Today’s job market is extremely competitive, and a lot of companies are struggling to find the perfect employees, and it’s no different with the cannabis industry. No matter what type of cannabis company you are operating, hiring new employees to keep up with customer demand is huge.

The cannabis industry is continually growing, so make sure you have everything, and everyone, in place to succeed. Businesses can’t run without good employees. Make sure you are doing everything you can to hire the right people and retain employees with your company culture.

How to Attract and Retain Top Talent for Your Cannabis Company

While we can’t guarantee that we have all the answers, we do have some best practices you can use when looking to hire new employees for your cannabis business.

• Have a high value job posting

This is the first step in hiring great employees. Take the time to lay out the details of the job and show potential applicants what they will be doing. This also helps you better understand what type of person and set of skills you are looking to hire for. If your job posting is too vague or not detailed enough, its going to be hard to determine if applicants are right for the position.

• Recruit from multiple channels and different industries

Just because you are looking for someone to work at your cannabis business, doesn’t mean that they must already be working in the cannabis industry. Depending on the type of job posting, a lot of skills can be transferable between careers, such as customer service, sales, accounting, and more. Take the time to really look over the applicants resume and see if the skills they’ve acquired in their current or previous positions would translate to the cannabis industry.

• Experience isn’t everything

When it comes to the employees you are looking to hire, there are a lot of skills that don’t show up on a resume. Just because someone doesn’t have a lot of experience in the workforce or in a specific job role doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t do the job. As a hiring manager, you should look for intangible skills like leadership, communication, dedication, and strong work ethic.

You never want to miss out on the perfect applicant just because they may be lacking some experience. Take the time to meet face to face or have phone conversations to really get to know what kind of worker they are.

• Provide high-quality training

Once you’ve found the right hire, its important to get the up to date on how your operations run, no matter how experienced they are. Companies run differently, and you want the new hires to be as knowledgeable in the new process as they can be.

Not only does having high-quality training benefit your company, but it is extremely helpful to the new hire as well. Having the proper training in place shows the new employee that your company is dedicated to a process and gives them the confidence to do their job correctly.

• Cannabis loans help with paying employees

Once you’ve hired the perfect employees, you then must make sure you are compensating these great employees with a fair pay. Running a cannabis company isn’t cheap, so having enough capital to pay your employees can be difficult, but you can help ease the pain by working to get a cannabis business loan.

With the help of cannabis business loans, you can provide a great pay while also tackling the everyday expenses of running a business. Cannabis business loans can be used to help pay your employees, which can help increase your employee satisfaction and retention.

If you find that your business could benefit from a cannabis business loan, contact us today and we can help. Working with a cannabis lender like Canna Business Resources can be an extremely helpful too, and we will listen to your needs and find a loan that works within your budget. Don’t let great potential employees walk away just because of financial issues, talk with us and keep your business growing.

It was not that long ago when cannabis was struggling with the battle of legal or illegal status. After so many amendments and legislation of farm bill 2018, legal cannabis is one of the fastest-growing industries. With immense popularity and unprecedented growth, you might be wondering how the market is doing and where we are at today.

Cannabis Business History

The outbreak of legalization started in 1996, California’s passage of medicinal cannabis measure Proposition 215 and ended in 2012 with Colorado and Washington’s legalization of recreational cannabis. Now, marijuana is legal in 39 states of the U.S. for medical purposes, while in 19 states for recreational uses for adults 21 and older.

Further, 27 states have decriminalized small amounts of cannabis, allowing a certain amount of cannabis possession that breaches the law will lead to a civil charge.

The cannabis industry has turned from a black-market to a mainstream industry just in the short time of 20 years, and still, the industry is in its early stage.

The federal government still keeps cannabis as a Schedule1 controlled substance even though it grabbed the mark of $20 billion by the early 2020s. Even though the federal government has its own set of laws, the cannabis industry has a huge rise in its prominence.

The Department of Justice published a letter in 2013 known as the Cole Memorandum that restricted the federal government’s interference in state regulatory cannabis operations. The missive was later canceled in 2018 by the former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but the industry didn’t stop growing.

Undoubtedly, the federal government continued creating obstacles; even then, the legal cannabis industry kept flourishing. According to the New Frontier Data analyst, the cannabis industry’s worth was $10.4 billion in 2018 that will be bloomed to $26.3 billion in 2025.

