329: From Orphanage to A $231 Million Exit: The Mindset Behind the Journey

Speaker A: Hello and welcome to a new episode of the Business of Meeting podcast. Today I have an absolutely incredible guest. I heard her speaking at MPI World Education Conference and her story is absolutely amazing. Totally amazing. She's a self made entrepreneur, she's an author, she's uh, obviously recognized internationally. Uh, she's born in Mexico and was raised among 68 children in an orphanage. She came to the US on the basketball scholarship. Uh, she survived homelessness and she launched Maggie's All Natural Fresh Salsa in dips with just $800. Fast forward to about 2015. I believe she sold the business for 231 million million dollar. Uh, but she was also extremely humble. Her story is one of the most fascinating, uh, stories that I've ever heard and I'm so pleased that Dr. Maggie Cook is my guest today. Maggie, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker A: I was listening to you and was like, wow, wow, wow. Every part of your story is just fascinating. And the entire room was like you could hear a fly, flies, as they say in English. And then you went from making us cry, making us laugh, uh, inspiring. Absolutely phenomenal. So if you don't mind, let's start with the beginning. And uh, tell us a little bit about the beginning of your journey.

Speaker B: Yes, it started in an orphanage in, uh, the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico. My parents took in over 68 kids through the years and most of them adopted and there was only them two as caregivers. So it was always a challenge. There was always adversities, there's always some form of suffering or another from being hungry for weeks to suffering emotional, physical abuse, um, psychological abuse. And because we only had two people caring for us. But I had, uh, an epiphany at 6 years old when I saw so much suffering. I saw, I remember one thing and I remember turning up to the sky and just saying to myself, I'm going to be and do something big so that I can perhaps maybe be an inspiration, inspire change from the suffering. And that was my aha moment. That was the inception of an ambitious goal and that was to focus my mind to future, to seeing myself as a successful person instead of being stuck in the patterns of hurt or suffering. And it all started, really started when I built my cave in a canyon. And I would live out of this cave. It was about 2 meters deep by 5 meters long. And I would literally go in there and future cast myself into success. And I did that for, you know, when uh, I, until I was 14. The cave was discovered. And, you know, then I ventured into trying to figure out something else. But it's almost like it felt like sort of being in a prison for 18 years of my life because I couldn't go anywhere. But I wouldn't say it was a prison 100% of the time, because I use my mind to escape that. I use my mind to think and believe that I was something else, or I would jump into an attractive character like a superhero or a basketball player or something to distract me from what I was suffering. And I think that's really where my teachings on mindset come to play, but also on overcoming adversity and reframing and looking at the opposite is true. When we are so stuck in the adversity, we forget to really even think about the other side. And I didn't want to be stuck. I wanted hope for something better. And that gave me the hunger and the passion and the fire to continue to do what I was doing, even though I haven't lived outside of that, uh, barbed wire fence in that orphanage. So we were in the mountains of Michoacan, very, very secluded from civilization. Really, the very first time that I came out of there to live in a place that was different than that was coming to the US which was another whole culture shock in itself. But it's been such an amazing experience. But I will tell you this, that I would never, I would not change a, uh, thing about it, because I really believe that no matter how you suffer, it begins to create the person that you're meant to become if you choose that path, because there's always the other way. One of the biggest things for me is that I come to understand now that fear and joy cannot, uh, coexist at the same time in the body because they occupy different parts of the brain. So what do you feed? And that's really what you bring more of.

Speaker A: That's amazing. And listening to you, I can clearly see those words coming out of the mouth of an adult. And as a dad of three daughters, I've always tried to raise them to become independent. We say give them roots and wings. And I remember sticking on the fridge this quote from Sheryl Sandberg and her book Lean In. If anybody tell you that you are bossy, tell them that you have executive leadership skills. Okay? So I love that. But how in the environment in which you are living, how does a 6 year old have those thoughts? Is somebody talk to you? Is that a divine intervention? Because it's amazing what you're just describing

Speaker B: Well, I know I just made a decision, and I made a decision. It was almost like I was in power pose. Like, yes, I'm gonna, like, not be stuck in these ways. I want a way out. I want a better life. And. And that was the attitude that I had. I had this, um, this Mowgli in the Jungle Book, you know, attitude, you know, that everything was possible for me, no matter what I was seeing. M. It was sort of like this different character that I built. And I believe maybe, uh, perhaps I was born with some of it. But the worst thing that I experienced wasn't the fact that I was physically harmed or abused. It was when I experienced that done to others. And I try to do everything to prevent that from them, for them, because that's what made me suffer the most. So I was determined that when I grow up, this is not going to happen anymore. It's crazy, because 30 years later, I was able to go back to the orphanage that I was born into, and I was able to rescue all of them, all 31 kids. And buy a cartel, Actually, that was taken over. But when I was really young, I would have these nightmares that I tried to save all of them, but I could only save five. And those. I actually had nightmares where I would wake up screaming up until college. And my teammates, my basketball teammates, because I lived in the dorms, they would be so frantic and scared for me, and. But it's something that I eventually dealt with. But I was. It's like life always brings you back full circle. Right. And you never take anything for granted. I do things now that keep me grounded, you know, no matter how successful you are, because it's so easy to get derailed by shiny things.

Speaker A: Are you still having those nightmares?

Speaker B: No, I dealt with it. I dealt with it. So you want to know what it is? I actually never talked about this. So when I was in college, I made a decision to stop that cycle of the nightmares. And I actually tattooed symbols on each one of my wings, my arms, my. In the back of my. And they say, one says to dream and to fly.

Speaker A: Uh-huh.

Speaker B: Because my dreams were about flying and trying to get away from the orphanage and then teaching them how to fly so they could fly away with me. So my reframe was to dream and to fly in life high so that I could go back and do something about it.

Speaker A: And as soon as you had those tattoos done.

Speaker B: Done.

Speaker A: Wow. Wow. So from 6 to 14, you are getting refuse in this cave, which, you know, Plato's cave is like, literally, what. What you did. What are you thinking about, uh, when you are in this cave alone and how many hours a week do you spend there?

