Episode 270 – Christine DeAngelis

Welcome to Episode 270 of What’s Your “And”? Follow-Up Friday edition. This is John Garrett. Each Friday, I’m following up with a guest who had been on the show a few years ago to hear what’s new with their passions outside of work and to hear how this message might’ve impacted them since we last talked.

I’m so excited to let everyone know that my book’s being published very, very soon. It’ll be available on Amazon and a few other websites. So check out whatsyourand.com for all the details or sign up for my exclusive list. You’ll be the first to know when it’s coming out. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week. This Follow-up Friday is no different with my guest, Christine DeAngelis. She’s the co-founder and CFO and cannabis tax queen at Cultivate Consulting in Rochester, New Hampshire. And now, she’s with me here today. Christine, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?

Christine: Hi, John. Thanks for having me.

John: Absolutely. This is going to be so much fun. But before we jump into that, I have my rapid-fire questions that I do right out of the gate now, so I hope you’re ready.

Christine: I’m ready.

John: All right. Here we go. If you had to choose, Harry Potter or Game of Thrones?

Christine: Oh, Game of Thrones all the way.

John: Okay. All right. How about when you were in elementary school, favorite activity in gym class?

Christine: Oh, I hated gym class. It was the one class that I didn’t want to go to.

John: So like the parachute where we would just sit inside and then be done.

Christine: Oh, I remember that lady still do that. My daughter does that in her kindergarten class.

John: Oh, that’s hilarious. It’s so ironic you hate a gym class. I had no idea. I had picked the question just for you. Okay. What’s a typical breakfast?

Christine: A typical breakfast is definitely my favorite protein shake. I like to mix a birthday cake flavor with a chocolate flavor together and pretend like I’m having brownies for breakfast.

John: Right. I was like, “That sounds delicious.”

Christine: It so good, right?

John: Right. Absolutely. Would you say you’re more of an early bird or a night owl?

Christine: I’m definitely more of a night owl. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work with your children’s schedule. So I’ve been forced into early bird mode.

John: Right. There you go. How about a favorite band or musician?

Christine: Oh, that’s a tough one. I have such like a broad range of tastes. I’ll just go old school and say Bruce Springsteen.

John: Oh, wow. Yeah. It’s hard to go wrong on that one. That was my first cassette tape I ever bought. And that’s also how old I am. I bought a cassette tape.

Christine: I mean I don’t tell people my real age, but I also own cassette tapes.

John: Well, they were hand me downs I’m sure in your case. Two more. Do you prefer more hot or cold?

Christine: Definitely more hot, I think.

John: Yeah. And the last one, maybe the most important one, toilet paper roll, over or under?

Christine: Oh, over.

John: Over? Okay. All right. No, that works. That’s, I think, the right answer. But every once in a while, there’s some unders. But it’s just such a polarizing question it makes me laugh. But yeah, when we talked on Episode 28, I mean that’s crazy how long ago that was. It was the fitness and — I mean I remember the picture of you doing push-ups and all that, I mean, and running. Is that still something that you’re really into?

Christine: Yeah, it for sure is. I have this deal with myself that I get to the gym a minimum of three to four times a week.

John: Oh, wow.

Christine: Yeah. I’m not doing as many obstacle races and push-ups as the last time that we talked, but definitely still getting in the weights and the running every single week.

John: That’s impressive. Why is it such a big deal for you to go three to four times a week?

Christine: Yeah. I didn’t really — I mean as you can tell from my story about hating gym class as a kid, I didn’t really get into fitness until I was an adult. And it has just become this thing in my life that really helps me to stay focused and stay grounded. That’s my form of stress relief. I’m a huge proponent of holistic health, so something that is going to give me the mental clarity at the same time that it’s giving my body the physical activity that it needs, I just eat it up.

John: So maybe you were just saving it up from when you were a kid.

Christine: I think I was. I was storing it up until I was ready for peak performance level.

John: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Because I mean, as a kid, you’re just running around and wasting energy. And now, it’s all focused. That’s fantastic.

Christine: Yeah. It’s definitely focused for sure.

