How To Start A CBD Business in 2023
Educate Yourself On Cannabis Industry
This is extremely important. You can't just start selling products without being knowledgeable about them. CBD is no different. In fact, you need to strive to know everything and the Cannabis industry.
Currently the government is working diligently to get laws in place for the industry so you need to stay current. Below are helpful resources.
Knowing The Laws
Starting a cannabis business brings with it an array of legal considerations. To ensure that you stay compliant, be sure to limit THC in CBD products to 0.3%, invest in third party lab testing, avoid making medical claims and keep your labeling and packaging transparent. Before moving forward – don’t forget to consult a lawyer specializing in the industry!
Valuable Resources For Learning More About The Cannabis Industry
Minorities for Medical Marijuana(MM4M)
M4MM INDIVIDUAL/START UP BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP- Starting at $0
- Membership Certificate
- Free admission to dice networking mixer
- Business logo on the M4MM website
- 1 hour complimentary business consultation
- Member of the week social media posting
- Monthly virtual membership meeting
CANNABIS BUSINESS NEWS & TIPS
Aimed at those interested in investment, entrepreneurship and changing careers, the workbook uses guided exercises to help committed readers develop personalized plans for success.
CBD BLOG
- Top hemp CBD blog site in the USA
- New updates daily
- Product reviews
- Marketing Platform
CBD WELLNESS BLOG
Visit the Holmes Organics blog today for the latest information about CBD products, news, information, resources, recipes, business, and wellness.
AUDIOBOOK LIBRARY
- Tons of books on CBD and cannabis
- Reasonably priced membership
- You can't wrong investing in yourself. Books have millions of dollars worth of information
3 Ways to Start an Online CBD Business
Have you ever wanted the opportunity to start your own brand? What about your own brand in a billion dollar industry with no clear market leader at the moment? This is the chance of a lifetime to get in early and establish yourself as the brand of choice for CBD products.
You will be doing the same thing as people like Rihanna and Kylie Jenner ..finding a distributor and putting YOUR BRAND on the label.
You may be wondering...
- What's the cost of owning your own brand?
- Who do I buy product from?
- Do I need a license?
Well read further for the answers...
Affiliate Marketing
Unlock your potential earning power with affiliate marketing! Whether you have a website, YouTube channel, Instagram account or even just use Facebook to chat with friends and family - why not get rewarded for it? By promoting products from reputable CBD companies such as Holmes Organics you are able to generate up to 40% commission per sale. And the benefits don't stop there- businesses offer 60 day & 90 cookie systems which means that if one of your customers purchase more than once in those periods then YOU keep getting paid over and again without any significant need for additional advertising expenses. Working within this industry could really start paying off so take advantage now and build your Cannabis brand through affiliate marketing!
Ready to get in on the ground floor of a promising industry? Consider joining one of these reputable CBD Affiliate Programs:
- Holmes Organics
- Joy Organics
- Medterra
- Charlotte’s Web.
Unlock some incredible opportunities by partnering with leading companies who are making waves in their field - all without your own product or inventory!
Wholesale CBD
Become a part of the ever-growing CBD industry by starting your own wholesale business today! With an easy startup cost as low as $250, you can access amazing 50%-60% discounts and sell any brands or products that fit with your current business. Trade shows, restaurants, farmer's markets - no matter where you decide to distribute; make sure to provide customers quality service they deserve while racking up big profits for yourself at whatever price point desired!
Private Label
Are you looking to break into the booming CBD market? Start your own private label brand for as little as $2500 and join in on the competition. Being an owner gives you unique control over branding, messaging, pricing – plus recognition among customers who rely on your expertise. Best of all - no licenses are required! Unlock life-changing opportunities with a simple start today.
Setting Up Your CBD Business Structure
Structuring your business is not as hard as you may think. In fact, it can be done in a very short amount of time without spending a lot of money. You’ll want to follow these steps to make sure you don’t hit any annoying roadblocks down the line with things such as banking and credit card processing.
Name Your Company
Choosing a name for your CBD company is an important, long-term decision. Make sure you differentiate yourself from the competition and pick something easy to remember. Words like “Hemp” or “Cannabis” should be avoided as they can limit unique branding opportunities and cause difficulty when opening business accounts with banks. To get started brainstorming names - do some research on what other companies similar to yours have chosen!
