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Speaker 1: So the International Monetary Fund just announced that California is

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Speaker 1: the fourth largest economy in the world. Only Germany and

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Speaker 1: China in the United States have a larger economic output

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Speaker 1: than the state of California. That's the good news. The

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Speaker 1: bad news is there's no state in America that is

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Speaker 1: more impacted by uncertainty and these tariffs imposed unilaterally by

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump and the Trump administration. The impacts of that,

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Speaker 1: of course, are felt small businesses, medium sized, large businesses, consumers,

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Speaker 1: as well as supply chains, not just in our state,

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Speaker 1: but all across this country and around the world. So

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Speaker 1: today we'll be exploring the impacts, real life impacts on

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Speaker 1: real people, impacts and states large and small, from Montana

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Speaker 1: to Minnesota to here in the great state of California.

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Speaker 1: Tune in to this live program on the impacts of

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump's tariffs in America. Is Gavin Newsom. Let's talk tariffs.

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Speaker 2: Hey, Bath, I am trying to get my phone turned off.

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Speaker 2: I just got this phone. I don't know who to

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Speaker 2: do it.

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Speaker 1: What is an Android or an iPhone?

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Speaker 3: It's an iPhone, but it's the new one.

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Speaker 1: Good. It's smart to buy it now and not in

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Speaker 1: a few months when it's twice the price.

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Speaker 3: Won't be twice the price they're exectly from tariffs.

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Speaker 1: That's right, because they made a phone call crony capitalism, Beth,

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Speaker 1: that's a whole nother conversation, Beth, Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 1: And you're in Minnesota. Where are you exactly in Minnesota?

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Speaker 2: I am in southeast Minnesota's and Broda, fifty minutes south

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Speaker 2: of the Twin Cities.

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Speaker 1: And tell us a little bit about your business and

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Speaker 1: when you started it and the impacts of these tariffs.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I started my business eight years ago, right after my

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Speaker 2: son was born. I had an idea for a baby

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Speaker 2: product that solves a problem all new parents have of

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Speaker 2: babies just dropping and throwing all their stuff. I made

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Speaker 2: what I now know to be a prototype for myself

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Speaker 2: and one of my friends who had a baby, and

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Speaker 2: she forgot it and said, you should make this thing

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Speaker 2: for real, because I didn't realize how awful it was

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Speaker 2: until I didn't have your matte thingy. So I invented

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Speaker 2: the busy Baby matt It's just a silicon place mat

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Speaker 2: that suctions to the high chair and has tethers that

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Speaker 2: you can use to attach.

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Speaker 3: Babies baby's things.

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Speaker 2: Since that time eight years ago, I was able to

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Speaker 2: go on Shark Tank and show the world my invention.

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Speaker 2: And from that I was able to tell my brother

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Speaker 2: to quit his job and join me in the business.

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Speaker 3: And two of us have exbanded.

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Speaker 2: The product line now to eight products that all have

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Speaker 2: the same mission, keep baby things within reach, off the ground,

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Speaker 2: at home and on the go.

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Speaker 1: I love it. And you source your products from where?

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Speaker 1: Where do you get the materials? Where do you get

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Speaker 1: most of your supply?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we are one hundred percent in China, one hundred percent.

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Speaker 1: And did you look around? I mean, was it China

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Speaker 1: first or it just where it's sort of the dominant

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Speaker 1: manufacturing occurs.

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Speaker 2: No, we actually tried for a year and a half

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Speaker 2: to manufacture in the US, and there's a lot of

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Speaker 2: obstacles to that. One is the raw material is not

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Speaker 2: sourced in the US, so that has to be imported.

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Speaker 2: We learned this morning. We've been continuing to find ways

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Speaker 2: to manufacture in the US and had a great meeting

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Speaker 2: this morning with a silicon manufacturer here in New York,

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Speaker 2: and we're still learning more. It's still not viable for us. However,

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Speaker 2: we're continuing to try. But the main obstacle is when

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Speaker 2: you have a startup, when you are brand new. We're

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Speaker 2: not making twenty thousand units. We're not making two hundred

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Speaker 2: thousand units, or many companies a million units. I was

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Speaker 2: trying to get two thousand units because this was a product.

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Speaker 3: That never existed before.

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Speaker 2: I didn't even know if people were going to buy

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Speaker 2: this item. I knew it was a good idea, but

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Speaker 2: I didn't know if my fellow Americans would think it

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Speaker 2: was a good idea. So there were no American factories

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Speaker 2: that were willing and able to do this project on

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Speaker 2: such a small scale to start, so we did have

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Speaker 2: to start in China.

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Speaker 3: They were willing to do that with us.

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Speaker 1: And so the impacts are immediate. The one hundred and

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Speaker 1: forty five percent tariffs, I mean, I mean, what has

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Speaker 1: that meant? I mean, is there sort of a dollar figure?

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Speaker 1: Do you recall that first invoice purchase order? Came back

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Speaker 1: and looked at that delta, and how do you respond?

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Speaker 3: You know, it's more immediate than that. I could literally

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Speaker 3: lose my home.

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Speaker 2: In less than three months, So I'll walk you through

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Speaker 2: that real quick. This last six months has been amazing

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Speaker 2: for US. I got a contract with Walmart. I got

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Speaker 2: a contract with Target. We're in both stores now. Minnesota

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Speaker 2: awarded me SBA Small Business Person of the Year. It's

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Speaker 2: been a really sunshiney last six months. I booked my

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Speaker 2: flight with my eight year old son to take him

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Speaker 2: to DC to get this award on May fifth, and

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Speaker 2: then nine days later, as my products were two day

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Speaker 2: shy of being picked up to put on a container

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Speaker 2: to come to the US, these tariffs came out. The

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Speaker 2: announcement came out. So what I was expecting to pay

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Speaker 2: twenty maybe thirty thousand dollars worth of tariffs, that's what

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Speaker 2: I budgeted for now is going to cost me two

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Speaker 2: hundred and thirty thousand dollars to bring into our country.

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Speaker 2: I have made maybe two months worth of inventory left

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Speaker 2: in in my warehouse here, and when that has gone,

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Speaker 2: I have no more revenue. I have no money coming

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Speaker 2: in to pay my employees. I have no money coming

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Speaker 2: in to pay my bills, the other American businesses that

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Speaker 2: I support through my company, my marketing teams, my bookkeeping,

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Speaker 2: my accounting, everyone who helps me run this business, all

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Speaker 2: American companies, my transportation team that was going to bring

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Speaker 2: that container to me. I can't pay any of them anymore.

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Speaker 2: And the worst thing is I can't pay my loan.

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Speaker 2: And when I got the contracts for Target and Walmart,

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Speaker 2: I took a big, big business risk, and a lot

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Speaker 2: of us small businesses do this. I leveraged my home

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Speaker 2: to be able to buy the inventory to support these

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Speaker 2: contracts because that was the next big milestone step in

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Speaker 2: our business. And now I am at grave danger of

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Speaker 2: not being able to get my products here, not being

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Speaker 2: able to continue to sell and have the cash flow

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Speaker 2: that I've counted on, and not be able to pay

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Speaker 2: on those loans, which means I could lose my house

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Speaker 2: where my children live and my ability to keep them

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Speaker 2: safe and feed them.

