cannabis career Archives - Canna Communication

a photo of women who might work in a cannabis business

Last week I attended the MJBizConNEXT conference in New Orleans for cannabis entrepreneurs and professionals. This was my first marijuana
conference and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The structure was the same as other conferences I’ve been to, keynote speakers and specialized sessions, and of course networking. But what made this one different was, I was surrounded by other professionals who are in my industry—cannabis. It gave me much needed context and perspective on what’s going on in North America, other than my microcosm of West Michigan.

One overwhelming topic from the conference was the importance of women in cannabis businesses.

Irie Selkirk, with Emblem Cannabis in Ontario, gave a great presentation about engaging not only female consumers, but female leaders. She thinks it’s crucial that we establish an industry with strong female leaders, and I couldn’t agree more.

According to a 2015 survey from Marijuana Business Daily, women held 36 percent of leadership positions in the cannabis industry. MJBiz conducted an updated survey on the topic in August 2017, and the number of women in leadership roles had dropped to 27 percent of executive roles. Women need to continue to not only represent in this industry, but to lead this industry. And if we don’t want to see continued drops in women leadership we have ensure that women have power and voice in this industry.

Ms. Selkirk reflected on her first cannabis conference and how she and other women there felt left out. They felt more comfortable sitting outside the building to network, than the expo floor. This brought up a great discussion about how women feel outnumbered on the expo floor, and how men (the vast majority of the vendors are men, with a few booth babes) interact with them. Several of the women in the session felt intimidated by the overwhelming presence of men on the expo floor and didn’t interact as much as they normally would. Ms. Selkirk encouraged women to speak up and take control of what you want to accomplish in cannabis. If you can’t find what you want, create it. Can’t find other women in cannabis to network with? Create your own network. Want a more balanced expo floor? Get some booth space. Make your voice heard and lobby for change.

Kevin O’Leary on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” (Bob D’Amico)

The keynote speaker was Kevin O’Leary from the hit TV show Shark Tank. Mr. O’Leary, or Mr. Wonderful, as he’s fond of calling himself, said he prefers to invest in women-led businesses because he gets better returns. O’Leary found that about 95 percent of the women-led companies meet their financial targets, compared with just 65 percent for businesses with male leaders.

He has a couple of theories about why female-led businesses outperform male-led ones:

Women are better at time management
Women set more achievable goals

He also talked about how when goals are achieved, company morale goes up, which can help create a great culture, which obviously leads to less employee turnover.

In short, his largest returns have been from women-led businesses.

Women—we make up over 50 percent of the US population, yet according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, we made only 80.5 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.

The cannabis industry represents the future—a chance to enter a growing industry with relatively low barriers. It is an opportunity to help make medicine available to people who desperately need an alternative to opioids and other over-prescribed drugs. And we have a chance to shape the future of this industry into a more equitable and inclusive environment, where women can make their mark, and open doors of opportunity for future generations.

After all, the future is female.

reading glasses and some content for a new marijuana business that might need a cannabis investor

cannabis business

May 17, 2018Roberta King

How to Win Over a Cannabis Investor: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know

You’ve got your cannabis startup going: the license is in process, your business plan completed, marketing plan written, site plan done, security and operations are all there. Things are looking good, except for the money part. You need a cannabis investor or two to help make it happen.

Before You’re Ready to go to The Dance, Make Sure You Know The Steps.

We talked with Eric Seifert about the relationship between investors and cannabis entrepreneurs and what startups need to know when seeking an investment partner.

Eric has been working with investors and startups outside of cannabis for a decade at the Michigan SBDC and since leaving the SBDC has been helping bridge the funding gap in the cannabis space. His company, Left Coast Capital works with investors looking for solid businesses, in cannabis and other businesses as well. Here are ten things Eric says cannabis entrepreneurs need to know before opening themselves up to an investor.

1) If you know how to grow marijuana, but don’t know much about business, find a partner who does. “Investors look for business sense and experience.” Having a passion for cannabis goes a long way, but so does the idea that you will succeed in business. “If you need to, bring in someone to help your business, to supplement what you really don’t know or what you recognize as a weakness. Show how you can mitigate that.” You need a solid business plan and it’s smart to give an investor several scenarios for outcomes—one that’s modest, another that shows what you believe to be reasonable growth and another that blows the roof off of all expectations of how the business will grow if things go well.

2) One of the hardest parts for cannabis entrepreneurs is that they don’t have the kind of documentation that other businesses might have as proof of prior success. “Even a caregiver can show what they’ve done already and how they’ve tracked income and expenses. When you’re scaling up a business, you need to point to your past success, even if it is just a year or two.”

