Ben Spill, CEO and Founder of Good Ranchers, joins me on the Gains For Girls Podcast to talk about the Women's National Soccer Day Executive Order that was signed by President Trump on Nov. 21, 2019, declaring that men cannot play women's sports.
00:02:09.580It's important to me, of course, someone who has been dedicated to my health and my wellness and my fitness as a collegiate athlete and even beyond.
00:02:18.160And, of course, with the whole MAHA movement in full effect, a big week this week for RFK.
00:02:53.380So I want you to go to goodranchers.com.
00:02:55.940I want you to use my code RILEY, all caps, R-I-L-E-Y.
00:03:00.040And in doing that, you get $25 off free express shipping and your choice of either fish, salmon, chicken, pork chop, or ground beef in every single order for an entire year.
00:03:24.100I'm very excited for this conversation because, again, I like people who don't just have good missions and good mantras, but actually they live by that.
00:03:34.540Today we are actually going to be talking to the CEO and founder of Good Ranchers.
00:03:39.080So if my intros in the past few episodes didn't do you in to go to their website and order some for yourself, hopefully today's episode with Ben Spill, again, CEO and founder of Good Ranchers, will.
00:04:22.800And the running joke was for the first five years of the business is we not only were we growing a business, but we were growing a family.
00:04:32.440So for the first five years, my wife was either we either had a newborn or pregnant.
00:04:36.920And last year was the first year that we kind of had a little rest from growing the family and just growing the business.
00:04:45.920So, yeah, we we set out to connect the American family to the American farm.
00:04:52.260We had no idea what that actually meant.
00:04:54.040We had we know had no idea how to actually do that.
00:04:57.820People always assume that that either me or her or both of us had a background in agriculture or in some sort of meat or something.
00:05:07.640And we were we couldn't have been any further from the truth.
00:05:11.040I was a I was a worship pastor at a large church here in Houston.
00:05:14.340And my wife, she was her background is in the event industry, doing weddings and corporate events and stuff like that.
00:05:21.640And we started after we had our first baby boy is when we were always focused on health, focused on what we put into our home and put into our bodies.
00:05:34.740But when we started bringing kids into the world, we really started looking at that and really started looking at labels more.
00:05:41.860And I had a brief, very brief run in with with the meat industry a few years before starting Good Ranchers, where I did some outside sales for a meat company.
00:05:58.820And in that time is when I realized how shady the industry was.
00:06:03.580And so from a consumer's perspective, someone who did a little bit of sales for a meat company prior, it just it made me very leery of labels.
00:06:16.580And so when my wife and I started really digging in, wanting to make sure that we were bringing quality into our own home, we realized there was a huge hole in the market.
00:06:27.000And and so, yeah, so that's what kind of started birthing the ideas of starting Good Ranchers and thought about it and thought about it and thought about it.
00:06:36.240And one day heard God's voice as clear as day, go stop thinking about it and do it.
00:06:41.600That's not actually what he said, but that's what I felt like.
00:06:50.600And I walked from the room I was in over to my wife and I said, I think God just said, start a meat company.
00:06:57.340And we dove in headfirst and here we are.
00:07:01.480So you didn't have at the time really any of of your own cattle or anything that would necessarily qualify you to start a large and successful at this point meat company.
00:07:14.180Yeah, I was again, I was I was working at a church full time.
00:07:25.320And that's all I'd ever done from the time I was I was full time working in ministry, like being and I'll qualify that by being employed at a church from from 19 to my mid 30s till 35.
00:07:43.960And so like that was, you know, it was I was I was called to do that and and but then God called me to start a meat company.
00:07:55.080And so we didn't have any idea that it would turn into what it's turned into.
00:07:59.620And, you know, God has a just a unique way of of calling you to do something and then create, you know, just carving it out along the way.
00:08:13.780You know, if we can when we look back and connect the dots, it's like, oh, wow, this is beautiful.
00:08:19.340But, you know, but but faith, you just you can't you know, there's nothing in the future of it's just all what's it going to be.
00:08:29.020And my mantra for this past, I don't know, six months or so has been Proverbs 16, three, and it's commit your work to the Lord and he will establish your path.
