my house. But all of a sudden I started losing my energy and I didn’t know why. And I was starting to struggle to get through the day. So I went to the doctor. They couldn’t find anything wrong. They and then I began to live in constant pain, unbearable pain. So I asked the doctors, you know, for help. They couldn’t figure it out. And their only option was pain medicine. And I’m the kind of person I like to get to the root of the problem. I I’m not going to live on pain. I’ve got to find what is causing this. It doesn’t make any sense. So that put me on a path to seek out a naturopathic medicine, alternative means of healing. And so I got in touch with some experts in that field, began to apply clean eating. Now, my my diet was better than the average American, so but I realized I could clean it up even more and make some changes. So I did that, took some, you know, supplements and I put all of that in remission. I mean, I was very, very weak, could hardly walk and in a lot of pain. And after about 5 or 6 months, I began to feel the energy coming back in my body.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:05:38] And so and it all went in remission. And I felt better than when I was a teenager. So I got curious about, well, why these herbs, why this? Why that? What was it in that the chemistry of that that provided healing for my body. And so I just began to study. At the time I was an interior designer, but I started studying this on the side and then I decided to get a formal education. So I got a degree in natural pathic medicine and two certificates of the master herbalist to study, to study the chemistry of herbs. And that put me on a path to share my knowledge. So I didn’t just learn that for me, but to share that knowledge to make a difference in people’s lives. So when I, I do speak and when I speak and whatever organization it is, I want to share information right then that a person can go away, makes them changes. That is going to bring more energy and health in their body. And so that is a passion of mine to change one person’s health at a time, one family’s health at a time. Because we are in a crisis in this country. We are in a crisis with toxicity and malnutrition, and we don’t think of us as being malnourished. We when we hear the word malnutrition, we think of starving children in a foreign country. But most Americans walking around right now are very malnourished. They’re extremely dehydrated, and they are very toxic. And so my passion is educating people so that they can can manage that. Now, we’re not going to get away from a chemicals.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:07:43] We’re just not. But there are some changes that we can make every day that will make a difference because when these toxins get in our body, unfortunately, we can’t just drink water and flush them out. They build up inside of us on a cellular level. So we need to be focused. Being healthy nowadays will not just happen like when I was a kid because I grew up, you know, we were before intensive farming, but when intensive farming began to take control of our country back in the 50s and 60s, everything changed. For the first time in the history of mankind, our food was altered to the point that our bodies do not really and truly vegan. It’s not just what you get inside of you, it’s what you’re able to assimilate and your cells use for nutrition to produce energy for healing and energy for the day. So that’s what I like to teach people and it will make a difference. I’ve done this for well over 25 years and almost every week somebody is texting me and telling me, Oh my gosh, I feel so much better. I’m sleeping better. I don’t have this brain fog. I’m, you know, and it’s just such a joy to be able to share that and know that I’m turning people’s health around because it’s not just them. It might be the woman of the family. Usually the women, you know, kind of control the food in the family, hopefully. And and so it can really make a difference. And that’s what I love to do.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:35] You can tell I like my women’s cooking. So as we shared a couple of weeks ago, I’ve got the keg, as Tara like to say. So I got the 24 pack. Can you can you share just one thing that you mentioned about knowing what you’re eating and stuff like that? Can you just share one tidbit of how you can, you know, the natural part of changing what you eat?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:09:57] I tell you. Your goal every day. My goal every day is how much green food? And I’m not talking about pistachio pudding.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:10] Or green M&ms?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:10:10] Now that that’s not on the list, but green vegetables, When you sit down to eat, half your plate needs to be dark green vegetables or your yellow or your orange. That’s a given because we’ve got to balance the alkalinity with the acid. And so that one thing I’ll give you another tip, we should never drink when we eat.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:38] Why is That?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:10:38] Well, several things. When you eat, your stomach is to release digestive fluids. That’s got all kinds of good stuff. Food, enzymes, hydrochloric acid, other things in there to help break down that food, to assimilate it. So when you crowd your stomach with liquid, there’s not enough room for the digestive fluids to really work on digesting your food. The other thing is you can actually drink so much that you’re flushing what nutrition is in that food. You’re flushing them on out of the body. So those are two important reason. The rule of thumb is drink your water 15 minutes before you eat. That gives it time to go through your stomach and then you can eat. And if you have to, people tell me, well, I have to drink when I eat, well, then you’re eating the wrong thing. So if you’re eating something that’s super dry, what is that? Because vegetables have a lot of liquid in them. You don’t need to drink water when you’re eating vegetables. So those are two tips. But dark green vegetables. And when I have people come and I work with them, I have them write down five days worth of what they’re eating. It’s not for me. I already know what they’re not eating and but this is for them. So I look at and say, we’re going to circle all of the green vegetables that you’ve eaten in the last five days. And it’s shocking because sometimes it may be. The only thing is that that one piece of iceberg lettuce on the hamburger.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:26] I mean, that doesn’t count?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:12:27] No, it does not. There’s no nutrition in that. So anyway. Okay, so.