Speaker B: Yes. So, uh, during the weekday, because we had school starting from when I was born, I always lived in the orphanage. So the weekends were the most free time that we had. There was also the most free time for punishment, most free time for anything else that could go bad or wrong. When I was really young, my only option was the cave which I built in this canyon. And when I grew a little bit older, actually around 11 years old or so, then I had another option that was to teach myself how to break or tame horses and become a horse rider. And this is when I would flee to the mountains. And, um, I actually used to remember seeing that photo of me that looks like Mowgli, really at the event. Remember that photo on the horse? That's what. Exactly what I look like. And my cave was a place where I would just be in silent in the weekends and nobody would ever find me. And there were so many kids too. So you weren't asked to be present anywhere unless it was for school during the week. But I remember, uh, that I would future cast myself to success. And I would imagine that I was this super successful woman with long hair, even though I have short hair. And I would visualize that I was dressed in a suit with heels behind the mahogany desk. And it had my name on it. And I believe that that came from. We had one movie that we watched for so many years. That's all we had in the orphanage. And we would watch it over and over again. And it was about. It had a scene of a successful, um, woman. And I just thought that that was the definition of hope for being able to make my own decisions without being compromised by anybody else. To have to own my power. And that's why what I internalized. And I would see myself as that. Ultimately becoming that person.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: That I am today.

Speaker A: So when you're 14, they discover your cave.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: You must be devastated.

Speaker B: Yes. I think you saw that photo also when I was 14 on that cave. And I was devastated because what happened next is there are so many kids that also went to the mountains on the weekends. And now they were. It was occupied by them. So I no longer had a secret hiding place. So what I did next is it was scary because my idea was to go outside of the property line. And it's a big, big compound in the mountains. And I've never done that. Other kids have done that, but I've never done that. And I was scared, but I thought, what if the scariest thing, the next best thing, is what it becomes? You know, what if that scary thing becomes the next best thing? And so I had the courage and I was so scared to start walking outside of that bar. Bar fence. And I come across this village, and these peasant people just look at me strange because I'm, um, just this little girl. Probably looked like a little boy, the way that I was dressed in rags and my hair. But they took me, and they fed me the most delicious taquitos, the frijoles con salsa. Oh, my gosh, you have no idea how good they were. Because the way that we ate when we had food was no flavor at all, not even salt. It would be, like, full vegetables and water. And we cooked it because, uh, that's, you know, we didn't know how to cook. That's what we had. And I said, can you teach me how to do this so that I can go back and share it with my brothers and sisters, just so that I could see them smile? And that's where salsa begin. Without even knowing there would be something that would happen in the future where I would share it again. To be entered in a salsa contest and then become the very beginning of my fresh salsa entrepreneurship career.

Speaker A: That's amazing. So you're 14, and, um, you came to discover, you take some risk. What is happening in your mind when you say, okay, you have all this image, this mindset of what you want to be successful, and then you see the environment that seems to limit your opportunities and maybe tell us a little bit how you get to the US On a scholarship.

Speaker B: Yes. When I was in junior high, I started thinking, I think I have this entrepreneurial mind just because of what I wanted to become and come out of the circumstances there. But I started to ask myself, what is one thing that I could start doing that I could capitalize to get me out of here? And back then in Mexico, there was sports, and I love playing sports. And I was looking at soccer, and I was looking at basketball. Soccer, everybody played. Basketball was a new thing, especially for girls. So I decided to do the thing that nobody else was hardly doing. Actually the same thing I did with my salsa, of course. And, uh, I remember going by my principal's office, which was a teeny, tiny brick building, and I saw he had a black and white TV that was really long at the top of one of the cabinets. And I said, hey, can I come and watch Michael Jordan play when I'm on break? Because I saw Michael Jordan play I didn't even know his name, but I saw his moves, and I was so intrigued by it, and I said, can I come? Because the physical education teacher gave us the basketball and actually kicked it and said, play. So he's not even teaching us how to play. He didn't know. And so he said yes. And I started watching him play. Started, uh, going back to the orphanage, and I would play with a. Like a bandana or something around my eyes. And I had, um, an adopted brother that I was carrying that week, because when I was growing up, they paired me up with an adult. And when I was, like, a young adult, they paired me up with a young kid. And that's how we took care of each other. So that week was I was with Pancho, which he had spinal bifida. My caregivers found him on a dumpster. And that's how he came to be in the orphanage, because he was disposed. But I had this idea to tell Pancho, hey, why don't you. You know, this is the basketball court. Why don't you tell me, stop, turn. Whenever I get to the edge, because I don't want to hurt myself. So that's how I started practicing basketball. And I would future cast. I would imagine a, uh, lot of people coming towards me, trying to steal the ball from me, and I would dribble between my legs behind my back, and I would do all these moves blindfolded. One point, Bancho stopped telling me, stop, turn. And I hit the pole. And I had stitches on my forehead. And I asked him why? And he says, I thought you were looking. So I knew that I was getting better. But in high school, we played basketball, won all of the championships, and got recruited to play basketball for the Mexican national team in Mexico City. And my caregiver, we went to Mexico City, and they saw me play. You remember seeing the invitation letter on my presentation, and they wanted me to play, but they were still looking at other women because they were recruiting. So they said, we'll get back with you. My father and I went back to the orphanage, and we waited for about three months. Didn't hear anything. One day he pulls out on an American football and starts throwing it with me and my brothers. And we started to play. And one of those big, big throws by one of my brothers, his name was Julio, he threw this long pass, and I caught it in the air, but I landed on my left shoulder and I broke my collarbone. And you can see the little rupture there. And it scared me. So I went to my father Who's a doctor. And he was so rough. And he actually took my should went like this because it, uh, was the breaker chair was like this. So he kind of, like, extended it, and he said, your dreams are over. That's what came out of his mouth. As soon as he did that, I went into this fighter mode, saying, no, wait a minute. No. If this happened better, there's got to be a reason for it. And I started to repeat that mantra in my mind to try to distract me because it was so overwhelming. So I kept saying, kept saying, kept saying. And I. Soon enough, I began believing, believing, believing. But when that happened, three days later, the Mexican national team called, and I couldn't go. But what happened was that my parents took a bus, ah, with all of my 68 siblings, and actually removed half of the seats so we could fit, um, in the bus. They toured the United States to raise funds for the orphanage. And we asked to stop at a picnic in Charleston, West Virginia, here in the United States. And when we arrived, there was a picnic. There was a lot of people. There's balloons. But the only thing that I could see with my brothers was that basketball court that was behind the picnic. It was one of those exterior basketball courts beside a Catholic church. And we just started to run and grab the ball and started to play. This was months later, so I had healed. And that day, there happened to be the coach of the University of Charleston, and she saw me play.

