Douglas Campbell, Jr.

Douglas Campbell is an entrepreneur with an unyielding spirit, an unwavering commitment to giving second chances, and a deep appreciation for the value of family. With a diverse background that started with a successful career in real estate, Campbell has carved a unique path in the counterculture industry, showcasing his ability to adapt and thrive in the face of challenges.

As the co-founder, President and driving force behind Drip Drop Distro, Campbell’s journey is marked by determination and innovation. He and his partners, Troy Palmer and Matthew “Motu” Nu’uvali, have taken their business from the ground up, navigating the complex landscape of an industry rife with regulations and competition. Their teamwork and resilience have played a pivotal role in their success, supported by a dedicated team that includes individuals who have also overcome personal adversities.

Growing up with an entrepreneurial father and a mother who has been working in the grocery industry for 30+ years, Campbell was able to experience both sides of the workforce. But Campbell’s early years weren’t without difficulties. His parents’ separation and his father’s financial struggles exposed him to the realities of privilege and scarcity. The memory of not being able to afford school clothes left an indelible mark on him, igniting his determination to control his destiny.

In his youth, Douglas ventured into the marijuana trade, but he never dabbled in more harmful substances, driven by his observations of their devastating impact on his mother’s community. Ultimately, his love for his high school sweetheart – and eventual wife – and the responsibilities of parenthood prompted him to leave the illicit trade behind.

Campbell’s journey led him to work with his father, where he managed a coffee shop and honed his business acumen. However, it was his involvement in the launch of Cricket Wireless that marked a significant turning point. Under his father’s guidance, they secured a crucial distribution agreement and embarked on a journey that would shape their future.

Douglas Campbell excelled in sales, gaining valuable experience and insights. After leaving Cricket Wireless, he entered the world of land development, which proved successful until the 2007-2008 financial crisis hit. Witnessing his father’s financial ruin was a stark reminder of the harsh realities of economic downturns.

During this trying period, Douglas returned to his past involvement in the marijuana trade and eventually synthetic cannabinoids, motivated by a desire to support his struggling family members, including his father. Here, he met current business partner Troy Palmer in a poker tournament, and the two navigated the complexities of this trade, only to face a life-altering federal case, which ultimately resulted in his incarceration.

After serving 90 days, Campbell emerged with a renewed determination, and decided to work toward a goal of building something legitimate for Palmer to join upon his release. This resulted in American Distribution, which has now evolved into Drip Drop Distro.

One of Campbell’s defining characteristics is his commitment to second chances. He firmly believes in mentoring and providing opportunities to those with criminal records, understanding the power of redemption and personal growth. His dedication to giving individuals a fresh start is a testament to his belief in the potential for change.

Campbell’s dedication also extends beyond the boardroom; it reaches deep into his family life. With five daughters and a strong support system, he values the importance of family bonds. His role as a father and guardian to his younger siblings, stemming from his father’s untimely passing, underscores his commitment to keeping family together and supporting their dreams.

In addition to his professional success and commitment to second chances, Douglas possesses a keen insight into his industry’s future. He anticipates that the industry, currently facing regulatory challenges, will soon transition into the mainstream. Drip Drop Distro’s president embraces competition, eagerly preparing to face industry giants head-on, all while working toward this year’s goal of a nine-figure revenue.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

On a typical day, I wake up at 6:30. But I don’t roll out of bed until about eight o’clock. I go through my emails and text messages, trying to get to the office no later than nine. Then I hit the ground running pushing sales and looking to grow channels. Each day in our industry is different. It’s just the nature of the market conditions. As a national company, you never know what I’ll face each day.

On the days when we’re on the road, it’s completely different than when in the office – organized chaos really. Those traveling together start early in the morning at the gym, head to breakfast together, and then hit the streets separately pounding on 25 to 30 retail locations a day. At the end of the day, we return to the hotel with about a 70 percent close rate on the stores we hit. We’re praying over dinner and starting it all over the next day.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I’m a dreamer. I sit and I think and I imagine what we could be doing. The same applies to my business partners Troy Palmer and Matthew “Motu” Nu’uvali. We spend a lot of time together just working through ideas – whether it’s just chatting, relaxing together, golfing together, or vacationing together. We all have different life experiences that have knocked us down and forced us to get back up. So we each have a passion to excel and continually be better. We each bring something to the table, including the youngest members of the Drip Drop Distro team. It’s a wholly collaborative effort.