Click here for a free business name generator
Once you have your name, you’ll want to trademark it. Check the U.S. Patent and Trade Office for any marks on your chosen name. If there aren’t any, it is best that you contact a Patent Attorney. If you find that your chosen name has a mark, then you’re shit out of luck. Choose another name so your can avoid any lawsuits down the road.
Take a day or two to think on it. Also ask your friends and family and get their opinions on a name.
Set Up Your Business Entity
If you’re launching a cannabis business, setting up your business entity should be at the top of your to-do list. Fortunately, it’s never been easier to do with Zenbusiness. With their simple-to-use service, creating a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) is hassle-free and taking no more than 10 minutes. A lot of the time, they even help prepare documents needed to be filed hence streamlining the entire process. All without you needing take a single step away from your own desk - zenbusiness makes getting your LLC set up easier than ever.
Create Your LLC With ZenBusiness
Get Your Employee ID Number
Get your free Employer Identification Number today! Through the online process, you can easily and quickly apply for an EIN to protect your business.
Purchase Your Corporate Domain And Email Address
- Use a ".com" preferably. Do not use @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com
- Use SiteGround, G-Suite, HostGator, Blue Host, or GoDaddy
- Example: "info@yourdomain.com"
Set Up Business Bank Account
Bypass a bank all together and find a CBD friendly local credit union.
Documents needed to open your CBD business account:
- Articles of incorporation/ organization
- EIN number
- Operating agreement
- Visit Law Depot For A Free Operating Agreement
WARNING: BE CAREFUL ABOUT MENTIONING YOUR CBD BUSINESS TO YOUR BANK. THEY MIGHT TELL YOU TO TAKE ALL OF YOUR BANKING ELSEWHERE.
Business Phone Number
Use Google Voice for a FREE business phone number.
- FREE real phone number from Google
- You can send text, phone calls , and voicemail
- You can also use with your current smart phone
Business Address
If you're starting an E-Commerce business, you can purchase a virtual business address for as little as $10/month.
Click Here to sign up for your Real USA Mailing Address
Listing Services
Clients and other professionals often search for reviews through listing services such as "Yelp".Below are four listing services to register your business for.
- 411
- Yelp
- Yahoo
- Bing
Design A CBD Merchant & FDA Compliant Website
Let's build a strong backend that can handle traffic, process transactions , and grow your online presence. If you don’t get this right, then there’s a possibility that your store could lose the ability to make money online. This means that your credit card processing will deactivate after the first transaction is made and you won’t be able to take orders.
Important Website Must Haves
There are a number of requirements that must be on your website before you can be granted a high risk credit card merchant account. Here’s a list of them all:
- Your website name and business name must be exactly the same or closely match.
- DO NOT list Stripe or PayPal as a payment method. At the time of this writing, neither Stripe or Paypal approves CBD transactions.
- You must specify your shipping methods and timeframes.
- You must have a registered domain.
- Your website must be SSL secure. For example your website should read “https://yourwebsite.com”. The HTTPS is important. There should also be a green lock in front of the URL.
- If you offer pet products, they must be in a separate category from your other products. They can not be listed on the same page as your non-pet products.
All products must list:
- Price
- Description
- Pictures of labels with ingredients visible
The website’s footer should have:
- Terms & Conditions
- Refund Policy
- Privacy Policy
Choose Your Shopping Cart Wisely
Your website’s shopping cart solution is also extremely important. You can use Shopify but DO NOT USE Shopify’s shopping cart, "Shopify Payments". They will shut down your credit card processing. You may now be thinking, “Well, I can just use PayPal.”. Nope. Once PayPal finds out that you are taking orders for CBD products, they will shut you down.
Use Plug And Play Templates
Creating your website has never been easier than it is today...even if you’re not a technical person. Gone are the days of spending tens of thousands of dollars to hire someone to build your website, which might take over a month to complete. There are free or inexpensive platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or Wordpress that allow you to utilize plug and play templates to build your website in hours.
I recommend using the Wordpress platform because it gives you a ton of flexibility for cheap. You’re going to need that flexibility to navigate around the pitfalls of setting up your shopping cart and credit card processing.
WordPress also allows you to download themes. But a lot of them are not intuitive to use. My theme builder of choice is Elementor which you get for FREE.
Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words
You should definitely have pictures of your products as well as lifestyle photos on your webpage. Use professional 3D renderings for your online store’s shop page for a more professional look.
A Nice And Simple Logo
Your logo is usually the first thing people see when they reach your website. So it should be easy to read font with a simple design that describes your name and brand. Use platforms live Fiverr, Upwork, or my favorite Tailor Brands for quick and affordable logos for under $10.