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Speaker 3: That's how real this is for me in this moment.

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Speaker 1: I mean, boy, I mean, you paint the ultimate picture.

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Speaker 1: I mean, just the deep reality. And you know in

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Speaker 1: the fact that it was because of your kids that

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Speaker 1: inspired this business in the first place, and now your

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Speaker 1: home is a risk. Everything about that is an extraordinary

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Speaker 1: picture paint of the pain and anxiety that you're going through.

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Speaker 1: I mean, and forgive me. I mean the options for

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Speaker 1: you are what then right now? Do you called Walmart

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Speaker 1: back and Target and you say can you help? Are

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Speaker 1: there is there a strategy there so they float, you know,

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Speaker 1: ninety day invoices or something. I mean, is there a

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Speaker 1: strategy that you can see an alternative if this continues.

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Speaker 2: Right now with those retailers, I actually have their inventory here.

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Speaker 2: That's why I had to take that big risk early on,

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Speaker 2: was you have to order the products in bulk so

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Speaker 2: that I have them here. So every week when they

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Speaker 2: place their order, I have something to send them. So

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Speaker 2: currently their product is here. That should support us six months.

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Speaker 2: With those retailers, I did have the opportunity to expand.

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Speaker 2: Walmart wanted to take on another product this year in November.

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Speaker 2: I had to call my buyer and say, I don't

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Speaker 2: know if I can do that right now. As of

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Speaker 2: right now, I cannot add another item. I cannot expand,

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Speaker 2: and because of the situation we're in, if I can't

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Speaker 2: get my products here, I'm going to have to just

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Speaker 2: sell the products that I have set aside for Target

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Speaker 2: and Walmart just to get some revenue in the door

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Speaker 2: to keep paying my employees. So Walmart's been great. They

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Speaker 2: have offered to you know, let's just see how this goes.

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Speaker 3: We'll be patient.

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Speaker 2: You know, they're not going to push the timelines that

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Speaker 2: normally they're very strict to with suppliers. Let's just kind

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Speaker 2: of see how this goes for a little bit. And

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Speaker 2: you know, they kind of said, we got you, we'll

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Speaker 2: figure it out.

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Speaker 1: So what did you? And I'm curious, just you know,

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Speaker 1: and I don't mean this to be political, it's but

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Speaker 1: when Trump was elected, he talked about these tariffs on China.

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Speaker 1: Obviously his first first term he advanced tariffs on China.

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Speaker 1: So you must have anticipated something, But did this come

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Speaker 1: as a complete shock How quickly this happened, the level

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Speaker 1: of the tariff, meaning how large it was, give me

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Speaker 1: a sense of how you prepared a little bit over

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Speaker 1: the course last few months.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Prior to this administration, we didn't pay a tariff. Ever,

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Speaker 2: in my eight years in business, we've never paid a tariff.

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Speaker 2: We pay taxes, we pay duty, we have never paid

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Speaker 2: a tariff for baby items. When the administration came in,

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Speaker 2: knowing that they had talked about bringing in tariffs, we

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Speaker 2: expected a reasonable tariff twenty to maybe thirty percent, and

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Speaker 2: we looked at our numbers and decided we can we

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Speaker 2: can support that. It's going to be tough, but we

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Speaker 2: can stay live and support that we budgeted for. That

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Speaker 2: we did not budget for one hundred and forty five percent.

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Speaker 1: No, I mean it, no one can, No one can. Well, Beth,

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Speaker 1: I can't impress upon you how grateful I am that

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Speaker 1: you had the courage to come on the show and

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Speaker 1: thank you for showing up, and not just for yourself

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Speaker 1: and your family, for your eight year old and your

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Speaker 1: brother and your employees, but for others in your circumstance

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Speaker 1: and your position. I think you know, all of us

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Speaker 1: out here in California, we're not only rooting for you,

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Speaker 1: we have your back. We initiated a lawsuit to push

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Speaker 1: back against the Trump administration. I mean, even on the

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Speaker 1: in the conservative side, the Koch Brothers are aligned in

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Speaker 1: that as it relates to the how thisnilateral action by

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Speaker 1: Donald Trump is simply illegal, and so we're serting ourselves

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Speaker 1: very aggressively in that space. So you can get some clarity.

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Speaker 1: But I'm curious, just you know, as you look out

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Speaker 1: over the course of the next days and weeks, with

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Speaker 1: all that anxiety in your house looming over this conversation,

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Speaker 1: I mean, you've got a week or how many weeks,

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Speaker 1: how many months do you think you can hold on

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Speaker 1: with this level of uncertainty before you just have to

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Speaker 1: make a real decision that may be sort of closing

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Speaker 1: up shop, so to speak.

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Speaker 2: There's no closing up shop for me. I am a

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Speaker 2: tenure army veteran. I am not a quitter. I am

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Speaker 2: one who adapts and overcomes. We've got about two weeks

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Speaker 2: until we need to make critical decisions where we now

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Speaker 2: out we'd sell to other countries.

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Speaker 3: We babies are everywhere.

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Speaker 2: We've lined up some distribution in Australia, in Dubai, in

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Speaker 2: South Korea, and Canada. That if if we don't have

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Speaker 2: a resolution in two weeks where we can bring our

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Speaker 2: products to the US and sell to our fellow Americans,

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Speaker 2: then we're going to have to, you know, make that

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Speaker 2: decision to sell outside of our country, which is going

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Speaker 2: to be much more difficult for us. It's all unknown

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Speaker 2: to me. I've had to learn this business from scratch,

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Speaker 2: and now I need to learn international distribution like this.

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Speaker 3: But I'm up for the challenge if I have to.

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Speaker 3: But what I really need is I need our.

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Speaker 2: Representatives to stand up for us and stand up for

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Speaker 2: Americans in my district. I have a Republican congressmen who

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Speaker 2: will not even talk to me. And I was at

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Speaker 2: I just watched your podcast with my governor that you

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Speaker 2: recently did, and I was actually at the Capitol this

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Speaker 2: week for Governor Walls's State of the State address, and

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Speaker 2: what I saw broke my heart and has me just

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Speaker 2: feeling so depressed because we need our politicians to stand

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Speaker 2: up for Americans. When Walts was talking about the achievements

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Speaker 2: of our state in the last year, and one of

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Speaker 2: them in Minnesota is free breakfast and free lunch for

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Speaker 2: our students because science has shown wealth had kids have

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Speaker 2: better outcomes.

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Speaker 3: This is a great thing.

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Speaker 2: One half of the room was standing and clapping. The

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Speaker 2: other half of the room was sitting cross armed with

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Speaker 2: ugly faces. And I saw the opposite thing on the

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Speaker 2: President's State of the Union address, where one side is

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Speaker 2: clapping and the other side is pouting.

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Speaker 3: And right now, we don't need that.

