Richard

In 2004, Wade Brannon was coaching his son’s T-ball team when another player’s mother asked, “You’re the ham guy, right?”

Well, he was the ham guy: He founded Heavenly Ham, built it up to $150 million in revenue with more than 200 franchises in 33 states, and then sold it to Honey Baked Ham. But by 2004, his role was Mr. Mom, caring for his 5-year-old boy and younger twin girls while his wife worked as a real estate attorney near their Atlanta home.

Parenting was rewarding but hard; his son had what he believes were sensory issues (common among young children), which made some tasks tricky. “I took him to my barber shop, and he screamed the whole time,” Brannon recalls. “Both of us would leave sweaty with hair stuck all over us.”

The T-ball mom, whose name was Nanette Adair, happened to have a solution for that: She’d opened a kids salon called Pigtails & Crewcuts, and Brannon had just taken his son there. “He just loved it,” Brannon says. “He was watching movies, playing with the train tables, interacting with other children.” So when Adair said she had some questions about franchising for Brannon, he was very intrigued.

After a few meetings, in late 2004, Brannon bought Pigtails & Crewcuts from Adair. The company now has more than 80 franchise locations and aims to reach the 100-unit mark by the end of this year. Here, he talks about how to build a local business into a thriving franchise.

Related: He Began Selling Insurance to the Hispanic Community in the 1970s. Now His Family Owns a National Franchise With a Smart Strategy.

How much of the Pigtails & Crewcuts model was in place when you bought it?

It was a single salon here in Atlanta, had a federally registered trademark, and had a look and a feel. I got some of my old ham folks back together, and we spent the next year-and-change putting the systems in place.

Hair and ham are different industries. What made you think it would work?

There were two primary things I looked at. I asked if there was a need — which I believed there was, given my son’s reaction once he experienced it. And then I asked: Can it be replicated? Can it be copied and executed properly by the average person with business sense?

How did you go about replicating the service?

We had to get a design package that could be recreated everywhere. We had to write operations manuals. We had to write franchise agreements and franchise disclosure documents. I talked to a lot of people in the hair industry. I didn’t realize how big the hair industry was until I started looking at this. Goodness gracious, it’s a $65 billion industry. But nobody had taken the children’s segment of it and turned it into a national brand.

What kinds of franchisees do best with your brand?

We have had a lot of women with 2-year-olds. They have a child and they feel like they’re ready to get back into the workplace, and they approach us. We also have a lot of husband-and-wife teams. We’re not targeting hairstylists. We’re targeting businesspeople with people skills. You’ve got to want to work with a team, be a part of your community, enjoy people — children and parents.

What advice do you have for would-be franchisors?

You’ve got to be flexible. Markets change. Conditions change. Everything changes. We went through a recession and found out our business was recession-proof. We went through a pandemic that completely shut us down for entire periods of time. You’ve just got to have a product or a service that can survive the difficult times that are unanticipated. You have to be ready to change.

Related: The Real Cost of Franchising Your Business

Corcoran Group founder and “Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran knows how to run a tight ship — but she also knows when to relinquish control.

The 75-year-old real estate pioneer and entrepreneur took to Instagram on Wednesday to share advice on hiring and delegating.

Related: Barbara Corcoran: All ‘Really Successful Entrepreneurs’ Do This

First, she says, embrace your inner “control freak” — it’s part of the job.

“Anybody who’s a good boss, I’ve learned, is a control freak. It just comes with the territory, and control freaks have a heck of a hard time delegating,” Corcoran explained. “They’re the last people who want to give away what they do so perfectly.”

Corcoran says in order for your business to grow, though, it’s important to find someone who can do the job 80% as well as you can. If you find a candidate who can do that, invest in them to “build your business and move it ahead.”

Corcoran said she goes through a three-question litmus test before hiring someone to create a strong pool of employees.

