Transcript

Michael Palumbos (00:48.75)

Welcome everybody to the Family Biz Show. I am your host, Michael Palumbos with Family Wealth and Legacy in Rochester, New York. I hope everybody is doing well. And we are really, really lucky today. Marshall, I am so excited to have you here. And we're going to be talking about everything that you have done with Hubbard Peanut Company, Hubs for short, correct? 

 

Marshall Rabil (01:17.326)

Correct. Yes, sir. 

 

Michael Palumbos (01:18.702)

And I'm just pumped about this conversation. So if you don't mind, we have kind of a tradition where I let you introduce yourself and kind of your journey of how you ended up working in the family business. 

 

Marshall Rabil (01:33.432)

Sure. Well, Michael, thank you so much for having me. It's really be here. Well, I think like members of a family business, they grew up in some capacity. 

 

Marshall Rabil (01:34.52)

much having me really fun to morning. Most men up in it and 

 

Marshall Rabil (01:45.379)

my grandparents started business from their home back in the 50s and and ran it for a while until my mother came in in the late 70s. I'll be a young boy in the 80s and and remember going around the 

 

Marshall Rabil (01:56.046)

was obviously. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:01.89)

production line. Stuff as a little kid. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:02.51)

and riding on the conveyor belts and doing all that kind of fun stuff. I mean, I always 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:08.974)

knew the business and the brand and started out my sales journey giving peanuts to my teachers, gifts and elementary school and things of that nature. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:12.078)

would be sales unique teachers for holiday gifts entry school. Nature 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:20.983)

so always been working. We know apples, it was strictly peanuts here in South Hampton. But yeah, so I started marketing entry schools in and out of the product. 

 

Michael Palumbos (02:22.926)

There's no apples for the teacher, huh? 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:28.056)

County. But started my sales and marketing journey as an elementary school student, hanging out and 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:34.92)

promoting it around town. But you know, I was never. I'm back into the. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:37.89)

But I did, I felt any pressure to come to business. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:43.312)

was, I was always interested. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:45.462)

And kind of my own path and after. Environmental studies major and wanted to travel and explore the world and international. It's kind of my. 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:47.694)

college. I was a history and 

 

Marshall Rabil (02:54.386)

to travel the education was a 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:00.132)

path to do so, take me to travel education abroad. For the JET program, which is through the Japanese Ministry of Education, 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:02.294)

have someone pay and to continue my. And so I worked for program. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:12.63)

lived in a small village in Japan and taught English and was kind of 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:16.566)

of a cultural on 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:18.53)

between American culture and world Japanese culture, which was great. I was path to start. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:23.342)

And then on this. An 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:27.549)

international school in my mind and started working. Program and I led college students on. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:30.552)

for a gap year. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:34.83)

study abroad trips all over the developing world, Africa and Central South and Southeast Asia. So spent most my abroad studying cuisine from all over the world, just different cultures. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:44.014)

most of my 20s abroad, studying the word. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:50.51)

Marshall Rabil (03:51.291)

and and and and his and loved and loved that and came back and 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:53.038)

of that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (03:56.942)

taught geography and world history at our local school here in Hampton County. Was inspired to start a different business. That never really took off. working as startup. wanted to get more involved in the food business. Started working at Whole Foods as a specialty foods buyer. was at that point, 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:00.568)

and then 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:10.856)

And so I moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work on a star. But while working on that 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:19.255)

business. 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:24.11)

And I was 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:26.79)

learning a lot more about branding. And then I 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:26.796)

learning packaging, just CPG in general. I 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:33.06)

was working to get hubs into Whole Foods South while working in the specialty food department, which was great. So I did that, but was able to really learn specialty food, grocery, and that side before I went back to work for hubs. The startup never took off, but I 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:36.174)

one 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:43.438)

and out of the business or coming back. And so the obviously never gained 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:55.564)

a lot more experience and knowledge in special foods, is sure and to kind of. 

 

Marshall Rabil (04:58.774)

CPG, at home. It great to learn their culture, work for someone to see how a different corporate was 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:08.054)

structured. so that was very good for me. And I came back and this sales and marketing role that I thought we needed that back here. started working in 2014 remotely. 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:12.216)

free and then catch the bat and pitch my family kind of. 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:20.942)

And so I moved. And 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:26.202)

then move back in 2016, so on sales. And then. 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:28.866)

to really focus on now kind of trans 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:33.255)

leadership. So it's been a very circuitous route back to Virginia. 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:38.04)

But I'm here and I'm really. 

 

Michael Palumbos (05:41.27)

riding on the conveyor belt in high school and coming back to the business. How long were you out? 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:48.482)

Well, so I went to boarding school. left when I was 15. Back essentially at 30. 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:51.348)

and then I moved back to 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:56.204)

U.S. for quite some time. while I was traveling and doing lot of international development and international relations, 

 

Marshall Rabil (05:57.558)

And so I was gone for 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:00.802)

That always I was trapped. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:07.503)

work. Like, it was wonderful experience but always back to our community. a 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:09.794)

Great and felt drawn back. Small 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:15.288)

rural town Frank. We've had minutes. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:16.846)

is about 40 west of north of Virginia Beach. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:21.086)

There are some higher rates of poverty, obesity, diabetes. Our educational system is struggling a little bit. there were a lot of things that I was seeing. We were working to these communities that I felt like were the same issues at home. It was in a new that with this business, we were very 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:30.59)

that we're working on abroad and I was getting a glimpse into. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:39.694)

And so, I knew this business very 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:45.012)

much. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:45.4)

community oriented and community driven. That's grandparents instilled in. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:47.544)

something that my 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:49.758)

my mother and my father grew up in this town had things like this. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:52.374)

same so I felt business 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:55.477)

really could be a part of community hopefully be attacked in different ways and so that's part of what I've brought to the the table or at least trying to articulate that message across our company. 

 

Marshall Rabil (06:57.326)

a small community and hope to be impactful in many different ways. 

 

Marshall Rabil (07:09.201)

and community differently. 

 

Michael Palumbos (07:11.386)

Thank you for sharing. That's it's a great journey. Your, your skillset, you know, had you not done that, think about everything that you brought back to the business. Number one, there's just so many different things that you brought back to the business. But what I, one of the things I love the most is the fact that you're like, I'm out doing the work for other people's communities. Would be really nice to be able to do some of that right back at home. 

 

Marshall Rabil (07:39.928)

Sure. 

 

Michael Palumbos (07:40.49)

And you're thousand percent correct. We need, you know, people like you and us and what we're doing with, you know, our community. And we try to give back as often as we possibly can as well. And we look at how we do it a little differently. Meaning that like when we're working and coaching one of the family businesses that we work with, you know, we're impacting every one of those employees and all of their families. And so it goes that way. But I love. 