3) Find great legal and accounting representation. “Compliance is going to be a major issue, if you successfully launch, but then are audited and shut down, that will make for a dissatisfied investor. You need to have your attorney draw up investment documents that protect you.”

4) You’ll want to work with an accredited investor, someone who can produce a signed affidavit that they have at least $1 million in net worth, an annual income of at least $200,000. It documents that they are an SEC accredited investor.

What a Cannabis Investor Wants From You

5) Every potential cannabis investor is looking for one thing: making more money than they might in the market. “In your business plan and pitch deck, you need to be able to show profits that are greater than the stock market.” Investors want to get their money back in about 3-4 years and they’ll want a portion of the profits beyond the investment. “They want a big return because they’re taking on so much risk.”

6) Most cannabis investors want something beyond a return on their investment, and you should expect they would negotiate a percentage ownership of your company for the long or short term. “Investors tend to like hard assets, so the first lien on your building might be an option. If there’s a failure, the investor has something to sell to recoup their losses.”

Show the Investor Your Passion for Cannabis

7) The entrepreneur, rather than the cannabis industry is where an investor will focus his or her attention. “Investors look for people who are in business for something bigger than making money.” They want to see a passion for the medicinal value of the plant, either personally or for a family member, so make sure you have a relatable story.

8) You must be able to talk about how you’re going to handle cash and mitigate the risk involved with it. “Investors want to know that their investment won’t be lost at gunpoint. Know what you’re doing to handle cash and security.”

9) Create a great pitch deck and practice your presentation. “No more than 20 minutes from start to finish, followed by 20 minutes of Q&A.” Investors don’t need to hear every detail about your business—don’t drown people in details until they ask for them.” Investors who want more will ask for it. Stick to the regional view when you’re pitching—don’t worry about national picture yet. “Until cannabis is legal across the U.S. there’s not much point in spending time talking about it. You need to get the investor’s attention, high-level summary information.”

10) Don’t underestimate your knowledge and skill in the cannabis marketplace. “You need to show passion and expertise for the industry. It’s an 8 or 9 on the scale of importance.”

cannabis communication

September 11, 2017November 7, 2017Roberta King

Why I Gave It All Up for Marijuana

It wasn’t exactly a revelation or a call from God, but for me, it was close.

I’d been noodling the idea of doing communication consulting for a few years. As a senior public relations practitioner, it felt like where my career should go. I didn’t, though, like the idea of being a general practitioner. I wanted whatever came next to be meaningful, special and interesting. I was waiting for that idea to come to me.

The Revelation

On a November evening in 2016, I heard a NPR story about a cannabis industry trade show. What caught my attention was the hundreds, if not thousands, of ancillary businesses that support growing and distributing marijuana. The lights, fertilizers, air exchange systems, grow systems, edible products, star-powered cannabis brands, packaging, vape pens and security systems. It wasn’t about selling flower, but the picks and shovels of this green gold rush. I knew exactly where I was supposed to go next—into cannabis communication.

I secured the domain Canna Communication (how did no one already own this, I still wonder) and then jumped into my more formal education about cannabis. It wasn’t good enough that I liked pot—I needed to know it. I started meeting people in the business, reading books and articles, and listening to podcasts. I stopped being a marijuana mooch and got a Michigan Medical Marihuana card for chronic knee and back pain, the result of years of running.

Cannabis has always been a part of my life to some degree. While in college, I used marijuana socially and recreationally. I learned to roll a joint using Zig Zags and the cover of any convenient double album. As an adult I took a hit when it came my way, but didn’t seek it out. I never thought of cannabis a medicine—like for pain—but something for mental relaxation and happiness. As an introvert, cannabis helps me be more engaged with people.

Coming Out for Cannabis

I started to slowly come out—dropping hints on social media by sharing articles about cannabis and telling select people I was moving toward communication consulting in cannabis. It felt good to say it and people’s reactions were one of surprise, validation and connection. The more I talked about cannabis, the more people told me stories about their experience or that of someone they knew. People connected me with people in the business—a brother who made fertilizers, friends who were growers and people who use the plant for all sorts of medical conditions from Epilepsy to cancer therapy. People validated my business assumption that this was a field full of growth potential.

Just more than a half-year after I bought the Canna Communication domain, I walked away from a good-paying, highly visible position to devote myself to sharing information about cannabis and helping people grow their businesses.

I gave it up because I am sure I’ll get something more than what was left behind.

I aspire to be more self-directed, not just in the work that I do, but in my daily life. I want to complete the narrative about my career; I want it to be about being an entrepreneur and following my intuition about what the future might look like. I envision a story about standing up for something that is changing American culture for the better.

Cannabis is more than a plant for human health—it’s about working for freedom, science, smart public policy and social justice. It’s about being ahead of, and on the right side of history.