5 things you can learn from Charlotte ex-con-turned-counselor
Who says a marijuana conviction signals the end of your career?
If you’re anything like Obie Chambers, it just might be the turnaround you need to puff life back into your business.
Chambers is a businessman who, in 2009, purchased a firm that supplied drywall for the Hearst Tower, Gateway Village and other Charlotte-area homes.
He’s also an ex-con who was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after entering a plea to growing 3,000 marijuana plants in a Charlotte warehouse.
Six months ago, Chambers walked out of federal prison Cookie Lyon-style (for you “Empire” fans out there) and started the Exigency Group, a business providing counseling services for people facing time behind bars.
Simply put, he’s the guy who helps jailbirds figure out what’s next in life.
If you’re thinking this has some semblance to the storyline for comedians Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell’s new movie, “Get Hard,” then you get the gold star for the day.
“Should I run back inside?” #GetHard #NowPlaying pic.twitter.com/zVsBSaVKjD
— Get Hard (@gethardmovie) April 9, 2015
But Chambers didn’t get a fat check from Hollywood. He did land in Forbes magazine, though.
#TheExigencyGroup thanks @waltpavlo. Did ‘Get Hard’ Get It Right? A Real Look At Prison Consulting http://t.co/QnV6FYLDNO via @forbes
— Obie Chambers (@exigencygroup) March 31, 2015
Here’s what we can take away from Chambers’ story:
(1) Don’t grow pot: Just don’t do it. You might get in a lot of trouble.
(2) When life gives you ‘lemon…grass’: Chambers could have easily thrown in the towel and given up on his business dreams.
Instead, like a true entrepreneur, he turned an adverse situation into a profitable enterprise. Now, his clients range from white-collar criminals to drug dealers (why discriminate?)
(3) Stick to your guns: Chances are, you’re never going to hear Chambers say he was planning to sell those 3,000 pot plants. (I mean, who does that right?) He says he was trying to “jump the gun” on what he thought would be the legalization of medical marijuana in North Carolina.
Call it an “R&D project,” if you will.
(4) Strike while the iron’s hot: As former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon prepared to head to federal prison on corruption charges, Chambers reached out to the disgraced politician to see if he could benefit from Exigency Group’s services.
Cannon didn’t take the bait.
(5) Life’s not fair…get over it: On his website, Chambers lays down the law: Clients will never use the word “fair” in his presence.
In his words: “A ‘fair’ is some place you go in your local town to watch the festivities and fireworks…where there is apple bobbing and Ferris wheel rides.”
The law’s not fair, he writes, and you’re unlikely to get the kind of “justice” you see it portrayed on TV.
But fret not, Chambers says, he’s been there and will help you make it through.
This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 12:28 PM with the headline "5 things you can learn from Charlotte ex-con-turned-counselor."