Council Post: Three Positive Steps Cannabis Businesses Can Take During Trying Times

While businesses navigate the impact of the coronavirus, I’ve found it can be very difficult to maintain a positive mindset. As the CEO of a cannabis consulting company, I’ve outlined three positive strategies cannabis leaders can consider implementing during these challenging times:

Strategy 1: Refine your policies.

If your company is no longer operating or your business has slowed dramatically, take this time to define or refine every process, procedure and policy that governs the company.

For example, if you operate a dispensary, assess front desk procedures, patient and customer interactions, inventory auditing, cash management procedures, and up-selling abilities. For cultivation centers, refining your policies could involve determining if any improvements could be made to your cloning techniques, harvesting procedures, drying procedures and manicuring procedures. Extraction facilities should evaluate product preparation, formulations and packaging.

By documenting every single task that each of your employees performs, you can define, measure and optimize it in the future. Create manuals for each position with accountability charts, and create workflow diagrams that outline the flow of each task that works in conjunction with your procedures.

Strategy 2: Take an online class.

I highly recommend investing in yourself and your employees, so now could be a time to consider taking an online class. Do you have employees who already have good skills they could continue to improve? Do any of your team members love learning new things? Take advantage of online classes, and encourage your team to do the same.

Some classes might be offered at a discount, and you can find classes for a variety of skills you may be looking to improve. For example, you might take a class that teaches you how to master Photoshop. As a result, you can learn how to update your product catalog, logo, brochures, customer information packets, etc.

Alternatively, you might suggest to your project managers that they earn new certifications in project management online, or your operations director could take online classes to get certified in lean manufacturing practices. Consider investing in your management team members with online classes on team building, customer and patient experience optimization, management practices, and marketing.

Strategy 3: Refresh your brand.

In the event your company is in the position to invest in marketing materials, think about refreshing aspects of your brand. For example, are any resources you share with customers outdated? Could you update any of this yourself? Should your budget allow, you can also purchase items such as stickers, printed materials, brochures, business cards and manuals. This can help support your partners and local businesses that are still offering services.

Responding to a crisis is not easy. Every company is different, and one solution might not fit every business. While it’s important for cannabis businesses to be proactive in respecting social distancing, prepackaging products, establishing an online ordering system and more, I believe it’s also essential to consider the smaller positive steps you can take to help lead your business through trying times.

If you can tighten the belt in a few key areas, you can take this time to refine your processes, invest in your team, give key employees new skills, transition good managers to great managers and potentially refresh your brand. Focus on taking your company to the next level and investing in your business, your employees and yourself. As a result, I believe you can leave a crisis feeling strong.