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Speaker 2: We need our representatives to come together for Americans. We

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Speaker 2: need Americans to come together. I am feeling so much

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Speaker 2: hate from my fellow Americans who think that because I

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Speaker 2: make my products in China, that I am evil and

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Speaker 2: that I deserve to fail. And where we learn things

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Speaker 2: in our lives, you know, my children. I'm trying to

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Speaker 2: teach them kindness, I'm trying to teach them love. They

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Speaker 2: learn from me as an adult. We learn from our

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Speaker 2: bosses and from our leaders. And right now, what we're leading,

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Speaker 2: what we're learning from our politicians is to be divided,

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Speaker 2: to be hardline one way or the other. And if

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Speaker 2: I'm on this side, I can't possibly celebrate something accomplished

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Speaker 2: on the other side. And now the American people who

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Speaker 2: should be coming together and supporting one another and loving

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Speaker 2: one another. I had a woman tell me on TikTok

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Speaker 2: that I am going to fail and I deserve it.

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Speaker 2: No one deserves to fail. No one deserves to lose

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Speaker 2: their house, the roof over their children's home, no one.

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Speaker 2: And so you know, I need our politicians to come

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Speaker 2: together and support the Americans and stop fighting each other

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Speaker 2: and work together for the American people.

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Speaker 1: I personally love that in ways you don't even fully

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Speaker 1: perhaps appreciate. My first three guests on this podcast. We're

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Speaker 1: all conservatives, that we're all supporters of Trump, and I

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Speaker 1: made exactly the point you just made. At the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, we all want to be protected, connected, respected.

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Speaker 1: We can't continue to continue talk down to each other,

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Speaker 1: past one another. We're all in this together, we're all

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Speaker 1: better off. We're all better off. So I readly. I

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Speaker 1: appreciate that sentiment. I appreciate you have no I'm an entrepreneur.

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Speaker 1: I love love your entrepreneur passion. The fact you're putting

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Speaker 1: everything on the line and putting human face on this

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Speaker 1: topic is inspiring. And I ain't worried about you failing that.

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Speaker 1: You got that gene, you got that grit that defines

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Speaker 1: the best. So thank you Beth for joining us.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for letting me use my voice to stand

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Speaker 3: up personal businesses.

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Speaker 4: You're here.

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Speaker 1: We appreciate you.

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Speaker 5: Hey, Jennifer, good morning, Governor.

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Speaker 1: Where are you? What's that background? I love it? Oh fabulous.

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Speaker 5: I'm in my restaurant. I live and own and operate

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Speaker 5: a restaurant in Crescent City, California, which is up in

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Speaker 5: Dilnark County. I believe you visited last about a year ago,

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Speaker 5: up in this region.

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Speaker 1: I used to go up there as a kid with

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Speaker 1: my father, and one of the great gifts last year

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Speaker 1: is bringing my four kids up there and walking in

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Speaker 1: the same footsteps as I walked as a young child.

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Speaker 1: There are a few places anyone listening. There are a

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Speaker 1: few places on planet Earth that are more spectacular than

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Speaker 1: where you operate your restaurant. The absolute physical beauty is extraordinary.

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Speaker 1: And so I love it up there, and I appreciate

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Speaker 1: you're running a restaurant up there which is in and

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Speaker 1: of itself amazing and remarkable. And I imagine with all

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Speaker 1: of the uncertainty and announced mins and we just saw

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Speaker 1: some new tourism numbers already coming in that show a

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Speaker 1: decline in tourism across our state, that these tariffs have

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Speaker 1: in an impact on your business.

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Speaker 5: Yes, so in the area, just so the listeners know

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Speaker 5: where I live. We're up at the very top coastal

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Speaker 5: corner of California, extremely remote, extremely rugged and rural, of course,

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Speaker 5: and this area is historically economically depressed. We get injections

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Speaker 5: of money into this area primarily through tourism. It is

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Speaker 5: one of the driving forces. And so most of the

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Speaker 5: businesses in this entire county get You know, we have

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Speaker 5: booming summers where our population with tourism increases exponentially. Our

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Speaker 5: town population is only seven thousand, the entire county population

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Speaker 5: is twenty seven thousand. I mean, very sparsely poppedup related.

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Speaker 5: We have a lot of trees and rivers, not a

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Speaker 5: lot of people. And in the summer, in July, our

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Speaker 5: town population can go up to thirty thousand with people

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Speaker 5: coming to explore the beaches and so forth. So those

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Speaker 5: tourism dollars are what keep this local economy going primarily,

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Speaker 5: and every business is affected positively by the influx of tourism.

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Speaker 5: My demographic, you know, we we're a small restaurant, we're

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Speaker 5: right on the beach. We have incredible local support, our

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Speaker 5: local community. Really, they're here for us and we're here

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Speaker 5: for them. But there just aren't enough people locally to

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Speaker 5: sustain all of our restaurants and hotels and so forth.

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Speaker 5: So that influx in the summer keeps us flowing all year,

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Speaker 5: even though it's only you know, a part of the year.

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Speaker 5: And the tourism, you know, we're expecting a twenty nine

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Speaker 5: percent decrease in international tourism in the summertime. Governor, my

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Speaker 5: demographic is between seventy five and ninety percent tourists visiting

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Speaker 5: my restaurant. And that's not just my restaurant. Those are

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Speaker 5: the numbers I have real you know, tangibility in but

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Speaker 5: it's every restaurant in this area. And when we take

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Speaker 5: up to ninety percent of my cash inflow, decrease it

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Speaker 5: by about thirty percent do to specifically and directly because

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Speaker 5: of the tariffs. That's something that you know, we're having

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Speaker 5: trouble anticipating how we're going to navigate that. And the

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Speaker 5: other part of that, of course is cost of goods

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Speaker 5: and services. We run a New Orleans you see the

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Speaker 5: sign behind me here, New Orleans Cajun and Creole style restaurant.

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Speaker 5: So the bulk of my menu we make everything from scratch,

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Speaker 5: so we're using you know, whole onions, tomatoes, spices, and

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Speaker 5: then a lot of seafood and shrimp is expected to

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Speaker 5: go up. We get a farm report forecast from our

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Speaker 5: food distributor. Shrimp is expected to increase up to forty

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Speaker 5: six percent directly because of tariffs. Most of my menu

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Speaker 5: we can expect to go up about twenty five percent.

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Speaker 5: This is tomatoes, onion, garlic, spices, just everyday things. And

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Speaker 5: while we can adjust, of course, we'll have to increase

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Speaker 5: menu prices, as will every restaurant everywhere. So we can increase,

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Speaker 5: and that feels it makes me sad for my local community.

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Speaker 5: But then when we decrease the tourism coming in, it's

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Speaker 5: a double blow, and not just a double blow, but

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Speaker 5: has that ripple effect that goes far and wide. If

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Speaker 5: I speak only to my community, this rural community, whose

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Speaker 5: sports teams you know, Little League and the marching band

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Speaker 5: and different things rely on the local businesses supporting them,

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Speaker 5: and this economic impact is so far reaching. I'm an

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Speaker 5: eternal optimist. I'm always someone that figures things out and

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Speaker 5: we look for, you know, solutions. This one is more

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Speaker 5: difficult to see our way through it at this time.

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Speaker 1: Well, I appreciate you said two things that are important.

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Speaker 1: You talked about community. I mean community at the end

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Speaker 1: of the day, you it's not something you can manufacture.

