(This is an abridged version of a column that appears in the July issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)
Reading the business-page headlines these days, hemp pioneers can be forgiven for chuckling at how large and esteemed industries have no idea how they’ll survive when faced with the kinds of challenges hemp entrepreneurs have been dealing with for decades.
Lenders ignoring phone calls? Check.
Investors asking for unreasonable returns? Check.
Governments vowing to help but then flubbing the execution? Check.
Creditors demanding payment despite unforeseeable delays—as in a federal agency vowing to regulate a product and then forgetting about it? Check. (Lookin’ at you, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.)
The business challenges faced by most mainstream companies right now are old hat for anyone working with hemp.
Hemp pioneers built the current industry despite open hostility from both creditors and government.
Now that hemp production is legal in the United States, many of those obstacles were supposed to disappear. But longtime operators don’t need to be reminded how to survive when obstacles remain. These latest challenges are just more of the same.
The good news is that every hemp entrepreneur seems to love sharing what they’ve learned—both about the plant and about business.
Many of their lessons can help entrepreneurs far beyond the cannabis industry.
To read more about why the hemp industry is well positioned for a global recession, click here.
