Daron Babin’s Post

Hello LinkedIn, I'm Adam, the face and spirit behind Herben Influence, your new favorite cannabis lifestyle brand. 🌿✨ I’ve been shaking up Instagram with my green insights and now, I’m ready to branch out here! So, how did Herben Influence grow from a seedling to a full-blown canopy? It all started with a dream, a couple of pots (plant pots, mind you 😉), and an unshakeable belief that the world needed a splash more green. I knew cannabis wasn’t just about enjoyment; it's a lifestyle, a community, and for many, a lifesaver. 🚀 From late nights brainstorming in my living room (which sometimes looked more like a jungle), to endless cups of coffee that probably should've been replaced with water (hydration is key, folks!), we’ve come a long way. Our rapid growth? All organic, baby! (And I’m not just talking about our products.) It’s been a wild ride of engaging content, community building, and just a sprinkle of chaos. Now, Herben Influence isn't just a brand; it's a movement. And hey, if I can turn my passion for green into a thriving community, imagine what a little plant power can do for you! 🌱💪 Looking forward to growing together, Jibz 🎤💚 #CannabisCommunity #FromSeedToSuccess #HerbenInfluence #EntrepreneurLife #PlantPower

Good morning, LinkedIn family! 👋 In the fascinating world of green gold that is cannabis 🌿, not every seed planted grows to see the light of day. Yes, while some companies bud, sadly, others wilt despite the promising, fertile environment. So, today let's talk about those weed companies that embraced the eternal sleep. 💤 So, what really caused the decline 📉 of these once blooming empires? Was it financials? Legislation? Market competition? Or simply, a case of bad germination? 🤔 Let's unpack some reasons: • Regulatory changes: One of the major weed whackers, regulatory changes can be like unexpected frost on a clear summer night. Regulations in the cannabis industry are always mutating and for some, it can be a hard frost to weather. 🌨️ • Market competition: In the vast garden of Cannabis, it's a battle for sunlight and nutrients, aka market share and consumer preference. Some plants, unfortunately, just don't receive enough sunlight. ☀️ • Capital drought: Another vital ingredient to growth. Even in the most fertile of soils, a plant can't thrive without enough water. Similarly, businesses can't survive without cash flow. In this industry, raising capital can sometimes be like trying to summon rain in the desert. 🌵 Now, are there lessons to learn from these wilted dreams? Absolutely! Successful cultivation, whether of plants or businesses, requires patience, perseverance, and a keen understanding of one's environment.🌱 So let’s plant seeds of learning from these scenarios. Now it's your turn: What other reasons do you think have contributed to the demise of some weed companies? 💬 Don't be shy, share your thoughts! And remember, you got this enlightening content from CannabisRadio.com 📻. If you enjoyed it, don't forget to like, share and comment and be part of our growing community. Thanks for reading and lighting up the conversation! 🔥

With the New Year here, as are a lot of resolutions. Whether they be personal, professional, or both, a lot of people set some, and even more people never particularly follow through. Since this is LinkedIn, where professionals network with other like-minded professionals, I figured I'd share a few of my professional goals for 2024. My top three are: 1) To start selling vermicast at surrounding Farmers Markets and flea market, especially the one my village has every Wednesday -- in hope to educate my neighbors and other residents the benefits vermicompost has to offer, and to build a reputable consumer base. 2) Build an engaging community online, via Youtube, Tiktok, Facebook, amongst others. Education is power. 3) Scale my business up by learning from any mistakes I made throughout the year. Mistakes are inevitable, so minus well learn what we can from them, and have them inform our decisions! What are some of your resolutions / goals for 2024? #vermicast #vermicompost #greenliving #regenerativeagriculture #greenfuture #newyearsresolution

Have you met the 8 Horseman of The Weedpocalypse? If not, please allow me to introduce them: 1. The Traditional Market 2. Market Saturation  3. Traditional and Licensed Delivery 4. Delta 8/Hemp Derived Products 5. Taxes 280E/State/Local 6. Limited Marketing Channels 7. Burdensome Regulatory Framework 8. The Culture The hard truth is that too many operators looked at licensed cannabis retail and all they saw was a fresh opportunity in a billion-dollar industry. What they got instead was an ass-kicking. Sure, selling weed from a licensed storefront in the light of day is cool as f*ck, but it's also hard as f*ck. The 8 Horseman of The Weedpocalypse ride hard and they will take you out. So, what to do? First things first. Stop wasting time complaining about the injustice of it all on LinkedIn. Complaining is not the solution. Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you into the business. You are not a victim.  So, just stop. The bottom line is that you must develop strategies to hold off the Horsemen if you hope to survive. If you prefer solutions over screaming into the social media abyss, I’ll follow up this post with some strategies I used at Tropicanna as well as some that I’ve seen other successful retailers use in my time with deeproots partners. Be advised: None of them are magic bullets. All of them require real work, imagination, consistency, and a positive attitude in the darkest hours. But it can be done. Look around. There are successful operators out there. You can be one, too.