00:08:41.120And that's what we've been doing all along.
00:08:43.800But it just kind of like full circle hit me when I read that verse about mid last year.
00:08:50.760It's like, ah, he establishes the path.
00:08:54.480You we just we're just called to commit our work to him and he establishes the path.
00:08:58.520And that's that's really what's happened with Good Ranchers.
00:09:00.820We've we've we are saying was, you know, God's God just goes before us because it was never really it's never been easy.
00:09:10.500Don't get me wrong. But it's also never been hard.
00:09:15.860We've been growing this business and we've been very blessed and God's been faithful.
00:09:21.260And we just want to continue to steward what he's given us.
00:09:24.720I didn't feel prepared for what I felt the Lord was calling me to do, how he was calling me to pursue, of course, objective truth and fighting for reality.
00:09:40.600But but more importantly, fighting for biblical truth.
00:09:43.280But I was just really wrong in assuming that that that's how God works.
00:09:47.440He calls those who are already prepared.
00:09:50.600Because what I've seen in my life and what we see historically throughout the Bible in the life of of Moses, who led the Israelites out with Aaron and his staff.
00:09:58.900And of course, you know, Joshua, who we promised a victory over the Canaanites or even Esther before she was brought before the king.
00:10:08.760Right. He prepares those who he calls.
00:10:12.220But but Proverbs 16, three, I want you to speak to you talk about committing to to committing your work to the Lord, which is amazing.
00:10:21.080And getting to know a little bit about Good Ranchers and, of course, a little bit about you personally, I've gotten to see some of the ministry you've been able to do through Good Ranchers.
00:10:30.940I read where you donated, you know, over a million meals to do your part to help hunger in America.
00:10:36.880So so we speak a little bit about your ministry and again, how that ties into Proverbs, Proverbs 16, three, like you were saying.
00:10:45.200Yeah. So, you know, everyone's calling is different.
00:12:12.980Um, but so I started thinking on that, okay, give what, and what does that mean?
00:12:18.100And before we, right now we only, we sell a 100% online.
00:12:24.380When we started, it was me selling meat out of the back of a truck in a parking lot.
00:12:27.420So, um, we've come a long way, uh, in these seven years.
00:12:33.000Knowing that we were going to set up these pop-up shops and, and, uh, try to get people to come to them.
00:12:39.280I started the, it didn't take me very long at all to think, okay, God's saying give, let me partner with, let me, let's partner with the food bank.
00:12:47.940Let's partner with a nonprofit in, in the city that we go to that way.
00:12:51.320When we go, we won't just be taking from me taking like resources, like going to that city and making money off that city.
00:13:30.620And, uh, I'm going to tell the story as fast as I can, um, for time's sake.
00:13:35.200But, um, from Waco, we decided to come to Houston and do the same, um, pop-up shop model, which again, that was how the business started.
00:13:46.020And, uh, we were very successful with that one location in Waco.
00:13:50.940It, it gave us quite a bit of, uh, I'd say quite a bit, but for the time it gave us a good amount of capital to be able to come to Houston and do four sales at once.
00:14:03.660Houston's the third largest Metro city in the U S.
00:14:07.320So it's much more expensive to do a sale like that in Houston versus Waco, uh, going somewhere with this.
00:14:15.680And, uh, we took every bit of resources that we made from the, the, that, uh, six weeks or so that we were selling it at the location in Waco came to Houston with the idea of let's scale around the Metro.
00:14:34.280Um, we were completely, uh, invested with trucks and tents and meat, uh, had, uh, four trucks loaded down with meat.
00:14:45.260Um, on consignment to pay, uh, and, and then, um, had, I don't remember how much, but tens of thousands of dollars invested in radio, um, and had spent, you know, all of our money.
00:15:00.920Um, and we were opening these sales up on a Thursday.
00:15:03.220It was the Tuesday, um, before, um, and that, that day, my wife and I were driving around.
00:15:13.860He was probably six, seven, eight months in the car with us driving around and we're getting stuff printed off.
00:15:18.420We're getting the food barrels for the food drives.
