Are you a newbie to the cannabis industry? Ever wonder where you should even start? Never fear, your favorite cannabis Auntie is here.
In this episode, I do a live coaching call with Layla, a biochemistry major and future edibles business owner, and answer her questions about breaking into cannabis business, networking at cannabis events, marketing herself on social media, education requirements, and more.
We chat about the importance of consistency and infusing yourself and your personality into your business and social platform. I encourage Layla (and all of you) to keep experimenting always. Try new things, see what works, and what makes you feel aligned.
There’s room for all of us in the cannabis industry, you just have to find your own niche and what lights you up.
If you’re a DIY cannabis hustler who is just getting into the industry, make sure to subscribe to my podcast, High Class, where I help you move past the frustration, hurdles, and red tape of the cannabis industry.
In this episode, you’ll learn…
- [01:45] How Layla’s journey with cannabis started in high school at the recommendation of her father
- [04:01] Salwa’s advice for networking and getting your foot in the door of the cannabis industry
- [08:45] How to break into the edibles market and why consistency is so important
- [12:03] How to start branding yourself and growing your platform on Instagram and why you should always infuse your own personality into everything
- [19:20] Advice on degrees for the cannabis field from a college dropout
- [24:44] How to gain experience in the industry, do your own research, and start your cannabis business
- [29:04] Why mentorship has been hard to come by in the industry up until this point
- [37:41] There’s no such thing as mistakes when it comes to business, everything is an experiment and a process of elimination
If you’re a cannabis newbie, too, and looking for more advice on breaking into the cannabis industry, be sure to tune into this episode:
Links mentioned in this episode…
About Layla
Layla is a junior at Sonoma State University studying biochemistry. She has a personal connection to cannabis and wants to get a foot in the door to the industry and learn more about networking and marketing herself.
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Transcript for “In the Hot Seat with Layla Gomes: How to Break into the Cannabis Industry”
[00:00:26] Salwa Okay. Hi, Layla. How are you?
[00:00:30] Layla Pretty good. How are you?
[00:00:31] Salwa I’m good. Thank you so much for reaching out. I loved getting your email. And for me, one of the things that I’ve been trying to do from a career perspective and sort of a life perspective is to reach out to as many people as I can and try to offer as much help and guidance as I can. So it was perfect divine timing that you reached out while I’m embarking on this journey of trying to be more of a helpful steward of the plant and the industry and the business. So. Welcome to the High Class podcast. I am here to try to help you out and serve you as much as I can.
[00:01:11] Layla Thank you. I like super appreciate this opportunity. It has been like almost a nightmare trying to talk to people and network. So I’ve got a lot of questions for you and I’m really looking forward to your feedback.
[00:01:21] Salwa Amazing. This is so great. And I honestly like this is a two way street because I, for the longest time, just like never really felt like I could coach or I could offer this type of guidance. So this is a good two way street and rediscovering if like, okay, maybe I could do this, or maybe it’s I don’t know, we’ll figure it out, but let’s shoot.
[00:01:40] Layla I’m ready.
[00:01:41] Salwa So give me a little bit of background on yourself. Like to set the stage.
[00:01:45] Layla So right now I’m a junior at Sonoma State University. I’m studying biochemistry, so I have a personal history as well as like my loved ones with cannabis. And so for me, my personal journey, the learning about the plant was in high school. I had a really, really bad anxiety to the point I was having multiple panic attacks a day. So I tried the traditional like medical route of like I when I got prescribed Zoloft and I turned into a complete zombie, I went from getting dressed in like to every day to like showing up to class with pajamas on. And my dad kind of had like a heart to heart with me. And he’s like, I’m not going to recommend you do drugs, but you’re going to try anything, try cannabis. And he gave me his experience and journey with cannabis. I guess he was like one of the first people to get a medical card in Oakland promising, Yeah, he’s been talking to like a bunch of, like local growers. We go to like the Berkeley patients group to get clones for our grows every year like super connected into like the California like little underground industry. And so he kind of gave me that little like jumpstart to get into it. Ever since then I was like, I, yeah, this has changed my life. I went from not being able to even get out of bed to I’m sitting here talking to you like it’s crazy. But I absolutely love with the plans being able to do for me.