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Speaker 1: It's a sense of pride. It's that connection to as

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Speaker 1: you say, these organizations and your neighbors, where magical moments

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Speaker 1: are created in your restaurant and friends and relationships are formed,

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Speaker 1: and you're such a big part of that and a

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Speaker 1: vibrant part of that. But you also highlighting something that's

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Speaker 1: often overlooked, and that is tariff's impact tourism, and people

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Speaker 1: don't necessarily connect that dot as easily as they should

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Speaker 1: or as consequentially as they must. And when you say

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Speaker 1: twenty nine percent, was that analysis that was done by

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Speaker 1: your regional chamber or is that on the basis of

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Speaker 1: what you're already seeing in terms of decline of visitorship

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Speaker 1: that you would otherwise expect this time of year.

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Speaker 5: This time of year we would start seeing a lot

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Speaker 5: of international tourism, a lot of people from Europe in particular.

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Speaker 5: Later in the season we see a lot more Asian

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Speaker 5: tourists coming in. But you know, as you said, Redwood

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Speaker 5: National Park, which is here, draws people from all over

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Speaker 5: the world. We have the mainly one percent of old

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Speaker 5: growth redwood, and that is really something to see. So

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Speaker 5: my twenty nine percent came from the economic forecast, out

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Speaker 5: of the larger chamber anticipation for how that's going to impact.

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Speaker 5: And you know, in this rural agent of the region

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Speaker 5: of the world that I'm speaking to my county specifically,

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Speaker 5: but this whole North Coast is very rural, and so

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Speaker 5: there's about five counties that all see the same economic impact,

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Speaker 5: and it's this entire northwest region of California, Humboldt County,

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Speaker 5: mill North County, Mendocino County, Lake County, Trinity. You know,

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Speaker 5: it's a huge portion of the state that is going

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Speaker 5: to feel and real from the effects of a lack

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Speaker 5: of people wanting to come here directly because of the tariffs.

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Speaker 1: So, you know, you've weathered a lot. You got through COVID,

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Speaker 1: which is extraordinary. You've got that entrepreneurial energy and as

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Speaker 1: you said yourself, and it's self evidence to anyone listening

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Speaker 1: you're watching, got such a spirit of positivity. I mean,

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Speaker 1: what how do you how do you sort of game

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Speaker 1: this out? I mean, what's what's the strategy for you?

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Speaker 2: Is?

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Speaker 1: Are you looking at potentially layoff so you can only

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Speaker 1: pass through so much cost obviously on the customer side,

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Speaker 1: if they're not coming in the fixed costs of devour

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Speaker 1: even any any variable menu prices, what what's what's what's

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Speaker 1: their strategy? What's your How are you gaming this out

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Speaker 1: in the next few months?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, well, you know it's a day by day what

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Speaker 5: where can we pivot? Where can we pivot? Restaurants historically

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Speaker 5: have a very tiny profit margin, and as a small business,

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Speaker 5: as our most businesses in my community, we don't have

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Speaker 5: the luxury that chains have to be able to absorb

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Speaker 5: some of that impact because of other stores. So how

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Speaker 5: do we navigate that. Of course, you know, increasing as needed.

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Speaker 5: We don't like to do that, but things happen. Cutting

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Speaker 5: costs wherever we can, cutting labor. You know, we as

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Speaker 5: owner operators, we work fifteen hours a day laboring in

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Speaker 5: our restaurant and it's a labor of love. I don't

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Speaker 5: say that with anything except gratitude, but there are only

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Speaker 5: so many hours in the day, and so looking you know,

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Speaker 5: it adds more work to the people that we employ.

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Speaker 5: So the way we're navigating this is looking at other

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Speaker 5: ways we can bring money to the restaurant, so creating

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Speaker 5: other events, you know, community events, things like that. Always

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Speaker 5: looking at what's working and trying to trim what isn't working,

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Speaker 5: really making our menu hyper efficient. We got our restaurant

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Speaker 5: two days before the COVID shutdowns and so it was

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Speaker 5: a incredible lesson in business management in a very short time.

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Speaker 5: And so we've learned to pivot. But that's not always

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Speaker 5: easy when things are changing so rapidly, and as we're

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Speaker 5: gearing up for our summer season, you know, it's really

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Speaker 5: just again becoming hyper efficient, hyper educated. We rely on

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Speaker 5: what's called the farm report forecast, so we can look

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Speaker 5: at where we can trim costs. You know, at some

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Speaker 5: point in the day there's only so much we can do,

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Speaker 5: and then we just try to write it out with

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Speaker 5: the support of you know, our community.

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Speaker 1: Well. I appreciate and I appreciate what you're doing, how

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Speaker 1: you are representing not just yourself, but your community and

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Speaker 1: others that are struggling with this new reality as well.

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Speaker 1: And anyone that gets up to Crescent City and if

436
00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,200
Speaker 1: you haven't been, you got to go, needs to go

437
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 1: to your restaurant. What's the name of the restaurant.

438
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,399
Speaker 5: It's a Schmidt's House of Jambalaya. We're right on the

439
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:42,120
Speaker 5: beach at South Beach, and it's an extraordinary community. We're

440
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:43,320
Speaker 5: very thankful to be part of it.

441
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,840
Speaker 1: And go up when you're up there and visit and

442
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,960
Speaker 1: say hello. Really appreciate you taking the time, thank you

443
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,359
Speaker 1: for sharing your insight, and thank you for staying the

444
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,400
Speaker 1: course and being so positive. And we're going to work

445
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,720
Speaker 1: our tail off to try to curtail the impacts of

446
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,480
Speaker 1: these tariffs and lack of I think understand standing of

447
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,640
Speaker 1: the impacts it's having on people like yourself and communities

448
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,240
Speaker 1: all throughout this country, but certainly here in this north

449
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:08,359
Speaker 1: part of our state. Thank you so much for joining us.

450
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:09,639
Speaker 5: Thank you, and I just want to add, you know,

451
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,600
Speaker 5: I really feel advocated for I appreciate your leadership. We

452
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,920
Speaker 5: appreciate your leadership and everything that you're doing as a

453
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:16,920
Speaker 5: voice for the people. Thank you so much.

454
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 1: I'm grateful. Thank you for joining us. Thank you.

455
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:26,719
Speaker 4: How you doing, Governor?

456
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: Oh good man, you're well. You're Chino, California, right, Yeah.

457
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,280
Speaker 6: I live in Orange County, California. My company here is

458
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,119
Speaker 6: in Chino. We also have a warehouse and location in Amsterdam,

459
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 6: in Holland.

460
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 1: I love it. And so tell us about your business,

461
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:43,480
Speaker 1: the wheelchair business. Huh.

462
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,080
Speaker 6: So, we are in the durable medical equipment business, primarily

463
00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,760
Speaker 6: related to wheelchairs and scooters.

464
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 4: We provide, you know, the product.

465
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:57,280
Speaker 6: For people that are either permanently or temporarily disabled, including

466
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 6: organizations such as Think on my Emails, the Steve Gleason Foundation.

467
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 6: He was an x NFL football player for the New

468
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 6: Orleans Saints. So we sell our product were wholesaler, so

469
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 6: we wholesale them worldwide, and we've been doing this for

470
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:18,159
Speaker 6: quite some time, about eight years. We're conservably growing company.