Speaker A: I remember you say that, uh, she

Speaker B: told my father I want her to come play for me on a scholarship. And the thing that I tell people is that if I would have listened to my father, who's a doctor, and not play that day, I wouldn't be speaking to you today. Sometimes it's the closest people to you that will impede you from fulfilling your dreams because they don't believe enough in you. But you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else believes in you. And I always say that not playing for the Mexican national team is the best thing that never happened to me because I'm here.

Speaker A: Good thing. You never know.

Speaker B: Yeah. That's why I'm here with you. Speaking these words with you.

Speaker A: Do you believe in angels?

Speaker B: Absolutely. I have chills. You just said that. My whole body.

Speaker A: Because this is another, I mean, part of your life. What are the odds that, uh, the coach of, uh, the university will be there and will see you?

Speaker B: Yes. I think that when you decide to have a mindset that only sees possibility of what's good instead of the opposite, that you begin to attract, but not only attract, but see, recognize people, places, circumstances. And then you take action because you recognize they're there because you're laser focused on that thing that you're hoping for. When it shows up, you recognize that and they take that, the action. If you didn't have that type of ability to see, you would be still in the same place because you didn't give your yourself permission and have that option to see far beyond what is actually could be possible for you.

Speaker A: Wow. I have to ask you, uh, a more trivial question when you're coming to the US for the first time. I mean, I moved from Belgium, okay, so we have supermarket everything. But when I come to the US just going to Costco, for instance, it's like, wow, this is crazy. The amount of choice. Um, you know, you go to a restaurant, uh, in Belgium that you have one option and here you have 15 options for the meat, for the sauce, for the this, for the that. What is your reaction when you coming with your, the 68 kids for the first time to the US and you see the environment, how people live, which by the way, they take for granted.

Speaker B: I didn't get much to, uh, experience other than seeing people where they were meeting us at. But what I will tell you that blew my mind was when we would stop at a McDonald's and my dad would send me and my brothers to get 150 egg, uh, McMuffins. And they would say, what? No. And then my dad had to come by and confirm that it was true. So they would have to shut down for anybody else to just feed us. When we would stay in hotel rooms, it would be like a whole block of 15 hotel rooms to fit several kids in one. Um, so I didn't get to go into a Costco or Sam's like to see that. But I did recognize and understand that people were living very differently here. It was a different kind of energy way of life, the way people interacted with each other. And that's the first time that I realized I didn't grow up in a normal family. Because here's a family that has two or three kids. Here's my family. That's all I know. That's, you know, at some points we had over 200 kids living there. And I saw the affection, the love, the care within that family that I never had, like for example, a hug or an I love you. And I saw those differences. But as far as resources, I mean, I could see from other different perspectives that definitely it was very, very different than Living in a village in the mountains of Michoacan, Mexico, with very limited resources.

Speaker A: So you arrive at, uh, Charles, uh, Charleston.

Speaker B: Charleston, West Virginia.

Speaker A: Charleston, yeah. You arrived there for the basketball team. Um, how about English? Because obviously I have an accent and I learn English, but still. Where did you learn English? I mean, it's amazing how fluent you are today.

Speaker B: Yes. So when I came to the United States, I didn't know any English, and that was probably the hardest thing. I actually had to go and take, go to some kind of class and take lessons for learning English to pass the TOEFL test, which was something that they require at least, like the minimum to get into college. And I honestly don't remember how I passed, but I got into college and I remember that the thing that I was so blessed by the university is that it was a private, small university. So even after speaking with my teachers, you know, giving the class, I was able to meet with, um, them one on one after the class, to be able to. But not knowing any English, coming here was the most difficult thing aside from being culture shocked by being in a totally different environment. I mean, if you picture yourself being in an orphanage in the mountains of a third world country and then coming to this fruitful environment in America in college. The only thing that I would say that was very similar to the orphanage was that there was dorms. Right. And college had dorms, except for we had these large rooms with big bunk beds. But it was quite a different experience. And the reason why I learn English so well is because there's no one that spoke Spanish. M. No one. And I'm such a perfectionist, you know, adhd, and I really taught myself how to speak English, uh, in the best way possible. And I think I'm so grateful for being in West Virginia at that college because I will tell you that I will speak with my sisters who move to Florida. And their Spanish, their English is so broken, much worse than mine. And that's how I know the difference.

Speaker A: Absolutely. I'm just thinking about my three daughters. When we came here, none of them spoke English. And a few years later, taking advanced, uh, class in English and everything is just fascinating. But we kept French at home, but at school it was only English and nobody else spoke any other language. So the immersion, uh, obviously is helping. Now you're going through college, you're graduating college, and then what, you're going to play for a, uh, wnba or what's going to happen?