Related: Barbara Corcoran Issues Statement, Warning on NAR Settlement

“I ask myself, ‘Are they happy? Do they work hard? Are they talented people in one regard or another?’ And if they are, I hire them, and I delegate something to them that’s above their pay grade, above their talent pool, so they have to reach and show me how good they are, and that’s how you develop talent,” she said.

“It’s not just a matter of delegating, it’s a matter of developing talent, and then delegating to the talent,” she added.

Corcoran’s net worth is an estimated $400 million.

In my first month as CEO, I sat down for lunch with a few customers. To say I learned some things is an understatement.

Those customers saw a lot of promise in our tech, which was working for their business. But by talking to them in person, we discovered some changes they could make to help them use the software to its full potential.

In other words, it was a moment that every new CEO lives for. As a brand-new CEO, you have a valuable window into the business — a chance to see things with fresh eyes and make real changes. But it doesn’t last forever.

I’ve recently experienced this firsthand. After a two-year hiatus, I was reappointed to the CEO position at the POS and payments platform I founded, tasked with putting it on the path to long-term, profitable growth.

My situation is unique as a returning founder, but the same basic principles apply to anyone who assumes a new CEO role. For those stepping into the job, here’s how to seize the “fresh eyes” moment.

Related: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Organizational Alignment

Before you do anything, listen

During my time away from the CEO role, I worked in environmental conservation. And if there’s one thing I learned working alongside those who aim to solve complex global problems, it’s to listen first. Hear people out, gather information and collaborate on solutions.

The same goes for a new CEO, who must start by building trust. As a returning founder, I had an advantage in that department. Still, there are many new faces and voices since I stepped away.

So, how exactly should a new CEO listen?

Don’t go in with an agenda that predisposes you to tune out tough questions and concerns. Instead, emphasize that you want to hear them, whether it’s about what’s not working from a product or strategic direction or low employee engagement. People should perceive you as looking at the business with a critical eye, under no illusion that things are perfect.

For example, when Oscar Munoz took over struggling United Airlines in 2015, he began his successful turnaround with a cross-country listening tour, talking to mechanics, baggage handlers and flight attendants. I took a similar approach. Right away, we held a leadership offsite so I could spend time with each member of the executive team and talk to employees.

I also did customer visits in Australia and New Zealand, where I met folks who were the ideal profile for Lightspeed and listened carefully to the common threads that emerged.

I listened to board members and shareholders, too. Getting their outside perspective was valuable for understanding not only how the market perceived our business but also how we could continue to drive value in their eyes.

The temptation might be for a new CEO to storm in, guns a-blazing. But this initial listening phase is priceless. Across industries, companies are looking for CEOs and other executives with strong listening skills. And the upside can be dramatic. Organizations that listen to and act on employee feedback are three times more likely to meet or exceed financial goals and 10 times more likely to have high customer satisfaction and retention.

Remember, just telling people you’ll listen isn’t enough. The whole point is to hear from multiple perspectives and then work with your executive team to build a plan that brings rich solutions together. Then, you have a small and urgent window to take action.

Don’t miss your chance to act

For a new CEO, one of the biggest advantages is having a runway to redirect the business, and it’s important to show follow-through on that in the first 90 days.

I didn’t return to the CEO role to be popular. Yes, I can still be an empathetic, compassionate, caring leader. But ultimately, it’s a CEO’s job to be effective, not to be liked.

When a new leader is brought in to transform a company, it’s essential to live up to that responsibility, even if it sometimes means doing unpopular things. Listening has to be a prelude to action, or else it’s an empty gesture.

After taking over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, Satya Nadella saved the tech giant from irrelevance by quickly shifting focus away from software sales to cloud services. Thanks to that and other dramatic changes, Microsoft became one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Sometimes, this requires throwing out certain long-held company traditions and practices. Before I returned, one of our annual traditions was a sales summit that flew people to our HQ from all over the world. We adjusted the format — making it virtual — and created a ton of operational efficiencies in the process.

Getting everyone together made financial and business sense back in the day when the summit drew a couple of hundred people and helped us build our culture. But I could no longer justify such a big expense if it didn’t benefit customers directly.

