Meet Kelsy Yates, Co-owner of Police & Thieves
This interview originally appeared on Bold Journey
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelsy Yates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelsy , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
While I would say that I’m generally an optimistic person, I can get bogged down in worry and stress. As such, I have a few strategies to keep me centered. Meditation is a daily practice. In my twenties I started meditating but quit because a few bad experiences began to make me associate meditation with gurus who care more about escaping the world than true betterment. I also deluded myself into believing that I was too busy to sit quietly for fifteen minutes. It was derivations such as the Silva Method that uses meditating and dreams to solve problems that brought me back to meditation. I now use this as a tool to enhance my work. Meditation has helped me keep everything in context, which then helps me stay optimistic and open to new opportunities and ideas. Another technique I employ is visualization. This allows me to focus intently on my one chosen goal and obviate the unnecessary clutter that may dissuade me or impede me achieving my goals. Visualization and meditation help me keep a singular focus. This idea dove tails with my other tool that I have woven into my routine, listening to podcasts and reading books by entrepreneurs. For instance, I listen daily to Founders Podcast. The host reviews numerous autobiographies of founders and examines the overlapping traits of successful businesspeople. Listening to other people’s plights inspires me. All of these practices assist in keeping me focused and centered, and drips off the doubt and fears that might keep me from being my most productive and happy self.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My partner/husband (David Tomas Martinez) and I started Police & Thieves in Feb of 2022 right at the tail end of COVID. We are writers by trade and did not have a ton of business experience, so we initially hired a CEO to run the company. We quickly realized we needed to be heavily involved if we were to create the kind of company we envisioned. Since then, we have turned what was a place to sell weed into a boutique marijuana shop that is not only focused on creating the best customer experience but also one where we help our team grow and learn, both in their personal lives and at work. What is most exciting about investing in both the customer and the Police & Thieves team is the energy it creates. Happy teams create happy customers, and happy customers create happy teams. It’s a beautiful circle.
A good portion of my time is spent thinking about how to grow our team, on a personal and professional level (as well as on my own personal growth). I am also very focused on how to grow the company. Our mission is to bring cannabis to other markets so everyone can begin to explore the benefits, with or without the psychoactive effects.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am still very much on my journey, as a writer; a business owner; a woman, but the advice I was given and in turn give to others is to read and do so widely. To always feed your curiosity. Inquisitiveness can lead to ideas others have overlooked or haven’t found. For me personally, the three qualities I lean on most running a business are: an ability to navigate macro and micro issues simultaneously (you have to be everywhere and spot checking everything all the time), determination, and openness. I am open to new ideas. I am open to failure and to change. I am single minded and obsessive once I set a goal, and I will work tirelessly to achieve my goals.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We are looking to partner with companies who also want to build value, whose founders are just as determined to create a meaningful experience. Being a woman and minority owned company, we also like working with other similarly purposed companies: those that are looking to build community and support and those on the periphery. More specifically, because we believe in the benefit of microdosing marijuana, an ideal partner would be in the wellness realm, either in fitness, yoga, meditation; or in beauty, like spas or retreats; or in community, like book clubs and social clubs. Our vision is to change the way cannabis is perceived and consumed, where it is no longer considered a drug and is instead taken either as a daily vitamin or a sleep aid or as a night cap instead of the evening cocktail.
For anyone interested in what we are doing, you can contact me at [email protected]
Image Credits
Product photography (Brick and red jars) are by Steven John Miner
Photos of exterior stores: Ian Warren
Photos of clothing Willian Avent