The industry is filling up so many gaps already, and there is a projection to see the impulsive progress in the cannabis industry in coming years.

Current State of the Cannabis Industry

In 39 states across the country, marijuana is legal for recreational or medical purposes. At the same time, there are still some parts of the USA where Marijuana is entirely illegal. This amendment in the status of marijuana has increased its popularity and demand. It opened the way for businesses to opt for cannabis startups.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the cannabis industry had growth of 50% in 2020, with a market size of $20.47 billion. The demand for legal marijuana has been increasing in the recent years and saw a spike during the pandemic. They also believe that the market is set to grow to $28 billion by the end of 2022, and even higher by 2028.

Starting a New Cannabis Business in 2022

While commencing any business, this is very important to see and understand the entire framework of the industry, where it is lying in the current scenario, the future exposure of this business, what risks are involved, and the earning potentials.

In the cannabis business, you wouldn’t find a rich history as the industry has faced many decades.

To start and learn the essential steps of starting a cannabusiness first, you must consider the status and demand of marijuana in your targeted area and how you can outclass your competitors by providing the same products and services. With more and more popularity and clearance of marijuana products, more people are jumping into the cannabis business. Don’t get left behind, reach out today and learn how Cannabis Business Resources can help you grow.

If you’re running a small cannabis business, you may understand the financial struggles of keeping up with increased demand, updating expensive equipment to stay relevant in the market, and any other large costs that are associated with operating your company.

One way to help alleviate some of that pain is to obtain a small business loan. In the cannabis industry, you can work with lenders that specialize in the marijuana industry and understand your growing needs. Here are some of the benefits for small businesses if they decide they want to pursue a small cannabis business loan from a lender like Canna Business Resources.

Benefits of Cannabis Loans for Small Businesses

• Allows for Large Purchases

When you are a small business, occasionally there will be times where you need to spend a little out of your budget, weather it is an unexpected cost or something that you need to keep up. Being able to make smaller payments each month instead of one large payment, it can help you get what you need without throwing all your money in one place.

• Help build your credit

If you can pay your monthly payments on time, this can really help build up your credit score. When you increase your credit score, it’s possible that you will be able to qualify for better financing options down the road. This is more of a long play game, but it can pay off for your business if you continue to expand.

• Opportunities to Expand

If you’re a small business, hopefully you will get the chance to expand and grow your operations. Using a cannabis loan can help with the large costs it requires when growing. Things such as cannabis real estate loans can help you purchase more land for manufacturing or growing.

• Keep up to date with high quality equipment

The cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing industries running right now, so new processes and equipment is necessary to keep up. With the help of cannabis equipment loans, your small business can keep up with the growing demand and changing industry while keeping cash in your pocket.

Can Any Small Business Get a Cannabis Loan?

No, not everyone can qualify for a cannabis loan. Cannabis loans are specifically for the cannabis industry and their ancillary companies, so businesses that do not have any cannabis ties does not qualify. Even if you are a small cannabis company that applies for a cannabis loan, it doesn’t mean that you are automatically approved. There is still a process and your loan application needs to be approved

If you are worried you may not be approved for a cannabis loan, you can follow some best practices and tips. If you have questions, your best option is to reach out to our experts who can help understand your business needs. Once that is complete, they can work with you to find a cannabis loan that fits your budget.

Everything You Need to Know About Starting Up a Cannabis Business

For a while now, the legal cannabis industry has been growing and reaching new heights each year. This may have some individuals eager to join the market and take advantage of the booming business. If you are one of those individuals, we’ve put together a few things you should consider before starting your own cannabis business and a general process you will need to follow.

What types of cannabis businesses can I start?

As someone who may be new to the legal marijuana industry, you may be thinking that dispensaries and selling cannabis products are the only option when starting a new cannabis business, but there are plenty more. While cannabis dispensaries are one of the more popular options, there are also:

• Breeders
• Cultivators
• Manufacturers or Processor
• Transportation
• Ancillary Companies

You will also need to know if you are handling medical marijuana or recreational marijuana, as there may be different laws or regulations around each one.

While we’ve only touched on a few of the different types of cannabis business, you can see that there is so much more to the cannabis industry than just the sale of the product. Make sure you take the time to find the right type of business that will play to your strengths.

