Cannabis CEO: Three Hard-Earned Business Lessons After a Decade in Legal Marijuana

When I first started making small batches of cannabis-infused massage oil in my home kitchen back in 2009, my main goal was helping the people who trusted me as their massage therapist and giving them a new level of relief.

Now that I’m CEO of a bustling company that makes a full line of infused topicals, I sometimes think back on my crazy entrepreneurial journey over the past decade and what I’ve learned while building Mary Jane’s Medicinals into a brand that is recognized across Colorado and beyond as more people take charge of their health and wellness.

If you want to be your own boss in the cannabis industry or any other field where you need to draw your own roadmap to success, I’ve got some business advice for you.

We learn by doing, so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

I went from being a self-employed massage therapist to setting up a manufacturing operation in a heavily regulated industry, seemingly overnight. I learned how to run a business by doing everything.

I had to figure out all aspects for making and selling infused topicals—ingredient sourcing, production, packaging, labeling, invoicing, deliveries, building relationships with dispensary owners, plus hiring and training staff.

When Colorado started regulating medical cannabis in 2010, I had to pivot and quickly learn about cannabis business licensing and maintaining compliance with the rules. When the state’s voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2012, I had to pivot again and scale up.

What helped me overcome these challenges was my intimate knowledge of the company’s operations, since I built this business from scratch. Even now, if we’re shorthanded I’m able to jump in and help with production and processing orders. Knowing the nuts and bolts of your business is an invaluable quality in a leader and will serve you well in the long game.

Sometimes the bad news is actually good news.

When regulation in Colorado began, getting licensed was enormously expensive. I once asked a well-heeled relative to invest in my business; he considered it and said no. But he asked me to write up a business plan, which pushed me to think about my vision for the company and create a roadmap of where I wanted to go.

Now that I had a concrete plan for Mary Jane’s Medicinals, I took the initiative and drained my meager savings to get my business licensed. I won’t lie: What followed was a nerve-wracking couple of years filled with stress and long hours. But I kept at it because I believed in my vision.

Today I own 100 percent of Mary Jane’s Medicinals. My lack of outside investors spurred me to be more resourceful and inventive and allowed me to grow at my own pace. A roadblock may seem like an insurmountable obstacle in the moment—but roll with it, because down the road you may discover it was actually a blessing.

If you have an amazing product, spread the word.

Initially, I had no budget for marketing, so I used my limited resources to make samples of the flagship product, our versatile salve, so people could try it out for themselves. I literally drove all over the state of Colorado dropping off samples to all the dispensaries I could.

At the time people thought cannabis topicals were just a silly gimmick, but that didn’t last for long.

The more hands I got the product in, the more the salve helped build a reputation for Mary Jane’s Medicinals. People in the industry loved the salve and shared their enthusiasm for it with their friends. Dispensaries I’d never heard of began calling to place orders. So as you budget for marketing, public relations, branding or advertising, remember that word of mouth is still one of the most compelling and powerful ways to build brand recognition.

While it hasn’t been an easy route to take, I’m so glad I’ve stuck with my vision for Mary Jane’s Medicinals—and I hope these nuggets of hard-learned wisdom are helpful other entrepreneurs out there.