 

Michael Palumbos (08:10.038)

I love what you're saying. Love. 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:12.056)

Yeah, I and I was totally inspired by the culture that Mackey created at, in his book, Conscious Capitalism. 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:15.671)

John. 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:18.538)

Whole Foods, honestly, I'm really 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:21.642)

laid out to me, a strategy and a playbook on how companies can impact the sold and the intent, the passion, heart, something that I really 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:23.668)

a stress. 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:27.054)

How come when their communities now he obviously they've things have changed a little bit with that culture and everything but I think the art was really played 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:39.727)

it really well too so yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (08:41.549)

So here's a question about Whole Foods. Did you know what the corporate culture and the company values were when you were working there? 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:51.022)

Absolutely. That was one of the things I was attracted to learn from that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:55.774)

example for sure. I mean, I healthy eating, 

 

Marshall Rabil (08:59.614)

health communities, 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:00.606)

all of their mission, it was important. So that was why, that was where I started as I started part-time here while I involved into a full 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:05.9)

there. I working on the startup and I full-time 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:09.113)

role and buying there. yeah, that company. 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:11.288)

Yeah, it was, I was attracted to that culture. But 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:15.293)

for sure. 

 

Michael Palumbos (09:16.366)

Michael Palumbos (09:16.927)

Yeah, find that culture driven and values driven companies just really do tend to make a bigger difference in the communities that they live and work in. And that's now what you're bringing over to hubs. And my gut says, you know, the family had been doing that for years. wasn't just like, you know, Marshall went to Whole Foods and saw this wonderful thing. You've been doing it, but you're just probably 

 

Michael Palumbos (09:45.826)

figuring out what are the actions that led by it? How do we make sure that people know that we're doing this consciously, not unconsciously? 

 

Marshall Rabil (09:53.516)

Yeah, it's tying it all together. We've certainly been very much a part of this community since our inception, but like, how do we have 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:00.622)

Marshall Rabil (10:00.926)

a common, like now. 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:02.914)

we have partnered with the Food Bank of Southeast of Virginia and Arm. it's, we're, trying to, to consciously add and be a part of our team is we've donated space. So the food bank is actually based in our houses where we do the production of the backpack program, things of that nature. So it's, it has been that we're been, kind of out what it is that we can stand for and being in the food business, basically food insecurity is a 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:05.292)

That's kind of our 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:09.518)

promote some of and you we're 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:16.046)

based in one of our where. 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:28.782)

business. 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:31.788)

worthy cause, right? 

 

Michael Palumbos (10:33.762)

Matt Maslow's bottom of the pyramid. You've got to get taken care of. If people don't feel safe and they don't feel that they've got those basic needs met, it's really hard to be thinking about, you know, bigger and better things. I love that. Thank you. 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:48.396)

You can't get a job if you're hungry. Yeah, right. Thanks first. 

 

Marshall Rabil (10:51.576)

First. 

 

Michael Palumbos (10:52.878)

Yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (10:54.339)

Let's talk about, you know, the peanut company. Let's talk about Hubbard's Peanut Company. And do you mind sharing, you know, the history and kind of where did they start when and how did, you know, what's developed through the years? And then I'll jump in every now and again and ask some other questions. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:16.194)

Sure, well, it's a very much a homegrown business. grandmother, Dodd Hubbard, started from her kitchen in 1954. My father had a peanut. She was a school teacher, but she was literally handpicking the largest peanuts that she could find out of her father's, a unique way of cooking them. It's called blister fried cooking. So she would soak them in. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:18.98)

that my grandmother 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:23.102)

In 19. My great grandfather. Farm and she. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:33.08)

find a farm and had. And it was. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:40.546)

hot 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:40.788)

water and then fry them in oil. And that was kind of the low. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:44.024)

local 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:44.494)

way, the specialty way of cooking peanuts. And, she would take the largest ones out of them in this unique way and then give them as a gift, colleagues or whatever. People started just like kind of the standard, how a business develops, like, Hey, you've got a product. There's a demand. Others started taking the peanuts to the hardware stores and the pharmacies. 

 

Marshall Rabil (11:47.118)

and out of the farm, cook to friends, like some of her from college and then asking her for them, you know, that's just. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:06.094)

So my grandfather, he was that's. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:12.91)

And at the time, the road. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:15.31)

Planners was right down. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:16.89)

And so they're in Suffolk, Virginia. They're still in this area, they dry roast Virginia peanuts, but it's a different cook process. They're not using the same quality of peanuts that we said, the planters are a nickel. Well, hubs are twice as big. They're prepared differently and are twice as good. So they command twice the price. So he started. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:18.838)

And they feel a major in this. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:26.574)

use the same quality. So my grandfather, hey, you know, 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:42.072)

selling for a dime. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:43.542)

next 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:43.802)

to a nickel bag of planters. How the sales portion of that all started, which is great, specialty category of Virginia peanuts was born. This area has always been known for peanuts. came in the late 1600s. It was until the 1900s that planters commercialized peanuts and they bought a snack product. We are the original 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:45.954)

And that's kind of how. 

 

Marshall Rabil (12:50.149)

Marshall Rabil (12:52.534)

And this 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:00.142)

But it wasn't until the early 90s that the commercial became a commodity. 

 

Michael Palumbos (13:12.046)

Go ahead. 

 

Michael Palumbos (13:12.508)

Sorry, you're the original. 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:14.062)

We have this gift category of peanut that represents our region very well. There's a lot of other companies that have followed in HJ. But we are proud that we kind of started that trend as a specialty gift quality peanut. 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:14.83)

And now... 

 

Michael Palumbos (13:30.818)

Love it. Do you mind sharing like your group when as peanuts are grown, how are they grown? I don't think everybody even knows, you know, what type of plant is, is, peanuts come from and whatnot. 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:44.076)

Yeah, that's a great question. They're technically more like a bean. So they're like that grow into the ground. They're planted and they grow throughout the summer, which is great. Wonderful soil here in Virginia. All of our peanuts are growing. 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:45.11)

And so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:48.557)

You 

 

Marshall Rabil (13:52.086)

and May and they are. We have one. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:00.568)

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina. So 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:02.229)

it's that nice sandy loamy humid soil. the peanuts. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:04.078)

But so they're in an harvested fall. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:12.0)

are great because they require a lot less water. Nuts and other tree nuts are grown in California, which has trouble with drought. This week, but. But yeah, so peanuts have grow really well here. Are nearly the. Or that we do harvest. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:14.966)

than other like almonds that 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:21.102)

and sometimes here. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:28.782)

And don't require the same kind of Do and then we just 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:32.941)

them in the fall and. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:35.64)

Yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (14:36.896)

So Dotton, H.J., right? Did I get that right? H.J.? They created this specialty category of peanuts that they're giving away as gifts. this is back in the 50s. now what happens? know, what is, you know, where do they go? you know, from there? 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:40.374)

Yep. Thanks, Jay. 