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:34] So can you there might be somebody listening who doesn’t know exactly what a naturopathic doctor is. You shared a little bit. But what exactly is that? And the difference between that obviously in a medical doctor and what you can and can’t do.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:12:48] Right. Well, naturopathic means that there’s healing through natural means without medication. So through your diet, through herbs, through supplements. And that’s what is different. Medical doctors. And I’m not against doctors. We need them. I go to them all the time to help diagnose. I cannot diagnose. And but doctors can do that. That’s what they are trained to do and can legally do. And so they diagnose and they’re trained to then get a medicine to help control that symptom that you’re having. But naturopathic means that you’re you’re really balancing the body on a cellular level so that the body is able to heal itself.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:45] Okay. On the supplements, I’m guessing there could be good and bad supplements. Can you share about supplements?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:13:52] Yes, there are a lot of supplements out there that the bottle is actually more expensive than what’s on the inside. I’ve read lab reports over the years where these are labs that don’t they don’t actually make a supplement or sell a supplement. They’ve gone into health food stores and pulled as many as 50 bottles off the shelf and taken it to the lab to dissect it, to see what was in there. And shockingly. Some of those did not even have anything that it said it had inside of it. Some of them had a little bit and it was mostly fillers and additives. So there is, you know, unfortunately, a lot of fraud in that industry. So it’s important to to know the brand that you are taking and making sure. That’s why I don’t endorse a lot of companies. I just don’t I have to do the research, talk to the people, the scientists in the lab, so that I know I can trust, because when I’m working with people, they’re dependent on me to know. And and it goes a step further, too. You know, you may have the company may have put like if you get a bottle that’s got like 50 ingredients in it, that sounds impressive, but the pressure that it takes to compact all of those nutrients in that tablet make it completely indigestible. I’ve talked to a couple of people that are in the Porta John industry and that’s.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:42] A messy industry.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:15:43] Yeah. So they have said that they see mounds and mounds, piles of supplements that have passed through people’s bodies and you can even read the name brand on the tablet.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:02] Why are you getting that close is what I want to know. But anyway, no, that’s wild.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:16:06] Yeah. So it’s about maybe they they have everything that’s on that label in that tablet, but then it’s completely indigestible to your body. So people have paid the money, taken the time to take it and it’s done them no good. And over the years I’ve had people say well I’ve tried supplements whatever. They don’t help. And and I know why because it for those reasons but it may be that it’s not digestible but it may also mean that they don’t have enough enzymes in their stomach to break things down. So that’s what I try to, you know, figure out with a person what’s going on so that we can get you producing energy. Because if your energy, the lack of energy is the beginning, because your body, if it’s losing energy, you are losing your energy also to assimilate and to heal the body and do what it needs to do.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:14] I’ve always been told that when you’re looking at supplements, there’s I guess a certain label or something of endorsement of a particular I don’t know, that’s supposed to be the best ones, but can you maybe share the one that you would endorse? That would be good.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:17:28] Well, the product that I have researched and checked out are made by a company called Arbonne International, and the other one is nature’s sunshine. I have bought from them for 30 years and I’ve I’m a watchdog because before that I did buy from certain companies, but I saw them making changes, cutting corners to save money. But then they started adding chemicals and whatever. And so I couldn’t endorse them anymore. So I want you want to get what you pay for, you know. But but the labeling laws are so deceptive. It would take me a few minutes to explain that. I don’t want to take up time for that. But the way the FDA sets up how labeling can be, it’s really deceptive. So it’s my job, You know, when I recommend something, it’s my job to know everything about that product. So that because my the people that I’m coaching and helping are dependent on me to know.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:51] So on the herbs, actually, when I was growing up, I always called them Herb. So are you British? No. Well, we all transition, I guess at one point we were, but no, just kidding. Um, on the herbs, is it something that the herbs that you cook with or do you take them as a supplement? Can you share about the, the herbs that you.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:19:08] Yeah, well a lot of the herbs we can cook with and they have medicinal properties just we just have to be careful sometimes in cooking that we don’t cook something to death, meaning that we cook the life out of it. Um, so their herbs have different properties. Some herbs are considered as nutritious, you know, like alfalfa. That. That’s a good one. Kale, Those are considered herbs that are more nutritious and have, you know, lack of food. But then there are herbs that have not really considered a food but have a certain chemistry that will vivo in and support because of the chemical structure of it. It will zero in and support different systems in your body. And so that’s why knowing the chemistry of herbs, you would know which ones. Now all herbs are going to feed your body. Vitamins and minerals may have some fiber in it, phytonutrients in it, a number of things, but it will have different actions on the body. Do you need to take something for an astringent to kind of draw out an infection or something you need to draw out? Do you need one to to add moisture to the body? So they all have different properties, but they will have different nutrients. So that that’s why you would take a specific herb if you’re dealing with the nervous system or the circulatory system.