[00:03:03] Salwa I love that story and just that timeline and name dropping those particular places very much sets a framework for me. I know exactly who I’m talking to, or at least the daughter of the man who I’m talking to. So yeah, I love that. And you know, what we talk about in my line of work, especially in cannabis, is like coming from a good place, like coming from with good intentions. And so to hear that you had this firsthand experience checks that one big box off the list already. So we’re good. We’re on a good start.
[00:03:36] Layla Thank you. Yeah, I’ve just been really passionate about everything, even like I’ve helped my grandmother, like, use edibles to help with pain, especially with, like, the whole opioid situation going on right now. And so, like, that’s all I want to do is be able to help others find the relief that I needed and to bestow that upon them.
[00:03:55] Salwa Beautiful. That’s the reason why we do it for amazing. All right, well, how can I help you? Like, what can I do to help you on your journey?
[00:04:01] Layla So I’m having a hard time trying to, like, get my foot in the door. I’ve been trying to go to, like, cannabis events in San Francisco. I went to the Creating Change Impact Center, little like afterparty they had at the Michigan Cannabis Club. Just trying to do like, small little events. But I’ve found that most of the events are kind of like industry only. And so like, I’ll try to get tickets or like I was looking for like the Cannabis business conference in Las Vegas happening over the summer. Like me, my partner, we were thinking of going, but it’s like, Oh, put down your business and like how you related in the industry. And part of me like, do I just like, pretend and try to get my way in there or what do I do? So I feel like that’s a big piece of advice. I’m just trying to network getting into the industry in general that I’m having a difficult time with.
[00:04:49] Salwa Interesting. All right, let’s do a little research while I have you on the phone. So the one sort of aggregate of cannabis events that I see is an EventHi at eventhi.io. So what, they’re kind of like an Eventbrite for cannabis. And so they’ll highlight like a lot of different events in the area. One other thing that I would do if, if it were me, especially since you’re in Sonoma, I would contact the Emerald Cup and ask to volunteer and work that event. Ask to be security, ask to be line check, ask to be anything. Tell them about your degree. Tell them about your interest. Just like, volunteer. Yeah, because that’ll get you hooked up with the right people. That’ll get you hooked up with, like. So you’re kind of in there. Also, it’ll help you kind of, depending on what you’re specifically volunteering for. I’ll give you either early access or late access so you can walk the booths. You can talk to people as much as you can, especially if you’re coming at it from a sort of like a volunteer perspective where you’re kind of a part of the event. It kind of gives you a little bit more credibility when you are interfacing with the brands. But like also like be a killer volunteer, right? Like show up early, stay late. Clock in and out of your shifts appropriately. Like if you see something going wrong, like notify them, you know, like be a good steward of that. Yeah. I think that that would be my number one tip so check EventHi. And if there is a event that you really want to be a part of, just kind of track down who the event organizers are and then hit them up and just volunteer your time to work these events.
[00:06:38] Layla Okay, perfect.
[00:06:39] Salwa And ideally, too, like, I think the best thing I mean, in a perfect world, I would do like if it’s a three day event, let’s say say, hey, I’m willing to volunteer these two days or even two days and a half, but I really am just interested in like meeting these brands. So can I get like the Sunday half day off or can I get the Sunday off or whatever it is so you can be in that event? I mean, that’s ideal, but I don’t know if that’s going to fly necessarily, but I know that when I did very large scale events, I was always meeting volunteers. Like even if it’s like to fill the gift bags or to like help with the lines or admissions or whatever. Like it’s like there’s no shortage of need for volunteers. So that that’s kind of the two places that I would start. I didn’t really realize how industry specific these events are, but it is starting to make sense to me that like there is this like sort of culture of that, but like, I don’t know, I feel like there are a bunch of like, you know, smoke weed and do yoga events like women and wellness events like secret sessions, even secret sessions are really good to go to. Are you familiar with what a secret session is?
[00:07:51] Layla I’m not.
[00:07:52] Salwa It’s like an underground farmer’s market.
[00:07:54] Layla Oh, okay. I have been to those. Yeah, that’s like usually where I get if it’s not what I grow, that’s usually what I do. Yeah.
[00:08:03] Salwa So, like, even going from there and then, like, just have a different type of conversation. So I know that like two of my staff are actually my buyer and the woman who handles all my books. Like their side hustle is edibles and like, cannabis like. And so they go to the secret sessions and they, they vent. And so just like kind of popping in, like seeing if like what the relationship is like. Feel free to have that conversation with people. Like as you’re kind of networking and going through this, it’s like, it’s amazing how many times the people in that type of environment have a different life outside of that, which is more corporate or working for corporate cannabis. But this is just their side thing.