471
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,399
Speaker 6: We typically grow about two to three hundred percent perannum. Wow,

472
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,000
Speaker 6: it's a very expensive business. It's not a business that

473
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,560
Speaker 6: is for the lighthearted. So it requires quite a bit

474
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:30,720
Speaker 6: of capital to operate this kind of company, and you

475
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,720
Speaker 6: have to have a passion for it, which is something

476
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,919
Speaker 6: that myself and all of our team members we have

477
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,440
Speaker 6: a great passion for what we do.

478
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,320
Speaker 1: And Joseph, how many countries are you exporting to? How

479
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 1: many countries you're working with?

480
00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,880
Speaker 6: So because we have the European operation, we can export

481
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 6: to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the UK and of course the

482
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,720
Speaker 6: Netherlands at the moment in America from here we export

483
00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,800
Speaker 6: to Canada and parts of Mexico and you know Puerto

484
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 6: Rico which is still part of part of US.

485
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,960
Speaker 1: So what I mean, so these teriffs are announced, I

486
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,560
Speaker 1: imagine you know, you had to anticipate something might happen

487
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,159
Speaker 1: in this space. Tell me a little bit about that

488
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:15,840
Speaker 1: thought process. You know, when Trump gets elected, he was

489
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 1: pretty clear that he was going to move in this direction.

490
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 1: Did you expect it as quickly? Did you expect it

491
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 1: as acutely? How has it impacted your business and your

492
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 1: and your business plan going forward?

493
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:28,119
Speaker 4: Yeah, so wonderful question.

494
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,440
Speaker 6: We we did have a feeling that this could happen,

495
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,760
Speaker 6: we didn't expect it to be as drastic as it has.

496
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 6: And the reason for that is based on the fundamental

497
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 6: sort of principle that our industry has been exempt from

498
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,200
Speaker 6: tariffs since we've had the operation. So even though we

499
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,560
Speaker 6: expected tariffs to apply, we did not expect that they

500
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,120
Speaker 6: would be applied to our industry as we've been exempler

501
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 6: for all of these years. Nor did we expect that

502
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,040
Speaker 6: if they were going to be applied, that it would

503
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:59,480
Speaker 6: be as high as they are. So probably about eight

504
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,040
Speaker 6: months prior to this, I had set up a separate company.

505
00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:07,280
Speaker 6: Part of the election of Donald Trump. We had separate

506
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 6: separate company with the idea that we would manufacture our

507
00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:16,320
Speaker 6: own products within the US, and so we started discussing

508
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 6: things with even Chinese partners. Meet these partners Mexico went

509
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 6: down to Mexico many times to set up a Mikhilidora

510
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,159
Speaker 6: down there, thinking that my work went to Texas, went

511
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:30,560
Speaker 6: to various states. What we realized the governor is that one,

512
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,920
Speaker 6: the cost of operating in America is still extremely expensive

513
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,399
Speaker 6: number one. Number Two, securing and obtaining the materials that

514
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 6: we require are extremely difficult to find we might be

515
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 6: able to find some metals, some aluminum, but things like

516
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,120
Speaker 6: carbon fiber or things like lithium. I own batteries, things

517
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,600
Speaker 6: like technology that goes into our joysticks. You know, we're

518
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 6: sort of a highly you know, automated business to a

519
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,320
Speaker 6: certain extent that relies on technology. And what we quickly

520
00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 6: found is that what we require fired just wasn't available.

521
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,320
Speaker 6: It wasn't available as we needed it, and we thought, okay,

522
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 6: this is probably something that the United States isn't quite

523
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:15,560
Speaker 6: ready for as yet. So when obviously the terriffsupply were applied,

524
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 6: you know, it drastically affects our ability to trade. You know,

525
00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,159
Speaker 6: I mentioned in my email that we're working with quite

526
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,399
Speaker 6: a large community that is quite vulnerable, whether it's the

527
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 6: geriatric community, which someday, as you know, governor we live

528
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 6: long enough, we might all be in a wheelchair or

529
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,360
Speaker 6: a scooter. But in addition to that, you know, we

530
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,400
Speaker 6: deal with like the Gleaston Foundation, which has you know,

531
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,800
Speaker 6: their members are they have als. We work at a

532
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:52,960
Speaker 6: mass organizations patients that have Parkinson's et cetera. So not

533
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 6: only are they in a in a situation help wise

534
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,800
Speaker 6: that is not ideal, but any of these folks just

535
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,640
Speaker 6: don't have the resources, financial resources to secure the.

536
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 4: Product that we sell.

537
00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,240
Speaker 6: And although we are we sell our products relatively and

538
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 6: expensively compared to the market, it is still you know,

539
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,960
Speaker 6: a necessity for them. And unfortunately, you know, with with

540
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:23,240
Speaker 6: the terriffs as they currently stand, you know, it's it

541
00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:27,480
Speaker 6: becomes almost an impossibility to be quite honest, you know,

542
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 6: I'll give you a real number or real numbers. We

543
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,600
Speaker 6: had ordered sort of a few containers here recently that

544
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,560
Speaker 6: were we expected to pay about six hundred grand for well,

545
00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 6: with the tariffs applied, it's now an additional eight hundred

546
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 6: and thirty thousand on top of that.

547
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,760
Speaker 1: And so let's just want to make that clear. It's

548
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:47,600
Speaker 1: not from six hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand, it's

549
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:48,880
Speaker 1: an additional eight.

550
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 4: More than that's correct, that's right.

551
00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,640
Speaker 1: And that and that was most of that product coming

552
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 1: from China specifically.

553
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:56,720
Speaker 4: That's right.

554
00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:00,000
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's right. So you know, it's in the day

555
00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 6: eight hundred and thirty thousand. So our choices are and

556
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,280
Speaker 6: in our industry, we you know, I'm not a I'm

557
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 6: not backed by private equity. I don't have any VCS

558
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 6: behind me. We are we are operating ourselves. We've grown

559
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:18,800
Speaker 6: this company ourselves out of our own resources. So you

560
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,200
Speaker 6: know the idea of pain and additional eight hundred and

561
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,440
Speaker 6: thirty thousand when we don't know if these tarifts are

562
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,600
Speaker 6: going to change tomorrow. You know the story, it's been

563
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 6: up and down. Yes we're going to reduce tariffs and

564
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,960
Speaker 6: no we're not. So it's very unpredictable for myself and

565
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:39,160
Speaker 6: other companies in my situation. If we fund that money,

566
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 6: you know, obviously we would need to recover it somehow,

567
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 6: and unlike a common belief that the exporting company pays

568
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,040
Speaker 6: for these things, it's just not true. I mean, the

569
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 6: import for us, we would pay that additional amount, and

570
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,680
Speaker 6: then we would have the decision to make do we

571
00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,040
Speaker 6: pass it down to our consumer, which is in our case,

572
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 6: our reseller for World Blae, or do we absorb the costs. Well,

573
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,360
Speaker 6: there's no business that I've been in. I mean, you

574
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:05,200
Speaker 6: were in the wine business.

575
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:05,560
Speaker 4: You know this.

576
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 6: There's no way that the company can operate with an

577
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 6: additional one hundred and forty five percent tariff.

578
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:12,360
Speaker 4: I mean, your.