After sharing about the Our Streets project, I got some great feedback and a lot of folks reaching out via DM (I'm catching up on that, I promise!) But I also got pushback and even a hater or two! #success Texting with the homies Chris Becker and Lauren Mundell afterwards and the dialog went as follows: Chris: "It's funny how when you decide to change something a bunch of people who you've never heard of and have no relevance in their own lives or anyone else's lives will come out of the woodwork to say things like "won't work!" And "you're no different!" Brad: "TOTALLY. Gives me fuel rather than discourage me" Lauren: "As it should. Haters gonna hate bb" Brad: "People don't realize punks run off of weed, alcohol, and naysayers. Tell me I can't do something? That gets me lacing up my boots lol" 👢 ✊ 🔥 🤘 I've become a well experienced traveller on the path of "you can't do this." Been telling these folks my WHOLE A$$ LIFE that I'm gonna do it. Whatever it is. Sometimes it means I learn lessons the hard way. But that's one of the most powerful ways to learn lessons. When you learn lessons the hard way, you become a master in that lesson and teach others. When you just follow the well-worn and typical advice people give you, you never truly learn the lesson and don't know how to avoid the mistake in the future. So I realize my idea is hard for many to grasp. I get that forming a company and speaking out against corporate weed feels contradictory to people on face value. It isn't at all. There's a huge difference between unfettered capitalism and commerce. But I don't need them to get it. I just need to see the vision and make it happen. This is about WAY MORE than just corporate weed. It's about social issues that effect us all locally and mobilizing action towards addressing those issues. Corporate weed is just a perfect example of how weed lost its way in unrestrained capitalism and went away from activism. For the skeptics that are concerned this is just an inauthentic play to pander to punk rockers, I love you. Thank you for being skeptical. Hot Topic really did a number on counterculture and I couldn't agree more with avoiding that outcome. Those that know me well know exactly how I'll make this work and know I am more concerned about keeping it authentic than I am with it making cash. In the meantime, I'm gonna keep doing what I know matters. And perhaps I'll prove the naysayers wrong. That doesn't mean much to me. Pointing out that I was right all along isn't the win for me. Showing the impact of what being right meant to others is the win for me. Subtle difference. Maybe. Maybe not. 🤷♂️ (please mind the Midjourney bad mockup with the floating laces lol)

If you wake up in the middle of the night and one of your first thoughts is about the crop.. You might be a GrowGetter. If you enjoy long walks in the crop instead of the beach… You might be a GrowGetter. If you feel the giddy excitement of the first roots popping in each propagation crop.. You might be a GrowGetter. If you don’t put up with any bullshit that gets in the way of the mission You might be a GrowGetter. If you drive into the farm on your day off to give it a once over and make sure the team has what they need.. You might be a GrowGetter. If you show off family photos directly followed by crop glamour shots.. You might be a GrowGetter. If you #cantstopwontstop growing personally and professionally.. You might be a GrowGetter. If your Christmas wish list includes one or more pieces of grow equipment (👀 the new AROYA (by Addium) GO ).. You might be a GrowGetter. If you look at new challenges as opportunities for growth.. You might be a GrowGetter. Crazy to think there are some folks in my network that are GrowGettin it on the daily? I am grateful to know a few of them: - Drew Nowak - Tim Nolan - Allison Justice, PhD. - Matthew Indest, PhD - Brian Watkins - Corey Lord - Ashley Manning, GsD.🏳️🌈 #GrowGritSome today! #michigancannabis #cannabiscultivation

TAKING IT EASY So, I've been absent from LinkedIn for about the past five or six weeks. And if you're the sort of person who actively follows me on other social media platforms (i.e.: Facebook, Insta, etc...), you'll have noticed that the same has been true over there, too. I've been more than a bit occupied, dealing with a sudden and unexpected family emergency, which has put the posting of... Well... Anything, at the bottom of my priority list. All of this has also taken me away from business matters and dealings. And now that things are getting back to semi-normal, I'm taking the time to look at the world of business – the mushroom business, especially – with the perspective and "fresh eyes" that a break provides. And I've decided to just take it easy. What the hell does this mean? Well, I've really been thinking about the opportunities – and lack of opportunities – that are out there for people working in the "mushroom industry," while at the same time doing a deep dive into upcoming changes in State laws and regulations. Myself, I live in Oregon, and though the laws specific to mushrooms – and the enforcement of these laws – have been fairly loose the past few years, things get an overhaul this coming September. Oregon House Bill 4002, which was signed by the Governor a few months back, tightens up the enforcement AND penalties for anyone caught with small quantities of controlled substances, with no "carve out" provided for psychedelics, aside from the therapeutic administration of psilocybin mushrooms in licensed facilities. In chatting with attorneys I've been told: "Anyone working in a psilocybin-related business that is not directly connected to a certified psilocybin therapy facility should be very concerned about the upcoming change in the law, and VERY cautious." And so I've decided to just take it easy for the time being. If you want to chat with me about mushroom cultivation, I'm happy to provide general information – via Zoom – for about the next three months, but I won't be doing any public/in-person demos. Again, I'm just going to take it easy.