[00:08:45] Layla Yeah, So I was actually going to eventually talk to you about the same thing. So I’m personally super interested in edibles. And so I’ve had the idea of like joining those secret sessions and like maybe putting out like my product I’ve made like salves, tinctures, edibles, and I was hoping maybe one day I have very limited knowledge, but I’d love to start a business around that. And so I feel like from what you’re saying, like that is probably a good start for me. At least get a conversation with those types of people?
[00:09:17] Salwa 100% or even if you’re if you’re already producing, like if you’re growing your own and you have enough biomass to be able to make butter and like you’ve got your your thing kind of down. I would just start go ahead and start vending like if you have that experience of and I would yeah, why not? And honestly it’s like get the feedback even if it’s on your friends and family first. Are your edibles consistent? That’s like the number one.
[00:09:41] Layla Yes. Yeah.
[00:09:43] Salwa Just you can’t get out the door if your shit’s not consistent. Right. So like, have you mastered the art of being consistent, Right.
[00:09:49] Layla Yeah.
[00:09:49] Salwa What type of flavor, what type of high like what type of things like. And so start with your family and your friends. Gather as much feedback as you can. Then go to the secret sessions. And I would go just as a regular vendor, do a sweep or I’m sorry, regular guest do a sweep of the area, see what people are selling, what they’re not selling, see if there’s a gap. So if it’s all sugar and all this type of stuff, like maybe you come out with a vegan granola, maybe you come out with like something that’s like, you know, try to look for holes in the market and not only the type, but also the price point. And keep in mind, price point can also. Correlate to quantity. Right. So if you’re seeing that there’s a whole bid for something at the $10 mark because everything’s so expensive. Maybe you do like personal cereal pouches, or maybe you do personalized things like that. So start documenting and tracking like what you’re seeing in the market, what types of products, the quantity in which it’s sold, the potency in which it’s sold, the price point in which it’s sold, and then starts kind of honing in on if and when there’s gaps. And then I would go in and get a little booth and then start testing as much as you can.
[00:11:05] Layla Yeah, totally.
[00:11:06] Salwa I variety quantity different styles like all that different stuff like and you can test your branding out is a good option for you to maybe have one that’s like street you know cannabis street culture. Like maybe it’s kind of looks like that or maybe it’s more true to who you are in Sonoma, or maybe it’s female forward, or maybe it’s homage to your dad, like start testing the different branding that’s resonating as well. So I’ll take this opportunity. Do it as lean as you can be, as mean as you can, and just start like documenting and learning.
[00:11:43] Layla Okay, awesome. Yeah, cause I’ve gone to like a few different types of the secret sessions, but the ones I usually go to are in Sacramento. I don’t know if you know of any others that are like in the area.
[00:11:55] Salwa Oakland. There’s a ton in Oakland.
[00:11:56] Layla Oakland. Okay.
[00:11:57] Salwa And I’m assuming in San Francisco too. Yeah. I think Instagram is your friend. Instagram is your friend.
[00:12:03] Layla Yeah. Okay. I was going to ask you, I’m not like super into like the social media presence that I know that like, especially for marketing and branding yourself, that’s a huge thing. And so I was going to ask your advice of like trying to jump into like especially Instagram. I feel like that’s kind of like one of the big go to platforms. What is your advice for like trying to start branding myself and like, how much should I like, put out there? Like, should I be posting like maybe some like casual ones of like me smoking a jay or like, so make it just brand related.
[00:12:34] Salwa All of it. All of it. All of it. Do all of it as much as you possibly can. As much as it’s true to yourself. And again, everything is just testing, right? One of the thing that I know, like, for instance, for me, my parents are Arab Muslim. I come from a very conservative background. And so one of the promises that I made to my mom was I was never going to smoke weed on my social. So it’s like you don’t actually see me smoking weed. But on the very rare occasions that it gets into the DMS or it gets into like my stories or whatever, people love seeing that, like they’d just love to see that I am connected to the plant in that way. And it’s funny too, because like sometimes I’ll post stuff that are like things that I found really inspiring and it’s a quote or whatever, but like, the algorithm does not like that Elda algorithm for some reason really likes my face. So like, you got to just, you got to kind of see and market and test and go from there. But yeah, like with Canva and all of that stuff, like you can have such a good to look and feel of your brand. Test out different things, test out If branding yourself as a person in this industry versus branding your products or mingling them together, just try everything honestly.
