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Leaha Crawford and Rhonda Nolen are business consultants that discuss the current struggles of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Each episode covers steps necessary for smaller businesses and business owners to grow and prosper.
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You're listening to locally produced programming created in KUNV Studios on Public Radio. KUNV 91.5.
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The following is a paid program sponsored by Crawford Management Group and Smart Time Consultants. Please be advised that the voices and opinions you may hear do not necessarily represent the views of KUNV Las Vegas, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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Hi, my name is Leah Crawford.
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And I'm Rhonda Nolan.
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And you're listening to the Let's Talk with Leah and Rhonda show.
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For all the beautiful entrepreneurs out there, this is for you. Good morning, Las Vegas.
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Leah, how are you doing on this beautiful Saturday morning? It is absolutely hot. I mean I went from cold to hot. I guess that's what happens when you're in Las Vegas. It's actually cold sometimes and it's hot. It is hot. It's really hot, especially in the middle of the day. But in the morning, it's beautiful. Did you get up and do any exercise in this morning? I have started. I have started. So I've been doing a little something. Not totally what I want to do. Okay. I'm ready. I'm ready to get back into it. Fantastic. Got to ease into it slowly. Ease into it real slowly. Very carefully. That's right, entrepreneurs. It is warm. However, if you get up at the crack of dawn and hit that that perk, it's really beautiful to walk and move around. Really? Okay. So today we have a different, we have someone on the phone we met her at a convention and she had just the most beautiful products not only did they smell good I used some of them it was it was good I mean the bath was nice that was nice so I have Alicia Schnakenberg am I pronouncing your last name correct yes so it's schnockenberg. Alicia Schnockenberg. Schnockenberg. Yes. Okay, I knew I had, I was practicing before you got on.
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Schnockenberg.
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Yes. So, Ms. Alicia Schnockenberg from First and Lux. How are you?
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I'm doing well.
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Thank you so much for having me, Leah and Rhonda. I greatly appreciate it. I'm doing well. It's a beautiful day. And so, all is well.
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All is well. So, First and Lux, the name of the business, where did that name come from?
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Yeah, so thank you for asking. So First and Lux came from my time working in corporate where I have a husband and a wife and then sometimes we just get into the mode of things and then we forget to prioritize. So I created the name because in my life God is first and I try to put my family first and then sometimes I'm behind so it was all about just reconnecting with myself because obviously if I'm not putting myself in a good place then I'm not good to anyone. And then love luxury products, quality products more importantly. So that's where the first and Lux comes from. And then just one last thing is that I'm a graduate of New York University and so I just kind of wanted to pay some respect to the university. So that's how I just compiled it all together. First and Lux.
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Alright.
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First and Lux. Love it. Love it. So the website is Firstandluxe.com. So it's F-I-R-S-T-A-N-D-L-U-X-E dot com. That's right. Firstandluxe.com. Well, she can also be contacted at 1-800-322-1804. Again 1-800-322-1804. Let's talk about these products though because it was a lot of products. A lot of products. What's your favorite?
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Oh my goodness. So how the company started is I love candles. So I think the candles are truly a staple in my home. Just using those like after a long day, you know, just coming home, creating a mood. So First & Lux, yeah, it's all about the products for sure, but it's all about creating the mood. So the candle sets the mood, you know, grabbing a glass of wine or tea, putting on a little jazz, you know, a little Brian McKnight, whatever the case may be, to relax and unwind. And then the scents are just really magnificent. So my favorite is the Amalfi Coast and it has like a nice blend of the lemongrass paired with the lavender so it's like uplifting and delightful. So just you
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know. Alright so what other flavors do you have? Because you said Amalfi Coast.
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Yes, so I have Amalfi Coast and then I have Coronado Island and that is notes of like seaweed, cucumber, salt and sage. And then there is a legendary molly that I wanted to give respect to the African country molly and that has a blend of sandalwood and jasmine and a hint of tobacco. So right now we have about 15 to 20 different fragrances but we're always looking forward to add additional fragrances.
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And it looks like you have fragrances in about four different sizes. You have a Voltive, a 3-wick candle, a Cylinder Candle Vessel, and a Colossal 5-wick candle. And they all look very beautiful. Wonderful job on the packaging.
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They look really good.
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All right. So, okay. So we got candles.
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What else do you have?
