Activity: Plan Your Roadmap

We are at the end of week 2. After hearing about some of the amazing cannabis businesses in the marketplace and the difficulties entering the plant touching side, let’s review our earlier assignment.  Take out your article homework from week 1.  In it, we tried to envision what our success story would look like 5 years into the future.  As we envision how we want the world to see our success, and how we tell the story of that success, it’s time to map out how we plan to get there. 

Let’s make a hypothetical roadmap.  To be successful as a cannabis entrepreneur, it’s important to think of this as a “we” exercise, especially if you plan to operate an ancillary business who serves the cannabis industry.  You are not in this alone – ever – even though it may feel that way.  Aside from the resources of the Chamber, you have your friends and family network, past work experiences and connections, and a whole network of pre-existing businesses that await your research and contact to hear more about how they do things.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

You will need clients, but how will you meet them?

You will need awareness building, and where or how does that take place?

You will need systems and processes that allow you to track and follow up with leads.

You will need to know what your goods and services are worth. This is especially true with the current Schedule 1 status of marijuana and likely switch to schedule 3, but also where the opportunities are on the grain and fiber side.

When will you open, try to bring your product to market, or start outreach to advertise your existing services?

It’s time to peer into a potential future, and ask those deep questions that will help you achieve success. Take the next week to think through a roadmap for your own success. Talk with or contact friends and family in the cannabis space. If you don’t feel like you have any available, you are wrong. Each of the businesses I contacted for research on this course took my call, answered my questions, and offered to help anyone else who needs it. This is an industry filled with people who believe in the plant, and the market for that plant, and they are usually quite open with their stories. Next week, we will begin learning about how to turn this roadmap into actions to help your business get started.