 

Marshall Rabil (14:59.82)

Well, so one of the reasons we were able to grow and. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:02.296)

So 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:02.507)

much of our marketing until, 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:04.878)

still is, is this word of marketing. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:07.154)

So there's a great paper mill here. It was Union Camp prior to International Paper. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:09.121)

in town. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:12.43)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:14.394)

buying it and 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:16.332)

You know, we had a lot of people that would come through the community and they would take them there. The work. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:19.758)

back to their homes. And so I think the 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:24.953)

of mouth and the kind of the mail order business, really small town. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:27.842)

developed in this region 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:29.703)

because we had a Fortune 50 company that had salespeople come in that liked our brand. It's a product that represents this region, so they would take them to their homes and then share them. And then we just slowly over the 60s, 70s, 80s built this mail order business. And we are still probably a direct consumer. I'd say, well, it's continuing to come a little bit, but I'd say 60 plus percent 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:39.022)

And. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:54.622)

down a little bit 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:57.216)

our business which is a of that way. 

 

Marshall Rabil (15:57.55)

This is still D to C. It's wonderful because we have a huge of customers. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:04.846)

So that was our primary, we didn't really have a lot of wholesale accounts, pharmacies, hardware stores and so 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:08.41)

Other than those small mom and pop. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:13.413)

But then my mother. Defying some of that in the 90s and early thousands and I can after. And. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:14.54)

really started diversifying. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:17.582)

2000. Being at Whole Foods and such, one the strategies 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:23.635)

to continue the vision for the family was to grow our wholesale presence in various regions around the country. part of what the kind of role was was to discover these markets and work with other regional chains like a Zupan in Oregon or a Central Market in Texas or a Fresh Market 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:25.282)

family was to. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:31.982)

And so my first and and work. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:46.708)

in North Carolina. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:48.526)

up 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:49.076)

in Rochester, New York, which is obviously a wonderful company. That's kind of it. Our business has evolved a little bit from just D to C to have footprint and some national. 

 

Marshall Rabil (16:52.376)

company and a great partner. 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:06.061)

But we still is to continue that row, the D to C piece of it. Our goal is ever really to get every grocery store, every convenience store, because we are a specialty product and we are a little more expensive quality. That's that's kind of where we. 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:20.801)

And we are and want to maintain that. And so that. You are at the moment. 

 

Michael Palumbos (17:29.176)

but no, thank you for sharing. Tell me about the transition a little bit from grandparents to your mom. And is mom still involved in the business today? What other family members have been involved in the business? And walk me through that if you don't mind. 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:46.742)

Sure. Well, obviously, during, you know, 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:47.374)

When 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:49.372)

my mother and uncle and aunt were growing up. 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:51.758)

They 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:53.302)

were helping getting all of the boxes packed. We were very serious. 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:56.64)

around the holiday very seasonal 

 

Marshall Rabil (17:59.072)

until the late 80s and early 90s expanded. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:00.802)

You know, like our season has begun to. But there's been some logical 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:07.18)

advancements that have helped that. But so she they all obviously work together. With building boxes and packaging and get everything from a mother. And. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:11.66)

Marshall Rabil (18:14.04)

getting everything done, but came back 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:18.133)

in 79 to start working full time with my point. My grandmother was having used and work nearly as much on the day in the 80s. And so my mother with my grandfather and 90s really, and then he started to slow down. I have one of my uncle. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:19.278)

to start grandfather at that. Some health issue. So she's she didn't. It is early these. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:31.278)

We're close. Till the mid. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:37.272)

But during those years, did work 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:41.613)

in production. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:42.03)

I'm 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:43.23)

Marshall Rabil (18:47.618)

That's. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:50.146)

software system, kind 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:51.559)

of trying to automate parts of the company. they, we've all, I was working just doing production jobs, whatever. 

 

Marshall Rabil (18:55.861)

I was working in. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:00.312)

it 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:00.442)

was on the line, putting cans and phones, so my phone's taking orders, just going, manipulating them during season. And so we've 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:02.55)

in boxes, but I was answering sister as well answering. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:08.556)

in the system, in the system, all 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:12.472)

had a part in some capacity over the years. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:16.582)

So my 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:17.442)

mom is still very much involved in the business. to the expansion that we had in our company. And in 2020, opened our new 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:19.822)

We just went through a large business we've had in company's history. We opened a new location 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:28.642)

which has a retail market but also has space for warehousing, shipping. We have a new production line where we put a chocolate and roving. So we've expanded and diversified our production capability over the last two years. So she was really leading that charge. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:37.858)

machine and 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:42.274)

these. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:48.173)

Marshall Rabil (19:48.546)

to get that 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:49.126)

project underway. And that's part of what I came home to do was to, it's time to expand or do something else. And that's what we've been doing the last couple of years. And I think she's going to start slowly taking some more time for trips and traveling, but you know, her office was her childhood bedroom. I don't see her leaving that office really anytime soon, but she'll be more flexible and doing more of the things that she likes to do in her spare time, I think. 

 

Marshall Rabil (19:52.98)

you know, and or so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (20:02.274)

So. 

 

Michael Palumbos (20:17.944)

Tell us your mom's Lynn. Nice. I'm going to, I sat there going, I made my cardinal error. Your last name is rabble. see there's the Cardinal sin as a podcast host. You always ask how do you pronounce the last name first? And I messed it up, but you okay. So, and, and mom. 

 

Marshall Rabil (20:19.47)

Our name is Len. 

 

Marshall Rabil (20:28.856)

Raible, yeah. 

 

Marshall Rabil (20:37.294)

It's all good. It's tricky. 

 

Michael Palumbos (20:42.262)

Right now, like you just said, she wants to do some traveling. Just say you just peek at the website and it's like she wants to visit all of the national parks. How many has she been to thus far? you know? 

 

Marshall Rabil (20:52.98)

you know, I don't know. know she's been to a dozen of them or so, but yeah, I also want I have that same goal, you know, traveling is the best. so she'll start doing some more of that for sure. 

 

Michael Palumbos (21:06.094)

read my father that was on his his his hit list and we ended up buying him a book of all the national parks and there was something in there like you could check them off and a list of you know to do all those things so very fun. 

 

Marshall Rabil (21:21.984)

gotta be one of the best things that our country has to offer is our national park system. think, I mean, it's just, it's unbelievable how diverse our country is and the landscapes are just beautiful. I mean, we're so fortunate that we have that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (21:33.518)

We are. 

 

Michael Palumbos (21:35.482)

talk about, you know, the business has been around for a number of years. So I know that every business goes through some obstacles or some tough times. What were some of the tough times that, you know, that are stories that you've heard, whether you were part of them or not. And, and how did, you know, how did the family maneuver those things? 

