The cannabis industry is currently experiencing major growth. As more and more states move towards marijuana legalization, the industry is experiencing a surplus of new businesses.
On 28 January 2021, FlowerHire presented a virtual conference called Careers In Cannabis. The day consisted of a series of online sessions to bring together countless companies and speakers to discuss growth and development in the cannabis industry. The conference was packed with meetings, main stage events, music, and expo booths in addition to numerous networking sessions that gave businesses a platform to connect.
The conference contained key advice from industry leaders on techniques to hire, leverage, and retain talent as well as key information for those looking to transition into the booming cannabis industry.
The Cannabis Consumer Journey
The Cannabis Consumer Journey panel brought together key figures in the marijuana industry: Gretchen Giles, Laurie Gregory of SkyMint Brands and Chris Lane of the Airfield Supply Company. The speakers stressed the importance of breaking the stigma surrounding cannabis consumption in order to allow businesses to flourish and to ensure the loyalty of customers.
Since cannabis is not legal across the United States, companies face limitations in advertising pertaining to the usage of words. The panelists emphasized the fact that effective advertising is essential to bringing in new customers and proliferating growth.
Alex Shah on Solo Sciences and Careers in Cannabis
The event also included a panel discussion with Alex Shah, the founder and CEO of Solo Sciences and the CTO of Akerna Technologies. For Shah, the goal of Solo Sciences is “to crease a sense of trust between the consumer and the brand.” Solo Sciences focuses on serializing and verifying products in an industry that faces issues surrounding quality control. Akerna Technologies is the only publicly traded cannabis company.
Speaking about the Careers in Cannabis site, Shah emphasized that the platform customizes usage based on the user’s preferences, creating a highly effective job search tool.
This customization helps people land the perfect job and also stay within the field for extended periods of time. This is especially important as businesses grow and seek new candidates. The site provides a portal that brings together multiple openings within the industry on one portal. This helps people find the perfect career in cannabis. Shah spoke about the potential for the site to grow beyond the cannabis market and towards the helping gig workers find their next job.
“We have a chance to build a big tech company that is actually on the side of the gig worker”, said Alex.
Cannabis and the War On Drugs
Anyone involved in the industry cannot avoid the history of the war on drugs. Valdimir Bautista, CEO and co-founder of Happy Munkey, Chris Ball, CEO of Ball Family Farms, and Jacobi Holland, Senior Entrepreneur at On Bionic had an insightful conversation about how the war on drugs influenced them personally and its influence the emerging cannabis industry.
Vladimir shared his experiences growing up with cannabis in his neighborhood. People in Vladimir’s neighborhood faced high arrest rates for cannabis usage. Eventually, he realized that people in Tribeca, while consuming high amounts of cannabis, did not face the same arrest rates as in other neighborhoods. This indicated that authorities were targeting Vladimir’s neighborhood due to racial disparities.
Chris focused on the role cannabis played in his life since childhood. He saw his Dad rolling joints, and he knew they were different from regular cigarettes. However, messages at school and advertising during the Regan era encouraged a “just say no” attitude.
Now, with legalization people are starting their businesses and profiting from cannabis. Businesses, companies, and mass corporations especially are capitalizing on this growth and taking money away from communities that previously dealt in marijuana, thereby reinforcing existing inequalities.
Growing Your Cannabis Business: The Importance of Diversity
The event also emphasized the importance of including women and people of color within businesses. This ensures representation of diverse backgrounds within the business, which is a more accurate reflection of the consumer base as well.
Overall, FlowerHire hosted an amazing and informative event. If you’re looking to get into the cannabis industry, FlowerHire provides a great resource which is bound to make a massive difference to your startup.