John: That’s awesome. So now, it seems like it’s dovetailed into this new career with the consulting firm.

Christine: Yeah. The consulting firm is what I call the perfect marriage of my passion for Holistic Health with what I’m able to do in terms of consulting and business services for my clients.

John: So the Cultivate Consulting, that’s focusing mostly on the cannabis industry and then you’re providing the business side of it and how to run a business and the accounting side of that?

Christine: Yes. It’s all cannabis-focused, which is such a hot topic in such a hot industry right now for various reasons. Like I said, what brought me to it was actually more of the holistic health piece. It was how I got involved with cannabis for our own personal lives. Then the more that I delve into it and understood what it could do for people, the more interested I got. Then I realized as a CPA how underserved this industry was as a whole, not just from an accounting perspective but truly from an overall business perspective that there are very, very few professionals out there that are advising businesses in this space. And there’s such a huge need to support these organizations.

John: Right. Right. I mean the cannabis industry, clearly the CBD side of it is huge which is much more than just the marijuana side of it. There’s so many different facets to this business. I mean being here in Denver, there’s a ton of those businesses here as well. And it’s everyone from the growers through to the stores and everyone in between.

Christine: Right. Absolutely. There’s so many nuances in the industry. And there’s so many different regulations. Also, that applies to their accounting and their taxes as well. They are not treated like a normal business would be when it comes to their accounting and their taxes. Then the rules vary depending on whether or not it’s a dispensary or a grower or if it’s somebody that’s making their own CBD oil. So there’s a lot more questions than there are answers in this space right now and a huge need to answer some of those questions for these businesses. And it’s only going to continue to grow as people come out of that cautious space and start to form more curiosity about the different products and what it’s able to do for our health industry. It’s just going to keep getting bigger.

John: No, definitely. Talking about going to the gym and fitness, is that something that you find that you have in common with some of the people that you’re working with?

Christine: That’s such a great question. It really depends on who I’m talking to. You probably wouldn’t find a lot of your average growers at the gym. But I mean there’s been so much research that has shown that — CBD is a perfect example. It has such an incredible impact on inflammation in the body, that it’s a huge product in terms of recovery. So all of the people that are out there working out all of the time, experiencing sore muscles, maybe experiencing injuries and things like that, CBD from both a topical and internal use perspective addresses inflammation in a huge way in your body. So we are absolutely starting to see it become something that is more prevalent in the fitness industry for that recovery perspective.

John: So that it is something that you’re sharing — I mean people know that fitness is a thing for you?

Christine: Yes. If you know me, it’s hard not to know that fitness is a thing for me. I’m pretty much at Orangetheory every other day. I love it.

John: There you go.

Christine: I joke but it’s not really a joke that I have to make sure that I get to the gym to make sure that I’m also able to be a nice person.

John: Right. Right.

Christine: That’s my stress reduction.

John: I completely hear you. And maybe I should start going to the gym. I fly way too much and I’m on way too many airplanes with general public. Man, I just — ugh, it’s reaching a breaking point very soon. I might be on the news. But it’s —

Christine: I feel that like that’s — honestly, getting in a workout after a flight is probably the first thing that I’m focused on. It’s where is the hotel gym because flying is stressful.

John: That might be a thing that I might need to try because normally, when I check-in to a hotel, they’re like, “And then the gym is…” and I don’t even listen to where they’re pointing because I’m like, “I don’t even care. Where’s breakfast in the morning? That’s what I care about. Let’s go there.” But that’s so cool that you found this and that it’s dovetailed into, like you said, the marriage of your passion and your profession, which is perfect. Do you find that people are sharing hobbies and passions more that you’re more aware of it since being on the podcast?

Christine: Yeah. I think I’m definitely more aware of it. I mean I have sort of, pun intended, cultivated myself into — I get all the time from people like, “Oh, I didn’t know you’re a CPA.” I don’t fit the stereotype. I don’t fit the mold because I’m so outwardly passionate about my hobbies. I’m so outwardly passionate about health and holistic health and fitness and taking care of your body. And I’m so outwardly passionate about cannabis and being an advocate for that industry that I think people see more of that out of me. And because I know these things about myself that I don’t fit the stereotypical mold of my career, I’m a lot more aware of asking people when I have conversations with them about what they’re passionate about. I really enjoy asking, “What lights you up?” Not just, “What do you do,” but like, “What really gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning?”