Cannabis Start Up Costs

Let’s be honest, starting a new cannabis business is not cheap, but that shouldn’t scare you away from starting your dream. According to The National Cannabis Industry Association, starting a new dispensary can cost anywhere from $250,000-$750,000. Not only do you have to think about paying for your company’s overhead and worker salary, but there will also be expenses in obtaining license and any legal fees that come with that process.

Keep in mind, there are many factors that can play a part in the cost of starting a cannabis business and depending on what type of business you go into, the price could vary. You will also need to understand that each state may have it’s own laws and regulations, which could factor into the price of starting your business.

 

How To Start a Cannabis Business or Cannabis Startup

CBD industry is the burning career choice in the present era with so many possibilities. So, to start your own set of businesses in the cannabis industry, consider these steps to go on a long way of success.

• Know your Interested Market

Cannabis businesses are available in all shapes and sizes, and the first step you must take is to decide the size and type of your business.

After fulfilling this aspect, you must know that the marijuana business requirements are up from the other businesses that require a fairly basic set of rules. The cannabis laws vary from state to state, and there is the possibility that marijuana is legal in one state and drastically illegal in a neighboring state. You need to spend much time researching and understanding the state and federal rules related to the marijuana business.

• Prepare Your Detailed Cannabis Business Plan

After you have decided your area of interest and understood the basic laws for the marijuana business, now it’s time to prepare a comprehensive business plan. The marijuana industry is a strictly regulated business, and you need to be a bit detailed while preparing a cannabis business plan.

Understand your state laws a bit more carefully, collect all the information from authentic resources from starting the business, target the audience, and follow the regulations. The laws related to the cannabis industry change more apparent, so keep a closer eye on each fluctuation. Make a plan that includes:

• • Your investment and expected revenue
  • You’re Marketing Move
  • Know your competitors and how to Keep your distinctions
  • From where you’ll run your business?
  • Decide about your suppliers.
  • Get services of legal counsel to keep things streamlined.

Once you have prepared all these, now move to the next step.

• Register Your Unique Business Name and Entity

Due to federal restrictions, big businesses are not coming up much into the cannabis industry, and it is the ideal stage for small and local businesses to establish and flourish.

Either small or big, a business needs a proper entity, so choose the right one for your cannabis business. Either you choose LLC or corporation, your business entity affects the taxes you pay and the level of risk you’re exposed to. These entities protect the owners from personal liability.

Once you come up with the perfect cannabis company name, check the availability of a specific name for your business and register your business name for a fixed amount of time by paying a small fee.

• Register Your Cannabis Business and Get Licensed

Every state designed its own set of laws. That is why business permits, cannabis licenses, and registration practices will be required depending on the state/area you want to start your marijuana business. Before setting on any business, either it’s cannabis or conventional type, set your perk of rules to make things vigilant for long.

Do proper research and better contact the legal professional to know and understand the regulations to register your business and get the license. Acquire all the important documentation, license, and other regulatory bodies necessary to set up your marijuana business legally.

Some states have introduced registration portals to licensing marijuana businesses and website designing for the marijuana business to run it virtually.

The marijuana business is allowed under strict rules; even the dispensaries and retailers have to follow some rules and regulations. After the registration, your business is clear to take a start and boom in the specific state.

• Make your Business Tax-filer

To register your marijuana business to pay taxes will be different in different states. However, in each state, Employer Identification Number or, in some states, business tax I.D. The number is necessary to apply for your marijuana business.

The business owner can apply for an Employer Identification Number online from the IRS directly and gets the approval in no time. Your EIN is mandatory to open a business bank account or apply for business funding. Also, this number is essential while you are paying payroll and income tax for your marijuana business.

• Get Finance for your Cannabis Business

Your business needs finance, and the cannabis business application process is more demanding in this aspect as compared to other typical kinds of businesses. Every new entrepreneur must be pre-planned about the business.

The cannabis business has more expenses. To cover these, you must look for cannabis business funding to start and finance your business, which might not be possible without creating a detailed cannabis business plan. Furthermore, any investor or lender you might ask for financing will first prefer to see your entire business plan to figure out the effectiveness of this business strategy to turn a profit.

At the start, you may need an application and licensing fees, and later, regular equipment, marketing, and startup costs will be there. And once the business has started, taxes, maintenance, and depreciation costs are sheer need.