What’s one trend that excites you?

In our space, more people are shopping online. But with this uptick, there’s also not a lot of selection online. There are not a lot of the new products that hit the web fast enough to get them into the stores quicker. There’s clearly a gap where people don’t have new/innovative products online fast enough.
Yet, despite the online lag time, I really enjoy how fast many brick and mortar stores are stocking new/innovative products. While these retailers are building a performing product lineup, they’re also adding new/innovative products to stay ahead of their customers. Not all of these guys are doing it, but a lot of these guys really taking their business to a whole new level – especially in regard to how products are placed, how their stores are designed, and how they train their employees. I just hope that these trends are here to stay. I believe it is so important in the counterculture industry to always be in front of the consumer.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

While many people may not believe it when they meet me, I whole-heartedly believe in the power of manifestation – even before we started hearing about them on podcasts. Early on in my career, when I was on the phones everyday trying to make a sale, I would start the day off the same – brush my teeth, listen to music and look at myself in the mirror, deep in my eyes, and I tell myself that I was the best salesperson on the planet and no one was gonna say no to me. I would affirm that I knew my stuff, that I’m smart, and I’m selling good products. I’d splash water on my face and I received it. It’s more than just saying it, but I let my body hear it. When my kids were young and saw me do this, they thought I was so weird. “Dad’s talking to himself again.” But I’m a true believer in it and I still do it. I do it whenever we do big trade shows. I do it when I have really big business meetings. And I’ve heard there’s science backing the benefits of speaking positively over things. I tell my sales team to do this all the time. I don’t know if they do, but I know for a fact it works and it’s worked for me exponentially.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I think this is something that I’m still learning, because I am constantly searching for more knowledge, digging deeper into things to find more meaning. So I would tell my younger self to sit and be a little more patient. Listen more, especially to other people who probably also know a thing or two. As I grow older, certain things I thought were right, or something where I held strong convictions, have changed. Not everything is black or white. There are multiple perspectives and circumstances involved. There are others sitting at the table. So it won’t hurt me to be a bit more patient.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

I believe that it takes two people to make a relationship successful. Raising kids, as one example, is most successful when you have a team. I know I couldn’t be the man I am today without my wife. She’s there to pick me up when I am down, and to check me when I need to be realigned. For me, it’s taken two people to help me achieve my goals. And I am a strong believer in a team effort for multiple aspects of my life.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Perhaps it’s an old-school concept, but dress nicely, be presentable, be well groomed, and be well spoken. I know people think that that’s dumb, but my Uncle Andy taught me this while working in his pizza shop. And it’s those little details that make a difference.
A nice suit or dress makes anybody look good. It gives you the confidence to take on the day. When you look good, you feel good.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

My whole life I’ve felt unfocused, but one thing that I’ve been doing a lot lately is walking. I actually learned this for the brief period I spent in prison. It’s great for my health and a great way to decompress. I used to listen to music when I walked, and now I don’t. Now I hear the wind and the birds. and it’s just a great thing to take the edge off the day or if you’re struggling with something. Whether it’s in your personal or business life, walking takes the edge off the day. You may start the walk stuck, not seeing an answer to something, but then you work your way through the problem by the end of the walk.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

One strategy is to be positive, even when you’re justified in being negative. I know it sounds so easy to say, but what I love about my team is that we always try to be problem solvers. And we always look for the workaround. A lot of the times when we get really, really bad news, we laugh. Sometimes when you see the humor in it, when bad things happen to you, it allows you to be open to trying to figure it out or soften the blow or lighten the mood a little bit. And then you get to refocus and circle around it. I’ve always done that, which I learned from my dad.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

I don’t really have any failures in my career where I look back and think “I was a failure.” I may have failed at an attempt, but that doesn’t equate to someone being a failure. Early in my career, though, a broker I worked with when I was an agent (and the newest agent in the office) became my mentor. And he saw how successful I was even though I didn’t. I told him I wanted to work in the counterculture space, and he told me that would be a big mistake. He knew the industry would have its time and place, but now was not the time for me to get involved. I remember looking at him because I had so much admiration and respect for him and felt he was wrong, but of course he ended up being 100 percent right. I ended up going to prison over it. I’ll never forget when he called me and told me that he was going to write a letter for me to be sentenced, even though he loved me. He told me that he was always a fan of me and never saw anybody that could sell anything better than me. He had to walk away from me. And to never ask him for a job ever again. And it’s one of those things that I don’t know if it’s really more of a failure for me or more of a (really difficult) learning experience.

