Sometimes it’s difficult to get off the ‘corporate wheel’ when it is accompanied by an attractive paycheck and upward mobility. The path to success is a straight one and many of us are caught in that corporate flow. And in the midst of building our career or succeeding, we often leave things behind that were near to us; things that we were passionate about. Only a handful of people go back to pursue the thing they loved after joining the corporate world. For them, most of the time, it just takes a little push or a nudge to go back to their hidden potential.
The same nudge came into the life of Franny Tacy when she was in the pharmaceutical industry. Spending over a decade in the industry, Franny realized that maybe she was in the wrong ‘pharm.’
With Farming and Agriculture both in her blood, Franny Tacy knew exactly what she had to do. She bought land, built her farm, and set-up a business around it. And now after nine years into her business, Franny has made the hemp industry notice her progress and has become the only woman in North Carolina to do so in the last 75 years.
Franny is currently regarded as a leading authority on hemp, participates in the North Carolina State University Hemp Studies, has a TEDx Hemp Speech, and is a nonprofit founding member of the Women in Hemp.
Known as an inspiring farmer who has evolved into a catalyst for the United States hemp scene, Franny has built Franny’s Farmacy into a vertically integrated brand that is involved in growing and processing hemp as well as manufacturing, distributing, and franchising. Franny’s Farmacy currently has eight CBD dispensaries spread across four states, all with the goal of providing easy and safe access to high-quality products from seed to shelf, with an emphasis on hemp and health.
Going Back to the Roots
Earning the nickname of ‘nature mama’, the childhood of Franny developed on a farm riding horses, planting gardens, feeding animals, running through the fields, without any supervision. Even when her parents separated, and Franny was moved to the city, she would spend weekends and summers on the farm with her dad.
Her love for farming grew even stronger, which led her to obtain a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. Franny sustained her love for farming even after completing school and went to live on a farm with her friends and some animals. After some jobs with the Forest Service, earning advanced degrees in education, and teaching for six years, she moved to Asheville, NC, and spent over a decade-long career in pharmaceuticals, leaving all her agricultural roots behind.
However, after creating a prosperous yet unsatisfactory career in pharmaceuticals, Franny heard a calling back from her roots. Franny’s agricultural background, as well as her professional career in sales and marketing, had prepared her for the miracle that was about to unfold in her life. Hence, came the year 2012 when the heart of all Franny’s future businesses began with the purchase of a farm. It was a three-year process on her path of turning ‘Pharma to Farm’ before she quit her corporate career to focus on building a new business.
After planting hemp plants for food and fiber in 2017, Franny unknowingly became the first female hemp farmer in North Carolina in more than 75 years.
Franny switched her production focus from cannabis to hemp varieties and established her first Franny’s Farmacy Dispensary in downtown Asheville in 2018. The Franny’s Farmacy concept has implemented innovative organic farming, a network of ethical partner producers, and traceable seed-to-shelf hemp and CBD products to improve the health and wellbeing of its CBD dispensary consumers.
The Ordeals of Cannabis
While Franny’s dream of creating a nationally recognized brand in cannabis was a dream come true, it was also full of challenges. Franny’s has led the way by setting industry standards for ‘seed to sale’ with much resistance from short-term capitalists without a purpose beyond profits. She asserts, “I have grown my business and brand just as I have my farm with strong roots and foundation so that no matter what storm, legalities or competition, we will continue to grow.”
The biggest challenge for Franny has been the legal system and the operation of such a business in an illegal and unregulated market. This hurdle took no time to teach Franny that things in this industry do not progress fast or without any help.
As such, being the first one in a completely new industry, not to mention, illegal at the time, Franny Tacy had to figure it all out on her own. She, however, turned this hardship into her motivation and brought Franny’s Farmacy into the world of franchising to help, educate, and empower others.
Self-learning from all these experiences, Franny advices the same and asks young and aspiring leaders to charge and find mentors, advisors, partners, and collaborators that align with their mission and values
She asserts, “At my time if there had been anyone to be a better advisor and collaborator, it would have been a great benefit. Fortunately for anyone entering the cannabis industry now, these advisors exist so I advise everyone to find your aligned partners.”
Sharing the Knowledge
For Franny Tacy, it is clear that education is a fundamental value for Franny’s Farmacy. She also admits that knowledge gives us the power to make the best choices for ourselves and our loved ones. Hence, to educate and empower people, she has taken the assistance of digital media to disseminate the understanding of her offerings.
Franny’s Farmacy has a YouTube channel, social media channels, and provides regular updates of information on its website dedicated to all things hemp. Through these channels, she helps the world to know more about CBD and hemp from farming to product testimonials, dosing, how it works in our bodies, and more.
In terms of establishing complete transparency, Franny makes sure that her Farmacy is a ‘seed to shelf, hemp and health’ brand that prides itself on offering traceable products to the farm and crop they originated from. The brand has also engaged a state-of-the-art Blockchain technology and is fully transparent with the vertically integrated supply chain.
The fact that Franny has a master’s in Education, a Ph.D. coursework with the Smithsonian Institute for ‘Teaching with the Brain in Mind’, and a Farm Camp business as well, learning becomes inspiring.
Future Expansion
Going forward, Franny Tacy will continue to offer the best of products directly from her farm and empower people to understand all about CBD and hemp. For her short-term goal, she has set her eyes on opening the next 10 dispensaries/territories across multiple states alongside launching two new product lines by the end of 2021. And for the long-term goal, Franny seeks to establish more product lines and expand more not only in the US but also internationally.
On the personal side of things, the influential leader is embedded in all things hemp and has Franny’s brand expansions in hemp for fiber and hemp for food.
