Dr. Earl Oliver: Cannabis Entrepreneur

Dr. Earl made a career of turning cannabis companies from failures to successes.

He spoke with us about the importance of branding and networking, shared some thoughts on how small craft companies can succeed, and gave us some hints for what the industry needs to progress moving forward.

You can watch the full recording of The State of Craft Episode 16 here.

For those who don’t have time to watch the full episode, here is a summary of some of the points discussed.

• Networking is vital in building your brand and moving lots of product.

• Be part of a community and share ideas with others. Do it willingly to help others - pay it forward! People talk with one another and appreciate those who help them. It will be worth the time.

• Provinces are becoming more and more open to small batches and labels to identify certain types of products, such as ‘hand trimmed’ and ‘craft’.

• Ontario has already started a ‘craft cannabis’ designation. It may not be perfect, but it’s a start.

• In the future, people will care more and more about sustainability, and be willing to pay a premium for products that they believe in.

• Over-taxation is suppressing the industry. We need to make it easier and more encouraging for those in the legacy market to transition. The licensing process should be cheaper.

• Direct Delivery is good, but there’s a better option - ‘Direct Order’, which could be more economically viable.

• Provincial hubs for distribution could help in moving smaller amounts of product greater distances around the province. This could help give consumers more options.

• Farm Gate has a problem in that it is in direct competition with neighboring stores.

• The province shouldn’t compete with retail stores. It’s not fair to those businesses, and the province should close down their stores.

• Cultivators and producers should do their best to keep costs low, remember that they’re competing with the big guys even if they feel they aren’t, and invest in relationships with budtenders.

Read more about starting or transitioning cannabis businesses here.

This article was written in tandem with Mike F.