8 Resources You Need To Get Started In The Flowering Cannabis Industry

You may not want to miss the marijuana cloud.
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When cannabis flowers, it's time to harvest. And, you can harvest it freely in more U.S. locations than ever before. Where farming, harvesting, and selling are legal, you need to know what you are doing if you want to get started as a cannapreneur in the flowering cannabis industry.
It's now an industry!

The sale of marijuana has grown so big so fast, it now has its own professional membership association. The National Cannabis Industry Association advocates, lobbies, and educates farmers, sellers, and customers.

The Huffington Post quotes Troy Dayton an advocate with The ArcView Group: "These are exciting times, and new millionaires and possibly billionaires are about to be made, while simultaneously society will become safer and freer . . . We believe that the development of a responsible, politically engaged, and profitable, legal cannabis industry will hasten the day when not a single adult in the world is punished for this plant."

Forbes reports, "Hundreds of Millions of dollars are pouring into the legal (or at least semi-legal) marijuana industry." And, again it calls marijuana "2015's Best Startup Opportunity."

Here's the references:

As might be expected, new startups will run into difficulties getting started in an industry that is only now shaking out. So, here's a list of helpful resources:

  • Cannabis Business Executive (CBE) offers services to deal with political influencers. CBE points out that 53% of Americans live in states where there is some access to medical marijuana that is likely to expand to 63% in this November's elections. And, they assert that 5% of the population lives in states allowing recreational use that should expand to 25% with permission granted in California. CBE is a one-stop resource for legal advice, industry news, and lists of services.

  • Bang Digital Media helps producers and sellers skirt regulations against advertising. It provides influencer-based marketing, brand management, and digital content on subjects and products of interest. With over a million subscribers, they are free to promote marijuana and related products to them and to millions of others through social media influencers.
  • Weedhorn is a hip connection to social media influencers, a library of videos, current reports, and first-person testimonials. There's a lot of "how-to" blogs and recommendations on food and travel. It supplies any and all information you might need as a marketer. It is current and quotable and full of those pieces you see posted on your Facebook or Tweeted about on the weekend.
  • Mantis® claims to be "the largest advertising platform for the legal cannabis industry serving over 125 million ads to marijuana enthusiasts each month." And, given the difficulty of complying with advertising regulations, that's a considerable claim. Mantis offers advice, resources, and referrals as well as display software and content marketing.
  • Price of Weed does one thing, and it does it well. It provides a calculator that lets you price marijuana in all global marketplaces. It will quote the currency specified by weight, quality, and strain, a great simple resource for competitive pricing.
  • WeedID Guide is a product of the University of Missouri. It provides scholarly and authoritative information on every known strain of cannabis in an easily navigated space. A click on each strain opens a page with scientific information. Other tabs take you to research materials, pesticide concerns, and more.
  • Precise Cannabis is a full-service thought leadership and PR firm for the cannabis industry. The agency can help get your startup idea on the map, with industry media coverage and publicity.
  • Ganjapreneur® may be the key referral here. It exists to advise on entering the business with information on personnel, logistics, cash flow, security, and other problems for the startup. It offers a directory of new business consultants, videos, products, and people in the business.
  • Opportunity is yours

    You may not want to miss the marijuana cloud. Meeryjane.com reports on the estimated industry revenues per state in 2016, and it reconfirms claims of $7.4 billion nationwide. Lens.com reports on the $1.38 billion market in Washington alone. But, it also covers the increase diversity of product, user, and seller. Experts do point to a certain volatility in the market and the impact of high taxes. But, they still feel such problems will dilute over time.

    Non-traditional business as it is, the flowering cannabis industry may not invite first time business owners. First time or veteran, startup owners will experience some share of the specific problems of the industry and those offered by the economy in general. But, some attention should be paid to these references when you need to get started in the flowering cannabis industry.

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