First, I’ve got to get in my comments on the election. Yeah, I know, “stick to business.” I’ve heard that before. However, I’m still reeling from the idea that a guy who tried to overthrow an election, lied about it to millions, had a bathroom full of stolen top-secret documents, was convicted of 30-plus felonies, raped and groped women, and has generally been a cheat and fraudster his entire life (Trump University!!!) managed to get elected in a country that supposedly values integrity, loyalty, hard work and … democracy.
Crazy. (Personally, I’d have voted for Bozo the Clown over Donald Trump!)
As far as the cannabis business goes, We had a relatively good year at Marijuana Venture. We did what lots of companies do when profits slip. We moved to a smaller space, cut costs and wasteful items (like the company jet), and focused on getting our margins back up.
We also spent more time refining our events business and made some key decisions that have improved the results there also. We’re looking forward to a few new event formats, starting with our Wholesale Market this January.
In November, we published a special edition of the magazine. We called it “10 Years of WA Weed” and spent a lot of time and money creating something we’re really proud of. The cover had a super cool green foil cannabis leaf on top of a matte black background. It looked amazing, and the team here did a bang-up job. The inside of the magazine (actually more like a bookazine) was full of photos, anecdotes and mini stories that looked back on 10 years of features and reporting on the legal cannabis trade.
The Fall issue also had an expanded section on “Women to Watch” that highlighted a dozen amazing women in the cannabis industry. Great leaders and businesswomen are a big part of the cannabis trade, and I’m always happy to see them recognized for their successes. Bravo, ladies!
Needless to say, the special publication was a huge success, and we received lots of congratulatory emails and calls from people who really liked it. We’re likely going to produce other special editions going forward. Some of our ideas include issues that focus on edibles, other regions of the USA, grow technologies and foreign markets to name just a few. 2025 will still be a struggle for a lot of folks in this business. The margins have rarely been as good as predicted, and the survivors (and thrivers) will have to continue drilling down on things like efficiency, cost cutting and an expanded focus on technology (same as all industries).
If that happens and business owners continue to innovate and work on making things better at their companies, I have no doubt that they will ultimately do well. Why? Because that’s how capitalism works. The good ones never give up and always manage to evolve and figure things out.
Or, as they say, “the cream rises to the surface.”
Greg James
Publisher
(Just kidding about the private jet.)