Finding small business loans will be another hard-to-go thing. There is a lack of small business financing for this business as the cannabis business is still not legal federally.

Most of the banks offering small business loans are operating on a national scale and come under federal regulations that make the lending for cannabis business a big “NO”. The laws are stringent, and these banks can’t take the risk of financing federally illegal activities.

To fill up this huge gap, to some extent, the alternative lenders are providing small business loans for marijuana businesses and financing all types of canna-businesses.

As new to the cannabis business, you must be aware of all the obstacles lying in the way to be a successful marijuana entrepreneur.

The Bottom Line

The cannabis industry is in its initial stages and the growth is showing a shiny future for it. So investing in the marijuana business will be a wise idea. However, all of the above, the vital thing is pre-planning and knowing and understanding all aspects of this business.

Must look into all the pros and cons of starting the cannabis business. This is one most complex and restrictive industry and laws are stringent in some states along with costs, financing struggles, and regulatory burdens. Don’t go blank without knowing how to start a cannabis company.

So, think twice about all the complexities. It will help you make a better decision. Once you have decided, follow up on all the above-mentioned steps to prolong progress. Rest assured with your decisions and dedication.

It can be difficult to secure financing for any type of business loan, let alone a cannabis business loan. Because traditional banks don’t provide financing solutions to cannabis companies, you will need to work through a cannabis lender, like Canna Business Resources.  

When working with a cannabis lender, filling out an application is the easy part, getting the approval is what can be difficult. Before you decide to apply, make sure you follow these best practices to increase the chance that your loan will be approved!  

Tips to Securing Cannabis Financing 

• Determine Your Budget 

Determining your budget will help you get the best idea of what kind of financing you are looking for and give you a realistic amount. Asking for too much or too little could either put you in jeopardy of being denied, or not having enough to complete what needs done. 

• Prepare a Proper Business Plan 

With any lender, they want to know that you are serious about your investment. Having a proper business plan can increase your chances of securing a business loan because it shows you took the time to carefully think out and plan. Having a proper business plan can help ease the lenders mind and help them have more confidence in financing you.  

• Work on Increasing Your Credit Score 

This one is self-explanatory. The higher your credit score is, the more it shows lenders that you are reliable and will be a good partner to work with.  

• Lower Your Current Debt 

If possible, lowering your current debt could help increase your credit score, as well as lowering your expenses. If you have too much debt, it can bring in to question how you are using the provided funds.  

• If Needed, Add a Co-Signer 

Adding a co-signer is always a good idea, as it can help reduce the risks in the eyes of the cannabis lender. It’s also a way to qualify for loans that you alone may not be able to do. Before adding a co-signer though, make sure both you and the co-signer understand the risks. Co-signing is not something that should be taken lightly.  

While these are all great ways of increasing the chance you get your loan approved, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a 100% chance. There are a lot of different factors that go into loan approval, so make sure you are doing everything you can to reduce risk and increase the chance your loan will be approved.  

 

If you are operating a cannabis company or are looking to start a new one, something you will need to look into acquiring is cannabis equipment. Cannabis equipment loans are there to help businesses purchase these expensive pieces and keep their operations moving and expanding. 

The equipment used by dispensaries, manufacturers, growers, and cultivators can all be very different. Which bring up the question, “what types of equipment can be financed through cannabis equipment financing”? Well, let’s take a look and we will help you better understand.  

What is Cannabis Equipment Financing? 

Cannabis equipment financing is a financial solution for companies that don’t have enough capital to purchase large pieces of equipment without a payment plan. With the help of cannabis equipment financing, operations can acquire the equipment at a monthly cost, instead of a large payment upfront.  

This allows cannabis businesses to receive and begin using the equipment while paying it off. This is a huge benefit as it keeps operations running and allows for growth of the business. To learn more about terms and the different interest rates for cannabis equipment financing, you can contact us here at Canna Business Resources.  

Who Qualifies for Cannabis Equipment Financing? 

There are plenty of businesses that can qualify for cannabis equipment financing, but the most common ones are plant-touching cannabusinesses and ancillary companies. 

Plant-touching cannabis business are those that directly work with the product, such as dispensaries, breeders, cultivators, and more. These types of businesses would most likely invest in cannabis equipment that can help grow, extract, or sell the product.  