00:15:20.480We're getting, you know, all, all the things getting set up to open up on Thursday.
00:15:24.460And when I tell you, we were, I mean, we had put all of our resources and getting these Houston sales opened up.
00:15:31.460Uh, we pulled into the gas station to just get like water and some snacks.
00:15:34.900And I didn't have a credit card that would work debit card that would work.
00:15:38.460I mean, we were, I mean, we were all in on, on this working.
00:15:44.180And that night, the health department called from Houston and said, Mr.
00:15:49.640Spell, I know we received your application and we approved you to start these sales, um, this Thursday, but I'm going to have to deny your application.
00:15:58.460And my heart just sunk and I said, why he said, because the city of Houston, he says, because the city of Houston doesn't allow what, what you're doing is peddling in the city of Houston doesn't allow that.
00:16:14.640And I said, wait, but, but you already approved us.
00:16:17.540We had, we did the application weeks ago.
00:16:20.400And he's like, I know, but whoever the person I've already talked to the person who, that approved this for you.
00:16:27.800And, uh, he said, this is our fault for approving it, but I have to deny this.
00:17:51.840Um, and that's honestly what launched good ranchers.
00:17:56.440Um, and, and I, and I, and I go back to God said, give before we'd ever done anything.
00:18:03.480And, um, and it wasn't for those Waco sales.
00:18:06.920Cause we could have sold there with or without partnering with the food banks, but God knew looking ahead that the city of Houston, um, we would have never, we would, we would have never.
00:18:21.820Never been able to even open up, sell the way we were selling then.
00:18:26.320Um, and it's just, yeah, it's, it's such an amazing concept of, of when God speaks, listen.
00:18:38.580And that's, I know it's not really that revelatory and you're like, well, yeah, like, um, but I think so many people, I think so many people, um, they hear God, but they are, they're afraid to go.
00:18:53.100For like what you said, well, I gotta, I gotta be more equipped or I've gotta be more prepared.
00:18:58.840And, uh, I'm a firm believer of when God says, go, go, because if he's either already qualified, you already prepared you, um, or is going to prepare you along the way.
00:19:13.460Um, and too many people sit back and I mean, I mean, I, I mean, this is nicely as I can say it, but too many people sit idly waiting, waiting for God to do it.
00:19:30.880Oh, that's what, that's what I'm, that's, that's, that's what I mean.
00:19:34.320And I say this to encourage anyone that's listening.
00:19:37.440If, if God's calling you to do something, start taking those steps to do it.
00:19:42.020Like if he's called us, if he's called you, he's going to, uh, he's going to prepare you and he's going to make the way for you.
00:19:50.240Um, you mentioned previously, you know, you kind of got like a behind the scenes look at the shady side of the meat industry.
00:19:57.260And so I wanted to, to ask you, you know, paint that picture for us who, who haven't gotten to, to personally see what that looks like.
00:20:05.780And I wanted to ask you to like the state of American farms.
00:20:09.920Now we've seen, of course, the MAGA kind of MAHAC collab and how, how really awesome that has been in opening so many people's eyes, people who, who maybe wouldn't have aligned with conservative values previously.
00:20:24.580But I think this was a big issue and getting, especially moderate women, people who call themselves crunchy, which is the word that, that I've had to learn and understand and really try and decipher people who call themselves crunchy out to the polls in support of a candidate.
00:20:38.920Who would elect a cabinet, who would elect a cabinet, people like RFK to, to support this healthy lifestyle with no antibodies, uh, no hormones, no seed oils.
00:20:50.800Yeah, that's, uh, it's, it's kind of a Pandora's box of a conversation.
00:20:56.080Um, but the, the shadiness I'm talking about is there's no country of origin labeling law for beef or for pork.
00:21:01.340So beef can be, can be raised, uh, it can be born and raised in, in, in feedlocks in Mexico, South America.
00:21:08.920New Zealand, Australia, no, you name it anywhere in the world.
00:21:13.840And, and they get put on barges or, uh, they get shipped to the U S and as long as it's packaged, uh, and reprocessed in a USDA facility, it still gets that USDA stamp of approval, which so many Americans see the USDA, that it's USDA inspected.