Studies show that when a new CEO makes changes early, they can have a compounding effect on the business. What happens in the first 90 days or so sets the stage for the company’s trajectory over the next three to five years.

And people expect their leader to take action. For employees, decisiveness is one of the top three qualities of effective leadership, a global survey found, with CEOs described as “decisive” 12 times more likely to be high-performing.

Related: How to Align Business and Customer Interests for Long-Term Success

How to know when it all comes together

Of course, none of this is easy to pull off. A new CEO’s early days are full of potential pitfalls.

For starters, their arrival can be destabilizing for team members. People have different levels of tolerance for change. Especially when such changes are significant, it’s important to show empathy by acknowledging that they might not be easy.

A new leader should also respect the achievements of those who helped build the company. Here, a little humility goes a long way. I’m grateful for the difficult work my predecessor did. After all, he set us up for future success by making tough operational changes.

Ultimately, seizing the “fresh eyes” moment as CEO is about mastering the balance between appreciating what made the company great and making the necessary changes.

How do you know when you’ve got it right?

When people say they feel aligned with the business — and when you feel aligned, too. That doesn’t mean there’s complete agreement. But after seeing each other’s point of view, everyone is on board with a plan to move things forward. There’s energy and excitement to push in a new direction. And there’s a sense that this builds off the input and hard work that came before.

Getting all this right requires a new leader to make the most of their fresh eyes moment: taking the time to listen first, then acting sooner rather than later.

Early on in elementary school, Maria Washington’s son was struggling to sit still and pay attention. “His teachers wrote him off,” she says. “They said he’s not capable of this, or this, or this. They were telling me he wouldn’t amount to anything.”

But the Washington family disagreed. Maria’s husband, Aaron — her son’s stepfather, and a former adjunct chemistry professor at the University of South Carolina — started tutoring the boy. They soon discovered that he learned better with visual prompts, so they tailored a plan to his needs. By the end of fifth grade, “My son’s teacher said he should move into general education classes,” Maria says. “He finished with all A’s.”

So when the Washingtons decided to start a business, it was Aaron’s success with tutoring Maria’s son that drew them toward the education franchise Tutor Doctor. “We thought we could duplicate our experience for other families,” Maria says. Their location in Evans, South Carolina, opened in 2022, and served just 37 clients their first year. In 2023, they were up to 195 clients and had tripled their revenue. Here, Washington talks about tapping into government resources and the unmet needs of her community.

Related: She Worked Hard to Become An Engineer, and Didn’t Want Her Degree to Go to Waste. Then She Found a Franchise That Was the Best of Both Worlds.

How did you triple your business between year one and year two?

In year one, the focus was on the individual families and learning more about the Tutor Doctor model. I’d also just had a newborn and was learning to juggle an infant and the business. But my husband had spoken with someone who mentioned there was federal money out there that schools had access to, through the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS)program. So I registered our business as an EANS provider in South Carolina and at least seven other states, so we could gain visibility with the schools.

Then in January 2023, I received a call from a private school that enrolled about 50 students for services. I had another school reach out over the summer to request one-on-one tutoring for about 30 students. Establishing partnerships with schools is what really got us the growth.

When you scaled up that fast, what challenges did you encounter?

The main challenge was recruiting high-quality tutors. I had to become more selective. I asked more behavioral interviewing questions, which was a game changer. My process now includes an interview with a dedicated tutor recruiter and then 45 minutes with me to review a PowerPoint presentation that I designed to ensure all applicants understand the requirements of this position and the impact we intend to have on our families.

How has owning a franchise impacted your life?

I have the flexibility to design my schedule. I can take my kids to doctors’ appointments. I can have lunch with my first-grader at school. I can take off to go see my son’s swim team. I don’t have to miss these key events. Then I can come home and work from 10 o’clock to midnight to get payroll processed.

What other areas of potential growth do you see for the business?