Happy New Year everyone. First day back at my desk and I haven’t thought about work once! As if!!!!!!!! For the last week, all I’ve been thinking about are the first 2 jobs of the year which start today and end around the 15th and while I’m working on these drumming up business at the same time with the help of you lovely lot and my (also lovely) current clients. James Clear says ‘Peer pressure is only bad when you’re surrounded by bad influences’, but it also works the opposite way around too. That’s why LinkedIn works. Humans are basically cattle, we have a herd mentality and this is one big herd, but a herd of peers who all want the same thing and have the same thing in common. We all want to get in shape, and get fitter in whatever we’ve decided to do in life by mixing and connecting with like-minded people. Finding the right herd is the challenge and then standing out in that herd is the next challenge. Good luck everyone, especially to all the start-ups out there taking the plunge in 2024. #startupsuccess #startupstories #soletraders #animatedvideocontent

𝘿𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩? Over the weekend I was watching a new show called 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙘𝙗𝙚𝙚 𝘿𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙮. It’s centered around 4 sons that help their father, 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑀𝑐𝑏𝑒𝑒 run their family owned ranch, 𝙈𝙘𝙗𝙚𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝘾𝙤. One of the younger sons, Cole, always feels like the work he does for the ranch isn’t valued enough, especially when compared with the work his older brother, Steven. Cole spends his days out in the fields working. He runs the machines, handles the crops, cattle, etc. Steven spends most of his days working in the office, handling the more business & technical side of the ranch. During the episode I watched, Cole claimed that he worked “harder” than Steve. He does all the “farm work” while Steve just “sits in the office”. An argument ended up ensuing, and at the end of it Cole’s ego took a hit because neither his father or brothers took him seriously. Now, why is that? Why is it, that the family doesn’t take the work that Cole does seriously? Ignorant people would say it’s because they’re “stuck up” or “unappreciative” But the real reason is due to a simple truth. And the truth is, society places the least amount of 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 on people who do manual labor. (Laborers) While placing the 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 amount of 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 on people who innovate/create (Creators) On the day that Cole was complaining, Steven thought of and invested into a new revenue stream that the ranch needed. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist for anyone to see the contrast between creating an additional revenue source and working outside on a field. Cole may work “hard” but ultimately because of the type of work he does he's seen as a commodity. He's seen as a commodity because anyone can show up to work and complete the same task day in and day out. But not everyone can show up to work as a creator or an innovator. And that’s what Steven does when he “sits in the office”. You want to be seen as valuable? You want to be respected? Show up to life and to work everyday like Steven. Be the person that creates a smoother system for optimal production. Be someone that spots and seizes opportunities. Be the brains of an operation, not the brawn. The blood, sweat, and tears of manual labor isn’t valued as much as you think it is. When you participate in that type of work you’re ultimately just seen as a tool. And like a tool you’re easy to replace and cast aside. Don't be just a tool, be an asset. Don't be a Cole, be a Steven.

Stories are powerful. In First Nations cultures millenia of knowledge is woven into Songlines, which transfers complex information of the land, animals, and how humans can not simply survive - but thrive - and care for Country. Western scientific discovery is not even close to catching up to the knowledge embedded in these Songlines. In the same way, the stories we share between ourselves convey knowledge and experiences that help us not only survive, but thrive in the world we live in today. Early in my career I worked in big companies. Even as a junior we knew to watch out for X partner if he'd been drinking, or Y partner's tendency to get abusive if you committed certain transgressions - this might be as simple as providing a document with an angled staple when he preferred his staples parallel to the long edge of the page. We learnt to avoid these transgressions and the anger that followed. In startups though things are different. Our organisations are smaller, power is concentrated in a small number of people, team structures and norms evolve as the business rapidly grows. How do we hear the stories that will teach us what to look out for and how to respond when lines are crossed? Today we are proud to launch Grapevine - our digital offering to the Australian tech community to share our knowledge, rally support, and hold the ecosystem accountable for creating safe and equitable workplaces, where everyone is empowered to thrive. We are launching Grapevine because we believe that the tech industry has structural vulnerabilities that make it susceptible to issues of bullying and harrassment. But in our small organisations, how do recipients of this behaviour learn how to recognise when a line is crossed? How do inexperienced leaders learn how to respond? How do the people carrying out these behaviours learn to be better? Grapevine is a grassroots initiative led by founders, operators, investors and leaders within the Australian tech ecosystem. We hope these stories will drive a dialogue with your teams, friends, and yoursel - and through that, make our ecosystem a stronger place where all can thrive. Connect with the Grapevine below 👇 👩💻Submit your story to the Grapevine at askthegrapevine.com 📥 Support the grapevine here: 📷 Follow on insta @askthegrapevine 💼 Follow our LinkedIn page Grapevine #WomenInTech #Technology #Startups #AskTheGrapevine