[00:13:48] Layla Okay, Perfect. And then I was going to also ask you, like in terms of I know like in the cannabis industry, a lot of people are posting, you know, like that content. I didn’t know if they should try to like make a new page of like branding versus like starting it on my personal Instagram account. But like, maybe I.
[00:14:07] Salwa You know, it’s funny, I went, I’m going through that right now. So like, for instance, I have like, I don’t have that many followers in comparison to other people in my position. Like I have 6000 followers at one time my store had like 50,000 followers, but Instagram took that away. So I was kind of stuck in this like, do I really want to start a whole new IG for my podcast, or do I just like because as an extension of myself and I decided to just like write it and make it as an extension of myself. But that being said, I do have an idea for you. You’re clearly very smart.
[00:14:41] Layla Thank you.
[00:14:41] Salwa You’re going into school for things that are hard work, so if you can figure out a way to link your education and the things that you know with cannabis, with your personal experience, like draw that three circle Venn diagram and hit that mark in the middle, that is, I think, where you’ll live because what’s your degree in chemistry like? Yeah, talk about how biochemistry affects cannabis in your body. Like, well those are subjects I don’t understand. Like I would love to know more, especially if you’re able to dumb it down in like kindergarten style. Like how?
[00:15:18] Layla Yeah, Yeah. Because there’s someone I follow on Instagram who she has a Ph.D. in, like cannabis, like education. And she does similar like content of like going over like the importance of trapeze and cannabis and like different things, like kind of dumbed down like those, those like some videos and stuff like that.
[00:15:35] Salwa Fair enough. I don’t think I just there is no, there’s not too many of those people. Right. And there’s a couple that I can think of that quite frankly. Don’t dumb it down near enough. Like I watch it and I’m like, I still don’t get it. You know what I mean?
[00:15:50] Layla Yeah. And for me, I feel like for my personal branding, like I’m very, like feminine. I love the feminine energy, especially in the cannabis space. I feel like there’s not enough of it. And so I want to be able I love that like style of like educational content, but still making it like very welcoming and like that feminine, like, almost like cutesy style. I feel like that’s kind of something I’m after. Beautiful.
[00:16:10] Salwa I love that so much. It’s like, I can see it. I can see you like talking about it, breaking it down. But I would say like, really, like, truly Imagine you are talking to a kindergartner. Yeah, like, really? Because, like, that’s how. That’s how like, most of us learn. And I think that’s the reason why my show in particular has, like, resonated with a certain type of person, is because like, I really try to just like, break it down to the lowest common denominator when you’re talking about something so complex as chemistry and biology and how this plant affects your body and obviously has all these different like cannabinoids and terpenes and different bodies respond differently, like that’s content that could go on forever. Yeah, forever. And so like to have that mission, that specialization is so unique and it’s so cool. And like, if there’s a way for you to incorporate your education with who you are and what your experiences, who your dad is, because he’s obviously part of our movement and like the brand you’re trying to create and like maybe your packaging has that type of education in it, or maybe your packaging has like added, you know, like, yeah, Snapple facts or something like that. And like you want to collect all the caps or like, you know.
[00:17:22] Layla Yeah, I have like a, like an instant like idea from like that brainstorming of, like I’m actually taking a course next semester that’s like chemistry of cooking and like, we’re actually going to be able to like, cooking class and, like, actively learn that kind of stuff. And so especially since I’m interested in like producing edibles, kind of like a chemistry theme, like Edible, I feel like idea. Sure.
[00:17:43] Salwa Try it all.
[00:17:44] Layla Yeah. Like even cause there’s like a really popular book right now that’s like kind of similar. Something about, like a woman who has, like, her own cooking show, but it’s like chemistry based, and it was like, based on the 1950s, like how we women get into, like, STEM. So I kind of like the idea of, like combining like the science and like cooking.
[00:18:01] Salwa I love it all for you. I think this is so beautiful. Like, I can’t wait to see your content, but like the only other piece of advice that I want to give you right now is like, don’t wait for that class and that semester. It’s like, start today. There’s no reason why you couldn’t start today. Start today and try it out because it takes a minute to get comfortable in front of the camera. It takes a minute to like, get over that anxiety over to I posted it. I know. Because this this caption perfect is and that it’s like, just get over it and just post and like get used to like just posting. And then that way, hopefully if you really do start today and like, try to post as much as you possibly frickin can by the time you get to that class and by the time you’re like, Now you know what works, what doesn’t work, what style you like, what I really don’t like. And it will help you gain more out of that education as you’re going through it.