Brian Pruett: [00:20:59] I don’t think her stuff would work with what we had on the other week with bread. Delicious. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:04] Yeah, it looked really good, but I think you’d probably pull out all of it apart and be like, All right, there’s nothing green, right?

Brian Pruett: [00:21:10] I will tell you, Alfalfa was my favorite on Little Rascals, but I think that’s probably different than what you’re talking about.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:21:15] Right? Yeah. Yeah, There are two different things. Okay. All right.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:19] All right. So you do a lot of networking. You’ve been a part of several groups, and that’s how you and I met, actually, years ago. We were part of the same BNI group, and we’re now part of Cartersville Business Club, Acworth Connections. And you’re out there a lot in the community. So other than the reasons why you just share like helping people, why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:21:38] Well, if I’m not part of the community, I will not be in a place that someone might need my help. And there’s not that many people that do what I do. You’ll have people that do sell supplements and so forth, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I had someone just not too long ago asked me to tell them certain herbs that they could take. And I said, Well, that’s that’s not the way to get at the root of the problem. You know, you’ve got to do more. And I want to tell you, because of the malnutrition and the toxicity, you can’t just take a couple of supplements anymore and really get to the root of it and make the changes that you want. You’re going to have to change. We we are what we eat and what we digest. And so you’re going to have to be more focused on making the changes, what I call clean eating, and that that alone will carry so much weight of it. But then there may be some supplements added to that.

Brian Pruett: [00:22:56] So if somebody’s listening out there, whether it’s an organization or somebody just wants to talk to you about your services, how can people get Ahold of you?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:23:05] Well, they can email me at Jenny at Jenny control.com or they can call me at (865) 405-8861 or text me and I. I love to speak to organizations because that’s more than one person that I can influence at a time and make a difference in their life.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:33] Awesome. Well, Jenny, thank you for sharing a little bit of your story. We’ve got a couple other guests that have good, good stories. You mind sticking around because we’re really not done with you. There’s a couple other things I’ll ask you towards the end. So you can’t go anywhere anyway. But you mind sticking around?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:23:46] Okay. No, I’m happy to be here. I want to hear from them, too.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:49] All right. So you guys just heard about some keeping yourself healthy. And this is going to be a weird transition. Maybe, but, Ingrid Weir from Cornerstone Hospice. Thanks for being here.

Ingrid Weir: [00:23:59] Thanks for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:59] You, I guess it takes a special person to to work in your industry as well. But give us a little bit of your story and why you are in the hospice industry.

Ingrid Weir: [00:24:11] Well, I am in the hospice industry. Well, it’s weird. I actually used to work for several years right behind this building selling heated floors.

Ingrid Weir: [00:24:19] And then one day my boss got sick, and then we shut down the company, and I had to kind of. Feel around and figure out where I was going from there. And I actually landed in home care, which is a form of senior care. And while that’s a wonderful thing, not everybody can afford it. So that is what slowly got me over to where I came into hospice, because this way, especially working for a nonprofit, I can help everybody for free. So it’s been very fulfilling.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:53] So do you actually work with patients or are you what is your role within Cornerstone?