579
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:17,840
Speaker 6: Operating income is just not there. So you know, it's

580
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,920
Speaker 6: sort of devastating to us to to on many different levels,

581
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,960
Speaker 6: but most importantly on the level of the consumer, particularly

582
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,640
Speaker 6: the ones that we serve, because you know, when you

583
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,480
Speaker 6: when we deal with nonprofits, you know they they have

584
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:34,400
Speaker 6: a limited budget, and so what it now means is

585
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:36,120
Speaker 6: that do they not get the chair or do they

586
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 6: get you know, a third or twenty percent of what

587
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 6: they require.

588
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: So Joseph, I mean, did you end up making the

589
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,719
Speaker 1: purchase or you just you know, you just you're waiting

590
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,400
Speaker 1: around with all that uncertainty. What'd you do?

591
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,880
Speaker 6: We wait right now because we have sufficient inventory to

592
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,960
Speaker 6: cover us fortund maybe four.

593
00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 4: Months, that's it.

594
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 6: But you know, with lead times, et cetera, we really

595
00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 6: have to have those containers shipped within the next fifteen

596
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,520
Speaker 6: to twenty days otherwise we're going to run out. So,

597
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,200
Speaker 6: you know, it's it's operating a business obviously, as you know,

598
00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,040
Speaker 6: this is not always going to be you know, rosy,

599
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 6: if it was, probably every way would do it. That's

600
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 6: just not the way it works, and you're in a

601
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:19,000
Speaker 6: game that's probably even tougher in mind, but the reality

602
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,680
Speaker 6: is that, you know, you have to kind of deal

603
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 6: with the cars as they are presented, and right now,

604
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,280
Speaker 6: I think what is hurting many of us.

605
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 4: In addition to the tariff.

606
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,520
Speaker 6: Is the uncertainty and the you know, for lack of

607
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,240
Speaker 6: a better word, the flip flopping of is it going

608
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,880
Speaker 6: away or is it saying right? And and so you know,

609
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:46,680
Speaker 6: we have a real urgency in our industry because of

610
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,960
Speaker 6: the necessity to satisfy the demand.

611
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,240
Speaker 1: What do you, Joseph, just out of curiosity? And you know, look,

612
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:55,760
Speaker 1: when you put everything on the line, all the risk

613
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 1: you leverage. You talk about how capital in tense? Have

614
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,040
Speaker 1: you just proved that point is where like to you know,

615
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,479
Speaker 1: just those kind of those purchasing orders that you're making

616
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 1: and the bet you're placing. But how do you how

617
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:09,720
Speaker 1: do you even talk to your employees? I mean, what

618
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:11,680
Speaker 1: do you tell these guys? What do you tell your

619
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 1: folks around you? And as you say, I mean you

620
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,080
Speaker 1: talk about the most vulnerable what you're doing for charities

621
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,200
Speaker 1: and nonprofits, and I think that really paints a pretty

622
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 1: powerful picture. But what what's the anxiety level within the company,

623
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:26,840
Speaker 1: within the organization.

624
00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 6: So we're very transparent a lot of the guys that

625
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,920
Speaker 6: you know, I've owned several companies in my career. In

626
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:34,960
Speaker 6: this particular one I brought in a lot of guys

627
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,880
Speaker 6: that I've worked with for eighteen to twenty years, so

628
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 6: they're friends there.

629
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 4: Most of them were either.

630
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,680
Speaker 6: Professional athletes or along the lines of playing at university, baseball, football,

631
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,320
Speaker 6: you name it. So we're all highly competitive, and we

632
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 6: all our manner of operations were very direct in terms

633
00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,040
Speaker 6: of how we speak to each other, so they're well aware.

634
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,600
Speaker 6: And there was a point that, you know, a conversations

635
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,520
Speaker 6: had we said, guys, look, if this, if this is

636
00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,440
Speaker 6: the way it's going to be, I cannot promise everybody's job.

637
00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:11,279
Speaker 6: It's just not conceivable, let alone my own, let alone

638
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,120
Speaker 6: my own company, right because if if this were to

639
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:17,319
Speaker 6: carry on, you know, for the next twelve months or so,

640
00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:21,000
Speaker 6: I just can't imagine anybody in our industry that's playing

641
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 6: on a level plane field would be able to operate.

642
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:28,359
Speaker 6: It's just it's just not possible. So it's a it's

643
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,200
Speaker 6: a really concerning thing. And I know I'm taking up

644
00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,440
Speaker 6: airspace here, but if you don't mind me just saying, also,

645
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,239
Speaker 6: had we you know, if we had the infrastructure in

646
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,279
Speaker 6: America to do this, you know, in terms of what

647
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:45,160
Speaker 6: I mentioned earlier, the batteries, the joysticks, the aluminum, the

648
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,719
Speaker 6: ability to do this, and we had the resources of

649
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:52,319
Speaker 6: being able to kind of operate this business, which I mean,

650
00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:55,840
Speaker 6: it's not inexpensive. You know, it would require several several

651
00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:59,120
Speaker 6: million dollars to operate a manufacturing company. You know, I'm

652
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,200
Speaker 6: not opposed to that. I'm not opposed to actually trying

653
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,200
Speaker 6: this out, but I will say this, given them my

654
00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:07,600
Speaker 6: experience is that even if we were to do that,

655
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,799
Speaker 6: you know, a wheelchair that might cost somebody today twelve

656
00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,840
Speaker 6: hundred dollars isn't going to cost twelve hundred dollars tomorrow.

657
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,160
Speaker 6: You know, if we're manufacturing this, it's going to be

658
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:18,520
Speaker 6: you know, twenty four to twenty five hundred dollars.

659
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:19,120
Speaker 4: Yep.

660
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,640
Speaker 1: So the bottom line I mean, and I appreciate at

661
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:23,239
Speaker 1: the end of the day, the bottom line is the

662
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:27,320
Speaker 1: bottom line, and one ask to soberly sort of understand

663
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 1: the consequences the benefits obviously of bringing those supply chains

664
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,680
Speaker 1: back home, the opportunities and the jobs creating that. But

665
00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:40,000
Speaker 1: from the consumer perspective, that's that's pretty stark increase in

666
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: a reminder of the trade off as it relates to this. Look, Joseph,

667
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,719
Speaker 1: I appreciate you painting that picture. Thank you, for highlighting

668
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,920
Speaker 1: some real world impacts that are acute and immediate, and

669
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 1: also just the deep uncertainty as we wait day to

670
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 1: day and as you suggest, it's you know, it changes

671
00:35:57,239 --> 00:35:59,520
Speaker 1: day to day, the flip flop, the lack of certainty.

672
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,680
Speaker 1: And as a business owner myself and I appreciate that

673
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:07,000
Speaker 1: reference certainty is the coin of the realm. At least

674
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,200
Speaker 1: you can work around that and you can make some decisions,

675
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,840
Speaker 1: but the inability to make decisions is perhaps to me

676
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:18,400
Speaker 1: the most stifling, and I think for you, you know,

677
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,399
Speaker 1: I can't imagine the most alarming part of.

678
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 4: All of this.