[00:18:52] Layla So, yeah, no, I think you’re definitely right of like doing the research and starting that now.
[00:18:57] Salwa There’s really cute like, are you on Canva?
[00:18:59] Layla Yes, yes. I like I was in high school leadership and stuff and I was always like doing all that kind of stuff. The posters on campus and everything.
[00:19:06] Salwa Beautiful. So it’s like I could just totally imagine, like, you’re sorry not to give you marketing advice, but I can tell you just picture your face doing a video and like, you know, we were talking about the feminine and having like maybe a little like border. Just so much cute stuff. I can’t wait.
[00:19:20] Layla Thanks. I was going to also ask you, when it comes to like getting into the industry, like, let’s say I’m trying to get in to learn a little bit more while I’m doing my side hustle like vending, whatnot. As much as I’m getting like this degree, I’ve seen a lot of people with like PhDs and like whatnot going into like research, which I’d love to do research or product development on the legal side of things. I don’t know if you have any like recommendations in terms of like degrees. I don’t know if that’s something you know about because for me, I mean, I’ve seen like Colorado has like cannabis research program and whatnot, and I don’t know if I should like kind of stay do the California thing, maybe do like a degree that’s not so specific in cannabis, but still like chemistry biology related or if I should try to shoot towards a more cannabis based degree.
[00:20:07] Salwa So I am a college dropout, but my family is very big in education. I’m like the only one who didn’t finish, so I’m going to give you advice from that perspective. So you should probably get somebody else’s advice too, right?
[00:20:23] Layla Oh, totally.
[00:20:24] Salwa I think if it were me. You and I are doing it all over again. I would have a degree or get specialized in education and accounting, like some sort of tax planning because that is your largest expense. I don’t care what the f you’re doing in your life. Guess who takes most of your money? The government. So if you can figure out a strategy of like, understanding, like, Hey, if I run my branding through an LLC and then my research stuff through a C Corp, I can take these write offs here and like that. You know what I mean? Like that to me is going to change your life more so than having a degree in any of the other specialized research stuff. I don’t think for what you’re trying to do, you need that research background, like that specific degree. I’ve hired hundreds of people. I don’t really care about what they necessarily specialize in unless they’re my attorneys or my accountants. But like, one of the things that is the most frustrating for me as an entrepreneur is how much I have to lean on my attorneys and my accountants. Like I wish I had more education on basic law and basic accounting and basic tax structure so I didn’t have to lean on these guys so much. Because when I go from one account to the next, they all bash the one before. And I am sitting here kind of blind. I’m like, Oh, why is it like that? Like, turns out accounting is more of an art than a science, which is very unfortunate. That’s just like I feel very passionate about that. I feel very passionate about having some sense of business as far as like cannabis research stuff is concerned. It’s like, it sounds to me, if it were me, I would do kind of like a meditative, deep dive in like how I really want my life to look. Is it in a lab? Is it in a school or is it out like, you know, being more creative? Is it out being like deciding when my days are going to start, like having more freedom and flexibility and I would just really shoot for that?
[00:22:27] Layla Okay. Yeah, cause I’ve been kind of debating, like, as much as I love, like, chemistry and, like, being in the lab. I love that. But I feel like ultimately I do the day, like the life I want to live. I totally see myself being a business owner. Like, I think I could do the thing. And so I feel like my my whole initiative at the lab is just to like, kind of see almost like what product, like creation looks like in the legal industry just to gain knowledge for my own products. It’s kind of like my goal. That makes sense.
[00:22:59] Salwa Walk me through that last one one more time. I want to make sure I heard it right.
[00:23:02] Layla So like my goal, getting into like the legal industry for getting to the lab is I love to see like production. Like, let’s say I worked for like a laboratory that’s like developing edibles. I’d love to learn from them and gain experience there to apply to my own business and goals.
[00:23:19] Salwa But you don’t necessarily need to go that route in order to do that, right? Like there are. I can if and when you’re ready. Like there are people in this industry in the Bay Area that specialize specifically in white labeling for you. So if you’re sitting here and you’re going like, Hey, I need this vegan gummy, that’s this, this and that, like you can go path of least resistance is going to somebody like that and have at sourcing to them to make it for you to your standard right. Mm hmm. Being physically in a lab, buying the machinery, going through, permitting, paying for a lease for all this equipment that’s starting to not pencil as much.