Ingrid Weir: [00:24:59] My role is I’m the liaison, so I’m the go between. And then if anything goes wrong after we have them on service, then I’m I’m the bulldog.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:08] So can you share because I’m sure there’s people out there that kind of have an idea of what hospice is. And most people think it’s you know, obviously when somebody is about ready to pass and things of that nature, but share exactly what a hospice organization does.

Ingrid Weir: [00:25:22] Okay. And that is one of the reasons why I’m trying to spread information is it’s not the last five days that you’re alive like it used to be. So it’s anyone with a life limiting illness. We are here to help you embrace what’s left of your life. And we do that by providing medications that are delivered right to your home. We have home health aides that will come and help with bathing and hygiene. And then, of course, we have the medical equipment, hospital beds, wheelchairs and all of that. Then we have the chaplain that can come in. Always optional, of course, non-denominational. And we have social workers that can come in and help with any kind of financial end of life planning, anything like that, and just be there for emotional support for the family as well as the patient.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:13] So hospice can be several different things, right? You can. I know some places actually have a hospice facility. It could be a hospital. It could be in a home. Is that right? That’s right. Share a bit about Cornerstone. You know, this is a nonprofit, which I think is an interesting concept. And that in itself can you share about Cornerstone?

Ingrid Weir: [00:26:29] Well, Cornerstone is a profit, like you said. So we accept anyone, regardless of ability to pay. We go to wherever the patient lives. Now, if symptoms become unmanageable, then we do have settings where we can have 24 hour care. But generally speaking, we’ll have a nurse come once a week and then a CNA or home health aide come out a few times a week and the home health aide reports back to the nurse. The nurse reports back to the doctor as well. But then as symptoms progress and the nurse will actually come out more frequently.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:07] So you’re coming to they’re coming to the home.

Ingrid Weir: [00:27:09] Is that right? We’re coming to the home, yes. But if needed, then we we do have facilities that they can go to and then we will go there and treat them as well.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:17] So Cornerstone being a non profit, is it kind of like any other non profit? Can people get involved and help with that?

Ingrid Weir: [00:27:23] Absolutely. We we have volunteers. We have amazing volunteers that come out and sit with people or they go and walk their dogs, take their dogs to the vets. We also have a program where if somebody can’t afford to pay for vet visits or pet food or anything like that, where our foundation will actually cover that as well, and we’ll actually rehome your animals so nobody has to lose their pet before they lose their life. Wow.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:51] So business can get involved and well and be sponsors, I guess.

Ingrid Weir: [00:27:54] Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We accept any kind of donations as well.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:59] What all do you guys service? Is it just Metro Atlanta or North Atlanta or North Cobb or. Well.

Ingrid Weir: [00:28:04] We’re in Cobb, North Fulton, Cherokee and Gwinnett currently, and then half of Florida as well. We’ve been in Florida since 1984, so we’re fairly new up here, but we’ve got the backbone down in Florida.

Brian Pruett: [00:28:19] So I’m guessing especially the caretakers. I mean, that would be hard to be working with somebody who, you know, is on the deathbed, literally. Um. I don’t know. You don’t do that part, but can you share a story of somebody that there are things I mean, I can I can remember being in a hospital room when my grandmother passed, and that was awful. But I know that there’s been other people who have been in and it’s kind of a I don’t know, this may sound weird, peaceful transition or whatever, but it’s just kind of a happy time. I don’t know. But are there any stories you can share? The kind of people make people feel good about the hospice and not know that it’s a, you know, oh, no type of thing.

Ingrid Weir: [00:28:59] Actually, I had a I had a family member that we put on service a couple of years back. And first of all, they did not want to go on hospice. They he had brain cancer. It was very clear that he needed our help, but nothing that I could say would convince them until he started having seizures that were uncontrollable and the doctors were just putting up their hands like, you know, we can’t do anything. So I came in, I was like, please let me get my nurse in here. And I was convinced that this entire family was going to just unravel when this man died. And it scared me. And I’ll tell you what it did. But then she finally let my nurse come in. We got the seizures managed, and then our whole team just attacked the whole family. And when he finally did transition, it was so peaceful and calm and the whole family was there. They were prepared. He was comfortable. I could not believe the difference between what they were just a few months earlier. And then the family that they were that they were actually able to enjoy the time they had left with them.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:13] Wow. Wow. Is there I know like when people are they have pre funeral things you can do. Is there something you can do ahead of time for hospice. For services for hospice is that’s something you can you know if you know that there’s a the end is near type of thing can you set that up beforehand or is that something when it actually happens, you do it when it’s when it’s happening.