679
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,759
Speaker 6: Yeah, no doubt, uncertainty plays a huge part. And you know,

680
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:30,640
Speaker 6: we were trying to represent a company that is American

681
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:35,080
Speaker 6: based and grown, and you know, again we take great

682
00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:36,879
Speaker 6: pride in what we do. You know, there's a lot

683
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:41,000
Speaker 6: of stories here of individuals that have family members that

684
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:46,319
Speaker 6: require what we do. And it's just extremely frustrating, you know,

685
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:50,160
Speaker 6: to sort of be in a situation where we've grown

686
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,799
Speaker 6: and developed such a reputable organization and find ourselves in

687
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 6: a situation that is completely out.

688
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:56,760
Speaker 4: Of our control.

689
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:02,840
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, we're really just we have no control

690
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:05,400
Speaker 6: over this portion of what we can do well.

691
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,719
Speaker 1: Appreciate it. But you know what, it's the fact that

692
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 1: you're willing to share that story gives you agency, gives people,

693
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,040
Speaker 1: I think, a deeper understanding of what's at stake. You

694
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,879
Speaker 1: and thank you Joseph as well. You only reinforce the why,

695
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,520
Speaker 1: the why. I'm proud on behalf of you and forty

696
00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,000
Speaker 1: million of us. California was the first state in the

697
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,239
Speaker 1: country to sue the Trump administration as it relates to

698
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,840
Speaker 1: his authority on these tariffs. And by the way, I

699
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,160
Speaker 1: am damn confident we're going to win that and we're

700
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 1: going to get clarity on that in the next few weeks.

701
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:38,760
Speaker 1: So I really appreciate you willing to share your story.

702
00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:41,319
Speaker 1: Thanks for all the good work, remarkable work you're doing,

703
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:45,480
Speaker 1: how you're changing lives, for your charitable focus, not just

704
00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:46,720
Speaker 1: for your entrepreneurial spirit.

705
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:47,840
Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you for that.

706
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:49,759
Speaker 1: Take care, Thanks so much for joining us.

707
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 4: You're welcome. Thank you so much.

708
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:54,399
Speaker 1: Appreciate Hey, Jennifer, Hi.

709
00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:56,040
Speaker 7: Hi, Gavin Nissam, how are you doing.

710
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,839
Speaker 1: I am good where you're in the great city of

711
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:00,880
Speaker 1: Palm Springs.

712
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:03,240
Speaker 7: Right, this is correct, this is correct.

713
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,680
Speaker 1: I love it. And tell me a little bit about

714
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,399
Speaker 1: your business when you opened it up, and how you're

715
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,040
Speaker 1: feeling about everything right now.

716
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:12,000
Speaker 7: Well, thank you.

717
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,319
Speaker 8: Thank you again for taking the time and allowing us

718
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:19,520
Speaker 8: to share what's happening with small business right now. So

719
00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:22,759
Speaker 8: my name is Jennifer Gold and I'm the founder and

720
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,200
Speaker 8: curator of Grounded Bodyworks boutique while Miss Spa based in

721
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:28,160
Speaker 8: Palm Springs.

722
00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:32,080
Speaker 7: We're celebrating our thirteenth year this summer.

723
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,080
Speaker 8: And when I started, there was just me and one

724
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,799
Speaker 8: of my massage therapists that I actually taught massage. I

725
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 8: was the director at a local school for a minute

726
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,800
Speaker 8: and hired her and it was just us for a while,

727
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:54,360
Speaker 8: and now I have a team of twelve, and goodness,

728
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,399
Speaker 8: it's just been it's been kind of a whirlwind. I've

729
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,720
Speaker 8: learned a lot. Leading up to COVID, I think under

730
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 8: goodness Obama, our business was grown, growing steadily year after year,

731
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,200
Speaker 8: and then the pandemic hit and that momentum.

732
00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:11,880
Speaker 7: Has just gone overnight.

733
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,560
Speaker 8: Yeah, you know, And if I could take a moment

734
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,800
Speaker 8: to just personally thank you for your support during COVID,

735
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,400
Speaker 8: I took the grant I have the eed Alan I'm

736
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,440
Speaker 8: currently repaying. Made the difference between closing our doors and surviving.

737
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,000
Speaker 1: So thank you, oh, thank you for that. So is

738
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:30,880
Speaker 1: this I mean, Jennifer right now, I mean forgive me

739
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:32,839
Speaker 1: for cutting off because I think it's an interesting I mean,

740
00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:36,440
Speaker 1: the fact that you went through that experience in the

741
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:42,400
Speaker 1: trauma personally, professionally as it relates to COVID. How is

742
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:47,359
Speaker 1: this moment Does it bring back those memories? Is it

743
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:51,600
Speaker 1: on par with that? The uncertainty, the impacts to your business.

744
00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:55,680
Speaker 8: It's definitely uncertain. The struggles are very real. There's still

745
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,480
Speaker 8: very real. I can't believe it's been five years. You know,

746
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,080
Speaker 8: we're still recovering. For many of us, it's fragile and

747
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:04,359
Speaker 8: these tariffs could be the thing that pushes us over

748
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:04,920
Speaker 8: the edge.

749
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 1: And how are the tariffs directly impacting the work there

750
00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,799
Speaker 1: is I imagine? I mean, we've we've been reading a

751
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,279
Speaker 1: lot all over the national news Palm Springs reaching out

752
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,960
Speaker 1: to Canadians. Two million Canadians last year visited the state

753
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,239
Speaker 1: of California. Palm Springs one of the biggest beneficiaries of

754
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:27,560
Speaker 1: the number of tourist dollars spent. Has that had an impact?

755
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,399
Speaker 1: Is it more direct in terms of supply chain and

756
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 1: materials that you're using at the spot give us a

757
00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:35,400
Speaker 1: sense pink the picture.

758
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,680
Speaker 8: Sure, sure, so there's I'd say there's like three three

759
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:45,239
Speaker 8: caveats that are that I'm experiencing right now personally. And

760
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:48,400
Speaker 8: then with my business, I'm just on a spending freeze.

761
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:49,640
Speaker 7: We're afraid.

762
00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:52,680
Speaker 8: I'm afraid to invest As a business owner, I've paused

763
00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 8: all major purchases. I want to invest in growth, but

764
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,759
Speaker 8: right now then certainty is just too great. Our customers

765
00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:04,440
Speaker 8: are also hesitant. Even in an affluent area like Palm Springs,

766
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:08,440
Speaker 8: people are pulling back on non essential spending that slows

767
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:09,200
Speaker 8: everyone down.

768
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,200
Speaker 7: I'd love to partner with Hydrofacial. It's a long beach.

769
00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:18,680
Speaker 8: So I'm from Compton, my family's from Quebec. So you

770
00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:22,279
Speaker 8: know what I do with Grounded is I promote all

771
00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:25,600
Speaker 8: these local businesses from la where I'm from, all the

772
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:28,680
Speaker 8: way to Quebec where my family's from. I'd love to

773
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:32,080
Speaker 8: bring in Hydrofacial, this California brand and manufacture, but the

774
00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:36,200
Speaker 8: machine costs over a thirty thousand dollars. I'm not about

775
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:41,759
Speaker 8: to invest in that right now, you know. And then

776
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:45,600
Speaker 8: I'd say the next thing would be our vendors, even

777
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,960
Speaker 8: like our skincare line is Oseia in Malibu. I'm sure

778
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:54,040
Speaker 8: you've heard of them, women owned brand based in California.