While I’m in the counterculture space now, I wish I would have listened just a little bit more to somebody that actually cared about me.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

It’s funny, all the business ideas that I spend my time thinking about are outside of the counterculture industry. And I think that might be just because I’m looking for some new things.

As a family, we’ve been talking a lot recently about ideas for a family business. Overall, I think there’s a huge void out there on companies that do business the “right” way. Even the simplest of products can be successful as long as you have fast shipping, a warm customer service experience, and a varied product selection. My brother and I agree that there will be another type of “industrial revolution” once the manufacturing industry starts booming again here domestically in the United States.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I don’t use much high tech software. I am old school. I use OneNote, which keeps me on task. I do love social media, and not just sitting there scrolling, but I do a lot of business on Instagram Messenger and Facebook Messenger. And I find it really easy. My whole team’s been trying to get me on board with all of the latest and greatest software, like Monday.com or G-Sutie, but I have my system that I like. They’re lucky I’m not still using a fax machine like I did when I worked in real estate before the use of DocuSign.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

As I sit here in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on vacation with my wife, I have to say the two lobster tails we recently had for dinner. We didn’t want to add them initially, but we decided to do it, and I’m so glad we did! It was some of the best lobster I’ve ever had. And I’m not the biggest fan of lobster tails. Sometimes you just have to go for it. It may surprise you.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

I just finished a 300 page book about Paul Newman. And it wasn’t a good book, but it wasn’t a bad book either; I’ll just say it was something I didn’t expect. But I’m glad I read it. Podcast-wise, I listen to a bit of everything – business podcasts, political podcasts (even from people I don’t really align with), and Christian podcasts. I have even started listening to podcasters that focus on empowering women that my daughters are introducing me to.

I take a bit of something from each and apply it to different parts of my life. It’s actually helped me on some of the things I don’t understand or I didn’t initially see, as I now have new perspectives. That’s the one thing that’s been cool about podcasting. It opens up some light on something that you might have been seeing wrong or you didn’t understand. In fact, we just released our very first podcast. The first episode is called Empire of Second Chances.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

My wife and I just watched Catch Me If You Can for the first time. It’s so good!

As far as TV series, my wife never waits for me whenever we get started on something. So we’ll start like one or two of the things and then I come home from a business trip and she smashed out season 6. I liked Game of Thrones and Stranger Things. I watched that with my kids. It was really nostalgic for me spending time with my family bonding over a “much-watch” series.

Key learnings:

• One thing that I’ve always learned in sales is that a lot of people can see a closed door and they think that it’s closed forever. I know the saying is that another door will open when one closes, but when a door closes on me, I still try to knock it down. If it’s something that you want to do, maybe I initially took the wrong approach in it; maybe we weren’t seeing it right. I’ve always learned that the door isn’t closed, but maybe you didn’t bring the value that they thought that you brought or that you thought that you were gonna bring to them. I would just say there’s no wrong way or right way to do something.
• I always try to play the ethical game where I don’t do anything underhanded. I try to stay out of the gossip, even though we all get caught up in some of it sometimes. I think the biggest thing is, if you put the work in, it will come. If you stay positive, it will come. If you grind on it, put your heart into it, it’ll work. You don’t want fast money. You don’t want it every time. I’ve never had anything fast. I try to tell these youngsters all the time saying, “we can make a hundred thousand off of this one move or we could do this one that’s better long-term.” The former never works out. If you put in the work and you try to be patient and you do things actively, people gravitate towards that. And I think people forget that sometimes. I think people cut corners too much.
• If there’s anybody that’s young reading this, just keep your head down. Deion Sanders was just saying something and it’s so true. He tells his guys, “I know you’re making plays and no one’s calling out your number, but keep making plays. I know you’re over here working harder than everybody and no one’s saying anything to you.” I truly believe that everybody wants instant gratification and everybody wants to be rewarded. But people are paying attention and just keep your head down and you’ll get yours. I know I did that. I was exactly where you’re at now. I’m the owner of a successful company that is a result of my loyalty. Look for mentorship and stay loyal, man. People are going to do the right thing most of the time, but they’re not going to do the right thing if you’re a Johnny Come Lately. So, don’t be a Johnny Come Lately. Put in your work. Put in your dues.