Note: Since brand new markets start out medically, the following 4 expectations for opening day are most pertinent to operations in brand new medical markets.
Joining the cannabis industry is exciting, especially at this point in time when cannabis is legal in some form in over half of the United States, but federally we are all criminals. There is a sense of rebellion to being a cannabis business owner, or even a bud tender. Brand new markets often look to existing markets for what to expect. However, the media isn’t exactly covering the stories of the dispensaries that had few customers and made very little money on opening day.
Let’s talk about 5 real things to expect the day your dispensary opens. Prepare for these, but do not be discouraged by them! This is only the beginning. And of course there is always the possibility that your business will exceed expectations.
Opening day will probably not look like the hottest black Friday sale in town. In a brand new medical cannabis market, your customer flow depends largely on the number of medical card holders in your state and how many of them know that you are officially open for business. The fewer cardholders in your state, the more difficult it will be to drive traffic, particularly on day one. Yes, this product essentially sells itself, but you have to sell people on your business before they show up to buy the product. Even a high end dispensary on the Las Vegas strip had only 5 patients on opening day.
Customers in new markets are not accustomed to buying legally, and many have had difficulty getting information from their medical providers. This means that verbiage, paperwork, rules, laws, product types, pricing and just about everything will be a whole new world for them. Make sure your staff members are well equipped to inform patients and comfortably guide them through this new experience.
Believe us we would love for all Leafsheets customers in brand new markets to generate six figures on day one. The romantic tales of massive income on opening day isn't realistic in new medical markets. Aim for 4 to 5 figure revenue days starting out and go from there.
Consumers are used to buying on the "streets". If your market has product testing requirements (which hopefully it does/will), your prices will naturally be higher than street prices initially. Not to mention the fact that customers aren’t used to paying tax on cannabis products so that’s something you have to help them get used to (products sold legally are taxed states, but because customers are used to buying cannabis tax-free, you may want to consider including the tax in your pricing). As fair as you may believe your prices to be, customers will likely be resistant at first.
Plan for mistakes to be made. It's a part of the process. Sales Agents will be getting in to their stride of interacting with patients and may stumble on how to describe products. Cashiers will be consulting real life sales for the first time and will likely need a bunch of help with the point of sale system. Patient Coordinators will be figuring out how to best manage the flow of customers. Have enough management staff there to answer the questions and put out fires.
Keep these expectations and tips in mind and you should have a pretty solid day one. Prepare for the probable, hope for the best and have an outstanding opening day! Enjoy the ride.
