Any craft/commercial legs growers on here? Advice needed

[hotrodharley]

@hotrodharley Brother, I have seen this first hand here in Oklahoma. Big boys think they want to play in the legal Cannabis industry and they fail. They end up paying some jackass from CO (no offense) $100,000 for 90 days to come "consult" about their grow op. They spend 90 days here giving general directions equivalent to growing tomatoes, and then disappear back to the Rocky Mountains. That's some funny shit.

Probably similar shit here. I know one true master grower and his name is, or has been, associated with 4 large legal operations here. My guess is nobody can afford him outright so he does hours at multiple places. Presently at at least 2 operations. These hold multiple licenses for retail and cultivation as well as extracts and concentrates. To be honest it sounds like a heavy load of bullshit. After our money guy fled south I moved into a dry one room cabin, set up a 4X4 tent to flower in and went to work. Everything I grow just about beats anything they have at retail for potency and beats the shit out of all of the legal as far as cure and taste.

 

[hotrodharley]

If you were able to do it in your house and you have a fire your insurance company will deny any and all claims.

Check your mortgage. See if there’s an accelerated payment clause if the property is involved in illegal activity which cannabis is federally.

 

[The Gram Reaper]

We are legal in Michigan and still looking at 1-2 years away from recreational dispensaries in my area. The way they combated medical dispensaries for years was crazy, there is still a lot of counties with bans on them. I know people that have money on permits and haven't heard anything back from the state other than 'we received your money' papers.

Edit: If you grow, just keep improving that.

You also might be able to get into the medical cannabis industry if it is already established in your state, it might have easier and cheaper option on being a legal producer. If the government wont let the little guy in, fuck em, go underground.

 

[The Gram Reaper]

Check your mortgage. See if there’s an accelerated payment clause if the property is involved in illegal activity which cannabis is federally.

This happens with meth lab explosions in Michigan. The landlord doesn't get shit and the house needs a lot of expensive shit done before they will pass it to go back on the market. I only know of one grow fire and the guy was using cheap ass ballasts that didn't have any coating in them to prevent fires.

Edit: but that doesn't mean they don't happen. High wattage is a danger.

 

[hotrodharley]

This happens with meth lab explosions in Michigan. The landlord doesn't get shit and the house needs a lot of expensive shit done before they will pass it to go back on the market. I only know of one grow fire and the guy was using cheap ass ballasts that didn't have any coating in them to prevent fires.

Edit: but that doesn't mean they don't happen. High wattage is a danger.

Make no mistake that while you can’t bank or get loans and it’s illegal at the federal level you will still be required to be licensed and to draw permits for everything. That’s indicative of the bullshit. No assistance and no protection yet all the obligations remain. And the states benefit from it regardless.

Get this. By law the security plans for the grows are online and available here as public records. Thieves have checked out several grows security systems online and gone there, defeated the system and ripped them off. There’s videos of them coming in one place. Just before they stole the camera. But they took all the drying product. All of it. Now they’re one of the businesses in trouble financially here.

 

[The Gram Reaper]

Permits, a secondary form of taxation and a great way to strangle off growth. I just think of all the shit I went through with my grow and learning on my own for years. Every time I expanded or changed, I took a loss working the kinks out of the new system. Shit still goes wrong from time to time just out of the blue. Having people overseeing you that still want paid if you fail sounds like shit. Especially the government being up in your business and taking most of your profit through taxation and having to hire a shit ton of different permitted services.

 

[Dr. Who]

Wow! All this and nobody actually asked the million dollar question?

Do you know how to grow and grow well? I mean really well?

NO? FORGET IT!

I would bet not anyway. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking these questions.

Not trying to be an ass. Just being real.

Some of your questions are none of your business... I can say that if you have to ask these questions. Don't bother trying to get in.....

You have no real idea the cost and commitment you stand in front of. Not on the scale you dream of.

I'll say 2K square ft is too small anyway. More then twice that, and that's for a meager 500 plant rotation op.