Speaker B: No. So it's funny you say that because you remind me of something when I Was in college. So I paid for my schooling. It was a private, very expensive college. So I had a scholarship in basketball. I got a scholarship to play soccer, got a scholarship to Rogue Crew. And I was running and I was cutting, uh, trees on the weekends. So I paid for my way. And I still don't know how I did it. I was just so determined to be successful and still graduated with a 3.8 GPA or GPA. But when I graduated college, so the only option that I had for a degree was interior design, because that's the only degree that was closest to architecture and architecture, because when I was in junior high, high school in Mexico, they start teaching you, they give you options to choose from. And one of them was architecture. So I went into that. And so when I graduated with a degree in interior design in West Virginia, there was a statistic that came out that said that 90 some percent of the people that were with that degree had to either couldn't find a job or had to move out of the state. And so I was one of those statistics. I remember there's two interior design firms in the state. And I kept reaching out, couldn't get hired. So I became homeless. And I started living out on my white station wagon. I called it the Maggie Waggy. And it was during the wintertime, so I would turn on the heat so high to be able to sleep. And then when it was so hot, I would turn it off. Then it would get so cold, I would wake up again. A station wagon, that car has a thing in the back that folds out. It's almost like a huge bed. So it was really nice for me. And then one of those days, I was driving through the West Virginia hills and my engine exploded. And I had no idea about what to do, anything, uh, with vehicles. So I just picked up my bags and left the car in flames on the side of the road. And I started just living in the woods. And it was so interesting because when I started becoming successful with my salsa company and I was delivering products back door to the supermarket called Kroger in West Virginia, there was a lady that was checking out at the counter. I, uh, would deliver the products to the back and come to the front and they would give me a check. And there was a lady in there that was checking out from her purchase, and she said, oh, my gosh, I, I remember you used to be homeless and look at where you are now. And I was like, wait a minute, I was homeless. But I never thought that I was because I lived in the woods. In Mexico. So for me to live in the woods in West Virginia. And I didn't have much money. So I remember I bought ramen noodles for, like, a few cents. And I would go to the gas station and pretend that I was a customer. And I would fill it with water, put it in the microwave, and that's how I fed myself through that time. It was about three months. So I was found in the street from, uh, one of the cooks at the University of Charleston. She found me, and she says, what are you doing? You're crazy. So she reached out to the president of the university, and they gave me a place to stay at the dorms when everybody. When school was out. And not kidding you, it was maybe like four or five weeks later, I got entered into a salsa contest for the entire state of West Virginia. And the contest was for fresh salsa. And the reason why I was entered to that contest is because when I was in college, I would make fresh salsa for my friends just so that I could make them happy, just like what I did with the orphanage kids. And when I made the salsa, it was so good that they told tell my teachers. My teachers would call me and ask me to bring it to class. So now it was known as the salsa lady. And that's how I was entered. I don't even remember who entered me. So I go into this contest, and I was the only Latin American person. Everybody else was, uh, white people, like, older. And I noticed that what they brought was cooked salsas, like, tostito salsa. And I was like, I think I'm gonna win. But I kept, like, humble, and I went through that, won everything. What do you call it? People's choice, like, when everybody votes, but aside from the judges, you know, they judge. And I was like, oh, my gosh. I had an aha moment. Maybe this could be something. And I remember there's a gentleman. He was dressed in business. And have you ever been in a situation where you are interacting with people, but somebody's looking at you very strongly, that you can feel them? I felt that from him. But I kept talking to people because they were asking me, where do you sell this? Where can we buy it? And I was like, I don't sell it anywhere. Just trying to get my life together. So he comes to me after everybody leaves, and he reaches out to his wallet, and he says, you don't know me, but I see that you have this passion, this fire. This is what I have in my wallet. I want you to have it, and I want you to start your business. He pulled $800 and he said, I don't want anything into return as long as someday you pay it forward. Whoa, I have chills. I haven't told that story in a long time. And I remember that my whole body has chills. I remember that I went, the first thing that I bought was a small food processor, that it was the best well spent $800 of my life. I bought containers, stickers, and I started selling it for, uh, the product for $5 a pint. I would make it in batches of gallon, one gallon batches and sell it to friends. And then I discovered that you can buy wholesale. So I started making a little bit more profit and I would visualize that I was a millionaire. I would grab a bunch of $1 bills and be like, woohoo. You know, like I was future casting into the person that I could become because of this. And I remember starting my business because I thought, you know, I made all the pros and cons. Like I told myself, uh, if I have more pros and cons, I'm going to go for it. But I was very, very, how do you say, neutral about both ways because I didn't want to favor one side or the other. And when I realized that I had more pros, then I went and started and got my business license, everything. And I remember that I started making a list, uh, of stores to call from the smallest to the largest. And the reason why is because I've never made cold calls. And I was very scared. So I thought maybe if the little people reject me, it's not going to be as bad. And so the list was couple hundred stores. And I remember I started making these calls and the first thing that they would say, fresh salsa. It was in West Virginia. Nobody knew fresh salsa. As a matter of fact, the health department, the department of Agriculture, the FDA discouraged me from making a fresh product because they said it's not going to sell by the time you have 15 days. Because we did the test. You have 15 days. By the time it gets to the stores, it's going to be five days. Nobody's going to buy it. And I said, no, I'm going to stick to it. They wanted me to be like 99% of everybody else in the shelf that they had that the products lasted for eight years. One day I was doing a, uh, fair and the lady that certified me for production came over and she says, remember when I told you that you should cook your salsa? And I said, yeah. She says, I'm so glad you didn't listen to me. She was the vice president of the Department of Agriculture with the FDA in the state of West Virginia. Uh, so she knew, she knew what, she was working with other people. But I was so different. And what people don't get is this was, uh, a niche. And I capitalized on that. Right now everybody's making salsa. But back then, this is why it grew so fast and so big. But when I'm sitting there making these calls, I get rejected 90 times by 90 supermarkets. And I felt terrible. And I remember putting the list down and saying to myself, I remember a friend came through my little office that I had and she, she, she was like, what are you doing? You're not making any money, you should quit. Just get a job. And. But I knew that I had something because I've seen people's reactions and I've seen how much it was loved. So I remember going to another approach was to go to ready to eat product manufacturers like mine, like salsas, salads and things like that. And I asked them, how did you get your products into the stores? And they were like, oh, took us six years. They're not going to listen to you. You're basically nobody. And I was like, thanks. So I went back to my office and I remember taking a day off because I was just so overwhelmed. And I decided that I was going to try to figure out what my next approach was going to be. And I decided that I really decided to think as wild and as big as I've ever thought about the process that I was doing before. And the idea that came to mind was to take that list and turn it upside down. And that meant that the largest supermarkets were at the bottom of the list. So now they're at the top of the list. So my very, very top supermarket that I would call at some point was the Whole Foods Market, which is the largest organic retail in the United States. And I remember I was sweating, I was so nervous. And I picked up the phone and I said to myself, I hope they don't answer. I hope they don't answer. And I rang, it went to voicemail. And I was like. And I was like, hi, my name is Maria Magdalena la Cruzco Garcia. I have an awesome pico de guy I think you guys would love. And I just hang up.

Speaker A: That's the best pitch I ever heard.

Speaker B: I just hang up. But thankfully I had a website and they searched me.

Speaker A: Really amazing.