We want to offer tutoring services as an HR benefit for large companies. Everyone has kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews. Maybe the company pays 50% and the family pays 50%. I realize it’s something that hasn’t been done before, but I like to do new things. If we can get a larger company to offer tutoring support as an HR benefit, that would be massive.

And your son? How is he doing?

He’s in eighth grade, and he had five A’s and two B’s — and two of the courses were high school credit courses. He is now an independent learner. That’s our goal with all our families. A lot of our success stories no longer need tutoring.

Related: The Role and Responsibilities of a Franchisee, Defined

Talk about a Philly special.

While some business leaders push for a four-day workweek or enact hybrid office shifts following a change in workplace preferences after the pandemic, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker has doubled down on the traditional — by requiring all 26,000 city workers to return to the office five days a week, effective Monday.

Related: This Country Just Implemented a 6-Day Workweek for Employees

The new ordinance was signed on Friday by Judge Sierra Thomas Street. Unions in the city pushed to delay the new mandate but were met with opposition.

It’s estimated that 80% of Philadelphia city workers are already working on-site five days a week.

“July 15th, in the middle of the summer, people are scrambling, trying to find childcare, trying to find summer camps,” April Gigetts, president of District Council 47 in Philadelphia, told NPR.

Parker claimed that the decision was made for the city of Philadelphia and its government to “create a more visible and accessible government, a city government that our residents can see, touch and feel.”

Chief Administration Officer for Philadelphia, Camille Duchaussee, said that the decision was not made due to lack of productivity, but rather based on an overarching “leadership” strategy.

“We want to ensure that we continue to build on the culture and experience that’s positive in the workplace,” Duchaussee said, in a statement. “We understand that work from home is something that our employees were taking part in, but we all have a shared purpose and our workforce is committed to the shared purpose.”

Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to enact such a mandate.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly wage for a city worker is $22.84.

Related: Philadelphia Eagles Christmas Album No. 2 Behind Taylor Swift

Philly isn’t alone in cracking down on working time frames for city employees.

Earlier this month, Greece enacted a mandate that required a six-day workweek for employees working for private business and manufacturing plants that operate 24 hours a day, including certain retail and agricultural workers.

True story: Recently, my daughter was at a major brand car dealership with her boyfriend, intending to purchase a pre-owned car. Note I made up the numbers for the sake of my daughter’s financial privacy, but the takeaways are still the same.

The dealership asked for, let’s say, $26,000 “all in” for the car, but my daughter had already decided that $20,000 was the most she would pay. There was a lot of ground to cover to actually make a deal happen. After some discussion, the salesperson did his best, dropping the price to $25,000. But that still left a big gap, so he told her, “Let me go check with my manager and see if he has any ideas.”

After five minutes, the salesperson and his manager entered the room together. The manager explained that at $25,000, this was a great price; it was already well below their MSRP, and the deal was “very thin” as it was for him. He then used the famous line, “Okay, here’s what I’m going to do to get you into this car today.” The manager pulled out a piece of paper with revised numbers that showed his price now at $23,995. He explained to my daughter that this was the absolute best possible price. He was “all in;” this was his “best offer,” and he told her to take it or leave it. For the grand finale — keeping in mind that this is a 100% true story — the manager took out a big red ink stamp and smacked it down on the paper. The stamp read “FINAL” in bold red ink. $23,995. FINAL.

My daughter responded, “Thanks, but I’m sorry; it looks like it’s not going to work out.” Without hesitation, he immediately blurted out, “How about $22,500?”

When my daughter told me the story, I had a wonderful laugh. After the big show, the manager held his price for a full six seconds. And the idea of the red final stamp just made the story even better. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there’s actually quite a lot to unpack here regarding sales tactics, psychology and effectiveness.