Ingrid Weir: [00:30:35] Most people do it when it’s happening, but you can actually go through and we have what’s called the Five Wishes program, where it’s this booklet where you go through and you put in all of your wishes as your life comes to a conclusion and you can actually specify things like what hospice you would prefer.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:55] Okay, So you also do the networking piece. You we see you at the Acworth connections in other areas. Why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Ingrid Weir: [00:31:03] Because people don’t know enough about hospice. It’s people don’t realize that this is their right to have this service to help them through it. And I’ve seen families and patients go through this transition without hospice. And the difference is, I mean, it’s really tragic that most people don’t know about it. So I’m just trying to raise awareness.

Brian Pruett: [00:31:27] So give somebody a little tip that that they need to kind of be what do they need to look for when they’re looking for some hospice care?

Ingrid Weir: [00:31:37] I always check the reviews, of course. Also take some of the review reviews with a grain of salt because people are very, very upset during the time of their family transitioning. But, you know, ask around if somebody’s good. People are going to know if people are bad and people are definitely going to know. Look for somebody that isn’t just just now opening somebody that does have the backbone behind them so that, you know, they’re not just going to disappear all of a sudden because the regulations in Georgia are not strong enough. Just about anybody can open a hospice here.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:14] Well, wow. Well, if somebody’s listening and wants to get a hold of you and talk about your services, how can they do that?

Ingrid Weir: [00:32:21] You can call my cell, text me whatever. Six, seven, 85518103.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:27] Awesome. Well, I appreciate you coming on and sharing that little tidbit. We’re going to kind of lighten the mood back up because I know that was a.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:33] But, you know, that’s an important part of I mean, everyone will face has someone in their life or they will be facing it, too. So you’re right, people don’t consider that as being like top of mind, but it will affect everyone at some point. So I get why that’s important.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:47] And I share this with Stone last week, Sharon, you know, people listening to the show and they may think, why in the world is he talking to somebody about hospice that’s not positive or charitable, but it is, you know, I mean, yeah, I mean, you’ve got to be you’ve got to be prepared for one. But you also do want your loved ones to be, you know, have up to the end be as comfortable and live what they can left. And so I don’t care whether you smile at somebody, open the door, say thank you, work for hospice, give somebody the herbs or whatever you’re doing worse. You know, there’s plenty of positivity and charitable things out there. And so it doesn’t have to be that you’re giving somebody money or a nonprofit to be charitable. So. Again, I thank you for coming on and sharing. Do you mind listening to this next story? Absolutely. Uh, Melissa Pearson from the Barter Company. Thanks for being here. Like I said, I don’t know if I’m going to be in trouble or not, because as you can tell, they all like to give each other myself a hard time and I have to give it right back. But I still don’t win. I don’t I don’t understand that. But anyway, Melissa, thank you for having me.

Melissa Pearson: [00:33:53] Really happy and excited to be here.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:56] Yes. So you are passionate about helping people, especially in business, right? But you do have a just a passion for people. Do you mind sharing your story? And then we’ll talk about the barter company when after you share your story? Sure.

Melissa Pearson: [00:34:10] Well, I grew up in a very sheltered family, strict household, went to church every Sunday, went to the best schools and was very shy. I had a dad that was very still, very strong, and he kept moving up the corporate ladder. So we moved like 19 times. So I never had that chance to develop long term relationships. When I turned 19, we had moved 19 times and he moved up the corporate ladder. So when we moved here, he was like, I’m starting my own company. We’re not moving anymore. And it was 10th grade when I moved here, so it was hard to fit in. I was very shy. I didn’t want to talk in front of people or even this is not you know, I know. I know everybody’s shocked to hear that. But I really am. I mean, even our little one minute at Cartersville Business Club, I’m like, oh. So we moved and I went to Lassiter in East Cobb, and I always wanted to be a teacher because my parents were teachers. They met in college. And then I was at a ceramics class and a lady promoted me to be a leasing agent, lease apartments. And I was like, okay. And did that for a while. And she would hand me one day she handed me this book of stuff and a box of fliers and all this stuff. She goes here, go out and talk to businesses.