Speaker B: The next day I was parked in the city center in my little beater car, really old beat up car. And I get a call, and the guy says, hi, my name is Eric. Is this Maggie? And I said, yeah. He says, oh, this is Eric with Whole Foods. And I about lost it. And he says, we heard about you. We want to know more. When can you come? And I said, well, when do you guys meet? And he says, tomorrow at 9am so if you think about it, I'm in West Virginia, Maryland is. It took me eight hours to get there in my little beater car. So I said, I'll be there. Literally, this was 6pm I go back to the kitchen, make salsa, drive all night long. Barely made it to the distribution center doors with traffic. Barely made at 9am and I was sort of freaking out a little bit because I've never seen a Mid Atlantic distribution center with all of the huge facilities, the dock doors, the tractor trailers, and I was kind of swallowing saliva a little bit. Like, oh, my gosh. I drive in, I, uh, park my car, and I go into the building. They open these doors, and I'm carrying my salsa boxes with my chips on top. And I'm wearing my heels and my little skirt, and I, uh, just clocking through the floor, you could hear my heels. And the halls were so you could just hear, like, the echo. They open these double doors and there's all these buyers, mostly men, in this really long U table. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. Freaking out a little bit. So I put the products on the table. Eric comes over and he welcomes me. And they start opening the boxes and start eating the salsa. It took a little minute, uh, a good minute, until Eric gets up. He didn't even consult anybody. He gets up and he says, we love your products. When can we have them? And I about lost it again. I was. My heart almost dropped off out of my chest. And my first question was, well, how much do you need? Because I saw the vision center, and at that time, I was making about 250lbs of salsa, selling it for $5 a pint. He says, your first order is going to be for £10,000 of salsa. 10,000. And I lost 40 times more. Yes. And long story short, that year we went from making $12,000, uh, a year to $1.9 million with just whole Foods. And what happened was that all of those stores that said no, because I wasn't Whole Foods, no, they wanted. And we grew with $0 of marketing. As a matter of fact, that year, the 2024 year, we grew over 500%. And we were in the news. We were with uh, with a Small Business Administration Awards. Um, it was pretty big. We started.

Speaker A: So let me just come back. Um, the person who gave you the $800, do you know who it is? Did you see this, see that person afterwards?

Speaker B: No, I've never seen him again.

Speaker A: Oh, wow.

Speaker B: Never.

Speaker A: Oh, wow.

Speaker B: But I've paid it forward many, many times and I continue to do that.

Speaker A: I'm sure you do now. You made it sound so, so easy. And so first of all, I appreciate the fact that the guy is named Eric because, uh, every Eric is a nice person. Right. But in all seriousness, you started this business, you grow it to £250 production. And I mean, I'm coaching people that are starting their business as well, that nobody knows what they should be doing, nobody knows how to grow, nobody knows to delegate, nobody. How did you do that? Who helped you? What's happening in your mind? Because you make it sound so simple and of course it's not. I'm sure you have a lot of ups and downs in the process.

Speaker B: Yes. Funny thing that you say, and I hardly ever talk about this, is that I started reaching out to people to help me, including other salsa manufacturers that were cooked salsas, you know, just to help me. And nobody would return my calls. Some, some of them were a little rude. The Small Business Administration couldn't help me because they didn't know anything about my business. So what I did was Google was my research source. I actually spoke at Google not too long ago and I told him, thank God for you, because this is why I'm here today. And that's how I learned. And part of me is so grateful and thankful that I didn't have someone who's already been through the process because I would have perhaps done it, uh, or would have been told it was too hard or would have been discouraged. And I'm thankful for that because it allowed me to do things, uh, with a different, fresh new perspective that I talked to other food manufacturers and they're like, oh my gosh, you did it that way. But I'm glad that I had to go through the, through the struggle. But the one thing if I was going to do it over, uh, is this. At some point I stopped asking for help. I know that if I would have continued to do that even when I grew, when people knew more about, I would have actually done a lot more, grown a lot more. Because I don't think I'm not perfect. There's always limitations to things. There's things that I'm still educating myself about. Business and marketing and things that if I would have continuously tried to connect and hopefully someday get somebody that could be my mentor, I know that I would have done bigger things.

Speaker A: Well, what you've done wasn't bigger thing. Well, everything is relative, I guess. Um, but one question I have, especially in terms of mindset for business owners, I'm the first to be guilty. At the beginning, when I, uh, the first two years of starting my first business, it was, those are my clients. Nobody's going to do it better. I'm going to do everything myself and hardly delegate. Now, uh, what mindset shift and what caused that for you to say, I know how to prepare my salsa? Uh, up to putting the process in place and trusting other people, because you cannot grow otherwise. And trusting other people to be able to do it the same way that you would have done.

Speaker B: Well, the thing is that when I started my salsa company, I had to do everything myself because there was no funds, no money. Banks wouldn't loan me money. Actually, there's a really interesting story of how I got the money for the first order that we can talk about. But what I quickly learned is that when I was able to, when I had the resources of cash, I was able to identify and recognize that there were people out there that, that played at the things that I didn't play, um, at and that I could trust enough to delegate once I looked into them and created those relationships that I was able to trust to hand that over. But the biggest thing that really made my business go to the next level is when I presented the idea to my entire team to think like a CEO. So I would ask them one day we had a meeting, and I said, if you were in my shoes, how would you do every aspect of the job that you're doing? What would I do? And you could just see their, their like a light bulb moment going off in their heads. And then what I proposed next was this. I want you guys to help me because you're going to be part of being thinking CEOs with me. I, uh, want you to help me with. Whenever you have an issue, a problem with whatever you're working with, to try to think what the solution is before acting. Let's meet again collectively will decide if it's a great idea or not. And if your idea comes out to be a great idea, and if we make money on it, you're gonna get incentivized. And what that did, I lit to the fire because everybody was looking for ideas and solutions all the time. They were fighting for Ideas. And at first it was overwhelming, but then it kind of come down, and I realized I created a moment where I was able to let go of everything and let them take on even if I. If I wasn't present, everything would be taken care of.

Speaker A: Interesting. On that note, and before asking you to tell the story of the first loan with the bank.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: How did you manage to fulfill, uh, the first order of whole food going from producing £250 to suddenly 10,000?