 

Marshall Rabil (21:59.374)

Sure. Well, prior to me coming back to the business, I'd say our biggest challenge was a fire in 1999 right before our busy season. So in the fall of that year, that shut our production down. And so, you know, our business really, because it's so gift oriented and fourth quarter heavy, that was obviously devastating and could 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:06.988)

Right. 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:12.84)

And 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:17.806)

Marshall Rabil (22:22.446)

Marshall Rabil (22:25.486)

could shut a company down. We obviously, have a great insurance partner that was able to take care of us. then, but primarily we have incredible customers that instead of doing Christmas presents, they basically pushed back to Easter presents that year. And so our customers were, are so loyal and so great. And we're so fortunate to have the customers that we do. They are the only reason that we got through it. To be honest, I mean, a great insurance partner. 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:43.672)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:47.758)

that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:51.576)

to be. 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:54.592)

and incredible customers is help us bounce back from. 

 

Marshall Rabil (22:59.18)

that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:01.198)

I'd say that say the fire obviously 24 years ago, five years ago was really challenging. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:07.278)

Marshall Rabil (23:07.821)

And then in an OASUN. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:09.518)

It wasn't 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:11.158)

only the financial crisis that hurt us because that was, it's obviously huge because we work with a lot of companies that use our product as a gift. We do customization and so they'll send all of their customers, clients, peanuts. so obviously in 08, 09, a lot of our partners were struggling and their businesses closed. So we lost business there. That's a common story. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:35.278)

Marshall Rabil (23:35.634)

But 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:35.86)

In the peanut industry in general, during that same time during the financial crisis was the PCA, Peanut Corp of America, Salmonella out. Really put a black eye on the peanut industry in general. I'm not sure if you're familiar, but there was a story where a manufacturer knew that they might have some contaminated product and they let it out into the marketplace. It impacted a lot of people. A couple of people died. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:43.832)

break and that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:48.814)

General. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:52.642)

where a. 

 

Marshall Rabil (23:59.916)

And it. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:03.64)

side. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:03.892)

Marshall Rabil (24:04.767)

That particular individual is in prison. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:10.03)

But that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:12.362)

as far as like what it did to the overall peanut perception across the country was really tough because it put a black out on the entire industry. And so it took some time and a lot of good marketing initiatives from the National Peanut 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:25.55)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:29.442)

board and others to. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:32.014)

promote 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:32.414)

how wonderful the peanut is from a environmental standpoint, from a plant-based protein standpoint, all the nutrients. And so we had a really black eye in 08, 09, and it's taken some time to gain consumer confidence again, know, whenever you have something like that. So those were two things that really stand out to me as really hiccups despite agriculture issues with a hurricane wipes out a third of the crops. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:43.052)

And then. 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:47.0)

done 

 

Marshall Rabil (24:55.82)

You're normal. 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:01.548)

You 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:01.92)

because the harvest is during hurricane season, late September, October. So there's always the threat of bad weather. And we've had issues in the peanut prices spike. And the last couple of years have been really challenging too. every few years, there seems to be a pretty big curve ball. it's our customers, our team, are the reason that we're pushing 70 years right now. So that's really all it is. 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:09.356)

storms. 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:16.148)

I mean, so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:24.928)

And 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:31.641)

a good customer base and a wonderful team. 

 

Michael Palumbos (25:33.934)

Yeah. How many employees today? How many people on the team? And I want to give you an, I want to say thank you for using the word team. I'm a big proponent of we build teams. don't have staff. Staff is an infection. So we always want to be building team. 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:50.094)

Marshall Rabil (25:50.934)

building teams for sure. And because of the opening, the hubs vine and the retail market that we now have, it's a 7,000 foot event space with a, it was an old grocery store and it had a coffee counter and it had a deli and a bakery. So we had a lot of equipment that we inherited. And so because of that, we really have been expanding our team to run that operation. And so we're now around 70, but I mean, I would say 

 

Marshall Rabil (25:54.126)

of the 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:16.814)

but 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:18.99)

maybe 15 of those are associated with the counter and the event space that we have, coffee counter. so, and you know, I'm really pumped because last year was the first year that we were able to bring on a full-time production crew. We've had seasonal production crew forever. Now we've gotten to a point where we're still close to needing and we're not. 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:23.914)

and the launch. 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:29.518)

But 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:38.446)

And. 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:45.858)

quite at we need five days of production, January, February, March. You know, it's been nice to bring on more people full time to be able to offer benefits, to be able to really be impactful to them. So it's been a big couple of years of employee growth. Yeah. 

 

Marshall Rabil (26:49.752)

But. 

 

Marshall Rabil (27:01.474)

right. 

 

Michael Palumbos (27:03.63)

Love it. Before the show started, before we started recording, I had mentioned that I was with my Vistage group yesterday and the CEO round table. And the person that hosted us is part of a milk co-op. So it's 260 farmers, 262 farmers that all send their milk. 

 

Michael Palumbos (27:28.526)

to this company and you'll understand the relate in a second. And then what they do is they produce all the milk that's going around, upstate New York and three or four states around the area, the yogurt, the sour cream, yada, yada, yada, the specialty drinks that are coming from milk and chocolate milk. You get the picture. I guess, I'm curious. 

 

Michael Palumbos (27:56.408)

you know, as you expand and whatnot is that, know, how do you envision, you, you know, could you, could you ever get to a point where your farm isn't enough, where you have to like bring in other farmers to, you know, bring in their best crop for your things and just. 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:13.728)

So right, that's kind of we're already at a place. So my great grandfather had a small peanut farm and we personally do not have all the thousands and thousands of acres that it requires to use the top one percent of the crops that we've already partnered with farmers throughout Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina that contract with the shellers. And so that's kind of how the peanut industry works unless you have a massive amounts of land. 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:19.554)

Unfortunately, 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:38.071)

And 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:38.293)

Marshall Rabil (28:39.182)

you 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:39.502)

are already having some cooperation there because we're only buying super extra large Virginia type peanuts. they're literally the highest quality peanuts grown on the farm. The farmers are contracting with the shellers. The shellers are shelling them and grading them according to the size, quality. So then we're literally just buying the cream of the crop. So that's what my grandmother created. She was only buying 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:43.416)

I am. 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:48.704)

on the planet. 

 

Marshall Rabil (28:58.326)

and all of that. 

 

Marshall Rabil (29:07.832)

peanuts that did not go through kind of the filters, so to speak, that stayed on top that didn't go through and she wanted to take those off. it's a little bit different than the milk concept that you're talking about, but there is a lot of cooperation amongst ourselves. 

 

Marshall Rabil (29:15.606)

and use. 

 

Michael Palumbos (29:24.078)

Yeah. And I think, you know, from my perspective, the big thing about that is it's not just the 70 employees and all the customers, but then there's a whole bunch of farmers that, you know, that you're supporting and that, you know, are getting benefit from your company. 