Related: 3 Unconventional Sales Tactics That Will Close More Deals

I’m not in the car business, and I’ve never sold cars, but I can see some familiar sales tactics (and mistakes) playing out here:

Playing the waiting game

All this went down after my daughter had spent hours on the lot. It was getting late in the day on a Saturday, and the manager knew she was hoping to get it done. At some level, the manager was wearing her down and playing out the clock, playing the “waiting game.” It didn’t work in this case, but often, this notion of using time as a weapon can be very effective. Utilizing time as a strategic element in the negotiation process can be effective, but it must be used carefully and respectfully. Pushing too hard on time constraints can backfire.

Closing the deal by changing the sales lineup

When the salesperson reached his personal negotiation line or felt he would lose her, he brought in his manager. In addition to adding some time to the clock, this step created a new opportunity for a new dynamic. The dealership never really wants a potential buyer to walk out the door, so if one person doesn’t get the job done, it’s always worth trying someone else. Involving a manager or company administrator in the negotiation process can create new dynamics and opportunities for closing a deal.

Proposing your best and final offer

Although I laughed hysterically when I heard about the red stamp, I soon realized it was actually a smart move. Once upon a time, I’m guessing some sales and marketing people sat in a room, and someone said, “I have an idea — let’s make a red stamp that says final and use that during negotiations.” Everyone probably laughed, and they would have said, “No, I’m serious!” And then everyone thought about it and agreed, as funny of an idea as it was, it actually made sense. It’s one thing to tell someone something verbally, but when it’s “official” and in red ink on paper, it’s human nature to believe it and take it as indisputable. Using psychological sales tactics to create a Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) effect, such as a “Final Offer” stamp, can be effective in conveying seriousness and finality, but you have to honor your word, or you will likely lose credibility.

All the tactics I outlined above were smart, but here’s where I think the dealership dropped the ball:

Trying a shutdown move too soon

The manager came in cold, and rather than take some time (again, time is on their side) to talk about the value, create some alignment, and build some rapport, he went straight for the kill. That tactic may work, but I felt it was too aggressive. He would have been better off discussing the pain points and goals concerning the product, coming up with some extra incentives, etc. Understanding the customer’s needs, discussing the product’s value and building rapport and trust can be crucial in successful sales.

Related: How to Master Your Sales Success — Why Every Answer and Rejection Matters

Putting an out-of-reach offer on the table

The manager decided to go for the close in a fairly aggressive way. In some cases, that tactic makes sense. But he played it all wrong with the numbers. He knew they were a full $5,000 or 20% off, and he decided to put it all on the line at $23,995. Obviously, given how fast he dropped another thousand, he had plenty more room. If he was going for the hard close and “FINAL” offer, he should have made it more compelling. By putting on the big show and then immediately dropping his price, he completely lost credibility and lowered the odds of closing. In this case, he lost my daughter’s trust and the sale. In negotiation, it’s important to understand the other party’s budget and limits before making an offer. Being aware of their constraints will increase the likelihood of closing a deal.

Saying your offer is “final” when it’s not

If you offer something of value at a good price and tell them it’s “final” (which I personally don’t recommend as a sales tactic), then stand by it and mean it. Your word has to mean something. Once he realized his “final” price was not going to work, rather than lower it, he could have thrown in some additional valuable incentive, perhaps some amount of free service or some kind of special financing. If a “final offer” is presented, standing by it as your final word is essential. If adjustments are needed, they should include additional incentives or value to maintain trust and credibility.

Sales is an art, no doubt about that. A great salesperson builds a relationship, asks questions and listens, understands the client’s pain points, is honest and transparent, and operates with integrity. Of course, strategies, techniques, incentives, and a lot of human emotion and psychology are at play, but all of them can happen successfully without losing your credibility.

So, the overall moral of my story? Choose wisely before using the big red stamp!

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Victoria Carroll, a U.S.-based professional voice actor who created a full-time career with the freelance service platform Fiverr.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of Fiverr. Victoria Carroll.}

What was your day job (or other sources of income) when you started your side hustle?
I was living abroad in the Czech Republic and working as an actress and filmmaker before I did voiceover work, but my income was always low (and sporadic), so I mainly supplemented it by teaching preschool. I did all sorts of things before becoming a full-time freelancer, though — I was a Disney princess, a promotional model for brands, I gave English lessons to Czech students…you name it!