Speaker B: Yes, it was. You know that this is one interesting question, because when you are an entrepreneur and you're dreaming of making it, and you're dreaming of creating success, and then you get what your wish granted, but then you're not ready, and then you're not ready to fulfill. Therefore, you fail because it's too much. So, you know, be careful what you wish for, but be ready for what you wish for. And so I had one employee, and we cut 60,000 tomatoes. It took us a whole week to make a, uh, whole foods order. 60,000 tomatoes. And we were so in pain, our arms were stuck like this. But we got this done. Oh, my gosh. I gotta tell you my truck story. How I got the product there.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: But the following week, I realized quickly that I needed people. So I made the calculations. I used Excel for everything for my calculations, salsa the people. And I reached out to the Small Business Administration, and I said, hey, I need 20 people for production. Can you help? And they said, no, we don't do that. Go to the state. They'll be able to help you. So they gave me the number. I called the state, asked them the same question, and they said to me, yeah, we'll have 20 people for you tomorrow. And I was like, really? Because I've never hired people before. And so they gave me the people. I remember I rented a room, and I had all the mostly men in this room. And I was the first thing that I did when I walked into the room, and I said, hey, guys, my name is Maggie Cook. I have an awesome pico de gallo de salsa look. It's the only fresh salsa right now in the United States, and Whole Foods wants it. And I believe that. I believe that. I believe that it can become the largest fresh salsa company, uh, in the. In the U.S. maybe the world. And you guys are going to help me take it there. And they're like, yeah. They were so excited. And this is where it started, the inspiration part of the culture part. Right. So we go back into this production area. I was renting an FDA kitchen. I was Driving an hour every day to get to there. And it was a, uh, kitchen owned by somebody else, but it was FDA approved. So we were making products. And every day during lunch we would meet in the conference room outside, which was the rocks and the dirt, to figure out how to improve because we were growing so fast. And on one of those times we finished our meeting, everybody goes back and there's a gentleman that's sitting outside kind of looking down. He was an African American guy. And I thought that there was something wrong. So I go out there and I talk to him and I said, hey, are you okay? And he looks at me and he's tearing up. And he says, maggie, thank you so much for hiring me. Nobody else would hire me. He says, I just came out of prison and I did this, this and that. And I was like, I was like, no, I don't want to know. I said, listen, let's just go back to work. You're awesome. Because he was an awesome worker. And he goes back to work. I cross the kitchen and I go into a room on the little office and I start shaking. And I call the state and I said, hey, you gave me somebody from prison. And they said, they're all from prison. And I was thinking, I gave them knives. They're all from prison. But, uh, they were the best people I ever had because I was able to bring them to my greater y. And I also realized that because they were prisoners or on work release, that nobody gave him a chance. And that's the not knowing part that made me so successful with the culture and really opening the my eyes to the opportunity that people are really good people. They just, we just make mistakes.

Speaker A: Amazing. And to your point, you would have asked a traditional. Somebody would have said, uh, no, no, never do that.

Speaker B: And yes, yes.

Speaker A: What about the truck story? Because you said yes.

Speaker B: So I am second to the last day to deliver the products to Whole Foods, and I have no truck. This is a fresh product, requires refrigeration. I'm, um, looking everywhere, can't find a truck. Realize quickly I have to get my truck driver's license, my cdl. So I get my license and I'm ready to go, but I just don't have a truck. I go to this junkyard because they referred me to this place, and they have a refrigerated truck. And I rent this truck for $350. And Eric, this truck was so bad. It was worse than a Mexican truck I've ever seen in my life. The wires were sticking out of the Dashboard. The seat wouldn't adjust because it was rusted. And when you drove it, it was making a noise, you know, a bouncy noise. And the stick thing, I call it the stiff chick. I was a stiff chick because I couldn't drive that thing. But the standard didn't have the number, so I had to figure it out. So once I got that flat pavement, testing it, I go back to the production area. The product is ready to go for Whole Foods for the first time. I back this truck. I loaded up top, bottom to the back, completely loaded. I get on the truck and I'm so excited. And I started to drive. But what's in West Virginia? Lots of hills. I come to a stoplight and now my butt is to the back of the seat and I can't reach the pedals. And I'm parked. I'm, um, the first truck. Have you ever sudden agony so bad so quickly. So I'm trying to do this with one hand to pull myself up, right? And I'm trying to do this with the standard to, you know. And I'm doing two things. Well, in my mind, I'm thinking, people are going to laugh because I'm yanking this track truck so much. But then I realized I was too sure nobody could even see me. And then I was thinking, I have a truck. Uh, there's a car behind me. What if I roll back and hit it? So I barely get this truck up the the hill, up the light, and I park it to the side of the road because I had to compose myself. And I asked myself the question, how am I going to make it to Whole Foods? Because there's a lot more hills. It's an eight hour drive on, probably more on this truck. And so I remember that I was smiling and saying, I've made it this far, even though it had been only a mile. And I remember I got off truck and I was looking around and I saw a little piece of woodblock on the side of the road to the right. And I remember that I had duct taped the right mirror because it was falling off. So I went to the. I grabbed the piece of duct tape and I duct taped the piece of woodblock to my shoe and I drove to Whole Foods. But now here's the thing. Something strange was happening when I was driving this thing. There was a leak in the gas tank. So I had to fuel. I had to stop and fuel a lot. That was another adversity just to get there. So when you fuel diesel, you don't park this where the Cars are you park this where the truckers are to fuel. So Eric, every time I got off to feel and pay for gas with my piece of woodblock, you should have seen these truckers faces at some point. I just owned it. But I made it. I made it. I remember I took a video and I was just going, woohoo. I was just so excited because I was hearing them unload the product from the back of the truck. And uh, that's the week that I decided I need more people, I need help. And that's when I went to the state and, you know, got those people to the new, the new crew to help me with production.

Speaker A: So how did you deliver afterwards? After the first order?

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Uh, in terms of production, in terms of transportation and I mean, you cannot be everywhere, so you need to structure your team.

Speaker B: Yes. I could not sleep hardly because I was so excited. I was on fire. I was coming up with solutions very, very quickly. And I was able to delegate and I was able to direct and I was able to create things that were very exciting for me. The challenge was for the first order because it required cost of goods. $20,000. I didn't have $20,000. And I even went to the banks and they rejected me and I felt so bad. And then I went to friends because Whole Foods hired me, right? And they said, you need to deliver £10,000 of salsa, but I have no money. So I went to friends after the banks and I basically told them, can you help me with this? And they said, uh, well, how are you going to pay me back? Exactly what the bank said. So I called Whole Foods and I said, hey, can you put something in writing so that I can share with the people that are, that I can borrow money to show them that we're good for it? And they said, oh yeah, it's called a contract. So I signed the contract with Whole foods and so $20,000 was what I needed. They paid $40,000 every week. So when I borrowed, I paid it back in a week and then every week was 40,000. 40,000. And we just grew. And the funny thing happened that when the bank started seeing the money, started coming to offer loans, and that's when I said, no, thanks.

Speaker A: My first question here with what you say, you signing a contract with Whole Food, where did you learn to look at the contract? Is anybody advising you and helping you?

