Start 2017 on a High Note With Advice From Successful Cannabis Entrepreneurs

We’re kicking off 2017 with some good, old-fashioned, solid advice from industry professionals who are hustling, working hard and making it happen on the daily. All you have to do is listen and learn, boo. What’s mg retailer‘s own homegrown advice? Take your vitamins. Eat a heart-healthy diet that includes whole grains. Wear clean underwear, just in case, and don’t forget to use sunscreen. Drink plenty of water and call your mom…

Jane Stewart, SC Labs: “The most profound advice I’ve ever been given came from a dear friend after she had given birth to her first child and I think it universally applies to personal and professional situations. She said, ‘Jane, you have to take care of yourself first before you can give to another person or career project. If your own cup is empty, you have nothing to give.’

“I think women who are passionate about their career and really driven to succeed tend to push themselves a little too hard and sacrifice self-care in order to get ahead. It’s common in many industries but I imagine especially so in male-dominated industries. This concept is something I have to constantly remind myself of. Work will still be there after your yoga class or your meditation session or even that extra hour of sleep. Take care of yourself so that you can fully show-up for the people and projects that you love and that depend on you the most.”

Bob Eschino, Incredibles: “One of my mentors (Scott Winner) told me, ‘Do the next right thing.’ Ethics are something I feel strongly about and I work hard every day to do the right things. We have always believed, if we do the right things the revenue will come.

“At Incredibles, quality, consistency and customer protection are always at the forefront of what we do. From the day we opened our doors, we have focused on giving our customers the most tested and most consistent products available. Most of the things we have done from the beginning are now mandated by the state of Colorado for all companies, testing, nutritionals, marking and stamping products, proper labeling, and child-resistant packaging. We have been doing these things for years.”

Ata Gonzalez, G Farma Brands: “My father taught me that in business you “don’t trust nobody.” That was always difficult for me to understand as I was growing up as I wanted to always trust people. That all changed once you start getting burned and realize that people cannot be trusted.

“Well, I’m glad that lesson was taught to me because in the cannabis space, I have ran into more fraudsters than anybody else. G FarmaBrands and its subsidiaries have been built with tremendous love and joy, and its image reflects that fact. It has not been uncommon to realize how many people have wanted to take what we have built from us in one form or the other. We have never given in and stood strong in our set ways, to do it our way.”

Aaron Justis, Buds & Roses: “Throughout life we all get good advice relevant to our current situation but some things are always so, no matter the situation. Here are two quotes I live by to motivate me through all the chaos.

“’No stone is smooth without friction,’ and ‘There is no success at bargain basement prices.’”

Nancy Whiteman, Wana Brands: “’This too shall pass’ and the Serenity Prayer. These remind me that whatever is happening at the moment is just a point in time and will change and that we need to use discernment to decide if and how we want to react to what is going on around us. That’s very key in the Cannabis business where things can and do change very quickly, frequently and not always to our liking. You can burn yourself out trying to control everything and it’s not really possible anyway.”

Tripp Keber, Dixie Brands: “I think it’s from a combination of some very influential people. I would describe them as friends, mentors and contemporaries, and that is – in order to succeed, you have to work harder, work more efficiently and work smarter. I can tell you, if you go back to many other interviews that I’ve done, I’ve always said, it’s not a lazy man’s business, it’s not a poor man’s business and it’s not a fool’s business.

“Basically, you have to be absolutely willing to work longer hours, you have to be incredibly frugal, and you have to have an intellectual horsepower that you may not necessarily need when you’re making cupcakes. At the end of the day, what I do is illegal at the federal level and so the ultimate risk that I face is incarceration. I’ve really taken those three tenets and have applied them to what is now the cannabis industry.”

Kyle Kushman, PureLifeVeganix: “The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten came from my grandmother. I was around seven or eight years old and probably needed some consoling after a rough day at grade school.

“She told me, ‘No matter what you do in life half of the people are going to love you and half will hate you… so always do what makes you happy and what you believe is right.’ I’m still fighting the good fight.”

Big Mike, Advanced Nutrients: “The single greatest mental framework I’ve adopted that has had an enormous impact on my business is this: Leave your ego at the door.

“As soon as you pretend to know something you don’t, you’ve lost.

“I’m an insatiably curious person, so I don’t mind admitting I don’t know something because I know that if it’s of interest to me, I’ll dive in and become a subject-matter expert in no time. 
They say you have to have an ego to be successful. I agree to a point. Just remember… it’s important to never underestimate the power of humility.”

Liz Rudner, MoonMan’s Mistress: “Two things – In the last five years of my career, my former CEO Oren Michaels told me that it’s okay that I’m not employable, and that being ‘unemployable’ means you’re a disrupter that you create your own framework and you write your own rules. And that it’s okay to be that way.

The other person that set the tone on me always being okay with thinking outside the box was in graduate school, I had a professor that told me that, as a designer, my job was to create something that they never knew they needed and now, they can’t live without. That’s been a great mantra throughout my design career, as well as starting my own business. She was a professor at the Creative Circus, which is a creative design portfolio school in Atlanta, GA.”

Viyda Schatz, OG Spaces: “’Be stubborn about your goals, but flexible with your methods.’ – unknown. This has served well in both business and personal growth goals over the years. ‘No’ doesn’t mean you stop. It means you find another route and always act with consistency and integrity.”