Heather Hughes

Develop core values and work with people who share them. In developing your core values, strive to understand basic human behavior: It will help to grow others around you no matter where they currently stand.

 

Heather has been working in healthcare for 20 years, and her husband’s family has been involved in farming and agriculture for generations. This uniquely qualifies her to lead a company that produces the highest quality and most effective CBD products, understanding and overseeing every step of creation, from plant to person.

Heather grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing from Minnesota State University Moorhead, and an MBA from North Dakota State University in Fargo. She then moved to Southern California where she began working in healthcare management, and where she and her husband purchased a grapefruit orchard.

While in North Dakota, Heather worked for a research organization which did pharmaceutical testing of generic drugs and for which she wrote the final FDA reports. In Southern California, Heather has worked for over a decade as the Director of Care Coordination for a major health care management company. Working with wonderful nurses and teams of dedicated healthcare professionals, she became aware of the harsh realities of opioid and other prescription drug abuse.

A few years ago she realized the benefits of using industrial hemp-derived CBD in treating an extraordinary number of ailments.

Meanwhile, the Asian Citrus Psyllid was slowly spreading in California and carrying a deadly tree virus that had infected about 90 percent of the citrus crop in Florida.

So she applied to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and became registered to cultivate industrial hemp. Simultaneously, Heather was sought-out by a group of health care professionals who asked her to join them in creating a CBD company. Their common goal was to help patients manage chronic conditions like pain and anxiety in a more natural, plant-based way.

After hundreds of hours of research, product testing and consultation, Heather and her team brought BioFit 360 to market, sourcing the products from the most trusted manufacturers with the highest ratings.

Soon an esteemed crop of experts will be collaborating on manufacturing BioFit 360 products using industrial hemp organically grown in the Hughes Citrus orchard.

In addition to working with BioFit 360, Heather is the busy mother of three, is active in animal rescue, and in her rare moments of leisure, she enjoys early mornings with a good book and a cup of Irish Breakfast tea.

Where did the idea for BioFit 360 come from?

Hundreds of thousands of patients were affected by the January 2019 Center for Disease Control’s restrictions on opioid prescriptions. This effectively reduced access to opioid pain relief. Unfortunately, many patients had developed addictions to and a high tolerance for opiates. Alternatives in pain management have been limited primarily to surgery and physical therapy and people continue to deal with both addictions and pain. We had seen evidence in early 2018, both anecdotally and clinically, to make a case for introducing Cannabidiol (CBD) into patient populations. When the Farm Bill legalized growing industrial hemp and moved CBD off the Schedule I Drug listing, BioFit360 was ready to help introduce full spectrum hemp products which contain CBD.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I start at 4:30 a.m. on most days. That’s probably because my internal clock has never dialed away from Central time zone even though I have been on the West Coast for 10 years. My days are mostly a good crazy mix of family, farm work, dogs, cats, and a fair amount of working with multiple teams to continue moving the ball forward. Days are made productive by a constant forward-focus.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I am happily surrounded by a host of funny, witty, sarcastic, and sometimes cynical friends, family, and team members. We often identify real problems: It leads to rumination and some further back and forth can then lead to informal thought-experiments for value, viability, marketspace demand, and tactical objectives. If the idea proofs-out, then it’s put in the hopper for daily forward focus. Over time it works its way into a tangible existence.

What’s one trend that excites you?

It might be overly analytical of me, but I don’t get excited by trends. Paradigm shifts are something I do get excited about. An ongoing shift that excites me: I fundamentally appreciate that people are becoming more aware of and able to have conversations about mental health issues and addiction. It is in all of our best interest to create space for people to openly share that they themselves and/or family and friends are suffering with addiction(s) and to meet them with compassion and to offer appropriate mental health care resources.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Constant persistence is both a strength and weakness of mine.

What advice would you give your younger self?

You could have set yourself up to understand Spanish speakers. When you looked at that map and you saw that so many countries spoke French, you made a logical choice (sigh). But after you came back, you never really needed French. Being fluent is wonderful! Southern France was amazing. But take my advice, younger self, you will use Spanish so much more than French. Go to Spain instead!

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

That the United States is one of the worst countries for obstetrical care outcomes because we default to a medical model instead of defaulting to a midwifery model of care.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Develop core values and work with people who share them. In developing your core values, strive to understand basic human behavior: It will help to grow others around you no matter where they currently stand.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Remaining an expert is imperative for my business. This is a growth industry with new research being conducted daily and it’s necessary to look for it, find it, study it, and use it in adjusting products and our focus.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

We had an issue with data that was gathered at a physical therapy office. The point of failure was in the design of data collection. It was a horrid manual process to extract the data and draw real conclusions (74% of patients had improved range of motion using CBD cream). We redesigned the test and made it more efficient for the therapists and patients.

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

It would be so fun to have a shower head that cascades bubbles and even more fun if it had colored bubbles! I would imagine them to be completely gentle, organic, non-toxic, and safe for eyes. Kids would love it.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Thai massage. Hands down (excuse the pun)!

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Excel. Every day. Pivots solve problems.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I recommend any good book from a local library! I only recommend specific books when meeting someone one-on-one and in response to their soliciting my input directly. Some people are much better read than I am and in that case, I will ask for recommendations rather than give one.

What is your favorite quote?

“And I have one of those very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I’d probably lean over and tell myself to please shut up.” – J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Key Learnings:

• It is healthy to seek input from others but don’t underestimate your own ability to be self-guided.
• Developing core values is an evolution. Start with understanding how you, yourself, work best. The modified Myers-Briggs, Dancing with Porcupines, The One Minute Manager, and The Blank Slate are some great reads. Never stop pursuing further knowledge for further understanding of your own and others’ values.
• You cannot control others’ perceptions of you. Sometimes you must simply exist in your own truth irrespective of the impression you’ve made.