00:21:30.840And just assume, oh, okay, well, the USDA signed off on it.
00:21:36.520And to your point on what you're saying about the RFK, the Maha movement, I think so many people now are starting to realize that the, the USDA doesn't actually have the, uh, necessarily our best interest in, in, in mind.
00:21:55.540My seven year old and my five year old think that, uh, or they, they know that food dye is bad and, um, they tell their friends at school, they'll say, they'll say things like, oh, I can't have red 40.
00:22:16.900And, uh, love, love what I love that people are starting to wake up and, and want to know where their food's coming from, want to know what's in it.
00:22:26.080And, uh, again, back to the USDA, there's no regulation on, on vaccines.
00:22:32.160Um, there's no reg, there's, there's really no regulation on antibiotic use or hormone use and, and there, there needs to be transparency on, on all of that stuff.
00:22:42.180There, there are times where it's, there are times where all of those things are necessary, but it needs to be put on the labels.
00:22:48.780It needs, the consumer has the right to know what they're putting into their body and it shouldn't be, it shouldn't be, uh, ambiguous and it, and it shouldn't, uh, it shouldn't be legal for, uh, them to be able to buy a piece of meat at the grocery store that says product of USA, but it's from another country.
00:23:10.260If it says product of USA, it should be born and raised at a local farm, local ranch, um, in the United States.
00:23:18.780Um, and that's how we should be eating.
00:23:46.660Um, uh, I think it will, it will speed up the process, uh, a lot.
00:23:53.200And, um, you know, if it, if, if it doesn't happen, we'll keep fighting the fight, but, um, I think it's going to, and really excited to see more, more people get involved and more people want to have transparency behind the most important thing that they're.
00:24:08.880Uh, one of the most important, uh, uh, things, which is the food you eat and what we put into our body, because there's food is medicine.
00:24:17.180I was on a call this morning with some, with someone talking in, um, and food is the first line of medicine that we should be, that we should be taking.
00:24:28.060And if we eat right, um, we won't need nearly as much pharmaceuticals, uh, that's getting shoved, uh, and enforced upon us.
00:24:49.140Um, last thing for you, you know, what, what are some other things that you personally, or maybe of course you, uh, in conjunction with good ranchers, what are some things you guys are looking forward to with Trump's presidency?
00:25:02.580I mean, honestly, just continuing to, just continuing to grow our business, continue, like our mission is to connect the American family to the American farm.
00:25:11.560Uh, uh, we want to continue to, to, to be able to, uh, to grow.
00:25:18.460But the reason I say that I say it this way, it's like we hit America is the most amazing nation in the, in the history of the world.
00:25:28.900And it's because people like me can start a business and people like you and people like so many people, uh, uh, people listening, uh, that you have the ability to go start a business and change the course of your life, your family's life.
00:25:48.240Um, but also in tandem help countless others, uh, along the way.
00:25:54.860Capitalism is a beautiful thing and, uh, Trump understands that.
00:25:58.920And so to make it easier for small businesses, to make it easier for, for, for entrepreneurs, uh, to innovate and, uh, uh, and, and to be successful, uh, that's, that's massive.
00:26:15.540Uh, well, we appreciate you, Ben, everything that, that you do, everything that you create, uh, and how you give back.
00:26:23.040Uh, we need more, more people, more transparent people and businesses like you and like good ranchers out there.
00:26:29.380So, uh, thank you very much for, for joining the podcast and we'll continue to, to follow your success and to, to cheer you on every step of the way.
00:26:40.160Thank you guys for tuning into the gains for girls podcast.
00:26:42.700I hope this conversation with Ben was able to teach you a little bit about his personal life and what really convicted him to start good ranchers, but more importantly, what they're able to do through good ranchers.
00:26:55.020So, uh, I wouldn't call this necessarily even a purchase.
00:26:58.380I would call, uh, any sort of subscription or order from good ranchers.
00:27:18.960You get free express shipping again, $25 off and your choice of free ground beef, chicken or salmon and every single order for an entire year.