Related: This Mom Started a Side Hustle on Facebook — Now It Averages $14,000 a Month and She Can ‘Work From a Resort in the Maldives’

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I joined Fiverr, which is a platform for freelancers of all kinds, in 2018, which I fully credit for my current career. I had just finished my first large voice acting and motion capture project for a videogame (Kingdom Come: Deliverance) that was becoming quite popular and generating a ton of buzz, but I was still living paycheck to paycheck. A friend suggested I pursue voice-over more seriously and mentioned that they had just hired a voice actor through the site. I was really excited to give freelancing a shot. The prospect of being able to work from anywhere in the world and create my own schedule — especially in my field, which demanded a lot of flexibility for auditions and filming schedules — was really exciting.

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
My first step was setting up a professional home recording studio. I bought a fancy microphone and soundproofing gear. From there, I did research on what clients were looking for in a recording artist and how to best set up my profile on Fiverr. This included creating videos and voice reels of my work, writing a good bio and figuring out how to best communicate project details to meet client’s needs.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle, and how did you navigate them?
I poured everything into building my career as a freelancer, meaning I often worked seven days a week. Sometimes my days were 14-plus hours long, too — and I spent the majority of those hours in a small, dark home recording studio. I also worked holidays, and although I saw success with all the time and effort I put in, I definitely got burnt out. After about a year or so of bending over backward to accommodate dozens of clients a day, I began to set clearer boundaries on when and where I was available and for what price. I have a rule about not working on Sundays now — and I try to avoid weekends in general if I can. I’ve also set stronger requirements for what types of projects I’m willing to take on and for what rates.

Related: This 26-Year-Old’s Side Hustle That ‘Anybody Can Do’ Grew to Earn $170,000 a Month. Here’s What Happened When I Tested It.

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
I hardly saw any revenue for the first six months. Then, I began to make around $1,000-2,000 a month on average, and it slowly increased from there. By my second full year on Fiverr, I made around $70,000 — the most I had made…ever!

What does growth and revenue look like now?
Since I started, I’ve been lucky enough to almost double my monthly earnings each year. Through Fiverr alone, I’m currently able to pull in around $250,000 a year.

You’ve turned your work on Fiverr into a full-time business. What do you enjoy most about this career?
I think time is our most precious and valuable resource, so having the freedom to make my own schedule is by far my favorite thing about this career. I never did well with jobs that required me to show up at the same place every day for several hours a day. Fiverr is incredible from a time-saving perspective because the catalog of your past work is displayed on the site, along with thousands of honest reviews from previous clients to establish trust, so you’re not wasting time auditioning for jobs or seeking out gigs — the work comes to you. It’s fun to wake up each day and see what new jobs I’ll be taking on; it keeps things fresh. It’s also nice not having a boss to answer to! I’m fully in charge of how my business operates.

Last year, I was able to fund and complete my first feature film (a documentary on a shaman that’s coming out this year), which included traveling to Peru to shoot, edit and post-produce the project. I also got married and pregnant — all while working “full-time”!

So, as a filmmaker and new mom, my freedom is absolutely priceless.

Related: This Former Flight Attendant and Her Roommate Started a Side Hustle With Just $2,000 Each. Then It Earned Them Nearly $600,000 — and Counting.

What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles of their own?
Be prepared to sacrifice a large amount of time and effort in the beginning to establish yourself. When I speak to other freelancers about how they got started, they usually say the same thing. I don’t think there’s a shortcut for that. In the beginning, I worked long hours for low pay. But I was able to pay my dues, build up a huge portfolio and forge nice, long-term relationships with brands and companies. If you make that investment by building up a portfolio and client base in the beginning, it will pay off when you’re established.

