I’ve been featured lately in quite a bit of magazines like The NYC Journal and LA Lifestyle Mag as a leading cannabis entrepreneur. It’s truly humbling and wonderful to see my journey as a female entrepreneur in the cannabis industry unfold with such high recognition. It gives the ups, the downs, and everything I’ve experienced in between a strong sense of validation. When I first dreamed of opening a cannabis store, I had no idea just how challenging and rewarding the road ahead would be. From compliance to new regulations and pandemic lockdowns to overcoming stigma in my own community, I’ve learned so much. In this post, I wanted to recount, from the heart, some of the lessons learned along the way.
On Creating The Green Bouquet
What first attracted me to the cannabis plant almost twenty years ago was its alleged health benefits. At the time, it was helping me overcome some health hurdles while I was working in surveillance. The improvement to my quality of life thanks to using cannabis for medicinal purposes, like so many Canadians do, increased my passion to spread the word and I have not looked back since. I felt encouraged to explore this industry further and bring my hospitality experience to a new venture where I could educate interested customers about the benefits of cannabis. I became a level 2 cannabis sommelier with dreams of one day opening a cannabis storefront.
That course taught me a lot about this plant’s biology. Knowing about many aspects of the cannabis plant, such as terpenes and strain lineage, definitely helped me in the decision-making for The Green Bouquet’s menu. A lot of people tend to focus on high THC, but personally, that is not my thing. There’s so much more to consider.
On Opening The Green Bouquet
When the Ontario government changed regulations to allow independent cannabis stores, I seized the opportunity and founded The Green Bouquet Cannabis Inc. I initially applied 6 months prior to what would become the COVID-19 pandemic. After our application was submitted, we were put in a queue, but should anything stop us from opening, our application would be sent to the back of the line. Regardless of the pandemic, I had to push forward. Contracts were already signed. I even had my license accelerated three times from my AGCO rep as well, so that I could open on May 24 weekend and not miss the summer. He was great to work with but my interior construction was not finished.
Opening my store had to be one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It was already challenging enough opening the store on a shoestring budget, but when COVID hit, everything increased in difficulty by 90%. I did a ton of online shipping for things I knew we needed to furnish the store but had not fully accounted for, like garbage cans, which also caused headaches due to a faulty internet setup. It was all a challenge but worth it. I had poured my heart and soul into this venture, and I wasn’t about to give up before we even got started. I got the store set up and open, barely on time. My passion comes from knowing what the plant can do for people and what keeps me motivated is that my husband and I were both all in financially, so I couldn’t let him, myself, or my potential customers down.
On Increasing Cannabis Educating & Awareness
While public speaking isn’t really something I enjoy, I do it because I want to educate people, not just on the benefits of cannabis, but of the opportunities that are available in this industry.
Sometimes that negative stigma can create roadblocks that you have to overcome as a cannabis store owner. In my early stages of planning to open my store, I didn’t openly share a lot of details because if you openly share your ideas and goals to the wrong or unsupportive people, it can only make you discouraged and questioning of your beliefs. I have always believed in myself even when others have not, so always be your own cheerleader even when it is crazy hard.
The cannabis market is growing, which is good news for The Green Bouquet. There is still a great deal of negative public perception that needs to be addressed, both in terms of safe usage, scientific studies, and separating facts from paranoia. I was hoping the industry would have balanced itself out by now, however that is not the case in my opinion. The cannabis industry is still young and we will see a number of changes in the next few years that will also change the game, such as a cannabis tourism industry, which I am actively a part of with The Green Bouquet.
On Encouraging Female Entrepreneurship
Business, particularly within the cannabis world, has always been strongly dominated by men. I can’t count how many times I would walk into the room for an event and be the only woman or one of a few. To be part of the men’s club is not what I strive for or have ever looked to. However, I have learned a lot from many men who have supported me from the get-go and helped me move ahead in my career. Walking into a room dominated by men isn’t necessarily something to be intimidated by, although I completely understand that feeling. If you do your own thing and not worry about others, you will start to feel more confident in yourself and your abilities. Business is business but empathy is a woman’s gift. Find the right balance and you will not only be able to create success for yourself, but you will inspire others to want to lend you a helping hand.
More and more women are entering the cannabis industry at the forefront, which is great news. In my opinion, they just need to shine a little brighter to make their voices louder, whether that be on social media, in business meetings, or in the day-to-day operations of the cannabis supply chain. For myself, I am just going to keep following my intuition and being the best version of myself – genuine, caring, teaching, and inspiring – every day.
At the end of the day, if I had any advice or words of encouragement to women entrepreneurs or aspiring founders who dream of starting their own business in cannabis or any other field, it would be to give 100% effort. Believe in yourself, make a plan, and create action. No one else is going to get the ball rolling, and they don’t owe you anything. The truer you are to yourself, the more confident you will be to overcome the fear of failure, and create opportunities for yourself. Believe me, the journey, no matter how challenging it gets, is worth it.