Welcome to WEEK FOUR of the 10 week Marijuana Business Training Course!
This week’s course will cover: FUNDING
Congratulations! You’ve completed your business plan (or are darn close), and should also have a preliminary list of people or at least a few categories of potential leads for financial backing. This is a winning combination for solid momentum: the business plan will show potential investors that you are serious about your endeavors, and that you know what you are doing.
Preparing yourself financially begins with setting realistic expectations during the writing of your business plan. If you expect to begin with a storefront and moderately sized network, you can expect to need around $50,000 to cover basics like rent, security deposit, payroll, display cases, furnishings, a phone line, a computer system and office equipment. If you plan to produce your own medicine, the equipment for growing and processing will also have to be factored in, and your startup cost will likely be closer to $80-100,000.
When all of your paperwork and funding are in order, your final step is to apply for a dispensary license if your state requires it. The likelihood that you will properly fill out paperwork required to get approval is greatest when all of your preparation is complete and you can confidently display that your business will be a sound investment and have a positive contribution to the state. In the rare case that you have done all of the necessary preparation and your license application is denied, you will not have any hesitation to contact the officials and ask what you can do to improve and re-apply.
Shareholders, often providing initial start up funds, are entitled to their dividends, and as a dispensary’s network grows it is easy to see how the term “non-profit” can actually generate dollars beyond provision of employee salaries.
READ THE TWB GUIDE FOR MORE INFO ON– Funding Ideas
YOUR FIFTH ASSIGNMENT
Whew! That was quite an intense two weeks, we know. However, hopefully the feeling of accomplishment from working through all of your business plan details has given you momentum to approach and secure funding sources. Take the list that you’ve created and begin the process of establishing financing for your business. Just like writing the business plan, if this takes longer than a week, it is not something that can be forced. Do what you can to get things started this week, and expect some overlap into the next week of finding the right location. Depending on what percent of your start-up funds come from other financiers, you might have to wait to secure funding before securing your location anyway, so let the process evolve. Be persistent, and definitely don’t get discouraged if things take longer than a week.
We are here to help and want to see you succeed! If you have questions you can email The Weed Business directly at info@theweedbusiness.com.
Happy Trails!
The Green Ninja, DANKO and the Weed Business Team
The Green Ninja has business experience from owning two companies, has operated The Weed Business since 2009, and follows news providers to stay as current on issues and business laws of Medicinal and Recreational Marijuana use in the United States. DANKO is from a Medical Marijuana state and has many card carrying friends providing first hand insights from patients and caregivers, in addition to researching and writing in-depth articles about the most current issues of the industry. Combined, we have spent hundreds of hours looking into different states’ medical Marijuana laws and the industry to make sure the information included is the most cutting-edge and up to date information there is. The Weed Business has a number of other contributors and a large support network, so if you have a question we can’t answer there’s a good chance we know someone who can.
Move On to WEEK FIVE