The cannabis industry has experienced exponential growth over recent years, with Verano emerging as a leading player. Verano operates in 13 states with over 140 locations and posted revenue of $938 million in 2023. George Archos, the founder and CEO of Verano, shares his journey and insights on building a successful cannabis company, emphasizing the importance of culture, adaptability, and community impact.

Archos was drawn to the cannabis industry by the potential benefits of the plant. He was influenced by a family member with multiple sclerosis, which motivated him to pursue a cultivation license in Illinois. Archos highlights the importance of building a company that does good for people, saying, “I always loved the opportunity to do something good for people, and this was an opportunity to do it in my home state.”

Related: Jon Bon Jovi and His Son Jesse Want You to Play ‘Pink Pong’ With Their Top-Rated Rosé This Summer. You Game?

One of the keys to Verano’s success is its strong focus on culture and hospitality. With a background in the restaurant industry, Archos emphasized the importance of a welcoming environment and excellent customer service. “Training and creating that family vibe is very important to us and then providing them a great product,” he explains. This approach has been instrumental in building a loyal customer base and a dedicated team of roughly 4,000 employees.

However, the journey hasn’t been without challenges. Going public was a significant milestone for Verano, but it came with its own set of difficulties. Archos admitted that managing a public company involves more time on investor relations and less on-ground operations, which he enjoys. He shares, “Once you go public, unfortunately, you have to step away from that a little bit and spend a little bit more time on investor relations and traveling.” Despite these challenges, Archos has adapted and now sees the benefits of the increased exposure and learning experiences that come with being a public company.

Related: A Look Inside the Company That Is Making $500 Million a Year Serving Italian Beef Sandwiches Made Famous by ‘The Bear’

Archos’s advice to fellow entrepreneurs is straightforward: make decisions and learn from them. He stresses the importance of trusting one’s gut and not being afraid to pivot if needed. “You have to make that decision. You have to trust yourself and you have to move forward,” he advises. This mindset has helped Verano navigate the volatile cannabis market and position itself for future growth. Looking ahead, Archos envisions continued success for Verano, driven by a commitment to quality, community, and innovation.

Watch all episodes of The CEO Series here

Business leaders and CEOs are voicing well wishes for former President Donald Trump following the attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, which claimed the life of one spectator and injured two others.

Before Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his VP pick on Monday, public figures and tech leaders including Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk condemned the violence, and, in some cases, even endorsed the presidential candidate.

Related: Mark Cuban Warns About Fake Fundraisers on Social Media After Assassination Attempt: ‘Makes Things Worse’

Here are how CEOs and business leaders reacted to the weekend’s events.

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Threads to pen a message calling for a “quick recovery” for Trump, saying that Saturday was a “sad day” for America and noted that “political violence undermines democracy.”

Zuckerberg is not affiliated with any political party, though a 2019 Time report found that the billionaire was quietly recommending potential hires to now-U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign team.

Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos praised Trump on X for his “tremendous grace and courage” and mourned the other victims of the violence along with their families.

Our former President showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight. So thankful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families.

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) July 14, 2024

Bezos has previously donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates and organizations, including former President Barack Obama and former President Donald Trump. He has yet to endorse a candidate for the 2024 election.

He is also the owner of The Washington Post.

Tim Cook

The Apple CEO strongly condemned the violence and said that he hoped Trump would have a “rapid recovery.”

I pray for President Trump’s rapid recovery. My thoughts are with him, the other victims and the Trump family. I strongly condemn this violence.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) July 14, 2024

Cook and Trump met a number of times during Trump’s presidency, particularly during Washington’s trade war with Beijing, China, a place where Apple produces much of its product base.

“I feel very strongly about engaging with people regardless of whether they agree with you or not,” Cook told GQ last April regarding his meetings with the former president. “I actually think it’s even more important to engage when there’s disagreement.”

Brian Chesky

The Airbnb CEO shared on X that he was “horrified” by the attempted assassination and said that he was “thankful” for Trump’s safety.

