4 Things to Consider for Your Cannabis Business

If you’ve seen the news or been on the internet lately, I’m sure you’re well aware that the cannabis business is booming right now. With more and more states legalizing pot, more and more businesses are coming out of the woodworks to offer their goods and services. If you run your own cannabis shop, or are looking to start one up someday, here are a few ideas to get your mind on the right page.

1. Writing a Business Plan

You may think that starting a business is easier than it seems, but it’s really not. Sure, you can purchase a storefront or even launch a website. Sure, you can make some money selling your products—but without a solid business plan, your company won’t last very long. By writing a solid business plan containing the goals and ideals you envision for your business, you are setting yourself up for success in the long-run. Some resources you might come across for drafting up a business plan might feel a bit ‘general,' but whether you’re planning on running a cannabis or journalism business, your business plan should always contain the same information, so don’t fret if you can’t find a cannabis-specific business plan example.

2. Grow Rooms

Of course, if you’ve already got your business going, you can skip this. For those of you who are just starting out, you can’t miss the most important part of owning a cannabis business: the growing process. Octopot, a company that specializes in curating grow rooms, offers a great resource for how and why grow rooms are necessary when you’re growing and yielding your own cannabis products. Even if you don’t decide to purchase from them, their website is a great place to utilize information and understand exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to your own grow rooms.

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Like any business, advertising is a key stepping stone for success. While some companies gain customers through word-of-mouth, storefronts are often most successful when utilizing advertisements by mail, online, and even by simply having an appealing logo/storefront. Some companies will utilize free products as well—places like doctors offices and lawyers will often give out pens with their logo on the plastic casing—and I believe that cannabis businesses could benefit from the same tactic. Think about the target demographic: stoners. What’s one thing a stoner always needs? Lighters. Thus, designing and handing out (or even selling) your own custom lighters is a great opportunity to spread the word and gain some traction! Companies like Cannabis Promotions offer services like this to help your cannabis business get up and booming with new customers.

3. Budgeting

Obviously, budgeting and finance is going to be your main focus. Are you making enough profit? Are your employees being paid enough? What’s your overhead? Are you taking care of applicable sales tax? These are all the questions you want to ask yourself on a daily (if not quarterly) basis. Without a basic budget, your business is already doomed to fail. Don’t skip this step! There are millions, if not billions of resources online (and of course, in libraries) to work out the financial responsibilities of your own business.

4. Don’t Forget Why You Started.

One of the biggest things I see in my professional life is people who lose their passion and their reasoning why they started their business in the first place. Of course, it can be difficult to run a business on something you really, really care about, but when things get overwhelming, just take a step back to truly remember why you started out. Try to avoid burnouts, and stay humble.