779
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:57,320
Speaker 8: Their ingredients and operations are all local, but that doesn't

780
00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:02,000
Speaker 8: make them immune. If griffs increase the cost of imported

781
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:06,640
Speaker 8: packaging materials glass, you know they have glass, but there's pumps,

782
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,520
Speaker 8: there's lids. It affects pricing. That increase comes to me

783
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:14,319
Speaker 8: and then it's passed on to my customers. Even if

784
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:17,720
Speaker 8: we're doing everything right and we shop local. We support

785
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,480
Speaker 8: Californian companies staying sustainable as we can afford to do that,

786
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:27,040
Speaker 8: but local, I'm sorry, global policy is still hitting our

787
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:33,840
Speaker 8: bottom line. And third, it's been a very emotional two months,

788
00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,200
Speaker 8: but a month and a half saying goodbye to our Canadians.

789
00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:42,040
Speaker 8: You are correct, Ron DeHart our manner just send out

790
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:46,359
Speaker 8: an email addressing this Palm Springs is amazing. They've been

791
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,480
Speaker 8: really trying to help support Canada. They just hung all

792
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:52,319
Speaker 8: these banners downtown just to show our support. There's all

793
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:53,920
Speaker 8: these Canadian flags.

794
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:56,880
Speaker 7: It's beautiful, but it's been very emotional.

795
00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:00,319
Speaker 8: Every spring we say goodbye to our Canadian visitors. Your

796
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,560
Speaker 8: many have said goodbye for good. Some have sold their homes.

797
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:07,640
Speaker 8: They're not rebooking. These guests have supported us three years,

798
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:13,160
Speaker 8: including through the pandemic. Their absence this year is emotional

799
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:17,920
Speaker 8: and financially crushing. They spend They bring in three hundred

800
00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:21,800
Speaker 8: and two million just to Palm Springs or the Coachella

801
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:26,720
Speaker 8: Valley alone. Palm Springs is deeply tied to Canadian tourism

802
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:29,120
Speaker 8: and if we lose our small businesses and are left

803
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 8: with only big box stores, we'll lose the very character

804
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:34,120
Speaker 8: of our city.

805
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,600
Speaker 7: I mean, we're still recovering. You know.

806
00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:39,560
Speaker 1: Well, thank you for pinning that picture of Jennifer. It's

807
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:44,439
Speaker 1: you know, in California, we were launching a multimillion dollar

808
00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:48,360
Speaker 1: campaign to encourage Canadians to come back to Canada. Campaign

809
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:51,719
Speaker 1: we announced a few weeks ago saying, you know, California

810
00:43:51,719 --> 00:43:55,719
Speaker 1: wouldn't be California without Canadians. But it's the response to

811
00:43:55,880 --> 00:43:59,359
Speaker 1: was interesting. People are very raw and emotional about it.

812
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 1: And even the California is not you know, it's not

813
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:06,680
Speaker 1: maybe the most untrumped state in America. The state of

814
00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:10,399
Speaker 1: mind is still a tremendous animus from the damage we've

815
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:13,279
Speaker 1: done to the relationships up north, and I imagine just

816
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:16,160
Speaker 1: for you. The emotion is extended to just family you

817
00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:17,439
Speaker 1: have up in Quebec, right.

818
00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 8: I have one aunt left up there. The rest of

819
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:25,080
Speaker 8: the family moved to the States in the seventies and

820
00:44:25,239 --> 00:44:28,719
Speaker 8: she just couldn't leave her horses day, so's she's still

821
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:32,200
Speaker 8: up there. But it's really you know, my vendor friends

822
00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:36,600
Speaker 8: were communicating, we're trying, We're trying to make it work.

823
00:44:36,640 --> 00:44:38,919
Speaker 7: I only have two Canadian vendors right now.

824
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:44,399
Speaker 8: But if I may give you an example, are nail

825
00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,839
Speaker 8: so I run a spa, a boutique spa in Palm

826
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:52,960
Speaker 8: Springs and name we offer nail services in our vendor

827
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:56,399
Speaker 8: for our nail products. Or in La it's called Cot

828
00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,280
Speaker 8: and she's redoing her line. A lot of the packaging

829
00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:04,640
Speaker 8: is from China. So because of these tariffs, I've been

830
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:08,439
Speaker 8: rethinking do I stick with coat, you know? And then

831
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:13,879
Speaker 8: there's a line up in Canada called Behind and they

832
00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,080
Speaker 8: have a nail line and it's made in Canada.

833
00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:18,440
Speaker 7: But again, I just feel.

834
00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:20,680
Speaker 8: Like I'm going to lose, lose, you know, just trying

835
00:45:20,719 --> 00:45:24,000
Speaker 8: to stay local but make it all work well.

836
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:27,680
Speaker 1: Jennifer, I really appreciate you putting in a human face,

837
00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:31,640
Speaker 1: your own humanity behind this, and I extend that humanity

838
00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:35,640
Speaker 1: quite literally your support for others in the region, other

839
00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:39,359
Speaker 1: small businesses. And I think it's so insightful and helpful that,

840
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:44,719
Speaker 1: as you say, even locally made products have packaging components

841
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:48,319
Speaker 1: and other component parts that they have to import, and

842
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,920
Speaker 1: those costs are burdens that ultimately will be passed on

843
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:56,360
Speaker 1: to you and potentially your customers. And it's such a helpful,

844
00:45:56,560 --> 00:46:00,080
Speaker 1: I think, insight to understand the impacts, the cascading impacts

845
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:04,719
Speaker 1: of these terrafts, including obviously the tourism component that compounds that.

846
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,880
Speaker 1: But what you said, I think is the most damning.

847
00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:09,920
Speaker 1: It's just the level of anxiety that you have to

848
00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:14,120
Speaker 1: personally go through, professionally go through, and as a consequence

849
00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:19,560
Speaker 1: of that anxiety and unwillingness to make a big, bold decisions,

850
00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:22,080
Speaker 1: which are decisions often you have to make with some

851
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 1: confidence about the future and what it will hold. And

852
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:28,680
Speaker 1: so thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for

853
00:46:30,719 --> 00:46:33,360
Speaker 1: weathering a lot of storms. I'm confident you'll continue to

854
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:36,040
Speaker 1: and I think it's a big help for those watching,

855
00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:37,319
Speaker 1: in those listening.

856
00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:39,680
Speaker 8: I appreciate that. Thank you again for all your support.

857
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:41,600
Speaker 8: Couldn't have chosen.

858
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:44,319
Speaker 7: A better state to be in right now, So thank

859
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:44,840
Speaker 7: you again.

860
00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,000
Speaker 1: We're gonna we're gonna take it to the Trump administration

861
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:50,400
Speaker 1: and we're going to beat back these tariffs. You watch,

862
00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:53,560
Speaker 1: we have our day in court quite literally coming up

863
00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:56,160
Speaker 1: very surely, Jennifer, thanks so much for joining us.

864
00:46:56,520 --> 00:47:03,920
Speaker 7: Thanks so much, Thank you very much. The Song of

865
00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:05,560
Speaker 7: ADM