Ancillary companies are those that assist or support the plant-touching businesses. These can be operations such as construction, packaging companies, and software companies.  

What Types of Cannabis Equipment can I Finance? 

Ready to apply for cannabis equipment financing but aren’t sure if your equipment will qualify? Below are some of the most common types of cannabis equipment we help financing. 

• Extraction Equipment 
• Kitchen Equipment 
• HVAC
• Cultivation Equipment
• Security Equipment
• Lighting 

To get a more detailed look at what cannabis equipment can be financed, you can work with one of our financial experts who will understand what you are looking for and be able to guide you though the different financing options!  

How to Get Financing for Cannabis Equipment 

As you can see, cannabis equipment financing can be used for a lot of different things and is a huge asset to both small and large cannabis businesses. The best way to get cannabis equipment financing is to work through a cannabis lender, such as Canna Business Resources. We can quickly provide equipment loans with terms and rates that fit your budget.  

If you need help or have questions, or if you’re ready now you can contact us today!

Cannabis in New York – everyone wants in, but operators need to navigate the state’s complex regulatory structure and develop business plans to thrive in an ultra-competitive market.

As we head into this Memorial Day weekend of 2022, the east coast is preparing for its historical jaunt to the beaches. But what of the cannabis opportunity for New Yorkers?

More than a year after marijuana use was legalized for all adults in New York, there’s still a long way to go before the state’s cannabis industry is in full swing. Regulators in the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) are often asked when it will become possible to walk into a New York dispensary to buy cannabis and cannabis products.

When Will Cannabis Dispensaries Come to New York?

We are getting closer. Timelines now say that some of the first cannabis dispensaries in New York could be allowed to open their doors sometime around spring 2023. That seems like a long way off, but for the cannabis industry, 2023 is right around the corner.

Cultivators have to plan ahead – it takes up to six months (or more) for cannabis cultivators to generate revenue dollar one from planting seeds in the ground. From there, raw materials are consumed by manufacturers to create value add products such as vape cartridges, concentrates, resins, edibles and the like, such additional process can add a further three months to the timeline just to get products to consumers and patients.

That means operators in the licensing process must line up their working capital today to prepare for a surge of demand next spring.

For all of that, Canna Business Resources is focusing on several specific areas to help cannabis operators get ready for launch in New York.

Tips to Prepare for the Cannabis Launch in New York

• Manufacturers

The process of creating value added products and getting them to market is daunting for manufacturers in a highly regulated market. The New York market is bound to be supply constrained and that means manufacturers can be a bottleneck, or they can be a resource. Having the right amount of working capital to launch a thriving and critical part of the supply chain is a major focus of Canna Business Resources.

• Cannabis Retailers

There will not be enough cannabis retailers to serve the New York population. Canna Business Resources is committed to partnering with dispensary owners to finance their grand openings to make sure shelves are stocked properly and there is enough supply in inventory to make it through an expected surge in demand.

• Cultivation operations 

Massive amounts of working capital will be needed to bring much needed high quality flower to the market, including many upstarts that will need financing to provide marijuana flower to the regulated New York market on a timely basis.

Canna Business Resources Focus on Social Equity

The cannabis legalization bill that passed last spring, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), included a goal to issue 50 percent of licenses to “social equity applicants,” as well as stipulations to give material support and training to help those applicants succeed.

The category of social equity written into the bill is broad: it includes communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition, as well as those who qualify as a minority- or women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, or service-disabled veterans. Lawmakers have proposed bills to include other groups, including trans, nonbinary, lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals.

The state has also implemented a $200 million public-private social equity fund to help finance these social equity entrepreneurs, but the process for application and receipt of funds is daunting and time consuming.

Canna Business Resources in New York

Canna Business Resources has dedicated nearly $30 million to fund social equity license entrepreneurs in New York State and is ready to begin funding immediately to prepare for New York’s monstrous cannabis marketplace. Canna Business Resources has prepared to evaluate, underwrite and fund these entrepreneurs immediately to catalyze growth. Canna Business Resources is currently seeking to help with New York cannabis financing.

Don’t be left out in the cold when the New York market takes off. Contact Canna Business Resources today to see how we can help you set your business up for long term growth.

