Bella Vista Business Association Directory

22 | 2023 Bella vista Business association directory Be Young and Free CBD offers many benefits Be Young and Free CBD isn't the first business that Babs and Bill Verbrick have started, but it is a new type of product. "We're in a great place, able to help people with all kinds of conditions," Babs said. e CBD industry is still new and not everyone understands their products. Hemp production was legalized in 2018. Hemp is not the same plant that is grown for marijuana, Bill explained. It's considered a supplement by the FDA, not a medicine, and it contains little or no THC, the chemical that produces the high that marijuana does. e potential benefits of CBD include help with sleep, pain, weight loss and mood. It is also effective for pets with anxiety, including dogs who are afraid of fireworks and thunder. While there are many companies that sell various forms of CBD, the Verbricks only work with Zilis. e company's website explains that they own a patent for their method of making CBD oil water soluble, so the human body can more easily process it, making it more effective. Zilis is a direct sales company with ambassadors building their own sales teams and selling the products. Zilis sends part of every sale to Vitamin Angels, a program that distributes prenatal vitamins to needy mothers-to-be. e company also helps veterans and first responders start their own businesses. e Verbricks' business relies on word of mouth to increase sales. ey meet customers at events like the Senior Expo, many of whom have been disappointed with other brands of CBD products, some of which have very little CBD in them. e Verbricks plan to expand their marketing because they know there are people that they can help. "Doctors in the area are starting to be willing to try new things," Babs said. Zilis has a line of skin care products that Babs was happy to try. Babs and Bill met almost 50 years ago. Babs was going to school in northern Wisconsin, studying to be an elementary teacher. Her father had retired and followed her to Wisconsin, where he bought a hardware store. Babs worked part-time for her father, and Bill was also working in the store. "I thought he was an obnoxious know it all," she recalled. But her father didn't agree. "My father thought the sun rose and set on him," Babs said. Eventually, she changed her mind about Bill. When they le the hardware store, Bill took a job with Burroughs Corp. It meant spending a year in Detroit, where the company was headquartered. Babs gave up teaching to go with him and was also hired at Burroughs. ey had been in Detroit for four years without the promised transfer when Babs headed into a meeting. "I was the only woman in a huge department," she said. During the meeting, her boss commented that women are intellectually inferior and therefore not eligible for promotion or special training. "I didn't stand up and stamp my feet, but I planned to use it to my advantage," she said. She drove to California by herself and visited other Burroughs locations until she found a fit in Pasadena. Bill followed her to California. Babs was ultimately recruited by an independent soware company, and not long aer she started her own independent soware company. en she was able to hire her husband. eir company developed customized computer soware that is still in use to this day and pays them residual income. When the Verbricks retired to Bella Vista, they wanted to continue working, but Babs had knee surgery and was very uncomfortable. at was how she found out about CBD and Zilis. "It was like someone turned on a switch," she said. By Lynn Atkins Special to Bella Vista Business Association Directory

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