A cannabis consultant is someone who plays an especially important role for those looking to open a cannabis business but lack experience in certain areas. In the past when people would reference a cannabis consultant, they typically were referring to someone who could come in and help set up, manage, and maintain an efficient and productive cannabis grow operation. This meant they needed a good amount of knowledge pertaining to things such as soil, lighting, irrigation, and other vital aspects of growing cannabis. Today a cannabis consultant does more than just help set up, operate, and/or maintain the cultivation side of a cannabis business. Cannabis consultants have various different roles they specialize in that may be just the thing a business needs to succeed in today’s fast-paced legal cannabis industry.
Cannabis consultants play a pivotal role in helping to set up and maintain vital aspects of operations from seed to sale. There’s more to owning a cannabis business than just growing or selling the plant. There are laws and compliance regulations that are constantly changing that you must stay informed and compliant with. There are many different avenues for packaging, marketing, and software to run a cannabis business. Having someone fluent in these areas can save a cannabis business owner precious time and countless amounts of dollars.
An example of what a cannabis consultant would do would be as follows. Let’s say you’re starting a cannabis business. You know how to grow cannabis but have never sold it before or worked in a medical or retail side of the industry. There will be computer work that has to be done as well as many small details such as packaging options, security, POS systems, and seed to sale tracking. Having accountability of cannabis and cannabis products from the time they are a seed until the time they are sold and leave the store is particularly important. This not only helps to paint a valid picture of consumer demand but also paints a clear picture of profit. In-depth accountability of this nature also helps to prevent theft and fraud from happening to cannabis businesses.
Ed Rosenthal, Ken Morrow, and Kyle Kushman are a few of the legendary cannabis consultants that have been around for quite some time. They have vast amounts of knowledge and connection when it comes to the cannabis sector. There is virtually nothing they do not have knowledge of or a connection for. They have dedicated much of their lives to understanding this widely misunderstood plant. For a business to employ their services there is a substantial fee. This fee, however, is very worth it if you can afford it.
Not all cannabis consultants are created equal. There are definitely snakes in the grass so to say when it comes to cannabis. Some people will claim to be professional cannabis consultants while only having very minimal actual experience with cannabis. They have read some information online and might have grown a few pot plants here or there but have no experience with commercial grows or legal cannabis businesses. This is extremely dangerous, and many cannabis business owners have fallen victim to these snakes. This deception can be extremely costly sometimes ruining the dreams of business owners.
Finding someone who truly knows what they’re talking about when it comes to cannabis is worth its weight in gold. These individuals can help you do things right without cutting corners. By listening to their advice and employing their methods, business owners can utilize their services to get up and running, to continue maintaining operations, and ultimately see continued growth and success.
How much a cannabis consultant is worth depends on who is doing the consulting. In order to determine how much a cannabis consultant is worth there are several different things you should factor into consideration. Anyone who calls themselves a cannabis consultant should have access to proof of happy clients. If they cannot produce these results, then chances are they don’t really know what they’re talking about.
Another thing to look for is what they specialize in. Some cannabis consultants know everything about cannabis. They know about packaging, cultivation, sales and distribution, curing, accountability, and so on. They can help a business run an effective and productive operation. Some consultants only specialize in the growing side of the cannabis sector. They understand large-scale grows and what it takes to get them up and running as well as maintaining them.
The worth of your cannabis consultant would depend greatly upon how vast their knowledge of cannabis and the operations pertaining to running a successful business are. Sometimes all you need is a short consultation of a couple hours’ time of a cannabis consultant. Other times you will want to employ their services to help get you up and running or to even help maintain operations after you get them going.
The price of your cannabis consultant will greatly depend upon the area you are looking at opening a business in as well as the experience and track record of success that consultant you are considering has. Prices can start from a few hundred dollars an hour to negotiated contracts of undisclosed figures.
Ultimately, a cannabis consultant should possess the knowledge and know how to help bring cannabis businesses to market while helping them remain compliant. The extent of their knowledge, however, in various areas of the cannabis sector may vary drastically so be sure to do extensive research before hiring a cannabis consultant to make sure they are a great fit for your vision.
Great read Ashley! I’m looking to become a full time consultant myself. I’ve had a long history with this amazing plant and worked over two years at Urban-Gro (CO) as a Cultivation Systems Designer. I have since started my own firm, Burnside Design’s LLC. to offer equipment layouts in commercial grow facilities. Any advice would be much appreciated ☺
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