Stephanie LambAs the chief operating officer for Good Earth Cannabis, a producer/processor in Washington, Stephanie Lamb oversees the majority of the company’s post-harvest operations including inventory, processing, sales, research and development and “a lot of HR,” she says.
“The most compelling part of my job is that no day is ever the same,” Lamb says. “While it can be stressful, it is never boring.”
Before joining the cannabis industry, Lamb was a production baker. Although she had used medical cannabis to recover from a back injury, the idea of joining the industry was remote, to say the least.
“My husband was active-duty Air Force, and because of that I had never really considered a job in cannabis as an option,” Lamb says. “After finding out he was being medically discharged in 2016, I began checking out Craigslist ads in Spokane.”
When she was offered a position in the cannabis industry, she didn’t bother asking what the pay was.
“I was making minimum wage baking at the time so I knew there was no way it could be less than that,” she says. “I had no experience making edibles, but I knew that I could produce the volume they were looking for. The rest was just math.”
Q&A
How did you first get into cannabis and what prompted you to join the industry?
As an adult I got into cannabis after a back injury in 2013. The doctors wanted to put me on pain meds and steroids. I decided to get my medical card instead. I was able to manage my pain during recovery with a combination of edibles and flower.
Before I started in the cannabis industry I was a production baker for Thomas Hammer and a few other local bakeries. My husband was active duty Air Force, and because of that I had never really considered a job in cannabis as an option. After finding out he was being medically discharged in 2016 I began checking out Craiglist ads in Spokane. I had no experience growing and no management experience so there weren’t many positions besides budtending that I felt qualified for. One day my kids and I were out grabbing ice cream with a friend and her son and she showed me an ad for an edibles department manager. It had already been up for 3 weeks and I didn’t think I had much of a chance but I sent in my resume and they called me for an interview the next day. I had no experience making edibles but I knew that I could produce the volume they were looking for, the rest was just math. When they offered me the job I didn’t even ask what the pay was. I was making minimum wage baking at the time so I knew there was no way it could be less than that. I was just happy to have the opportunity to join what, at the time, was one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
You were with Blue Roots and Bodhi High before joining Good Earth, what did you learn from those prior experiences and how does it apply to your current position?
At Blue Roots I learned how all of the moving pieces of a large scale, multi-department, cannabis production company were connected, from seed to sales. I was lucky enough that after my first 6 months there in the kitchen, the then minority owner, Eben von Ranson, took me under his wing after realizing I had an interest in learning more about the business as a whole. After adding more SKUs to the edibles menu I got the opportunity to participate in the R&D processes in the Blue Roots lab and pre-roll departments, and from there I moved more into the inventory management, sales, and operational side of things, scheduling production for the lab and pre-roll departments, helping choose what strains we would grow, hiring for all of our departments, etc.
During my time at Bodhi High I learned how to run lean, develop strategic partnerships, and how to build a team. When I first started at Bodhi, we were struggling and it was apparent that things needed to change and fast. Sam and I immediately hit the ground running and evaluated what costs could be cut, what could be sold to pay for a rebrand and to get the lab running again, and made the hard decision to not run our greenhouses over the winter, which meant we needed to find material. We met some amazing people during that time and we were able to get the material we needed, we added new product lines, and reformulated old ones. We completely rebranded. We were able to figure out how to operate with 10-12 people. All of us took care of the farm together, harvested together, made topicals and edibles together, packaged vapes and concentrates, and ran the lab. Having a tight knit team of people that cared is what made the difference.
Blue Roots taught me the business side of cannabis, and Bodhi gave me heart.
From what I understand you take on several roles at Good Earth, what exactly are you handling over there? What is the most compelling part of the job? What is on the horizon for you and Good Earth?
I oversee most of the post harvest operations at Good Earth. This encompasses our inventory, processing, sales teams, and a lot of HR. I am also responsible for R&Ding new products. The most compelling part of my job is that no day is ever the same. While it can be stressful, it is never boring.
As far as what is on the horizon for me and Good Earth? We hope to sustain the growth that we have seen over the past two years, add some new product lines, and continue to push into more stores, especially on the Western side of Washington. Personally, I hope to improve as a leader and continue to develop strategies to optimize our efficiency and develop better processes to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible.