Truth Seeker
New Member
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws on the books. Thus far, the national conversation has focused on two issues: The efficacy of marijuana as a drug that relieves the symptoms of a host of medical conditions, and the problems associated with state marijuana laws that conflict with a federal prohibition.
From Adam Bierman's perspective, the third part of the conversation should focus on the business side of medical marijuana.
"I understand Mohave County and Kingman are extremely conservative," said Bierman, one of the founders of The Med Men, the nation's first medical marijuana business consulting firm.
"I understand there may not be widespread support for medical marijuana in Kingman, but conservatives understand business and this (medical marijuana) may be a $100 billion a year business."
Bierman said the business is real. There is obvious demand, but there are supply issues.
"Obviously, the demand was there before anyone ever thought of medical marijuana," he said. "People get caught up in the medical aspect. It's like global warming. We can argue what causes it, but people who argue it doesn't exist are wrong. That stance flies in the face of countless scientific studies.
"It's the same thing with marijuana. The medical benefits are real. The bottom line is, whether you agree or not, the business of medical marijuana is an entire industry. You have lawyers, consultants like us, office employees, cleaners, bud tenders, cultivators ... there's an entire economy around medical marijuana."
Bierman, from Southern California, said the biggest problem with the industry isn't that opponents of medical marijuana keep trying to shut it down, but with people who got into the business who are too timid to promote it.
"Medical marijuana is a nascent industry," he said. "It's in its infancy so yes, there are a ton of issues but they'll work themselves out."
The most important obstacle for people to overcome is fear, he said.
"It's a legal business," said Bierman. "So why would you ignore basic business tenets? Why would you go into the business and then tell someone like me that your business plan is to fly under the radar?
"You will fail."
Already, he said, half of the 1,200 dispensaries that opened in Colorado after that state became one of the first two in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use have failed.
It wasn't overly burdensome government red tape that caused them to fail, but a combination of poor business practices and planning.
"For whatever reason they throw basic business tenets out the window," he said, not only in terms of promotion and marketing, but also in supply.
He said any dispensary requires a steady stock of at least 3,000 plants. In Arizona, where the cultivation of marijuana is tied to the dispensaries, growing your own strains would save you three times the cost of buying wholesale from outside vendors.
"People are scared," he said. "And I'm OK with people being scared, but don't get in the business unless you understand the risk and reward. Otherwise, you will not maximize profitability. You will not realize optimal revenue and these are all things businesses must do in order to survive."
He said time will soon separate the good dispensaries from the bad.
"The free market will win out," he said. "People with a better product and a better service will survive. That's business."
It's not just dispensary owners who must aggressively market their business, but growers too.
"There are about 30 dispensaries in the state of Arizona serving a state with millions of people. That's creating a lot of activity through those 30 outlets, and there will be a shortage. There's already a tremendous shortage, so that shows another sound business principle is being ignored, and that's controlling your inventory Not doing that is insane."
Bierman said he understands all business owners need a sense of certainty and no business these days is less certain than medical marijuana.
The illicit marijuana trade is a $100 billion a year industry, while the medical marijuana business is expected to bring in between $6 to $8 billion in 2013.
In Arizona, that figure could lag behind other states with medical pot laws on the books.
More than 90 people bought dispensary licenses when the law passed, but only about one-third have opened.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: kindmandailyminer.com
Author: Doug McMurdo
Contact: Questions? Comments? Tell us what you think - Kingman Daily Miner - Kingman, Arizona
Website: Medical pot needs a sound business plan - Kingman Daily Miner - Kingman, Arizona
From Adam Bierman's perspective, the third part of the conversation should focus on the business side of medical marijuana.
"I understand Mohave County and Kingman are extremely conservative," said Bierman, one of the founders of The Med Men, the nation's first medical marijuana business consulting firm.
"I understand there may not be widespread support for medical marijuana in Kingman, but conservatives understand business and this (medical marijuana) may be a $100 billion a year business."
Bierman said the business is real. There is obvious demand, but there are supply issues.
"Obviously, the demand was there before anyone ever thought of medical marijuana," he said. "People get caught up in the medical aspect. It's like global warming. We can argue what causes it, but people who argue it doesn't exist are wrong. That stance flies in the face of countless scientific studies.
"It's the same thing with marijuana. The medical benefits are real. The bottom line is, whether you agree or not, the business of medical marijuana is an entire industry. You have lawyers, consultants like us, office employees, cleaners, bud tenders, cultivators ... there's an entire economy around medical marijuana."
Bierman, from Southern California, said the biggest problem with the industry isn't that opponents of medical marijuana keep trying to shut it down, but with people who got into the business who are too timid to promote it.
"Medical marijuana is a nascent industry," he said. "It's in its infancy so yes, there are a ton of issues but they'll work themselves out."
The most important obstacle for people to overcome is fear, he said.
"It's a legal business," said Bierman. "So why would you ignore basic business tenets? Why would you go into the business and then tell someone like me that your business plan is to fly under the radar?
"You will fail."
Already, he said, half of the 1,200 dispensaries that opened in Colorado after that state became one of the first two in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use have failed.
It wasn't overly burdensome government red tape that caused them to fail, but a combination of poor business practices and planning.
"For whatever reason they throw basic business tenets out the window," he said, not only in terms of promotion and marketing, but also in supply.
He said any dispensary requires a steady stock of at least 3,000 plants. In Arizona, where the cultivation of marijuana is tied to the dispensaries, growing your own strains would save you three times the cost of buying wholesale from outside vendors.
"People are scared," he said. "And I'm OK with people being scared, but don't get in the business unless you understand the risk and reward. Otherwise, you will not maximize profitability. You will not realize optimal revenue and these are all things businesses must do in order to survive."
He said time will soon separate the good dispensaries from the bad.
"The free market will win out," he said. "People with a better product and a better service will survive. That's business."
It's not just dispensary owners who must aggressively market their business, but growers too.
"There are about 30 dispensaries in the state of Arizona serving a state with millions of people. That's creating a lot of activity through those 30 outlets, and there will be a shortage. There's already a tremendous shortage, so that shows another sound business principle is being ignored, and that's controlling your inventory Not doing that is insane."
Bierman said he understands all business owners need a sense of certainty and no business these days is less certain than medical marijuana.
The illicit marijuana trade is a $100 billion a year industry, while the medical marijuana business is expected to bring in between $6 to $8 billion in 2013.
In Arizona, that figure could lag behind other states with medical pot laws on the books.
More than 90 people bought dispensary licenses when the law passed, but only about one-third have opened.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: kindmandailyminer.com
Author: Doug McMurdo
Contact: Questions? Comments? Tell us what you think - Kingman Daily Miner - Kingman, Arizona
Website: Medical pot needs a sound business plan - Kingman Daily Miner - Kingman, Arizona