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Oh, absolutely. So we also have bath and body products. So we have a shower balm and that comes in a few different fragrances online but people can contact me and we can expand on the fragrances so if they're looking for something in addition so there's options for that as well. We have a sea soak in a bottle or a sachet. The sea soak is like Epsom salt but it's like times 10. So if you're one to work out and your muscles are sore, you draw a bath, you put the sea soak in there and it has magnesium and has activated charcoal. Some of the sea soak has rose water and so it will provide or increase circulation and then remove the toxins. So all of my products are handcrafted. So it's not like a machine is making them. So there's a lot of labor and love that goes into the products. In addition to that, we have like a Luxe Bath with sweet almond oil as well. We have bath bombs. We also have which consists of the linen and garment wash. We also have a luxury fabric conditioner as well that you can get in several different fragrances. And then finally, I'm launching a shea, it's a shea bar soap and a lotion. So that will be coming soon to the website. So yeah, a lot of different products. That's fantastic. Now, were you in business prior to COVID-19 or did you start your business after?
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Good question. Good question. So, um, I started my business after COVID-19.
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Um, I'm a military spouse and so I had this idea for a while, but just moving around, you know, helping my husband serve the country, it didn't give me an opportunity to just kind of really settle in. So that's why I kind of, you know, relied on corporate. But then after some time after COVID-19 and just, you know, really retrying to reconnect with myself and making sure that, you know, I pass things on to my daughter inspired me to create the company. So yes, it was created in 2021.
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That's fantastic.
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So now was the first product you rolled out the candles?
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Yes, yes. So the candles, yes. So those are that's my my favorite because that was the first product that I rolled out and received wonderful you know feedback on. And then like I said it's clean burning so you know there's a sustainability aspect to it as well. That's fantastic. So now what is clean burning? So like typically with soy candles there's not like a lot of toxins that go into the environment and so they're not made with toxic ingredients. When you burn them, you don't have to worry about toxins going into your lungs and it won't harm the environment. With the quality of the products, that was the main focus and then of course making sure it's sustainable to the best of my ability at this point. So I just wanted to make sure that whatever I'm offering to my clients, I would offer to my family. That's wonderful. Got it. Got it.
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Okay. So, again, First and Lux offers a variety of products from the candles to the bath bombs. She can be contacted at 1-800-322-1804 and if you want to see her suite of products her website is www.firstandluxe.com. Okay so you are listening to the Let's Talk with Leah and Rhonda. My name is Leah Crawford. And I'm Rhonda Nolan. And we're so happy to be here today with Ms. Alicia from First & Luxe. We had the opportunity of meeting her sometime in May when we were in San Diego at a convention and she brought all of her products and we just loved them and we wanted to share them with you and we want and I want to find out Alicia we have a lot of entrepreneurs listening
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how hard was it to start your business? Oh my goodness so I think the business that I started is a low barrier to entry but it's all about like what's in your mind and so if you really believe and I believe that I have a good community that supported me, and so you just have to take a leap of faith. So I would say it can be challenging because, you know, we like to eat the whole elephant, so to speak, all at once. And you really just have to take day by day and then just try to lean on your community and then have a vision. And then I do prayer, so I just ask God to lead my steps. And so I'm just taking one step at a time, and like I said, I thank you, Leah and Rhonda. You have to show up, so it's not even just about having a vision. It's all about the action part of it. And then having a community and then showing up at places, and that's how I met Leah and that's how I'm now having this conversation with you all. So just never giving up it's tough you know not gonna lie about that but just just never giving up and just having a vision and just taking one step at a time and then just moving forward. So you
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mentioned earlier you were in corporate America prior. Were you in consumer
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packaged goods? Were you selling or making these goods at another company? No, no actually I left management consulting so I worked as a managing consultant for probably about three and a half years and then I moved into global resource management so I was a global resource manager. So yeah this was kind of just a leap of faith and then prior to that I worked in the mortgage industry
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Right, right, right. Just a variety of things nothing that I mean, but something in your heart said I want to do something different I like candles and I want to share my vision I just love the fact because the aromas and the I lit my candle when I got home and The aroma went but it was like in several different rooms And it was I just I was I was like, oh my God, this is so peaceful. So peaceful. And I also used my bath bomb because I got the bath bomb too. So let's go over your products one more time for our listeners. So they might have just joined, you know, just joined us. So we have the candles and we have four different sizes. We have the vulva tea, the three wick candle, the cylinder candle vessel, and the colossal five wick candle and they range in price and you can visit the website to you know check that out. And then we have the bath and body products. Okay so now the bath bombs. How did you come up with the I guess the idea to do bath bombs? So I
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know now everything is like quick right? People just want to hop in the shower but you know some days you just need a bath you know and there's one in particular I call rescuing minty. I wanted to pay respect to Harriet Tubman because they call her minty. That is mixed with peppermint and spearmint. Sometimes you just want to bath. You want to grab a drink and you want to listen to music and just relax versus just the quick. It's all about the experience. So ideally, you want to use these products to create an experience for yourself, to reconnect. So my tagline is discover your true north. And so you'll see when you go to the website, within my logo, there is a four-point star. I consider that the north star. And then, so people historically have followed the north star for guidance, for freedom. And so sometimes we just get you know trapped in the day-to-day of life and our work and so we forget to reconnect with ourselves. And so that's where the you know the baths come in, that's where the bath bombs come in. And then of course you know like I said paying respects to one's ancestors. And you know I think Oprah said it or Maya Angelou said it like I don't come as one, I come as 10,000. Sometimes we just need to reset and these products are there to nurture you, to provide inspiration, to provide good smells. Maybe you're going to go out for a date night or whatever the case is, you're going to hang out with your friends. You just want to put yourself in a good place and a good mood in order to bring out you know the best in you so we are not here this is another Oprah comment we are not here to shrink down to less we are here to blossom up into more so that is I wanted
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to blossom into more so I took that chance that's fantastic I love it I was sitting here I was like wow like just change your whole energy mm-hmm change your whole vibe so that when you go out it's enjoyable. Like what are you bringing to the table, me and my 10,000 people, what are we bringing to the table?