Melissa Pearson: [00:35:34] And I’m like, What? I was scared to death. And then I was like, Oh, my gosh. And I went into advertising and I worked for Trader Publishing and we flew out to Dallas, Texas. And within ten minutes of being there, we were on stage and being filmed in front of everyone with the old VCR and people were throwing up in the class. It was horrible. We had a before and after, so I had to learn to adjust and talk to people. And from then on I just loved it. And I had this client tell me he goes, Melissa, you just thrive in front of people. And I’m like, Well, yeah, you’re right. I do. I do love people and helping people and connecting people. I had a boss in the in the advertising or before that, I think, leasing. And she said, Melissa, be the go to girl, be that connector you know and you will always have business and people relying on you. And I was like, okay. So I just lived that forward and I do. I love connecting people, helping people give back. I mean, there are so many amazing people out there doing so much for our community and I want to be one of those people and do my part. And that’s what I try to do every day.

Brian Pruett: [00:36:45] So we mentioned you were worth a barter company share about them and what the what their goal and mission is.

Melissa Pearson: [00:36:53] We. Our goal is to get more clients for small businesses and get their business to grow, and they get them in barter dollars rather than nothing. So a restaurant that’s not completely filled or a painter that has gaps in their schedule or like a entertainment place that’s not completely filled, why lose that money and get barter dollars instead of nothing? And a lot of people don’t understand that. They get referrals from other businesses and it spins anywhere in the network. So my boss, Rick Zampatti, started this company 27 years ago, so we’re very well established in Kennesaw. He gives back to the community, must ministries. They call him the Giver. And we’ve all given back and most ministries, and we do a lot for our clients too. We have Casino Night, which Jenny came and a huge Christmas show that’s so much fun. Lots of different meet ups and different client appreciations. So we try to give back to our clients as well and connect them. And I work with just wonderful, amazing people, the brokers in the office, and they are dedicated to give back to their people and find their people business. And it’s just it’s a ton of barter business going on. And we have several people in the $2 Million club and like I think eight now it grows and the $1 million Club. So it’s a huge business and we’re the largest in the Southeast and my boss is always looking for ways to help people and savvy business ideas. So it’s, you know, it’s a great company to work for. I’ve been there since. Well twice now, five years this time and beforehand also.

Brian Pruett: [00:38:43] So if somebody who doesn’t know exactly what barter is and barter dollars, what is that share what that is?

Melissa Pearson: [00:38:49] Well, barter is an alternative currency. You have your regular bank and your barter bank and your barter bank works just like your regular bank. You just can’t see it. So where you you don’t change, you don’t charge more and you don’t charge less, whatever your good or your service product is, is what you charge. And that money goes into your barter bank account and now you have an extra money in your bank account to use wherever in the network. So if you go out to a restaurant, the waitress comes, she puts the check down, you put your barter card, they swipe it and they spew out a receipt. And that money leaves the customer’s account into the restaurant’s account. And now they have an extra, say, 100 bucks in their barter bank account to spend anywhere in the network. Could be hood cleaning flowers, gift, employee incentives. We have pretty much everything you can imagine.

Brian Pruett: [00:39:47] Are there certain industries that are not good for barter?

Melissa Pearson: [00:39:51] Well, we do have industries that we have tapped out and we don’t want to promise them business if we can’t get them business. So we kind of you know, we’re all over the Atlanta area, from Gainesville to Rome to, you know, the Atlanta area. So a Peachtree City Newnan. So if we can’t get someone enough business in a certain area, we will not bring them on. And we have a list of that and we have a top list, too. And if clients are asking for a certain category, we’ll go out and get it for them.

Brian Pruett: [00:40:24] Are there certain are in those categories? Do you have multiples or do you just stick with a couple in that category or do what.

Melissa Pearson: [00:40:33] I’m saying it depends on what it is. A restaurant is so transactional. We’re going to have a lot of restaurants all over the Atlanta area, whereas maybe a counselor, we don’t have as many. You know, it’s not as transactional. So it just depends on what category it is and where it is.

