Contact UsAre you ready for the next step? Let Canna Consulting Group help you take that next step. Our experienced consultants will make sure you get started off on the right foot.
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Canna Consulting Group Services
Starting a business is a challenging endeavor, especially in the newly developing cannabis market. State, county, and city regulations vary throughout the states of Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada, and Arizona complicating compliancy for new business owners. Navigating the business licensing process is made increasingly elaborate by the WSLCB and CMED. Sourcing the proper equipment and products for your startup can prove to be complex.
Canna Consulting Group has the expertise and experience to help ensure your business launches with confidence, and can guide you back on course if you’ve found your business deviating from your goals. Some of our expert services include:
Cannabis Business Startup and Licensing
Starting a business is no easy feat, and working with the Washington State Liquor Control Board or the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division doesn’t make the process of opening a new business any easier. Let our consultants at CCG make it simple and help you:
- Collect, organize, and draft your cannabis business licensing paperwork.
- Become informed about cannabis business licensing qualifications and processing guidelines.
- Draft a cohesive business plan that sets your businesses’ foundation, immediate objectives, and future goals.
- Connect with industry knowledgeable professional services such as marketing managers, accountants, and legal counsel.
- Manage staff labor for optimum support and efficiency.
Cannabis Business Location Selection
Securing the perfect spot for your new business will be a key component to your business model. Whether you are a farmer looking for a secured warehouse, a processor trying to setup a suitable lab, or a retailer trying to find the perfect storefront, CCG can help you:
- Establish relationships with local property managers and real-estate agents that understand the complexities of zoning for a cannabis business.
- Find, compare, and analyze area specific properties for lease or sale that fits within the confines of state regulations and your businesses’ needs.
- Work and broker with property owners and managers when drafting contracts and leases.
- Establish you and your business as a good neighbor and community member.
Cannabis Farming and Processing Operations Design, Buildout and Maintenance
There is an endless array of farming and production equipment, techniques, and systems that are specialized for cannabis production. When you begin your facility buildout, you will need to consider your equipment needs, the opportunities and limitations of your facilities, as well as the regulations set by the state you’re doing business in. Making the wrong decisions at this stage can be devastatingly expensive. Make informed purchases and ensure a successful buildout by letting CCG help you:
- Establish the opportunities and limitations of your growing or processing facility through a comprehensive analysis of your facility, allowing you to fine-tune your return on investment.
- Design, blueprint, and buildout of optimized production plant for cannabis farming or processing.
- Coordinate contractors for the installation or upgrade of:
- Lighting and electrical
- Plumbing and irrigation
- HVAC
- Security systems
- Waste management
- Order, deliver, and setup of specialized machinery for cannabis growing and processing, including specialty equipment such as:
- CO2 Extractors…
- Lights
- Need more specialty equipment
- Create and implement cannabis growing and cultivation schedules for optimized production and revenue, including time tables for:
- Cannabis crop growing and lighting cycles
- Pest control and maintenance
- Cannabis feeding and watering schedules
- Variable genetics stock introduction and development
Cannabis Retail Facility Design, Buildout and Maintenance
Operating a retail marijuana facility has its own unique challenges. Entrepreneurs are known for being visionaries, but finding the tools and pieces necessary to build and maintain this vision for the long term can be arduous and takes planning and understanding. Canna Consulting Group has the resources and experience necessary to help you get your start-up going and keep it going with services by helping you:
- Gain access to capital from potential investors
- Locate a suitable and legal storefront for you business operations
- Design, blueprint, and buildout of your retail store front including:
- POS selection, use, and maintenance
- Product selection and pricing
- Optimizing product placement for sales
- Fixture selection and sourcing
- Hire and train retail store employees in:
- Customer retention through genuine customer service
- Marijuana product education and understanding
- Product suggestions and upselling
- Point of Sale use
- Customer flow management
- State, city, and local marijuana legislation education and how to operate within the laws
- How to handle disgruntled and problem customers
- Inventory management for accuracy including product purchasing, invoicing and tracking
- Develop labor efficiency models and management systems
- Sustainability Methodologies
HR and Management Development
HR and management are key elements to starting and building your business for future success. Establishing these principle pieces as you develop your business plan will ensure your employees, customers, and business interests are thoughtfully tended to. Canna Consulting Group can help you:
- Blueprint and formulize HR and management procedures designed specifically for your business needs.
- Draft and implement interviewing protocols designed with your business culture and customer base in mind.
- Standardize employee performance expectations, evaluations, and corrective actions.
- Work through and implement with understanding the various city, county, state, and national employment and labor regulations.
Continuity HR Services
As a small or medium business owner, you may not need an on-staff human resource professional but when situations arise, you’ll need Continuity HR Services in your corner. Whether you need to bounce around ideas, need advice regarding an employee’s performance issues, or have an employee investigation that should be handled by an outside professional, we can tailor a relationship to suit your needs.
Let’s Face it. Dealing with HR issues and employee issues is one of the most difficult aspects of running a small business.
The solution? Outsource your HR needs to us. With 14 years’ experience in the Retail Human Resources Industry working with a Fortune 100 company, we have seen it all and have the answer. Have employees with attendance issues? Check. Performance Issues? Check. Medical conditions impacting an employee’s ability to work effectively? Check. Have an employee causing drama? Check. We’ll listen, understand your business, and provide you with a reasonable solution. We won’t simply say “no, you can’t do that” but will find a fair resolution that works for your business and won’t get you in trouble.
Services Provided –
Management
Ensuring proper documentation for performance issues
Preparing Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs)
Employee Terminations
Discrimination Prevention
Wage and Hour Compliance
Safety Compliance
Training Programs
Employee Handbooks
Policies and Procedures
Consequences of Operating Without a Competent HR Function
- Discriminatory Hiring Practices
- Fines, Penalties, and Lawsuits (Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title I and Title V of ADA, WLAD)
- Increased Chance of Employee Lawsuits for Discriminatory Hiring (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Violation of Federal and State Laws.)
- High Turnover and poor morale
- Poor Documentation (I-9’s etc.) in Employee Files; Improper Disposal of Records
- Improper Administration of Employee Leaves and Lack of Accommodations for Disabilities resulting in Fines and Penalties (FMLA, USERRA, Washington Family Care Act, ADA, Workers’ Compensation, etc.)
- No Employment Posters and Notifications
- Ineffective or Out-of-Date Policies/Procedures/Handbook
- Unintended Contract Formation Limiting Employment “At Will”
- Inconsistent Policy Administration
- Poor Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Insurance Administration, resulting in increased rates
- No Review of Terminations
- Inadequate or No Employee Performance Documentation
- Increased Chance of Harassment, Discrimination or Retaliation Claims
- Incorrect Exempt/Non-Exempt Classification; Improper Independent Contractor Classification
Don’t believe us? Look at these recent cases in which small/medium business owners have paid significant fines:
March 2015 – A Papa John’s franchisee, who owns 5 restaurants was just ordered to pay workers more than $2 million in fines. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/papa-john-franchisee-screwed-workers-2-million-article-1.2138567
March 2015 – A small nursery must pay $40,000 in fines due to a sexual harassment claim. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-2-15.cfm
February 2015 – A chain of pawnshops will pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit charging harassment and retaliation. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-12-15d.cfm
February 2015 – A car dealership will pay $250,000 to former manager in a settlement. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/2-11-15a.cfm