When operating a business, your main goal is to increase sales of your product and services. And if you are doing a good job of this, there will be a time when the demand for your product exceeds the supply. Now, this sounds like a good problem to have, but, if you can’t keep up with you customer’s demands, you will eventually begin to lose out on their business.  

One of the ways you can combat this problem is by increasing your space, expanding your current operations, or opening a new location. While this option isn’t always easy, Canna Business Resources is giving cannabis businesses the financial tools to make it possible with a Cannabis Real Estate Loan.  

What is a Cannabis Real Estate Financing? 

A cannabis real estate loan allows cannabis businesses to secure the funding they need to begin cultivating, processing, and distributing cannabis. If you have your cannabis licensing and qualify for a loan, there are a few different cannabis business types you can begin expanding on! 

• Dispensaries 

Opening a new location or expanding on your current one will not be cheap, especially if you add in the cost of paying employees and acquiring product. A cannabis real estate loan can help ease the financial burden and get your expansion moving quicker.  

• Cultivating Operations and Greenhouses 

If you are looking to get into the cannabis cultivating industry or expand on current operations, purchasing farmland or greenhouses is a great solution. When opening a new location or expanding, remember that there are cannabis equipment financing you may need to look into, which Canna Business Resources also provides! 

• Manufacturing 

If you are involved in the manufacturing side of the cannabis industry, you are also able to utilize cannabis real estate loans. The manufacturing side of cannabis means you are involved in the extraction and infusion, storing, and packing side of things.  

While there are still other types of cannabis businesses that apply for cannabis real estate loans, these are the most common ones we find. If you have questions or think your business may qualify, contact us to learn more!  

Why are Cannabis Real Estate Loans Important? 

If you are in the cannabis industry already, you probably know that traditional banks and lenders do not offer loans to cannabis companies. This is because marijuana is still an illegal drug at the federal level, which means there is risk involved for the lender. One of the ways the cannabis industry has found a solution to this is by working with cannabis lenders who can provide the financial solutions that cannabis businesses are looking for.  

Without cannabis lenders, the industry would most likely have difficulty securing financing, which would slow the growth of the cannabis market. Cannabis real estate loans are just one of the options, along other things such as cannabis equipment financing, dispensaries loans, and more.  

How does Cannabis Real Estate Financing Work? 

To qualify for a cannabis real estate loan, there are a few different steps you will need to take. Your cannabis loan’s specific features will depend on a few factors. For example, how much money are you contributing to buying the property? As well as if you have a record of success as a licensed cannabis business owner. Below is a quick outline of how the process works. 

• Reach out to Canna Business Resources and get a Free Consultation 
• Apply for a Cannabis Real Estate Loan 
• Preliminary Review to Establish Initial Credit Profile 

• Leverage Expansive Portfolio to Understand the Credit 
• Receive Funding 

If you have questions about the process, we highly suggest you start at step one and reach out. Once we understand what you are looking for, we will draw up a solution that works best with your budget and business needs.  

Our Partnership With 420Property 

Canna Business Resources is proud to work on cannabis real estate loans with 420Property. They are the world’s largest cannabis and hemp marketplace dedicated to real estate and provide different business listings on their website. 420Property’s main goal is to eliminate the challenges of finding real estate for cannabis companies. Working together, 420Property and Canna Business Resources is helping to grow the industry and provide not only easily accessible real estate listings but provide funding and different financing solutions once you’ve found the perfect spot.  

As the cannabis industry in the United States continues to grow at a rapid pace with new markets coming on-line, wholesale prices for flower and related products have fluctuated significantly in the last year. Canna Business Resources expects more price volatility in the coming weeks and months and has solutions for operators to hedge themselves against market factors out of their control.

Cannabis Wholesale

According to Cannabis Benchmarks, the US Spot Index for wholesale flower reached $1,248 per pound (volume weighted average United States wholesale cannabis). This figure represented a 1% decline from the prior week, but a massive 21% decline from the prior year period. Cannabis Benchmarks predicts that the wholesale prices will further decline to $1,225 per pound by the end of this year, with some uptick during the summer months and then further falling off in pricing towards the end of the year. Indoor cultivation accounts for 60% of the total with outdoor just 11%.

