6 Lessons for Success in New York Cannabis
Essential Advice for Those Looking to Enter the New York Cannabis Industry.
Over the past week I’ve received many calls from in- and out-of-state residents looking to enter the New York cannabis industry. Some have applied for licenses and are stuck in processing hell, awaiting confirmation from the Office of Cannabis Management; while others have not applied at all and are curious about the idea of New York as an opportunity.
While many wait on the sideline, the big money players are on their way here, with some already wholesaling product to the adult-use market and trying to fine tune their strategies for market penetration and continuous revenue generation.
After many issues arose statewide in the industry over the past year, I wanted to begin 2024 by conveying some suggestions and helpful information to those dreaming of, or taking the initial steps towards, legally selling ganja in the Big Apple, spinning fresh frozen for solventless rosin in a walk-in freezer, or indoor hermits cultivating a sea of green that will one day be smoked by consumers.
Obtaining the license that will ultimately allow you to legally operate a New York State cannabis business is usually the easier part of this game, and the cheapest expense.
When compared to other states that require exorbitant amounts of capital just to become licensed, New York’s OCM has made license costs among the most reasonably priced in the country.
Once you have successfully jumped through that first hoop, much more awaits on the other side. Without focusing on all the small details that make up regulatory compliance, zoning restrictions, what defines a canopy size, the best vendors to deal with, etc., I believe there are some core values an organization needs to focus on first in order to even start building the machine that will stand the test of time in this marketplace.
1. Who are you? Make sure you know what your brand is before you sow even one seed, look at one retail location or begin price hunting for that stainless-steel ice water hash extraction machine. You can do no worse injustice to your future than to begin without first knowing who you are and what you want to be good at in this space.
Spend the time soul searching through ideas and potential scenarios before you get too ahead of yourself. It doesn’t matter if you want to be a luxury brand, sell the most artisanal hand-crafted, ethically sourced, non-remediated, biomass-infused quinoa squares or be the cheapest product out there. You have to commit to the idea, execute on it and stick with it. You cannot know how to reach your destination if you don’t know where you are headed in the first place. I truly believe this is what separated my brand, 7 SEAZ Premium Cannabis, from the herd because I focused on doing one thing (infused pre-rolls) and doing it the best.
2. Pick your partners wisely. It feels like this business chews people up and spits them out faster than any other industry (who would have thought these beautiful flowers could be so cruel?). You could start a business yesterday and two weeks from now be worth a half-million dollars, so make sure you have all the right things in place to protect yourself and your family from greed. Greed is all too prevalent in this marketplace, along with ego, leading to broken friendships, families, relationships, partnerships and even entire companies. Money changes people faster than anything. Think of this as a prenup for business. Consult with your counsel, and make sure you have good counsel as well.
3. Build yourself a solid team. When hiring for certain positions, keep an open mind. The person walking through your door may not be the right fit for that exact position, but perhaps they have stronger attributes that could be better spent elsewhere and benefit your organization differently than planned. This is one HUGE state once you start to leave your local area. Best to figure out early on if you need people in different places to make the dream work as opposed to trying to assemble the team while the plane is in the air. Find yourself people who are team players and are not going to only focus on themselves and instead want to see your company grow. Reward those who are loyal as well, employees statewide are currently trading teams faster than fantasy football leagues – with pay being the driving factor of survival.
4. Learn how to say NO and when to say YES. Once you get real momentum building and other industry operators see you making headway, many offers will come across your desk. I have seen countless people take on ludicrous offerings and many turn down the most reasonable offers. Many of these choices, I believe, are due to hubris and ego which are all too prevalent. ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT. Squeezing as many extra pennies out as possible has always led to a poor end product, lack of customer appreciation and missing the forest for the trees.
5. Don’t be too hard on yourself. A lot of the lessons you will learn will come at a cost, sometimes financially. There are people to assist if you can afford them.This is what my agency has done for many clients across the state: we show companies how to do it right the first time, and what equipment you should buy so you don’t spend 3x as much trying to figure it out and waste time and effort. For those who can’t afford such a service, or prefer to go after it alone, mistakes will be made. But, if you don’t take shortcuts and do things the right way, it will always be the hardest way – because you are doing it right.
6. You may love cannabis but the business might not be for you. I am sure many of you have heard of those who turned a passion into a business or a similar adage. This can be entirely true for cannabis as well. Just because you love smoking it, or you love the community around this plant, that does not mean you will love doing this to pay your bills. You cannot run a cannabis company part time or as a hobby; it will simply never reach its full potential if treated as an afterthought. And this mentality is actually insulting to those who have labored over this plant, built a real brand or business and given it every ounce of dedication possible. Many of the jobs in this industry are actually pretty awful and not enjoyable, just like any other industry.
Please take these suggestions not as fear mongering or as dreadful precautionary measures to dissuade you from entering into the industry. They are simply obvious truths that can be correlated to any other thriving industry in the world but need to briefly be brought to the surface from time to time in order to clear away the emerald green glasses many of us wear when taken over by the excitement of benefiting from this plant.
After all, If I had listened to a single person over the last 17+ years who told me that I was crazy or should get a “real job,” many would not be enjoying 7 SEAZ “TSUNAMI” pre-rolls across NYS legally at this time. Dream big and live with no regrets.
