Meet the Sales Team - Alan Price

Alan was the first sales rep to come aboard with Emilio Cigars. He covers eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey for us. His bubbly personality and enthusiasm have endeared him to many, and his work as an Ambassador for Cigar Rights of America has been invaluable.

Glynne Loope of CRA, Alan Price of Emilio Cigars, and Alex Mayer of Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop

Here's a bit about Alan, in his own words:

 "My passion with cigars started 21 years ago. I had asked a friend to pick up a box of cigars for me to give out as the chivalrous "thing to do" after the birth of my first child. A few days later, on a sunny day during his nap time, I decided to try one of the cigars that I had left over, and the rest is history. Fast forward 18 years; I noticed that the laws and restrictions were getting tougher and tougher on cigar smokers, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to enjoy ‘my passion". I decided that I needed to be proactive to help preserve my rights as a cigar smoker and to also help to protect the rights of the local B & M tobacconist that sell these wonderful cigars. I became an ambassador for Cigar Rights of America and spend many weekends at cigar events promoting & protecting our freedom to smoke. About a year ago, my good friend Gary Griffith approached me and asked me to be his first cigar sales rep for Emilio Cigars. I am now having the time of my life and my favorite part of the job is running cigar events. I think there is an amazing camaraderie among cigar smokers and it is one of the few times when you can see a Supreme Court justice and the everyday working man have something in common, the art of smoking a great cigar & good conversation. Long live our passions!"

 

Alan can be found on Facebook and can also be found on twitter . 

Meet the Sales Team - Elijah Haws

Elijah is one of our newest team members at Emilio Cigars, and we welcome him aboard. His enthusiasm and dedication quickly became apparent as he opened his first account, Cigar Connection in Arlington, VA within literally hours of joining our sales force.  He covers Virginia and Washington, DC for us at present, but may go farther afield if needed.

              Elijah Haws, on the far right, serving his country as a Marine Infantry Squad Leader

Here's a bit about Elijah, in his own words:

"I'm first and foremost a family man. When I'm not working I try to find time to do the things in life that I enjoy the most. Woodworking, fishing, reading, movies, music, photography, sports and being a gym rat are the things that really come to mind. I fell in love with cigars about 5 years ago. One of the things I love the most about cigars, especially B&M's, is the family atmosphere that it has. I have met so many great people, and made a lot of close friends, that I normally wouldn't have ever met if it wasn't for cigars. It's amazing how something so small can change and enhance our lives. I'm honored and privileged to finally be apart of the industry as a rep for Emilio Cigars and look forward to forging some new friendships and helping bring great cigars to great people. "

You can find him on Facebook and also follow him on Twitter . This fine young man is well worth getting to know.

So now we move ahead

Investing in people is always something of a gamble. Initially you  have to base your decision to invest on perceived value. It's not always easy, because just as in any investment not everything is known or disclosed, and therein lies the inherent risk.

The prospectus will always be glowingly optimistic, the expected yield ambitious, but the true return will always derive from the omissions, the failures to disclose. This is not in any way deceit, it is simply that few people are capable of the level of critical self examination needed to be completely forthright. Every day brings change, every change adds to the risk, and every new risk complicates the nature of the investment.

Here's the thing. If you've invested in someone, chances are they've invested, at least in some measure, in you. They're counting on you to be there when they need you. But if they're risk averse, as many people are after suffering loss and hurt, they'll omit more to protect the value of their own investment.

If you value them remember why you took the risk of investing in the first place. It's not always necessary to cash in your chips when the dynamic changes, but it is important to recognize the change, accept it, and then move forward in a positive new light.

The two most important words I've used here are "expect" and "accept."

Expectation is the root of all disappointment. If you don't want to be disappointed, don't expect, just accept. You'll live a much happier life, and you'll never lose again.

A growing concern

This past week has been one of the most fun and exciting for us since we began national distribution of our Emilio Cigars. On a personal level it is so rewarding to see the great reception we've been given in the marketplace, the enthusiasm of our sales staff, and the constant positive feedback from consumers.

What makes this last week so meaningful is that we're entering a period of time in which so much of our hard work is beginning to bear fruit that I'm almost overwhelmed myself, and that doesn't happen often.

For the consumers out there so anxious to get hold of Emilio Cigars the great news is that we've managed to add several new sales associates, and there are even more to come with whom we're currently in negotiations. In the southwest we're happy to welcome Eric Parkinson aboard. Although he is headquartered in Arizona it looks like he'll be broadening his horizons soon, and we look forward to what we are certain will be his success.

I saw a post on Facebook last week in which a young man I'd often taken note of said his dream would be to get involved in the cigar business. It took me just a few phone calls to make his dream come true. Andrew Yenchko will now be representing our brand in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Thanks to the cooperative way in which we boutique manufacturers have begun to work, he will also be representing Ortega Cigars, 262 Cigars, and El Primer Mundo in those same areas.

Another new addition is Kevin Kurtz, who will be covering western Pennsylvania and Ohio, giving continued support to our existing retailers, and introducing us to new retailers and consumers in the area. I might even prod him to move a bit further afield as he has time.

In product news there's a lot of things happening. The rebranding of Grimalkin to La Musa is almost complete, and that release should happen soon. In addition the second blend in this series, the La Musa Melete should happen around the time of IPCPR in August.

Our Emilio AF Suave production is complete, and once everything is aged and packaged we'll be bringing that to market. This is a mild to medium Connecticut wrapped cigar that will be available in 5 sizes. On my next trip to Nicaragua, which is coming up soon, I'll be finishing yet another new blend with A.J. Fernandez that can hopefully be released early next year. There are also new sizes in production for both AF1 and AF2.

Our Draig K limitado will be released shortly. This line will be an annual release, with a different blend each year. As of now it looks as though the first Draig blend will have a production of 400 boxes each of corona, robusto, and toro. These will be allocated to our existing retailers through a complex mathematical process basically known as the Griffith Algorithm. I'll reward those who have been strong supporters.

Hopefully we'll be able to release our first cigar from yet another factory at IPCPR in August, a line we call Los Regalos. We're delighted with this project, and more details will follow in the coming weeks.

Is that all I have up my sleeve? Heck no. But let's just say this rather lengthy post, by the end of the year, will be considered nothing but a teaser.