4 Tips to Start Your Own Cannabiz

The cannabis industry holds many opportunities for entrepreneurs to get in on something big. Marijuana cultivators, concentrate extraction technicians, marijuana processors, marketers, researchers, and developers all have a place in the canna-biz.

Professionals from numerous backgrounds are seizing the opportunity to get into the cannabis industry. According to the Wall Street Daily, there are currently over 300 publicly traded businesses in the industry, up from just 13 only two years ago. Even better, almost all of these new businesses are already generating profit for relatively little start-up cost.

So what can you do to get into the cannabis industry, too? Here are a few tips to get you started.

You don’t have to start your own dispensary to get into the cannabis industry. There are many different ways you can use your skills to develop your own cannabis-based business including cultivation, business management, financial services, marketing, design, consultation, computer programing, security, activism or content creation. If you can do it, you can make a business out of it.

Keeping close tabs on your competition will give you an advantage in a number of different ways by helping you target your audience and find new customers, track competitor prices and services and determine your own business model. A few ways to track your competition include:

• Internet searches

• Social network engagement

• Conferences

• Customer Inquiries

• Online surveys

One of the best things about the cannabis industry is the community that it is a part of. Use this to your advantage by attending events, joining MeetUp groups, participating in rallies and volunteering in the community. This will not only help your business get noticed, but will help you develop important connections for the future.

There are also many opportunities for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs to become a part of a larger collective. Groups like Women Grow or Canopy Boulder have a specific mission to help cannabis businesses get going. Women Grow is a network of female entrepreneurs and mentors, while Canopy Boulder features a group of investors looking to sponsor the next big company (as long as they don’t work directly with weed) and mentors determined to make those companies prosper.

No matter what kind of business you propose, you will need a website. This will give your business credibility, allow you to reach a wider audience, help you educate customers, promote better customer service and save you a ton of money on marketing. To get the most out of your website, remember the following:

• Educate your readers: Answer your customers’ questions before they even ask by using searchable keywords and phrases predominately throughout your site. Be careful not to “stuff” your site with keywords, though, or search engines might ding you.

• Showcase your product or service: For the sake of leads who like to comparison shop, maintaining an online portfolio or testimonial page may be what it takes to transform those leads into sales (or at least prospects), so make it attractive and keep it up-to-date.

• Keep information fresh and accurate: Fresh content will not only help attract leads, but will help your page rank well in search engines, too. Update your web page regularly or create a blog or forum page to keep content fresh and help your customers find you.

• Connect it to social media: By integrating your website with your social media accounts, you can stay in touch with your customers (in a place they already frequent) with little additional effort. Add visible social media share buttons and keep posts up-to-date for the best results.

The cannabis industry is ripe with opportunity. Seize yours by becoming an entrepreneur in the canna-biz.

Would you like to be a part of the cannabis industry? Tell us what you’d like to do.

Photo Credit: noexcusesradio (public domain)