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Right.
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Right, right. So we got the bath bombs, we got the candles. What other products are we looking at, Rhonda? Oh, she has bubble bath also. Okay, so the bath bomb and bubble bath together, right?
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Yes, absolutely. You can mix and exchange however you want to do it. The bath bombs, the bubble baths together. We also have fragrance oils as well that comes in a variety of different scents. You know you can put those like in a diffuser to you know fragrant the room because it's just nice. It's all about scents you know that creates memories and you brings back memories and so just it's really about setting the vibe. Yeah I see you have sweet almond oil. What other scents do you have? So yes, so I also have one is called marine sparkling champagne that has like strawberries and a little lemon. I have opulent noir that also has like that's like a rich and aggressive smell. It's amazing like either people just really love it or they're like okay you know this is nice but I think it's phenomenal it has bergamot, black pepper, has a musk it's kind of more of a more of a masculine scent versus a feminine scent but it smells amazing. We also have the Caribbean teakwood so it's kind of like grab your pina colada you know you're on the beach it's like dapper it's sophisticated it has warm teakwood balance with some rich amber and sandalwood. For my laundry products, I also have fresh linen, so it smells like laundered linen, and it's a promise of restful perfection. So if you want to wash your garments in that, it's amazing. So everything is all about an experience. So I don't mind washing clothes but if I have wonderful scents to wash them in, it just makes the experience better.
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We understand. We understand because that is one of the, that's a chore.
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So let me ask you a question. Do you source all the things you need to produce your products here in the United States or
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do you source from outside?
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I source everything here in the United States. Everything is handcrafted here in the United States. I take pride in that, especially as a military spouse. My husband is in the United States Marine Corps.
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Thank him for his service.
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Yes.
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Absolutely, absolutely. So, yeah, it's very important just to give my best. And that's where I create it first and foremost. Everything is sourced here in the United States and it was a beautiful thing is when I go to the manufacturer I'm able to meet the people and thank them personally for you know taking you know the time to create
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you know my products and I and obviously it gives back to the community it helps them to take care of their families as well so I believe in you know reciprocity. Got it. Got it. So Schnuckenburg, right? I got it right? Yeah. Got it right, okay. At First and Lux. That's First and Lux. Her website is www.firstandlux.com and we'll spell that F-I-R-S-T-A-N-D-L-U-X-E.com. Ms. Alicia, I want to tell you that when I first smelled your products, I was pleasantly surprised because it was the aroma. You could smell the differences in the aromas. How do you come up with the combinations?
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Well, that's a good question. I work with a company here in the United States, and so I cannot take the credit for that. They have diligently created a lot of these fragrances. They work with me, so I kind of pick and choose. However, we are working together to come up with additional fragrances. I kind of have chosen the ones that I really like. It's all about just the combination and to creating that right fragrance. It's not just one, it's just like I said it could be you know peppermint and spearmint and lavender all mixed together so it's just all about that combination. So we have a great partnership. It's a family-owned company and they have welcomed me with open arms. I love it because you have a
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wide variety of fragrances, a wide variety of fragrances, smells, experiences
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I should say right? Absolutely, absolutely. And on the website, feel free to call me directly. I am still available by telephone. A lot of times I'm able to get a hold of people, but the viewer or the listeners can call me directly. And if there's something that they're looking for that's not on the website, let me know and I can create that for them, not even just the listeners so if it's a corporation whatever the case may be the university you know I can definitely customize whatever they're looking for so I work with different companies and organizations to create a very unique experience so it's kind of like a five it's a it's a white glove service if you will so I feel like I'm like a concierge to different organizations. And do you put together gift baskets with your products? I do, absolutely, absolutely. So yeah, depending on like what you're looking for, because I put on my consultant hat at that point, right? And so thank goodness I have that training. So yeah, absolutely. I'll put together a gift bag or gift boxes, whatever individuals are looking for. It's just it's pretty much a customization type of an experience with First Remarks.
