Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlton Bynum II.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 10 years, completely self-taught and built through real-world experience. My path wasn’t traditional: high school, marriage, military service, a medical discharge, and then a full commitment to entrepreneurship—while raising a family along the way.
Over the past decade, I’ve created, scaled, sold, and in some cases lost more than six different companies. Each venture came with hard lessons that shaped how I build today—focusing on discipline, adaptability, and long-term sustainability rather than quick wins.
At the beginning of 2025, I made a deliberate decision to focus on the health and hemp space. That decision led to the launch of Chilla Bites, an online brand specializing in federally compliant hemp-derived THC edibles. After nearly ten months of long hours, hands-on work, and constant refinement, the brand experienced rapid growth and strong customer demand.
Building on that momentum, I’ve now opened a physical storefront smoke shop in Tomball, Texas. The shop features our own hemp-derived product line alongside a curated selection of smoke shop essentials, including vapes, cigars, and related accessories. This storefront represents the next phase of the journey—bringing the brand directly into the local community while continuing to grow responsibly and compliantly.
For me, entrepreneurship has never been about shortcuts. It’s been about resilience, learning from failure, and creating something lasting—for my family, my customers, and the community I serve.
Oddly enough, I treat all my journeys as Business Children. Sometimes it is sad to see them go, but I have always loved created and scaling new companies.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road.
Everything I’ve learned came the hard way. I didn’t have a business background or a built-in network, so everything was self-taught—trial and error, long nights, real pressure. I’ve built things that worked, things that failed, and things that worked for a while and then fell apart. Each one came with stress, financial risk, and lessons you don’t see coming.
Uncertainty has always been part of it. Regulations change, platforms shift, payments fall through, suppliers disappear. A lot of times progress slowed not because I wasn’t working, but because the rules changed mid-way.
On top of that, there’s the personal side—building businesses while raising a family, carrying responsibility, and doing it after a military medical discharge. It’s not just business risk, it’s mental and emotional too.
The biggest lesson was learning how to fail without stopping. Every setback either sharpens you or breaks you. I chose to keep moving forward. None of it was easy—but all of it mattered.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I spend most of my time building and running businesses from the ground up. Over the years, I’ve worked on different ideas and projects, but a big part of what I do is learning as I go and figuring things out through experience.
Early on, I tried to handle everything myself, including YouTube and social media. I wanted to understand how the video side worked, so I spent time filming, editing, and learning the platforms. What I realized pretty quickly is that good content takes a lot of time and focus, and it’s hard to do that well while also running day-to-day operations.
That shifted how I approach things. I focus more on building solid systems, staying consistent, and handling the less visible work that keeps things moving. I try to stay flexible, solve problems as they come up, and keep things sustainable.
What I’m most proud of is sticking with it. I’ve had projects that worked, ones that didn’t, and plenty of setbacks along the way, but I kept going while raising a family and carrying real responsibilities. What sets me apart is experience—I’ve been through different stages of building and learned from each one, and I use those lessons moving forward.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Life and my family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ChillaSmoke.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/chillabitesusa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Af4cJuacz/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChillaBitesUSA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chilla-smoke-tomball
- Other: https://share.google/j0XF6hwvPPdlhI24s