Copywriting Is Everything
Copywriting is extremely critical to your website’s ability to convert. If you want to drive your website viewers from click to close, then you MUST master this skill. To further drive home the importance of copywriting, professional copywriters can command at least $10,000 per page on your website. It’s important!
You may be thinking, “what is copywriting and where do you use it?” In simple terms, copywriting is words that sell a product or service that you offer.
Copywriting can be used on the following:
- All of the pages on your website.
- Social media posts
- Email marketing campaign
- Social Media Ads (If social media platforms ever approve CBD ads)
- Youtube Videos
- And much more
There are plenty of things to write about when creating your copy.
I want you to focus on 6:
- Grab attention with a bold headline.
- Identify the problem your CBD products will solve.
- Identify the solution to the problem.
- Provide proof on why your products will solve the problem.
- Show the benefits in using your CBD products over others.
- Provide Testimonials to show that your products have helped others.
Study the copy techniques of large companies like Bose or Apple. If you can create persuasive copy for your website, you’ll will experience constant sales transactions.
Choosing The Right CBD Partner (Wholesale & Private Label)
Choosing the right partner is crucial your longevity in business. The CBD market is booming and there are lots of companies fighting for market share in the space. There are also lots of companies that offer low quality products and are not operating with integrity. You want to do your due diligence and vet companies and their products thoroughly before you partner with them. The quickest way to fail in your CBD business is to offer low quality products and services.
You will soon realize that the CBD industry is highly unregulated so you need to try products from various companies. You also want to pay attention to their processes and customer service.
Here are 5 main factors to consider when choosing your CBD distributor.
- Choose a high-quality product
- Choose a company with great service
- Choose a company that fits with your standards
- Choose a company with logical pricing and product selection.
- Choose a company with great marketing support.
CBD Banking & High Risk Credit Card Processing
Without the ability to process credit card payments, your CBD business will be limited. But things are so bad in the industry right now that small businesses are choosing to risk it all to process credit cards in a way that could shut their business down for good.
This topic is definitely a topic you want to stay up-to-date on...daily!
You must have special merchant processing to take payments for your CBD business.
Banks & Credit Unions
Be extremely careful when opening up a bank account with your current bank. Do NOT tell them you're in the CBD business. If they find out then they will close ALL your accounts and tell you to take your banking elsewhere.
I recommend using a credit union. Some of them are CBD friendly due to the fact that don't have to follow FDIC rules.
NO PayPal or Stripe
Paypal and Stripe are NOT CBD friendly. If they find out you're processing CBD product, they will close your accounts.
Top 4 Credit Card Merchant Processors
- Startup friendly
- Lowest rates in the industry
- Use of Square's Free Swipe
- Startup friendly
- Integrates w/ Shopify
- Custom pricing for each merchant
- Startup friendly
- A+ BBB Rating
Marketing Your CBD Business
So you've set up your business and now you're ready to start making sales. The real work begins now. Marketing your CBD brand will be a huge challenge in itself. You'll have to get really creative but there are ways to get your products in front of eyeballs without a huge financial commitment.
Let's discuss what NOT to do first.
You Can't Use These Popular Marketing Strategies
FB/IG ADS
- Facebook is NOT cannabis friendly
- If you try to create ads, they will "red flag" your business
- You run the risk of your Ad account being shut down
- You CAN create posts, stories, videos
AMAZON
- Also NOT Cannabis friendly
- Your ARE allowed to sell CBD but your labels CANNOT say "CBD" anywhere
- Your labels and descriptions should read "Hemp Extract"
Top Ways To Market Your CBD Brand
Word Of Mouth
- An endorsement from a single person can bring lots of attention/ sales
- People believe follow what they see. If one person they trust gives the "OK", then other people are willing to try
- If your product works, then word can spread
Blogging/Vlogging
- Start an informational blog or vlog
- YouTube, Facebook Live, IG stories are great ways to market your business
- Have links to your brand and website in your content
Trade Shows And Vendor Expos
- Choose expos that fit your target market
- Allows for face to face interaction
Influencer Marketing
- Leverage other people's large following to boost your brand for a cheap price
- Focus on "micro Influencers"
Emails Marketing
- The easiest way to may a quick $1000+ in one day
- Send out email blast to your audience about sales and information
- The most cost effective email solution we've found (and use) is called MailerLite. You can create landing pages, email campaigns, list segmentation, automation, etc. starting at $0.