Go to college or learn a trade. Do something you don't feel is work. That will be the formula for a happy life.
Learn to grow and keep a small garden for yourself.....

If you have 2 million for a start up......invest it in something else and enjoy your later life with no worries...

 

[Psychonautic83]

You'd also better be a good businessman.

 

[stray77]

Buy your local politician and get a lawyer on retainer, one who believes in the cause. Incorporate and plan on being made an example of if you make a mistake. It'll be a money grab for the first decade at least. Just my humble opinion.

 

[SchmoeJoe]

So my state is legalizing cannabis next year and of course everyone is excited for it. Myself and a few friends are serious about wanting to jump into the mass cultivation business and maybe get like a warehouse and put together a startup, but the costs are astronomical. My state is like 30K alone just for licensing and application fees. That's just to apply! That's not gonna even include equipment and furniture, warehouse rent, security, etc... Then they require a certain number of employees at a certain level etc there's just a numerous amount of BS that's required in Illinois. We planned on getting a business plan together after we do our research and possibly trying to acquire fundings and loans because we are broke lol. And we really didn't want to staff a bunch of employees. We just want to keep it at our core 4-5 people who would be the split owners.

Do you all think it's possible to break through as a new startup in this industry. And for those who are in the business of craft or commercial growing what advice do you have. Any advice is appreciated whether it's funding, equipment, legal, staffing.

How much capital is actually required for something on the smaller scale maybe 2000 Sq ft?

What kind of grows do you have and whats the Sq footage?

What kind of equipment would you recommend?

What's your staffing like?

What's your monthly spending and monthly profit like?

There's just so many questions that there's no public info on that I'd like to ask. I'm really passionate about this and want to do this for life.


Thanks.

Retail outlets end up being the big money startup as long as there is supply. Then you work on production to become vertically integrated.

 

[Armyofsprout]

Wow! All this and nobody actually asked the million dollar question?

Do you know how to grow and grow well? I mean really well?

NO? FORGET IT!

I would bet not anyway. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking these questions.

Not trying to be an ass. Just being real.

Some of your questions are none of your business... I can say that if you have to ask these questions. Don't bother trying to get in.....

You have no real idea the cost and commitment you stand in front of. Not on the scale you dream of.

I'll say 2K square ft is too small anyway. More then twice that, and that's for a meager 500 plant rotation op.

Go to college or learn a trade. Do something you don't feel is work. That will be the formula for a happy life.
Learn to grow and keep a small garden for yourself.....

If you have 2 million for a start up......invest it in something else and enjoy your later life with no worries...

Pretty sure no one in the industry had all the answers at first...gotta get them somehow...

Lawyers don't start off as lawyers either...I don't live my life being told not to dream or I can't do shit. You take that shit somewhere else with it. I can do anything I put.my mind to. Just gotta figure it out. Anything on this planet earth is possible. Ask all the people out there who came from nothing.

I'll stick around...keep honing my craft in the meantime and one day I'll be where I wanna be. I'm not worried about that. I was just trying to get actual answers and see where the heads of others in the community are at. But thanks to those with actual helpful input.

Just as much as I don't know you, you dont know me or what I've done or been through.

 

[Armyofsprout]

On another note. I do hope that those of you who really wanna do something be persistent with it....one day you all will win. Just about how bad do you all really want it.

 

[The Gram Reaper]

Pretty sure no one in the industry had all the answers at first...gotta get them somehow...

Lawyers don't start off as lawyers either...

I would expand what you already have and work on connections. It would be easier to launder money than to appease the government. Don't let anyone in on your grow that does not have stake into it and you should be alright. I see no point in going legal other than making the journey a lot longer and more risky. Maybe some fame...

 

[Armyofsprout]

I would expand what you already have and work on connections. It would be easier to launder money than to appease the government. Don't let anyone in on your grow that does not have stake into it and you should be alright. I see no point in going legal other than making the journey a lot longer and more risky. Maybe some fame...