With six-month lead times for wholesale cultivators from planting to revenue, wholesale marijuana growers must be vigilant in how they approach expense management during the harvesting period. Cannabis cultivators must conserve and maintain adequate working capital to manage cash flows during the waiting period but importantly they must also lock in a price per pound that makes sense.

From a pricing perspective, some markets are more robust than others.  For example, weighted average wholesale prices were $799 per pound in California, a market that is still reeling and recovering from a difficult last twelve months, while prices were $3,353 per pound in Illinois, the highest prices in the country.

Canna Business Resources has the tools to help cultivators manage these volatile price discrepancies. CBR’s experienced underwriting team has successfully financed more than $25 million in cultivation working capital in the last year and are on pace to double that in the coming year, financing deals in nearly every regulated cannabis market in the United States.

Canna Business Resources can offer the following advice to cultivators navigating these challenging circumstances.

Cannabis Cultivating Advice

1.   Lock in a current price

Odds are that prices in your market are going to drop in the coming six to twelve months. If you are capitalizing on a recent demand uptrend, so are other growers. Lock in your price with a hard commitment contract from your customers.

2.   Obtain enough working capital.

Put together financial statements that accurately predict your working capital needs while you wait for payments from your customers. This factor is one of the most overlooked – yet most important – operational mistakes that Canna Business Resources underwriters observe.

3.   Meet timelines and targets. 

In agriculture, not everything is straightforward. But having the appropriate team in place that can meet operational targets is crucial to the success of a grow operation in a critical period of time.

Canna Business Resources recommends that cultivators should obtain financing for at least 9 months of working capital necessary to successfully see their business through the grow and pricing periods for cannabis cultivators. The company’s underwriting team can analyze nearly every type of cultivation business – from indoor, outdoor, and industrial greenhouse facilities – in nearly every market.

Operators must have adequate and efficient financing in place to weather the waiting period – contact Canna Business Resources today to see how we can help you set your business up for long term growth.

Investors and operating consolidators in cannabis are continuing to wrestle with the issue of brand and brand equity. An early wave of branding association with celebrity, personality and influencer marketing is slowly being replaced with brands associated with product, packaging, and performance. As the industry achieves more widespread legal and social acceptance, branding around product quality, effectiveness and consumer acceptance is becoming as or more important that celebrity association.

For the time being, however, as the pathway to brand development remains very much in flux, and Canna Business Resources expects to see more in the way of licensing partnerships and distribution relationships rather than mergers and acquisitions. This means operators and branded products companies will need to focus on their working capital channels to meet the needs of their licensing partners. To that end, there are some critical lessons to share from some of CBR’s most successful branding clients.

Tips for Successful Cannabis Branding

• Distinguish Your Brand

There are many brands both within individual markets and some that transcend markets, and you need to determine how you want to establish your company, your brand identity, separate from price. Everyone will be competing on price – how does your product differentiate itself?

• Distribution is Critical, but Shelf Placement is Just as Important

This is retail! Without appropriate shelf placement and display, consumers won’t know how to find your brand.

• Ensure Budtender Awareness

Following on from the prior point, even if you have optimal shelf space, if the budtenders are not familiar with the brand, or the brand is not selling, they won’t be introducing it to consumers. Make sure you are encouraging engagement and education!

• Understand Your Target Audience

Effectively marketing to your target market with packaging designs, digital marketing, and more can really make a difference. Taking time to really know your cannabis consumer will be a huge benefit when working to increase your brand awareness.

Cannabis Product Growth

As the industry grows, different cannabis product categories will grow in popularity. For example, by 2026, edibles are expected to consume as much as 20% of the market’s total sales, up from just 5% just a few years ago.

According to a survey by MLive, nearly 38% of cannabis visitors to a cannabis dispensary try a new dispensary because of the presence of new, high-quality brands.

Cannabis Brand Strategies Next Steps

To meet the demands of this rapidly evolving sector, brand builders must utilize multiple advertising channels and exercise efficient capital allocation to maximize return on investment. Breaking into retailers is one thing – having runway to beat break-even, sell through inventory, replenish raw materials and meet consumer demand is a different ballgame.

Canna Business Resources can help. We provide extensive working capital and equipment financing for branded products companies in the cannabis sector all over the United States. We have financed more than $45 million just to branded cannabis businesses, small, medium, and large, and continue to expand our capital availability every day. Contact us today to learn more!