Thanks for the comments kolah. You have been there as well and your comments are insightful and down to earth. So many think that you just toss some seeds and the money rolls in. If you can make it happen in this business, you can be successful at ANY business. Having run and sold other businesses in the past I know the pains that hide behind the curtain.
SOCOMMJ and others, I'll try to make this short as I could go on for days....
SOCOMMJ, I do not sugar-coat things so here it is, straight up, bro. If you are making less than your employees you are failing in your business ventures, pure and simple.
The MMJ business is different in that you are forced to pay all development expenses up front. There is no SBA loan here. Profits from your small initial start up HAVE to be reinvested to build the business. If you pull too much capital as dividends or payroll for yourself, the business development plan is slowed in a exponential fashion. So what if I don't have the opportunity to by fancy shit now. Reinvesting profits is difficult for new business owners and can lead to ultimate failure.
Hell no, it's not easy and non-business people do not realize what goes on behind the scenes.
That was the purpose of this thread. Have a real peek at the nuts and bolts side of the industry. From the outside it looks like you can toss some seeds and rake in the bucks. Seriously it's not that easy.
When we first started attending industry meetings years ago, I stood out like a sore thumb. Conservative business type looking individual (was a banking analyst at the time) in a room full of growers that look like they just rolled in from woodstock. These days the tide has turned and the business types are by far the majority. [for the record I have nothing against the way people dressed for woodstock :) ]
It is said you can not be a "nice guy" and run a sucessful business and I think there is some truth to that.
There is a balance. I can be a dick when necessary, but tend to be a nice guy. A nice guy can always tell you something you don't want to hear but need to.
As a businessman your number one job is to MAKE MONEY.
When we were discussing changing from caregivers to opening and MMC we made a short priority list:
1) Stay out of Jail [Failed]
2) Take care of the Patients in need
3) See if you can make a buck
1 out of 3 is ok I guess. Maybe we can fill in another one this year.
One can be an expert MJ grower but without business skills they have a high rate of failure. IMO there is no such thing as LUCK when running a business. It's hard fucking work and either you go balls-to-the-walls or you say fuck it.
This is why I started this thread. I often hear how people can grow the greatest meds in the world, followed closely with something about opening a dispensary. Trying to put the real world facts out there for people before they take a second on their house to get in the business.
One little retarded thing right after another. There is so much under the surface people will never realize.
Think about driving a less expensive vehicle.
Impossible. My Jeep has 130,000 miles and is paid off. Run it until the wheels fall off.
Employees. Screen them out with a passion. I also found buying my employees lunch or taking them out for the night was a nice "thank you" and they really appreciated it. Sometimes some of the little things go a long way.
Employees are the most critical piece of the puzzle. The people you hire represent you and your business. We hire them for their personalily alone. You can teach anybody how to nute a tank. But you can't teach somebody how to be an awesome person. We have family style lunch for the entire crew every day and call it a business meeting. It provides the whole team to be in one place at one time and share thoughts and information relevant to the business. Growers, bud tenders, trimmers, and management all in one place at one time. Great when everybody is on the same page.
OK, so here we are. In CO. Let's look into the future. Most business failures that end up in the red never see it coming. I am sure most of you agree that MJ sales prices will continue to go down.
Just wait until Legalization 2012. I'm still trying to figure out what will really happen if that flies.
I know some folks like to give away their products for free.
Free is Illegal post HB10-1284. Nothing can go out for less than the cost to produce it. The MMJ business is different in that the customers that need your product the most are the ones least able to afford it. At some point a standard of morals comes into play in order to support these patients. Not sure, but some free might happen.
I do not know enough about all the friggin rules and regs to operate a MMJ shop but it scares the fuck out of me to even dwell on the thought.
A strong business acumen is driving the surviving MMCs. Sure you have to have a quality product, but that only helps sales, not running and surviving the business.
How about having paperwork overload where everything needs to be tagged, marked, inventoried, counted and recounted, etc?
Fuck, what a mess... Thankfully they have POS systems that are MMC specific that can handle the details and generate the required reports.
And finally after jumping through all the fucking hoops you still have to lay in bed at night wondering if a fed SWAT team will be kickng down your door?
You have no idea how many times you wake up in the middle of the night when you hear a twig snap. After our caregiver grow was raided I used to wake up after a dream of a concussion grenade coming through the bedroom window. That's some messed up shit there.
For all my rantings, I do wish you good luck and great success, SOCOMMJ.
Thanks for that. A tough skinned business man should cheer when another MMC closes up. I see it as a sad day where somebody has dumped their life and their money into a business only to end up with nothing. Hence this thread...
Know what you are getting into before you jump in. While it is the best job I have ever had, it is one of the riskiest, hardest, and most difficult to be successful in.