Brian Pruett: [00:40:52] But there’s no exclusivity, right? You don’t know. Okay. All right. So other than the reason of why you shared of being the barter and stuff, why is it important for you to be part of the community? Because you’re everywhere as well.

Melissa Pearson: [00:41:02] Well, I don’t want to be just a taker. I want to be a giver as well. And I want to help people grow. I’ve been in advertising all the time and that’s what I did with numbers. I would help businesses grow and we have a ton of advertising. I think that’s the most brilliant thing people can do, is invest their barter dollars back into advertising. Could be TV, radio, magazines, direct mail. I mean, tons of different things.

Brian Pruett: [00:41:27] So you actually had started a business before, right? You were in between when you did your own business. And I’m going to ask this for you, Jenny, as well, too. But Melissa, first, can you share with somebody who may be thinking about starting their business what they should do.

Melissa Pearson: [00:41:44] Really look at the numbers and investigate it and the trends, too? I kind of I had a money mailer and I could have been successful if I had a mr. Melissa, but it was just me, so I didn’t have that backup. I don’t know.

Brian Pruett: [00:42:01] If we could have the. Mr..

Melissa Pearson: [00:42:02] Melissa You just wait till we get outside.

Brian Pruett: [00:42:07] Brian Jenny, how about you? If somebody is thinking about starting a business because you’ve now obviously been in for a while, what would you tell them?

Jenny Cantrell: [00:42:15] Well, first of all, is there a need if, you know, you may be let’s just use this as an example. Let’s say that you love making cupcakes and that’s your passion and whatever. But if there’s no need for cupcakes, how are you going to sell it? Because you have to be able to sell it and make money to provide for yourself. So there has to be a need. You have to count the cost of really getting detailed about what it’s going to cost you to start up, and you need to have several months advance for when money is not coming in to to take care of yourself and your needs and buy more supplies and so forth. So you’ve got to have some cash flow to carry you until the money is coming in for that. And you have to just if there’s a need and you’ve got the money, then you have to do it in spite of being afraid.

Brian Pruett: [00:43:29] Sharon I like how she gave the example of cupcakes and what she does, and she brings up cupcakes.

Melissa Pearson: [00:43:34] There’s a need to eat them, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:43:37] She balances it out a little bit. Probably is. Okay. Maybe a little.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:43:40] Yeah, that was a bad example, I’m telling you.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:43] Green cupcakes. Green cupcakes.

Brian Pruett: [00:43:45] So, Melissa, if somebody’s listening that has a business and wants to be a part of your barter system, barter company, how can they get Ahold of you?

Melissa Pearson: [00:43:54] They can call me on my cell at (404) 375-9023. Or email me at melissa@bartaco.com. That’s Melissa at barter co.com.

Brian Pruett: [00:44:10] Awesome. Well thank you. I was sharing last week Sharon not Sharon. Sharon sharing. Last week we had Shannon Bowfield on last week as one of the guests and he was he shared what he did at the Castle Business Club on the written written word and how powerful that is. And and one of the things that I also said at the end of the show, too, was that the thank yous are a lost art as well. So I want to thank each of you for not only just coming to be a part of the show, but what you guys do because it does make a difference. You you, the two of you, Jenny and Ingrid are making people in difference lives and you’re making people in difference businesses. So I just thank you for that. So before we wrap this up, I have one more question for the three of you. And I’d like for you guys to share one nugget quote word, just a positive thing that people can take and live today and the rest of 2023 and beyond with. So, Jenny, give me some wisdom.

Jenny Cantrell: [00:45:04] One of my favorite quotes is if it is to be, it’s up to me.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:11] I like that. Awesome. Ingrid.

Ingrid Weir: [00:45:13] My favorite quote is from The Lorax. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:21] Nice.

Melissa Pearson: [00:45:22] Melissa I have several quotes, but my most recent is Sidewalk Prophets. I heard a song Reason to Smile and that has stuck with me with these times because he wrote it. Just because of that. To look around and be thankful for what you have instead of looking at all the other stuff that’s going on in the world.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:46] All good. Good stuff. So, guys, again, thank you for coming to be a part of the show. Everybody out there listening. Let’s remember. Let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.