 

Marshall Rabil (29:38.378)

And so on Monday and Tuesday of this week, I was visiting our can manufacturer. I haven't been there yet. So one of the things that's really nice to think about us is we have a really high quality gift and the packaging is nice. The can manufacturer and to just look at all of the steps that go into making the cane. The people that are, and I was having dinner with their COO and he was talking about, you know, all of the things that that can represents to his. 

 

Marshall Rabil (29:48.054)

And but I went. 

 

Marshall Rabil (29:56.33)

 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:04.814)

community. 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:05.934)

not 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:06.174)

just ours, but all of it, all the cans that they make. And it really, I mean, that's just what's so remarkable about business. Yes, we all sell stuff, but that stuff is putting food on the table and roofs on our head and like, and it's impacting the greater community on a much larger scale. And it was really interesting to see, cause we have printed metal cans. then metal comes in, how they're printed, how they're rolled, cut, and they have 400 plus employees there that are working to just. 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:23.342)

So when the. 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:33.356)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:33.568)

input 

 

Marshall Rabil (30:34.139)

to our product as well. And so it's it really it's cool to see the whole picture. 

 

Michael Palumbos (30:38.242)

Yeah. When one of the things that we do when we're coaching businesses where they're worried, you know, working on their strategy, is we want to, we teach them compete to be unique. Don't compete to be the best. And your grandmother picked that up right from the top. the 1 % of the peanuts go through. You'd want the ones that are different than everybody else's. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:05.3)

Exactly. Compete to be unique. That's true. 

 

Michael Palumbos (31:09.376)

Michael Palumbos (31:10.769)

let's talk about, so we, we understand the specialty side of the business. Talk to me about the wholesale side. That's the, you, where you're out there helping on the store brands. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:21.294)

Marshall Rabil (31:22.114)

Well, so there's a couple of different ways that that works. So a lot of our partners, which I love is a strict hubs brand product that is on the shelf. We have a lot where we have a co-branded situation. So Orbis, for example, love that company. It's a great demographic for our brand outdoor apparel actively on their label. They tell our story on one side. It's an Orbis brand. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:31.787)

Marshall Rabil (31:45.294)

living, but. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:50.51)

but on the side of it, talks about our story and we do, and I love that kind of collaborative approach to some of those accounts. A company like Wegmans, it's a pure private label, which, and we're that, are Wegmans Foods, you feel good about private label. It's when you have the Virginia peanuts in the nice tin or the chocolate cover that they carry, know, four or five months of the year, that's us. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:53.43)

and what we're doing in our. 

 

Marshall Rabil (31:58.582)

And then we have a. Who it's. 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:07.374)

peanut and 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:14.798)

for 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:18.839)

And that's 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:19.31)

That's 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:19.46)

a pure, the only trick that people, if they know our brand, we have a key on the top of that can, peanut man sticker. And so people that really know hubs and have gone to Wegmans are like, hey, I think that might be hub. You're like, yeah, it is. Wegmans is okay for us to share that we do that. And they're a wonderful kind of partner, but those are the kind of three different approaches to our branding with wholesale partners. 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:23.022)

And with it with a 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:34.122)

Any 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:45.644)

more and more, really love the co-branded approach because you have a brand or let's say Orvis has a brand that their customers already trust. So they know that they're partnering with companies that are like-minded and have a similar and approach to business. I like being able to partner in that capacity. I just think that's fun. You have a trusted brand, we have a trusted brand, let's work together. But obviously as a marketer, 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:49.837)

or like. 

 

Marshall Rabil (32:57.964)

vision and. 

 

Marshall Rabil (33:12.354)

you're trying to build your brand as much as you can. So getting on the shelf as hubs or all of our other initiatives that it's really a focus on how do you see our logo, you see our brand, hopefully to you that represents excellence in peanuts. And that's kind of what we work towards. 

 

Michael Palumbos (33:29.226)

I really love the co-branded piece because I think that's so important from a marketing standpoint for those listening that it's not always about, you know, getting our brand out there all the time, all by itself, but look for places where you can uniquely partner. And you talk to, you know, you talk about Wegmans who again, upstate New York, we all know Wegmans. My wife will tell you that she spends, you know, half of her paycheck there. And we had seven kids in the house. 

 

Michael Palumbos (33:58.848)

And so when we had all the kids, yeah, we had a pretty. so one of the things that I'll, I'll share that the Wegmans has co-branded before. So it's interesting that, I would have loved, I love those stories. and Wegmans had co-branded on, and, their, their sub sandwiches that were Wegman subs now, but that was a buddy of mine that I went to high school with started the submarine. 

 

Marshall Rabil (34:01.282)

Dead. 

 

Michael Palumbos (34:28.747)

you know, shop, DiBella's Subs, and they, and he had an incredible sandwich and he made the bread himself. And there was just, he had this great recipe, got really high quality meats. And the first store that he opened and branded and, you know, did all of that stuff. He told the story about his grandfather. And when you walked into this place, it had tin roof ceilings and you just felt like you had gone back in time when you were in there. It was an old Italian deli. 

 

Michael Palumbos (34:57.934)

And there was always a line. had one store, a line at lunchtime that was out the door, regardless of the time of year. And, you know, I know the story because I'm, you know, friends with, know, Joey DiBella, but he, Danny Wegman went in there, saw the line and he's like, I want this. And over time they put something together. And years ago, when they first did that, 

 

Michael Palumbos (35:25.838)

It told the story of how their grandfathers both had delis or grocery stores, not that far apart. And I just love that story. part of me is, know, I understand Wegmans building their brand to me, that story of that connection was more powerful than it is today. If that makes sense. 

 

Marshall Rabil (35:39.598)

But 

 

Marshall Rabil (35:48.206)

Well, it does. And I think that would be something that I will continue to pitch to, to Wegmans when I meet with them, because I love their brand as well. And I think if we could tie some of that together, because my understanding, you know, we, that was a very fortunate account for us. Danny Wegmans was, received a can of hubs from, from a friend of his and said, those are the peanuts that I want in my store. 

 

Marshall Rabil (35:49.941)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (35:57.666)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:02.081)

Okay. 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:16.065)

And so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:16.29)

So 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:16.69)

that's, I understand that we are also a Danny brand, right? Yeah. Which is great that he, that's so cool that he can do that. But if he, would love to figure out how to tell that story on the can, you know, and it's similar to what you just told me. I think that's a great approach and things are shifting a little bit where people like local artisans and they want to connect with a smaller business. We're very much a small business. So I think there's opportunity there too. So we'll see. 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:24.75)

But. 

 

Marshall Rabil (36:30.146)

Wegmans. 

