sky high
- 4,796
- 313
Isnt there 16 oz in a lb, and not 32?
That should help with your numbers. :sun
Kinda like when they used to look in on the hydro store guy from the outside and think how he was fuckin their ass HARD when in reality...he was scraping by like everyone else in biz for themselves.
good luck, all
s h
What am I missing here?
:bong2:
The businessman in me does not much like the falling prices. We have rent to pay, employees, etc etc. The profit margins are much thinner than people think for an MMC. You would be sick if you saw the gross vs my personal net. I guarantee you that I made less than I pay my employees, and I don't pay them much. Pretty sure it works out to well under minimum wage to me for the hours invested. Remember, a farmer works 365 days a year.
The humanist thinks that it can't be bad for the prices to come down. When people are sick they usually aren't working. Medicaid isn't covering cannabis last I heard. It's an herb for crying out loud. It should go for a few dollars a pound. Governmental retardation is the only thing pumping up the price.
Lower prices are also pressuring the marginal shops to shape up or ship out.. we are seeing lots of that happening in the last few months. The market in Colorado Springs is tough. There are way too many shops to support the patient base.
Below are some numbers that should make those thinking about jumping in to perhaps rethink the glory of owning an MMC:
125+ Colorado Springs MMCs for 12,000 patients in El Paso County. That probably leaves maybe 8,000 in Co Springs proper. 64 average per shop, if every patient used an MMC[which they don't].
If each patient averages 1/2oz a month at $100 these days that is $6400 gross/month. 32 ounces at $2200[contract price per lb] that leaves [6400-4400]= $3,000 for rent, utilities, insurance, payroll, fees, random crap and a sliver of profit[?].
Now factor in some dickheads like me that are hoggin' up the patients. If I'm pushing 300 signed patients and at least that many more unsigned patients, now all of a sudden the average numbers go down even further for the remaining shops.
With all those patients we should be golden, right? Nope, you have to factor $7k in payroll to support the volumes, $6k in Rent and utilities... you get the idea. Hell, just lunch for the crew runs a grand or so a month.
Do a little math. You can actually see that MMC owners are not typically rolling in a new BMW. While I'm not proclaiming a failure at business by any means, I'm just trying to say that the pot at the end of the rainbow is filled with turkey sandwiches, not gold. At least Turkey sandwiches are delicious.
Oh,there is that little bit of satisfaction from helping out some sick people too...
You need 32 [two pounds] ounces to supply 1/2 ounce to 64 patients.
I stand behind my numbers that reflect a shitty margin.:sun
$30/ lb electricity? Hot damn.
its 10x that for me.
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.
I ran a chiropractic business (solo) for 20+ years. It was no picnic. Yes, in my good years (pre 911) I made great money but never had any free time to enjoy it. When things got tight I had to make adjustments. And when things started to go downhill I decided to sell everything and cash in my chips. It got old shoveling the walkways, plowing driveways, cleaning bathrooms, hiring and firing, training, doing my books, donating time to the community, etc, etc and not to mention dealing with customers who had a host of ailments and problems. Hell no, it's not easy and non-business people do not realize what goes on behind the scenes. It is said you can not be a "nice guy" and run a sucessful business and I think there is some truth to that. As a businessman your number one job is to MAKE MONEY. Yeah it's nice to say I love my work but if you ain't making a profit you are basically fucked. One must be business-smart and have business saavy but that doesn't mean you have to be a prick about things. And do not spend ALL your friggn profits either, lol. (easier said than done)
I see and hear about some MMJ club owners going broke and then I have seen other guys making bigass bucks and riding the gravytrain. Some of the highly successful ones are scum but some folks are doing it honestly and professionally. But the latter ones have some business knowledge which covers everything form overhead costs to patient relationships. 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. I stopped keeping track of my "working hours" as it was too overwhelming for me. Fuck man, I just wanted to a chiro, adjust spines, collect money and go home and party. No one told me how to be a bossman, how to run an office and especially not a business that had 6-7 employees.
Overhead will kill you. (this should have been thought about and put into your business plan documents) Adjust accordingly. There are always ways to save money. ALWAYS! But sometimes saving money will cost you YOUR time. It's a balance thing and fine tune it to your likes/dislikes. Utilities will continue to rise. There are many ways to cut costs. Think of investing in solar panels, solar heating, ect. In summer think about gowing some of your MJ outdoors. Think about driving a less expensive vehicle.