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That's wonderful. So entrepreneurs out there, if you want to do something special for your wife or your husband, then you can contact Alicia at 800-322-1804. Again that's 800-322-1804. Alicia we want to thank you for being on the Let's Talk with Leigh Ann Ronda show. It's been a pleasure speaking to you and learning about your products. Thank you, Alicia. We truly appreciate it.
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Oh, absolutely. Thank you so much. And then I just want to let you know, your listeners, they'll receive 15% off if they use the KUNV. Oh, okay.
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So you get 15% off, guys, if you use KUNV. Again, 15% off for using KUNV. Are you going to have any parting words before we let you go?
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No, I just thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to speaking to you all soon.
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Okay, I appreciate that. Thank you, Alicia. Thank you, Alicia. Talk soon.
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Okay, take care.
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Bye.
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Bye.
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Bye. All right, London.
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All right, Las Vegas.
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You learned something new, especially if you're a bath person. I'm a bath person, so I love all the bath oils and scrubs and things of that nature. So I'm absolutely going to check Alicia out. I think it's great. And remember, you use the K-U-N-V in the code to get 15% off so that you know, support our
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products.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Support entrepreneurs, support other entrepreneurs and we can all win. We can all win. We can all win. But let me give you your contact number again because it's the 1-800 number. The other one is 202-913-3989. Again, 202-913-3989. All right, Rhonda, what do you have going on this weekend? What do you know good? Well, let's see. Today, the NAACP is having their monthly meeting. So, if you would like to join, that's happening this afternoon. I believe the NBA is having their final games this weekend. I think the championship actually happens on Monday but if you want to watch some new and up-and-coming players they are over at the Thomas and Mac Center and they're at the Cox Pavilion and this the NBA is in town. Have you been to any games this year? I have not been to any games this year. It's the NBA Summer League and all the rookie and junior players are here and they are playing their hearts out. I went to a game earlier this week I saw the Pistons versus Toronto and the Pistons won. I was extremely happy. So we'll see you know what happens after that. But yeah lots of folks in town lots of balls around the city even though it's super hot people are still moving and grooving. People are still moving and grooving. Yes, Vegas is open. Vegas lost, Vegas is open. Anything else going on this weekend? Oh, it's always lots of things going on this weekend. In the political world, there are lots of things going on. People are ramping up, getting ready for our elections next year. So some of the candidates who are running for office, they are out and about and meeting and greeting folks and answering a lot of questions. So again, entrepreneurs, like Leah told you last week, if you do not know who your representatives are in your area, your your congressmen, your representatives, any of those people that you you need to talk to and do business with, you need to meet them, need to meet them, you need to get out and about. All right, you're listening to the Let's Talk with Leah and Ronda show. I am Leah Crawford. I'm Ronda Nolan. And we're so happy to be here with you on this beautiful Saturday morning. Beautiful Saturday morning but as always our show is coming to an end. I know we have a bunch of stuff going on in the upcoming weeks. Yeah well the TEEP grant that was open closed already that one here but there are always grants on Hello Alice www.helloalice.com for women who have small businesses. There's lots of information about grants and funding that's happening there so you can go on there and check that out. Verizon.com also has some grants and some classes for entrepreneurs to take to expand their businesses. So they're always moving and shaking. And then, you know, like Leah and I always say, if you have not joined a chamber, you need to. If you are here in Las Vegas and you want to expand your business, you should choose one of the chambers and you should join because there's a lot of excitement going on in Henderson with the Henderson Chamber, the Las Vegas Chamber, the Urban Chamber, the Asian Chamber, the Latin Chamber. You know, everybody has a bunch of programming going on for small business owners. Get in, not only join, but get involved. Get involved in what they're doing. Meet the different people because you never know who's going to be the person that you're going to talk to that can help you expand your business. That's right. And if you have an idea, you know, just go for it. Take that leap. Just go for it. Just go for it. That's right. If you're thinking about starting a new business, it is now time to get your business plan together, your marketing plan, and getting your funds together and stepping out on faith, stepping out on faith. Well, I know we have some interesting people and coming up in the future. So keep listening. We appreciate all of you listening to us every Saturday morning.
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Yes, yes. We appreciate you getting up early and speaking with us, listening to us and probably
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talking back to us too, but we just can't hear you. Right, just talking back to us. Right. But if you do have a comment or concern and you want to talk to us, you can reach out to us. Our number is 702-382-5737. Again, 702-382-5737. And with that, we can wrap it up for today, Rhonda. We can get out here and get in the sun. Yeah. You've been listening to Let's Talk with Leah and Rhonda.
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I'm Leah Crawford. I'm Rhonda Nolan. We're happy you were listening to us today, and we will see you next week. Bye.
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Peace. Peace.
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you
Transcribed with Cockatoo