 

Michael Palumbos (36:45.644)

The 

 

Michael Palumbos (36:45.804)

fact that they're helping, know, that's the part that I think that is missed and that, know, yes, we've got this great big brand, but you're Wegmans, but if you're also the brand that's bringing other people success as well, now it's just like, boom, it's a one-two punch. 

 

Marshall Rabil (37:02.907)

I agree and I'm sure that that's they're having these same discussions and but it's just a huge change to. 

 

Michael Palumbos (37:10.03)

So one of my things is I want Danny and Colleen on the show because one day, so you can take this episode and send that over to them when we get this thing recorded because I think that there's some really neat things that they do by nature that I teach businesses that they don't get, you know, culture and values and a lot of the things that were built right into Wegman's theory right from day one. 

 

Marshall Rabil (37:39.924)

Absolutely. now that we've been working with them for 20 years or so, I've really started to understand their business and their approach. And I am totally inspired by what they've created, the family business. I mean, there's no better example of a family business that's really invested in their community, their suppliers, their partners. I mentioned Whole Foods. I'm from the South and that's where they have an opportunity to work. But it's a similar kind of culture. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:01.966)

I didn't work at Wegmans. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:07.003)

And but now, but they've made dynamic. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:08.536)

maintain this family. And 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:11.89)

so an ideal fit for you to interview those two. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:15.278)

Marshall Rabil (38:15.7)

for sure. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:17.558)

Yeah, 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:18.319)

such an inspiration. And I'm just thrilled that they are now in Virginia and in Carolina. We take an hour trip to go to Wegmans occasionally where my wife will spend her whole paycheck. it's because it's like we're going to get all these things that we can't get. That's great. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:23.318)

North Atlanta and. 

 

Marshall Rabil (38:33.121)

we love it. 

 

Michael Palumbos (38:37.524)

So you're on my show. I have this unique ability that my brain can't help but to put connections and things together based on what you're saying. When you and I spoke to do our pre-show call a while ago, I had mentioned Stephanie Stuckey. Stuckey's pecan logs. I'm telling you there needs to be a relationship between hubs and Stuckey's. 

 

Marshall Rabil (39:01.374)

So I did a family business podcast not too long ago and I was connected with Stephanie. We actually, we exchanged a couple of emails and I love what they, what she's been able to do to kind of rebrand reinvigorate their company as well. So you're giving me a reason to follow up with her here again and just to have a conversation. 

 

Marshall Rabil (39:07.342)

And we. 

 

Marshall Rabil (39:18.209)

and paint. 

 

Michael Palumbos (39:21.44)

is 

 

Michael Palumbos (39:21.61)

coming out soon. I just pinged her finally and said, you know what, it was after our phone call. I'm like, I'm just emailing her and I emailed and she said, of course I'll come on the show, but I'm working on my book. Let me finish this first. from a standpoint of marketing, I just think she's classic textbook, amazing how she connects story to the brand so well. And all of her social media. 

 

Michael Palumbos (39:48.536)

posts on, you know, I see her on LinkedIn more than any place. I just love how she talks about the route 66 and the travel. And so all of us that we have, you know, my father, I'm second generation. And one of the things that I just love about the family business, I didn't, I was the guy that never wanted to do this business. And today I'm more excited about it today after 22 years of doing it than I was when I started. I love what I do. 

 

Marshall Rabil (40:16.59)

I can tell. 

 

Marshall Rabil (40:18.382)

That's great. 

 

Michael Palumbos (40:20.43)

But what's unique is like we get to carry on, you know, the legacy of those that came before us. Dad's philosophy and the reason why he chose to work with Lincoln Financial, it wasn't Lincoln many, years ago, it was Connecticut General, then it became Cigna Financial. It doesn't matter the thing, but he heard their phrase, was served first, last and always. And that resonated to him. wasn't about 

 

Michael Palumbos (40:49.102)

you know, back in, you 40 years ago, it wasn't about selling a life insurance policy. It was about serving that client and that family and looking at their wills and their state, you know, documents and looking at their buy sell agreements and then looking to say, is there any trouble here? Is there anything that they're missing? Oh, look at this trust document. So they got really, these were not attorneys or accountants, but they, they dug in back in the forties and fifties and started to learn this stuff. And so when dad came on board, he was just like, 

 

Michael Palumbos (41:19.458)

I don't have to sell anything. I just have to consult people and help them and serve them. working for the Diocese of Rochester as somebody that just loved the Catholic Church and wanted to serve. And so when he married my mom, who already had two kids, my father died when I was five. He was just like, he married her and boom, instant family. 

 

Marshall Rabil (41:24.169)

He was 

 

Michael Palumbos (41:43.624)

I'm not going to be able to serve my family on the meager salary that I get from the Diocese of Rochester. So I think it's, you your grandmother and my father and Steph, know, Stuckey's grandfather. And when you put together what they did in their vision about serving the teams that, that, that were worked for them, the customer and providing an incredible experience and product and, you know, those things. And then 

 

Michael Palumbos (42:13.614)

And then the communities, it's Wegmans. There's so many connections that those values matter. you know what are Hub's company values? Do you mind sharing? 

 

Marshall Rabil (42:28.98)

Well, I mean, I think that's it. It's to create an environment of excellence in our community, our company, our suppliers. mean, just to be. Yeah, I mean, we're we're actually reworking this mission statement right now as we got this real long mission statement, but it's all about values on how we treat employees, our team, our company, our cell, our family, all of these things. Right. But it's I need I'm trying to get a more concise, 

 

Marshall Rabil (42:32.567)

environment. 

 

Marshall Rabil (42:59.746)

So we're working, but yes. 

 

Michael Palumbos (43:02.35)

That's all 

 

Michael Palumbos (43:02.59)

right. I was with somebody the other day that they had two facilitators helping them do some strategy work and they wanted to get their mission statement right. And they paid a boatload of money to the two facilitators. was an expensive day. It was a $30,000 day. And they ended up with their mission statement being three words. It was, that's 10 grand a word. 

 

Marshall Rabil (43:26.766)

But that's how like it just keep it keeping things simple like we've got like it's like it's a long two sentences where it's like okay let's let's get make this work in size I don't think I need to spend 30 grand to do that because I have an idea of what it what it needs to be. Yeah I mean that's all what it is it's it's teamwork as through community efforts. 

 

Marshall Rabil (43:42.381)

But 

 

Marshall Rabil (43:46.328)

through and it, 

 

Marshall Rabil (43:50.052)

yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (43:50.584)

say it better than that. Who in the family is part of the business today besides yourself and your mom? 