Employees. Screen them out with a passion. There is no sense hiring and training an idiot or two (been there, donme that) You want people you can trust and get things done without holding their fucking hand. Running a successful business is teamwork. Get team members who mesh into your vision. I liked to have incentives for my employees. Incentives get employees motivated and they can increase your sales while promoting your business. You can offer a smaller hourly wage and add incentive programs. Yes, in the end you may pay them more but they will generate more overall revenue for you. Keep employees part-time and do not pay for sick days, holidays and all that jazz. In the MMJ business I think a great incentive program would be to reward employees with MJ as their bonus. Hell, you may even consider paying your employees MMJ for a large portion of their entire salary (of course for legal/tax reasons you'd have to show some employee pay-out on your books). If you grow your own I would imagine it would cost you less to pay them in MMJ than paying them in dollars and cents. 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.
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. By the time they realize they are in deep shit it is far too late to bail out or save that sinking ship. I am sure most of you agree that MJ sales prices will continue to go down. IMO that's a given. As a MMJ boss/owner what adjustments will you make? That is the question. We all know prices of EVERYTHING will continue to rise (food, gas, utilities, supplies etc) except weed, lol. Do nothing and die. Do something and you may float above the red temporaly. But if you really attack it and make the correct adjustments you will kick ass. Taking business seminars and buying business operation books are often great tools to hone you skills.
If anyone is running a business and just breaking even or barely making a profit it's time to throw in the towel and take a job flipping burgers OR sit down and make serious adjustments. Lay out numbers and goals and plans how to obtain them. Have weekly or monthy meeting with employess and keep everyone on the same page. Have your goals (quotas set) and discuss it openly.
Talk with other successful MMJ club owners and find out what they are doing to make their profits. You will find that some of the most successful people have failed once or twice before (ie Donald "King of the Comb-over" Trump and money-guru Dave Ramsey). Pick the brains of the successful ones and avoid the failing ones as they will drag you down.
I know some folks like to give away their products for free. Let me tell you that it is a huge mistake to do so. The only exception is when you are making a comfortable profit. DO NOT GIVE AWAY FREE SHIT when you are trying to make a profit. When I was a young buck I was told this many years ago but I did not listen. I quickly learned that the freebie give-aways were NOT good business saavy (unless you are making a nice profit). In this day and age do not dismiss bartering with folks. I posted a list on the wall of my waiting room area that listed what items I was willing to barter spinal adjustments for
(eggs, horse hay, tools, lawnwork etc)...just make sure it is a fair exchange so no one feels ripped off.
I think I am the minority here in that I have respect for some MMJ clubs and owners. IMO not all MMJ shops are pricky scoundrels who sell moldy buds. Hell, I have seen undergrounders selling shitweed and overchanging people.
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. Pay thousands of dollars per year for a fucking MMJ license? Then give up and sign away many of your rights? Then rent a huge building to grow in? Then heat and cool the place? Then hire boobs to work for you who might steal your weed and give out "deals" to their buddies. Then pay outrageous taxes? Then find out you can not even deduct your business expenses?? WTF??? How about having paperwork overload where everything needs to be tagged, marked, inventoried, counted and recounted, etc? 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? Or coming to work one day and finding the feds took all my shit including all my grow equipment?
Honestly, me thinks the underground is the ONLY way to go... But hey, that's just me.
For all my rantings, I do wish you good luck and great success, SOCOMMJ.
*revised one million times for typos and spelling errors.
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.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.
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.Hell no, it's not easy and non-business people do not realize what goes on behind the scenes.
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.It is said you can not be a "nice guy" and run a sucessful business and I think there is some truth to that.
When we were discussing changing from caregivers to opening and MMC we made a short priority list:As a businessman your number one job is to MAKE MONEY.
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 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.
One little retarded thing right after another. There is so much under the surface people will never realize.Overhead will kill you
Impossible. My Jeep has 130,000 miles and is paid off. Run it until the wheels fall off.Think about driving a less expensive vehicle.
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.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.
Just wait until Legalization 2012. I'm still trying to figure out what will really happen if that flies.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.
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 know some folks like to give away their products for free.
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.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.
Fuck, what a mess... Thankfully they have POS systems that are MMC specific that can handle the details and generate the required reports.How about having paperwork overload where everything needs to be tagged, marked, inventoried, counted and recounted, etc?
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.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?
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...For all my rantings, I do wish you good luck and great success, SOCOMMJ.
lol, no that is not what that means.so does that mean your making about 5 and a half grand a month? i would be happy with that if so
So its 2200 for 2 lbs?
thats fucked. 1100/lb.
Sorry if I am missing something?
Yeah me too, I'm kinda a physics head and love math...
Hey SoCoMMJ: You mention that 6400-4400=3000
Am I just loopy or missing something too?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?