Once described as running a “Fortune 500″-style enterprise, Bruce’s expertise runs the gamut from shipping & logistics to legislation & lobbying. He was a consultant and expert for CNBC’s most popular show of all time, Marijuana Inc. So where did this talent and drive for business begin?
Bruce Perlowin has always been an entrepreneur. His passion for business started at the young age of seven when he began shining shoes door-to-door in Miami, Florida. This was the first of the many entrepreneurial endeavors Bruce would take part in throughout his life.
By the age of 23, Bruce had opened up a leather store, made and sold candles, sold organic Shaklee products, picked and sold organic oranges, and owned a tree trimming business called The Tree People. At 24 he opened The Magic Woodsman with his brother Craig to sell finished Redwood Burl tables. They expanded the store to become the third largest natural wood manufacturing company in America at the time. At this point, Bruce’s marijuana smuggling business was gaining momentum.
In 1978, Bruce moved his operation to the West Coast to get away from the rising violence of Miami and increase profits due to a lack of competition. He would also be able to smuggle via boat instead of by flight and therefore decrease additional overhead costs that came from moving the drugs from Miami to LA. Bruce even hired a research firm to analyze the strength of the feds at different ports along the West Coast. The result? A full report leading him to the conclusion that San Francisco Bay was open for the taking. And take it he did.
Bruce Perlowin didn’t just smuggle marijuana… he created an empire. Called, “The Company”, his operation had a business plan, investors, and employees, their product just happened to be illegal. Bruce knows how products move. He knows how companies grow. And he knows how to spend and make money.
His deep knowledge of multi-level marketing might be infamous because of his marijuana smuggling, but it has been applicable to a multitude of other business endeavors that Bruce has embarked on. Whether it’s candles or calling cards, hemp inc. or yoga, Bruce Perlowin understands how all types of businesses work. Most importantly, he knows how people work. He intends on spending the rest of his life using these skills to better the world around him.