I’m horrified by today’s political violence, and I’m thankful President Trump wasn’t seriously injured. My thoughts are with him and his family.

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) July 14, 2024

Chesky expressed criticism over Trump’s desire to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. at a 2016 panel at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. In 2022, he donated $100 million to the Obama Foundation.

Related: Elon Musk Endorses Trump, Says ‘Dangerous Times Ahead’

“Anyone who tries to put up barriers against culture is going to be on the wrong side of history,” Chesky said at the time.

Mark Cuban

Cuban took to X in a series of posts that thanked the U.S. Secret Service for their actions.

Let’s just hope the former President is Ok and no one else was injured.

And let’s hope they catch the idiot who did this. This is not the way

And thank you to the Secret Service who put themselves in harms way to protect the former President

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 13, 2024

Cuban also took the opportunity to warn his followers about potential grifters and scammers who may take advantage of the tragedy to steal funds through fake fundraisers that claim to raise money for victims.

I know some people may say it’s not the right time to share this. But, I don’t think anyone disagrees that there are a lot of bots and fake accounts on social media.

When tragedy and horrific events like the assassination attempt on former President Trump happens, it brings… https://t.co/DgiOd0r6Y8

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) July 14, 2024

Cuban has often been critical of Trump and has made it clear that he is not endorsing him for President.

“I’m no supporter of Trump,” Cuban said in a March 2024 post on X. “That’s for damn sure.”

Elon Musk

Elon Musk formally endorsed Trump for President following the shooting on Saturday, just one day after a Bloomberg report revealed that Musk had donated to Trump’s 2024 campaign.

I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery pic.twitter.com/ZdxkF63EqF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2024

Apple entered the AI game last month with Apple Intelligence, a suite of new features designed to bring AI straight to iPhone, iPad, and Mac screens. Apple’s AI has a catch though: it only works on the newest iPhones and it could be the reason why millions of iPhone users with older models seriously think about upgrading, say Morgan Stanley analysts.

Morgan Stanley analysts named Apple a top-pick stock on Monday, after which Apple shares jumped to an all-time high, per Bloomberg. Apple Intelligence is a “clear catalyst” for iPhone upgrades and will enable Apple to sell nearly half a billion iPhones in the next two years, analyst Eric Woodring stated.

Apple Intelligence is expected to come out this fall for the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max — older iPhones will not have access to Apple’s AI. The update offers AI-generated emojis, a smarter Siri, and direct access to ChatGPT, though some anticipated Siri AI upgrades may arrive next year.

Related: Apple Is Expanding What The iPhone Can Do. Here’s What’s Changing Right Away.

“We believe that there is record level of pent-up demand entering the iPhone 16 cycle later this year,” Woodring noted, adding that Apple Intelligence delivers “unique-to-the-Apple-ecosystem” value.

Morgan Stanley previously forecasted that Apple would sell around 230 million iPhones in the same time frame, making the new prediction more than double the previous one.

Apple is also uniquely positioned to be the AI “base camp” for its customers, “just as it has done for digital content (iPod) and social media (iPhone),” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Ananda Baruah.

^{Apple CEO Tim Cook waves to customers before they enter Apple’s 5th Avenue store. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)}

Other analysts at different firms have made similar predictions. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told Reuters in June that more than 15% of existing iPhone users could buy the new iPhone Apple is expected to release this fall.

Related: Apple Labels These 3 Iconic Products ‘Vintage,’ and Soon-to-Be ‘Obsolete’

Ives estimated that 270 million iPhone users have not bought a new model in the past four years.

More than half of Apple’s overall revenue in the second quarter of 2024 came from iPhones; Apple has the majority of the market share for smartphones in the U.S.

At the time of writing, Apple was the largest company in the world with a $3.584 trillion market cap. Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, and Amazon followed.

Related: Warren Buffett Had to Work From His iPhone After Telephone Lines Went Down at Berkshire Hathaway: ‘I’m Glad We Didn’t Sell All of Our Apple’