 

Marshall Rabil (43:59.581)

As operational members of the business, it's just the two of us. 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:03.278)

And then board. 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:05.038)

but we have a family board and there's 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:07.649)

seven of us that are on that family board. so currently it's, our board is just family, but you know, we're five members of our family in the second generation. I'm sorry, there are four in the second generation and three in the third. We are trying to figure out as we look at succession planning for our board, what that is gonna look like. So are we gonna bring on additional 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:09.666)

Thanks. 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:13.038)

Marshall Rabil (44:22.88)

And so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:34.58)

members to our board as the second generation retires, you know, we'll see. I don't think they're all pushing 70. I don't think they don't want to really retire, you know, but we need to start thinking about that and we are. We're starting to go through those tough decisions and discussions on by cells and all of these important, tedious, tough discussions. 

 

Marshall Rabil (44:49.902)

Thank 

 

Michael Palumbos (44:58.976)

Exactly. Enter the danger and dive right in there. I tell everybody that has been a guest on the show, if ever I can provide any references to other people or you have questions as an alumni of the show, I am happy to help. 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:19.731)

Thank you. I I need it. 

 

Michael Palumbos (45:21.762)

Yeah. So if you, so right now you're in the smack middle of doing succession planning, right? The second, what are some of the other, goals and desires and what are some of the other things that you've got on your play priority wise? 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:37.902)

So in 20, we were doing really large, when I moved back in 16, we started doing these strategy sessions to get to kind of this 2025 year. So we were putting this 2020 plan in place. 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:45.343)

Marshall Rabil (45:50.862)

And 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:53.469)

most 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:54.068)

A big part of that strategy was getting the new space, building out the new production line, retail and event space, all of these things that have just now kind of come to fruition. And so those infrastructure challenges are now kind of solved in some. The challenge is we've been so fortunate to have a team that's been with us for most of their careers. 

 

Marshall Rabil (45:59.448)

doing, having the 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:09.59)

in regards. And now 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:18.83)

We've have, we have folks that have been with us 30, 40, some like Stella just retired. He's 44 years with us. How to transition and six and all of our company is in this. We've, we've transitioned some of the, technology and infrastructure, but the team members and the personnel like that is going to be, that's the big challenge right now. So trying to figure out where the right people are. Cause I feel like we've got a great brand. We've, we've got. 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:25.504)

And so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:28.896)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:42.69)

where 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:48.03)

a good vision for the sales and marketing piece, but it's putting the people in the right place and trying to organize ourselves a little bit better as we're transitioning people out of into retirement. That's a big challenge for us right now, I feel like. 

 

Marshall Rabil (46:59.351)

which 

 

Marshall Rabil (47:03.723)

So yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (47:06.486)

If you don't mind, I'll share something with you that I think is, and you may do this already, but I have found it to be really helpful is we break down rather than take, we take the names off of the org chart and just put the functions up there. and then if you take your vision for 10 years from now, or three years from now, or five years, whatever works for you, I'm a big fan of three years seems to be like a good number. Yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (47:33.966)

and then create the function chart of what it's going to have to look like three years out. that little extra, then then fill in the names of who's accountable for each of the different functions today. And then, you know, if we're going to be able to do A, B and C different things, you'll see the different functions, then you can put in the names who will still be with you. And now I've got to look at and say, there's, we've got some empty seats there. Now I got to figure out who's going to fill those seats. 

 

Michael Palumbos (48:03.064)

I don't know if that's helpful to you. 

 

Marshall Rabil (48:04.462)

That's very helpful. That's kind of exactly what we're in the process of doing is looking at who the people are, what their skill sets are, what our needs are, and trying to prioritize those discussions. So we're literally like, that was a meeting yesterday, we've got one tomorrow, and next, that's exactly what we're doing. I think it's wonderful advice, especially about taking the people, trying to take the people out and looking at the people's needs. 

 

Marshall Rabil (48:20.203)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (48:26.562)

the needs. 

 

Marshall Rabil (48:30.636)

and what their skill sets are and how do we fill and where are the holes, where are the gaps. I think that's a great idea. 

 

Marshall Rabil (48:35.352)

sure now we're yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (48:38.862)

Anything as you've been in a family business for years, people, your sisters, mean, uncles and aunts and your mom and grand, you know, just you've been surrounded by this. If you're talking to other family businesses, somebody comes and says to you, Marshall, I'm working in my family business and this is driving me crazy. Or I'm working in my family business. I love this, but I don't love that. What is... 

 

Michael Palumbos (49:06.754)

What are some of your pieces of advice specifically to family members about how do we make this work best for us? 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:16.686)

I think that is every family business's biggest challenge. 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:20.668)

Right? 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:22.91)

ask the question. Yeah, the different dynamics, but I think we all need to take a step back, self, figure out what it is that makes you tick and try to bring that into the business as well. But taking some time away from it, I think is important. I do not have the answer to that because I do think that's one of the biggest challenges. But for me personally, it's how have I been able to 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:29.622)

and looking at one's figure. 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:35.313)

And 

 

Marshall Rabil (49:52.12)

to bring some of my interests and desires and things to the business and find things that I enjoy and that I can get passionate about the commonalities with the different family members who have those similar interests. I do feel like I have a very diverse background relatable to many. And so where can we work together? It's like finding common ground with each family member, whatever that may be. 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:00.822)

And then finding the 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:10.304)

and it can be related to many different people. 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:17.112)

Thank you. 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:21.152)

I think is key and that's not just in family business, that's just in life. Like how do you communicate? How do you find common ground? The more experience, the more relatable you are, feel. To me, I guess that's just been how I try to interact with people, whether they're aunts, uncles or neighbors or whoever. 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:27.758)

You know, the more 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:31.928)

So. 

 

Marshall Rabil (50:37.998)

There ain't. 

 

Michael Palumbos (50:43.822)

That's 

 

Michael Palumbos (50:44.002)

really good advice. And I want to make sure people heard that because your advice is spot on. It's at the end of the day, I do a little exercise with family members that what makes it sticky is, you know, somebody says something that triggers that time when your brother tripped you down the stairs or, know, you know, mom, mom gave him or her the, the, special sticker that you didn't get. And that's what there's triggers that happen inside the family business that don't happen anyplace else. But 

 

Michael Palumbos (51:12.974)

If you can think about this exercise and I just hold up, you know, a silver dollar or a quarter and you put it between two people, you and your mom, you and your uncle or whomever, and you just ask them, what do they see? Well, one of you has seen the heads and one of you has seen the tails. So from the seat that you're sitting in, you're seeing totally different things, even though you're looking at exactly the same thing. And so. 

 

Michael Palumbos (51:42.708)

If we can take a moment to say, to your point, let me get relatable with these people. What's important to you? What are you feeling about this situation? What are the goals and objectives that matter to you? And then I'll tell you what matters to me. And let's look for where we have some common ground and let's get the common ground stuff taken care of first. And then we'll work on the stuff that's harder second. 

 

Marshall Rabil (52:11.79)

Sounds 

 

Marshall Rabil (52:12.23)

like a great therapy session. Really? It does. I think that's what's really kind of new in relationship business. 

