Cannabis Dispensary Mag: “10 Tips for a Winning Cannabis Dispensary License”

Sara Gullickson, CEO of Item 9 Labs Corp., was recently featured in Cannabis Dispensary Mag’s article regarding “10 Tips for a Winning Cannabis Dispensary License”

Winning a coveted dispensary license is your golden ticket into the competitive cannabis market. The license application process is more demanding than ever, and it can be tricky to navigate all the nuances—especially if you’ve never done it before. But there are a few secrets to creating an application that stands out.

Cannabis Dispensary spoke with five licensing consultants, attorneys and operators who have secured licenses in competitive cannabis markets:

Sara Gullickson, CEO of Item 9 Labs Corp., a publicly traded cannabis company specializing in the development of cannabis products and proprietary delivery platforms. Gullickson also owns the Strive Life of North Dakota dispensary, and Strive Wellness of Nevada LLC, a medical cannabis cultivation and processing facility with distribution rights. Gullickson previously served as the CEO and founder of Dispensary Permits, a nationally recognized cannabis consulting firm that won multiple cannabis licenses across more than a dozen competitive state markets.

Dispensary Do’s & Don’ts

DO: Pursue the industry because your skill-set complements this business.

DON’T: Pursue the industry for profits only.

DO: Over-plan and research: Dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to the project.

DON’T: Under-plan: Thinking this will be a walk in the park will land your application in the loser’s pile.

DO: Ensure your entity is all-inclusive: Diversity matters.

DON’T: Only include wealthy white men.

DO: Save for a rainy day: If you think your venture is going to be $500,000, multiply that by four and raise that much capital.

DON’T: Try to fund the project solo: You will most likely come up short. Cannabis businesses are more expensive than you think!

DO: Call an industry expert.

DON’T: Think, ‘It’s just dispensing a plant.’ It’s much more complicated. You will save time, energy and heartache if you call in a pro.

DO: Rethink real estate: Retrain your brain on what’s a good location—it’s where the city will have you, not in a high-traffic strip mall.

DON’T: Undervalue how much time it will take you to secure a building/location: This is not a typical landlord-tenant relationship.

— Sara Gullickson, CEO, Item 9 Labs Corp.

To read the full article by Brooke, click here.
Source: Cannabis Dispensary Mag