Speaker B: No, no, no. I didn't know that you could do a contract until they told me. And I remember they were very good to work with me. And I remember looking at everything. But I needed to move fast in order to get this out. And as soon as I was able to show my friends that this is the contract and this is how much they pay a week, it was easy for them to release that money. And I didn't receive any legal advice, any advice for anything. I was just going to. With pure instinct, gut feeling instinct.

Speaker A: Amazing, Amazing. So now the bank want to lend you money, but there's a story that you say you wanted to share is how you get the. The first loan.

Speaker B: No, this is what I. That's the story that I told. Ah, I never got a loan.

Speaker A: Of course not. Yeah, they come to you when everything is, uh.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Showing off. Wow. When you start developing and growing the company. Which year is this?

Speaker B: This. So I started the company in 2004, and 2007 was Whole Foods. Between those years, so I started selling to the capital market where the contest took place. They were the first ones to take me in because they could see that people loved it. And then I was supplying to, I think it was a fish market in a place called Black Ang is Little mom and Pops, just little product here and there. And then it went from very, very little to Whole Foods. Big, big, big. And because of that, we started distributing to 38 states. And then Walmart came along. There's a whole story behind that one. Costco's Whole Foods, of course, Kroger, uh, company, Harris Teeter, uh, supermarkets across 38 states. Then in 2015, my company sold with Garden Fresh to Campbell's for, uh, a quarter of a billion dollars.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we're going to get to that. But as you told me, you still have a little bit of time. And I want you to tell the Walmart story. But imagine that Whole Food would have told you, well, yeah, we're signing a contract with you, but you cannot sell to any other. They don't do that.

Speaker B: No, they don't do that. Not at all. You know, exclusivity was mentioned a couple times, but I didn't want to be put in a box because I wanted to have in. One of the ways that we got into other supermarkets was when people who love the products, tasted them, and they would actually go to like, that's how we got into Harris Teeter Kroger. They would tell them, you need to get this lady's product. And that's how we just grew tremendously.

Speaker A: And what is the Walmart story?

Speaker B: Yeah, so I can't remember the year, but it was a couple years later after, uh, 2007, and my business had hit up plateau and I wanted to go way beyond a couple million dollars a year. And I decided to go back to my power declarations. And I started writing things like and visualizing and future casting. Same things I was doing in the orphanage. And I was writing, and it's in my book that the largest supermarket perhaps in the world. I didn't mention anything, what it was because I wanted to be open to whatever grander possibilities. I said, they're going to call me and we're going to have a conversation. I'm going to be at their district, at their main headquarters, and they're going to open the products. And I could smell it when I was visualizing. I could smell the product in the air. And the buyer's going to extend their hand and shake my hand, and we're going to have distribution even more wider. And I was visualizing this every single day to the point that I would get in tears because I was hoping so much for it. And there's a whole process that I teach on this, on manifestation, on power declarations, on future casting, on taking inspired action, that you have to do these things if you want to achieve anything in your life. And it's really what's come down to including my movie that I manifested, uh, recently. But I was in my office and I get a call and the lady, her name is Dee, and she calls me and she says, is this Maggie with Maggie Salsa? And I said, yeah. She says, we heard about you. We went online and looked at 10 different salsa fresh salsa companies, and we thought yours was the best. Do you want to sell to Walmart? This was after 30 days. Science says it takes 15 to 21 days to bring anything manifest anything. If you believe something to be true, it becomes. And remember that we talked about focus and taking inspired action. The things that show up, right? So I'm immediately jumping out of my seat and I said, can I put you on hold? And I put her on hold. And I went to my friend who was an advisor for business, who was just in the living room, and I said, hey, it's Walmart. They want our products. And she said to me, it's a prank. Hang up. Oh, my God. And I said, I said, wait a minute, I've been visualizing. I've been, you know, bringing this. It's got to be real. It's got to be real. So I get on the phone and I, I, uh, asked her, is this a prank? And she says, no, we're the real deal. Within a month, Eric, we Were in Bentonville, Arkansas signing a deal and I have chills again telling because I don't tell these stories on stage. Signing a deal with exactly how I'd visualized it in the first question that they asked. They said because people told me Walmart's m going to take advantage of you all these things. And I said I'm not going to make assumptions until I make had the experience myself. The first question they asked was we want to make sure that we don't give you too much, that you spread yourself too thin, that you're not able to distribute and deliver. And I love that because we started small and then we started production was something that was a regular business hours day to 24 hours. So I had to go out and get more team, more people and I literally slept in the warehouse. We had already moved to a 20,000 square foot facility and I had shifts of people working 24 hours and if anything went wrong they would knock on my door and I would wake up and try to like if I'm sure machine went down and things like that. And that's really when it took it to a whole new level with Walmart.

Speaker A: That's how you inspired uh, Elon Musk to sleep on the floor of the. That's, that's amazing. Who were the key? I mean everybody in the team obviously has their role and is very important but who were the key hired that you made to allow you to go from the beginning to several millions and then from several millions to uh, a quarter billion?

Speaker B: Yes. The key people were one personal assistant that was with me most of the time when I was in the office. She was basically I was duplicating another Maggie that was a huge asset because then they could go and really implement and be with and we had a uh, system of new things that we were implementing into a booklet that would kept growing and growing for new implementations. And everybody that came in was trained on that. We made videos so that everybody would get familiarized. Uh, and then I hired a food scientist to help me with the food science on it because when you start manufacturing products at that scale you have to be able to track the foods, all that stuff. And then what I love most and actually shocked my team, especially the new hires, was that I loved putting on the gear and cutting tomatoes and doing things next to them. Often I would hear they would make a reaction like what are you doing here? And I'm like I'm helping you. Well, I never had a boss help me. Well now you do, right? And just the Culture, you know, became, uh, so awesome and a culture of caring, because we did care. There's some things that happened that they even spoke about. They got into the news, uh, because how awesome it was, but it was less about how much money am I making and more about. I feel like I have a sense of family in here. I feel like I can grow. I feel like there's. That can contribute.

Speaker A: Absolutely. That's beautiful. And you're growing. And then when are, uh, the first sign that people like big companies want to buy you, or is it you at some stage who's thinking, you know what? Now I'm gonna sell the business?

Speaker B: That happened when one of the reasons I wanted to be successful, and really they pushed me to the edge, was because my father told me that I would never be anyone, that I would die in prison and with aids. Uh, those. Exactly those words. So part of my why was to prove him wrong. So during that time, he had passed. When I was just becoming very, very successful, he had passed. But before he passed, he wrote me a letter, and I believe I shared that at the. Ah. Want me to read it?