 

Michael Palumbos (52:24.68)

I've spent 11 years with an organization called the Purposeful Planning Institute. now the great place for you to look at is the Ultra High Net Worth Institute. And so a lot of the guys and women that are part of the Purposeful Planning Institute, many of them got involved in the Ultra High Net Worth Institute. And basically there's 10 domains of wealth that they've identified. And a lot of it has nothing to do with money or taxes or the business. 

 

Michael Palumbos (52:53.664)

It is those relational and societal things. It's health and wellbeing and legacy and all the things that, you know, people don't like to talk about because it's touchy feely, but at the end of the day, it's usually an emotion that's stopping the transitions or the conversations from happening. has nothing to do with the other pieces. 

 

Marshall Rabil (53:14.926)

I see that for sure in my experience with our family. absolutely. I love that coin exercise just to get the conversation going and to see like how similar this is, but how different we are. Anyway, I love that and I appreciate that advice. 

 

Michael Palumbos (53:20.684)

So any 

 

Michael Palumbos (53:34.574)

Michael Palumbos (53:34.874)

you come out, guests don't know it, but they come on the show and I'm hoping to share something with them. had one of my favorite moments and I started to realize that I could do this with people because I had, and I didn't before, I didn't used to like always offer some little nuggets, but I'm like, this is your time, so let me make it valuable. Fred Matt from Utica Club Beer, Saranac Beer, who also is a supplier of Wegmans, was on the show one time. And what he said to me, 

 

Michael Palumbos (54:03.724)

was like, he goes, I'm trying to figure out how to get back to the COVID time. And I'm like, what? You know, that's crazy talk. What do you think, what do you mean? He goes, well, during COVID, we all banded together because we had a common enemy of getting through this tough time together. And he goes, and now that that's kind of gone, don't, you know, I don't feel that same camaraderie any longer. And so I shared with him, you know, what's what we call a quarterly thematic event. 

 

Michael Palumbos (54:31.798)

You need to build, there's nothing, there's nothing that a good enemy can't help you with or a common, a common villain. Everybody wants to grow, you know, surround that. So the thematic event was something when he heard that he's like, I'm so in, see what you're saying. How do I get everybody in the company around this quarterly event and create an event, create an issue kind of a thing, create a theme. 

 

Marshall Rabil (54:49.698)

Yeah. 

 

Michael Palumbos (55:00.076)

and then get everybody banded across that would be really kind of cool. So I love these things and working with organizations and companies like yourself. It just, I'm a nerd at the end of the day, I'm a family business nerd. And so it's like everything about them. just love digging in. And it came because my father and I had many, many dynamics, no different than everybody else. And I couldn't fix ours. 

 

Michael Palumbos (55:27.104)

I can't fix ours. I understand my dad today. I respect my father. Like there's no, no tomorrow, but I could not fix ours. So for goodness sake, I'm going to take what I've learned. I'm going to share it with as many people as I can, because it's so much easier to help somebody else than it is to help yourself. 

 

Marshall Rabil (55:43.662)

Thank you. Yeah, understand. It's great. 

 

Michael Palumbos (55:51.414)

Last piece of advice from you, any books or training or things that you've gone through that you said, this was impactful to my life. Somebody else should be going through this or reading this. 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:03.854)

Marshall Rabil (56:04.354)

I like to read a lot, but one of the most recent books that I just finished was Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Ghidara. He took 11 Madison Park to the number one restaurant in the world. And I think it's a super applicable book to anyone who is in leadership, culture building, just goal-driven team building. I loved his book and his approach, and it's a quick read. It's got some great stories in there. But I think from a customer service standpoint, 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:17.581)

Any 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:28.013)

Yeah. 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:32.865)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:33.206)

and just how to engage your team, bring people. thought that that book in particular, since I just finished it, is top of my list. Reasonable Hospitality. He was just on this show called The Big Brunch on HBO, and I have a friend who was a contestant. The contestant actually posted about the book. 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:35.636)

and empower. 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:46.924)

And so. 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:55.606)

and 

 

Marshall Rabil (56:59.022)

who's a friend of mine and I was like, Oh, I need to check that book out. We see out out on a lot of, on a lot of things. And I read it. I wrote Will a letter of just kind of thanking him for the inspiration from what that book was. And he wrote me back and said, mother-in-law got me hooked on hubs, you know, years ago. And so it was just, it was just kind of a cool connection and a cool story. But you know, that that's one. 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:07.214)

kind of 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:13.367)

My mother 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:16.91)

Go and... 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:23.166)

Marshall Rabil (57:26.082)

Yeah. 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:26.944)

You can't be, I think hospitality works in every industry. 

 

Michael Palumbos (57:30.734)

100%. I'll share with you talking about leadership and building teams and whatnot. I'm reading Jaco Willink's extreme leadership. Jaco and his partner were Navy SEALs. It is incredible. What a job that they do of relating what was happening in combat to what happens in business. 

 

Marshall Rabil (57:47.214)

Thank you. 

 

Michael Palumbos (57:58.382)

And it is identical. And as matter of fact, as I'm going through it, a lot of the families I serve just happen to be in the construction industry. And so when I talk about Patrick Lencioni's five dysfunctions of a team, they kind of like, I don't want to play with that. No, what do I want to talk about dysfunctions and feelings and stuff like that? Well, Jaco Willinks, know, extreme leadership, extreme ownership. Sorry, I said it wrong. Extreme ownership. 

 

Michael Palumbos (58:25.748)

It's identical. It's the same things, you know, in order to be successful in any endeavor, it's amazing how they translate, whether it's hospitality or the Navy SEALs at the, you know, at the end of the day, the work that they're doing, there's a basic, you know, level of top performers in any industry. They're doing the same thing. So I know that my, you know, I can't wait because I've gone through and reading this book right now. 

 

Michael Palumbos (58:53.6)

My construction owners and demolition guys. I can't get them to read five dysfunction of the team, but they'll read extreme ownership. 

 

Marshall Rabil (59:01.371)

yeah, yeah, I've taken notes on a lot of these things that you've said and I'll check that one out for sure. That's a great suggestion. 

 

Michael Palumbos (59:11.138)

Marshall Rabin from Hubbs Peanuts Hubbard's Peanut Company. This has been a blast. I really, really appreciate you sharing with us today. 

 

Marshall Rabil (59:21.218)

Thank you so much, Michael. I really appreciate the time and all of your insights and advice. And you've given me some homework and appreciative of that too, really am. Thank you. 

 

Marshall Rabil (59:27.118)

So I'm a little bit that. 

 

Michael Palumbos (59:30.83)

Happy to do it, happy to do it. Thank you everybody for joining us. This is the Family Biz Show. I've been your host, Michael Palumbos with Family Wealth and Legacy in Rochester, New York. We look forward to sharing more of these great conversations with you on the next episode. Make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss an episode. Have a great day everybody. Take care.