Yeah I give it a good 5-10 years before it's decent for ordinary folks to grow legal. But it all starts with us taking it to the politicians. People to scared to take the fight public. We fear losing jobs etc etc from showing the public that we smoke and love weed. Like I just want to be able to grow without worrying about my door getting kicked in.

 

[Psychonautic83]

Pretty sure no one in the industry had all the answers at first...gotta get them somehow...

Through experience, experience costs money and mistakes but you can't afford either. The other players believe they can do whatever they put their minds to also except they have heavy business backgrounds making deals and have big money to invest. It's not that you can't, it's that you can't compete with the market structure. Its great that you have aspirations but I saw in another thread that you are newer to growing. If you're really serious start a 5-10 year plan for when things may level out. Get some business knowledge, you don't know what you don't know and I mean no offense but dunning Kruger syndrome is a bitch.

Why do you think big companies shuck the inventor to the side? They don't know shit about marketing, sales, b2b, etc etc. They don't know how to actually make money!! It sounds like thats where you're at, read a basic business book, read investing for dummies (seriously it's pretty good) find some good resources, practice growing and git gud. Set real achievable goals with deadlines and work towards them.

Depending on where you're at you need to already own or have a deal for the land or space in order to apply for a license to grow there, which you're not guaranteed to be granted.

Edit: it's been a while since I've read these but this farm has done a lot to cut or reduce costs and iirc have not turned a profit in 2-3 years.

https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/the-25-pound/

https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/how-bosmere-farms-cut-production-costs-oregon/

 

[Armyofsprout]

Through experience, experience costs money and mistakes but you can't afford either. The other players believe they can do whatever they put their minds to also except they have heavy business backgrounds making deals and have big money to invest. It's not that you can't, it's that you can't compete with the market structure. Its great that you have aspirations but I saw in another thread that you are newer to growing. If you're really serious start a 5-10 year plan for when things may level out. Get some business knowledge, you don't know what you don't know and I mean no offense but dunning Kruger syndrome is a bitch.

Why do you think big companies shuck the inventor to the side? They don't know shit about marketing, sales, b2b, etc etc. They don't know how to actually make money!! It sounds like thats where you're at, read a basic business book, read investing for dummies (seriously it's pretty good) find some good resources, practice growing and git gud. Set real achievable goals with deadlines and work towards them.

Depending on where you're at you need to already own or have a deal for the land or space in order to apply for a license to grow there, which you're not guaranteed to be granted.

Edit: it's been a while since I've read these but this farm has done a lot to cut or reduce costs and iirc have not turned a profit in 2-3 years.

https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/the-25-pound/

https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/how-bosmere-farms-cut-production-costs-oregon/

I'm actually in sales and work with b2b and have my own business. Just don't wanna give away too much on here but cannabis is a different field so it's just about modifying approach. I've been in sales, marketing and b2b/business for a decade. You always gotta learn from those already in the field to prevent a majority of mistakes that they have. Thing is its not written in a book black or white for the cannabis industry. And the other thing is that people in the field or who have been there act like they are too good to spread any insight at all.

 

[Psychonautic83]

I'm actually in sales and work with b2b and have my own business. Just don't wanna give away too much on here

I totally understand that!

 

[Armyofsprout]

I totally understand that!

Yeah before I just felt like the cannabis industry was just a dream like everyone else here so I blew it off. But now I'm starting to feel like it just may be possible with the right effort. But definitely spending the next couple years perfecting everything.

 

[Armyofsprout]

I totally understand that!

I used to grow years ago but just got so much going on that I stopped. Now the industry has sort of changed. LED wasn't a thing like that when I was growing so.now I've switched to that. Etc, small scale is way different from large scale and unless someone actually has a large scale operation it's highly unlikely they'll do an large scale illegal grow op here. At least I wouldn't risk that. Small scale where I'm at is already risky enough. Shit I'm thinking of doing a sea of green and that's enough risk as it is just due to the plant count even in a small space. You grow tired of having to watch your back.

If they legalize small recreational home grows then I'm all for that too.

 

[Psychonautic83]

Yeah, home growing is legal where I live, thank God.