Speaker A: Yes, please. Yes, if you have it, that would be wonderful.

Speaker B: It's right here. He said, maggie, um, think about that. He never gave me a hug, and I love you. He never recognized my success. And he wrote me this letter just one week before he passed. And it says, uh, Maggie, I'm so proud of you. You won't know what I mean. You're from the old school, from the old generation, maybe 50 years back. The generation that had an ethic and a, uh, discipline and, uh, most of all, a dream and willingness to labor and make that dream a reality. You are so caught up in what you're doing at this moment that you can't fathom where you'll be in 5, in 15, in 25, because of your willingness. It is going to be big. America need people like you and your values passed on if it is to survive. You are one big asset to everyone in your life. Sweetheart. I'm really proud of you.

Speaker A: M. Wow. Wow.

Speaker B: He was prophesizing over my life, and I didn't even know it. So when that happened, I quickly realized that my Fresh Hustle company was just a stepping stone to something bigger. But I didn't know what that bigger, uh, was. I was just open to the what, even. Even if I didn't know the how. I remember going to a trade show, and it was called the iddba, the International Daily Dairy Bakery association in Texas. And I had my booth And I was selling my. You know, I was. Buyers come and you present your products. They try it, and if they like it, they put you in more supermarkets. The booth right next to me was a company that bought me that we merged with, that then sold within a year to Campbell's. The booth right next to me.

Speaker A: So you're merging. They buying you, you buying them? I know it's merging, but usually in the merging, there's one who's buying the other.

Speaker B: Yes, well, we merged, sort of like a purchase thing. And then we were in talks with Campbell's to sell the Campbell's within that same year.

Speaker A: And then they bought you for 231 million.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Not too bad for an investment of $800, right?

Speaker B: No.

Speaker A: What's happening in your mind at that moment? Are you thinking, I'm, um, releasing my baby to somebody else, or Question. Or is it like a stepping stone for something else? Because one common thread with entrepreneurs that have sold their business is there's some sort of down and depression afterwards.

Speaker B: I, um, would tell them never to sell unless they have something they're preparing for that takes them to the next level. And for me was the realization that I was speaking, Eric, back then, but I was speaking for free to businesses, schools. And I realized that I could turn it into a business at that point. And I realized that I needed to start my speaking business so that I can actually make a, uh, greater impact through inspiration. But also during that time, something really tremendous happened when the kids at the orphanage that I was born into were endangered by being taken over by a drug cartel. I went down there, did the rescue. You saw all those photos on the presentation that I gave. That inspired me to start my foundation, Magdalena Cook. And now we serve over 28 orphanages. And because of that, things just keep expanding. I was giving a talk in San Antonio and somebody, movie producers came up to me and we did an agreement, and we started filming about a month and a week ago, a movie about my life.

Speaker A: That's amazing. Well, yeah, I have no doubt about that. That's just amazing. What is the dream now? What are you looking at in the future for you?

Speaker B: The future for me, it's almost like, uh, for me, it feels like I've lived so many lives, but I feel like I'm at the place where it feels right, that everything that I'm doing, including speaking, including growing my speaking, because I love what I do and I love to be able to. To inspire, change. What moves me the most is hearing from people after they heard me speak. And how now they're able to look at their life differently, to make the changes, to become a better human, become a better business owner. The best way for me to help people is that way. It's not giving money, it's not giving anything else but time. And that's my purpose. One of the things that I had to do is as a rediscovery is because when my father died, the first question that I asked was, who am I going to prove wrong now?

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And I had to take inventory of my life. One of the ways to discover your why is to do that and look at the things that I did that elated me, that mesmerized me, that made me come alive. And I realized that when I was in the orphanage, I was a little performer. I loved to do poetry. I like to do like speaking on little stages and I would practice in the dirt. And like, there's a photo that I shared at my presentation that you can see. My little Maggie. And this is exactly what I'm doing today. But I think it's with bigger, bigger impact, bigger inspiration with the work that we're doing with my, um, nonprofit, but also with a movie because I think that it's going to be a great source of inspiration for many people and I'm very, very excited about that.

Speaker A: You obviously, tremendous business success. You're an author of your book. You're, uh, going to have a movie about you. How can we help you? Anybody's listening who wants to help you. What should they do? Uh, what are you looking for? Who can they connect you with?

Speaker B: I think spread the story, spread the, uh, love. Because what I'm most interested than anything right now is to be able to be in more places to share a beautiful message.

Speaker A: Wonderful. How do people get in touch with you?

Speaker B: Maggiegiecook.com is my website. Maggie is with one G M A G I E. My last name is Cook. C O O K. And everything's there.

Speaker A: Amazing. Maggie, thank you so much. And in full transparency, people listening. Uh, we got cut in the middle because I had the electricity that just shut down in my house, which I've never ever had in 330 plus episodes. And you were so gracious and you were even calming me and there must be a reason. I love that. Thank you so much. My last question that I got from a friend that uh, is absolutely amazing. His name is Jason Gaignard and he's actually coming up with a fabulous book as well called Community Maid. Uh, you always like to ask the question that I'M asking to you now.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: In one year, when we meet again in person with a bottle of champagne, what are we going to celebrate?

Speaker B: I don't drink, but I will drink to a nice limonada or something. Yes. Just because I choose not to. You know, health wise. In one year, I would love to be celebrating the new movie and expansion. I have the, uh, the pitch right here and it looks like Al Pacino wants to push it.

Speaker A: Oh, wow.

Speaker B: Yep. So maybe celebrating with Al Pacino.

Speaker A: Amazing. Amazing.

Speaker B: Yep. You see that?

Speaker A: Wow, that's great.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Well, you definitely deserve that. This was one of the, if not the most fascinating conversation I've ever had on my podcast and you're so gracious with your time. You're genuinely amazing and good person. Uh, I'm really honored that you took the time and I look forward to really meeting you and not only through the stage, but meeting you in person in the future. Thank you so much.

Speaker B: You're very welcome. It's my pleasure.

Speaker A: Thank you for tuning in to the Business of Meeting podcast. I hope you found today's episode valuable. If you enjoyed the show, the most important thing you can do is leave a review and share it with your colleagues. It really helps spread the word. I truly appreciate your support. And if you're ready to take your business to the next level, don't Forget to visit eventbusinessformula.com to learn more about how we are helping even business owners like you. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you next time.