John: Yeah, for sure. I mean that’s so awesome to hear. But also, how insulting is it when someone says, “You don’t seem like whatever your job is?” It’s like, “What does that even mean? What does that even mean?”

Christine: Honestly, I still have no idea what that means. To tell you the truth, I’ve always taken it as a compliment. I guess if I was going to imagine the stereotype, it’s probably like some dude with a green visor and the pencils in his — I don’t really know.

John: No, no,. You’re right though. That’s what people think of us. And I’m like, “Well, what the hell?” What’s even more frustrating is that’s what a lot of us think of ourselves.

Christine: Yeah. So I’m always thinking it as a compliment when somebody says that I don’t fit the stereotype because I’m like, “Good. I’m glad that I don’t.” The stereotype really shouldn’t be what it is anyways especially in this generation.

John: Exactly. No, it’s not. I mean my own research has shown that 92% of us have a passion outside of work. So clearly, the stereotype is a multidimensional person that is outwardly passionate about other things. It’s amazing how when people throw that around, I’m always like, “What did you think? Like we’re not people? We don’t have emotions and we don’t have feelings about things.” It’s crazy.

Christine: I do think that they think that though. They think that we just love talking in the IRS about taxes and so we can’t possibly be passionate about something fun.

John: Exactly. That’s really cool that you’re out there setting that example for them to see. Then check out What’s Your “And”? Podcast and you can see a ton more people that are also not what you thought they were, which is really cool. But I love how that example of how you’re asking people, “What lights you up,” you know how much it matters to them as well, which is really cool. Do you have any words of encouragement to others that are listening that maybe have a passion outside of work but think that it doesn’t have anything to do with their job?

Christine: Yeah. I mean for me, it took me a long time to make the connection between the two in finding the cannabis space. But even if you haven’t found your connection yet, I just always encourage people to share what they’re passionate about. Share your story because what lights us up is going to be inevitably what lights up other people. I mean even if they’re not interested in the same things that we are, it’s just sharing that energy and that positivity and the motivation that we have. I mean we only have one life to live with. We’re more than just the careers that we have or the jobs that we do. Our passions and our hobbies are what make us who we are and make us interesting as individual people. And that’s how you form the best connections with the people that you attract into your life. But you can’t do that if you don’t share with people authentically what really lights your fire.

John: Exactly. And it’s just being authentic. For a handful of people, it’s work that lights them up. But for almost all of us, it’s something else also. And it’s totally okay to have that. So that’s really, really encouraging. Before I wrap this up, it’s only fair that I turn the tables and allow you to rapid-fire question me if you’d like, maybe two or three, and fire away.

Christine: Okay. Let’s see what I can come up with here. Summer or winter?

John: Oh, yeah. That’s a good one. I’m going to go winter, I think. You can always just get warmer but it’s really hard to get colder.

Christine: That’s true, except that I’m watching it snow out my window here. So I’m not sure, I’ll agree with you today.

John: Totally. I hear you.

Christine: Okay. Let’s see what else. Pink or purple, John?

John: Oh, pink or purple? I’ll go purple.

Christine: And favorite place you’ve ever traveled?

John: Favorite place I’ve ever traveled? Cape Town, South Africa. That’s an easy answer. It’s amazing there. It’s beautiful. There’s wine country very close by and the Cape of Good Hope down at the bottom. Yeah. It’s a really cool place. It’s definitely worth the trip for people that want to visit.

Christine: You had me sold out. Wine country.

John: There you go. There you go. Well, thanks so much, Christine, for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?

Christine: Thanks, John. I appreciate you having me.

John: Absolutely. Everyone listening, if you want to see some pictures of Christine in action or maybe connect with her on social media, be sure to go to whatsyourand.com. While you’re on the page, please click that big green button, do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture.

Thanks again for subscribing on iTunes or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.