[00:23:57] Layla Yeah.
[00:23:58] Salwa Unless you’re like somebody like Kiva or something like that, where your machines are just constantly running. Like, until that point, I would. Proof of concept proof the brand, until you’ve maxed out your white labeling capacity to where you have to invest in your own stuff. But at that point you’ll have learned so much that the MIT technology is going to change, the recipes are going to change, like all these things are going to change as you’re getting into it. I would hate for you to lose time. Like in my mind, I think time is your most precious resource and it’s like the most important facet. And so if you can shortcut a lot of this stuff to just get to where you want to be, that’s what I would do.
[00:24:44] Layla True then. Okay, follow up then. What would you recommend in terms of me gaining experience in the industry? Like what would you recommend me doing to gain enough experience so I can kind of get like the foundation for this business plan I have going?
[00:25:00] Salwa So I would hone in and this is me and I obviously come from like a little bit of a different time at this point and like a different background. But if it were me, this is my experience. This is what worked for me. Take from it what you can. So if it were me, I would volunteer Emerald Cup. I would go to as many of these events as I can. I would start honing in on what edible companies like you want to. Aligned with that are close to you that are not distracting you from your goals and that are available like that are around, right? Once they have two or three of them identified, I would follow them like a groupie and I respect that. That’s what I would do. I’d follow their Instagram account. I would see where they are, I would see where they’re doing demos, I would see where all the things and I would just start lightweight stalking, like getting into their DMS. Oh my gosh, I love what you guys do so much. Like, if there’s any internship opportunities, I’d love to go going to the demos. If they show up at a dispensary, that’s where you hit them up. Go to the sales rep, be like, Hi, I’ve been really trying to get ahold of the company. Like, you really want an internship? Like, is there any way I could get involved? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and start kind of working that angle? It is amazing how many times, like, at least on the dispensary side, like I’ve had a guy come in who is like, just I love, I want to work here. I want to work in that just because, like they’re constantly around and like, we’ve all heard this one person say that a shift opens up, somebody calls in sick and they’re like, Hey, call that guy. Why? You know him? And so they come in. So that’s what I would do. I would just make it very much known to anybody who’s around those particular brands that that’s your interest and that’s what you want to do. And while I’m in school and have like don’t I’m not really tripping about bills as much, then you have a little bit of time to volunteer. That’s how I would get into it.
[00:26:53] Layla Okay.
[00:26:53] Salwa But also like be forward about your education. I think that’s important.
[00:26:58] Layla Yeah, cause that’s been more like the difficult things for me, I’ve noticed is like between school and then like for a while is working. It’s just sometimes a little difficult to try to, like, coordinate those events. But I have been like, looking. So I’ll definitely try to do some like volunteer work. But I was thinking of I was trying to go to like the Hall of Flowers event.
[00:27:16] Salwa Yeah, that you can’t get out of that.
[00:27:17] Layla Yeah. That when you can’t get in. So maybe, like, I might be a little late now, but I could always reach out and, like, try to volunteer or do something.
[00:27:26] Salwa Yeah. And you can reach out and try to volunteer. That was an interesting one because everyone there has a little bit of a different mindset. They’re not necessarily trying to meet the consumer like they’re trying to meet the buyers of the dispensaries. That’s why it’s like a B2B thing. So it’s like it’s very much these brands are there to try to figure out how to get on the shelves of these stores and like that. Is it like that is the main objective for them. Whereas an emerald cup, it’s like the consumers are in there trying to be more consumer focused. They’re trying to build more relationships with more people. So the vibe is just different. Also for me, for Hall of Flowers, I don’t even go to Hall of Flowers anymore. I mean, to be super honest, my buyers just go on like we only get like, whatever, four tickets and sometimes I’ll show up and kind of like, muscle my way in. But it’s but for like, Emerald Cup, it just seems to make more sense.
[00:28:17] Layla Yeah, that makes sense.
[00:28:18] Salwa Hall of Flowers typically is for newer brands.
[00:28:21] Layla Okay.
[00:28:22] Salwa It’s not for brands that are like established, like as firmly as what you were looking for. Like, I don’t think Keeva shows up to Hall of Flowers. Like, I don’t think like the brands who have like, you know, are on shelves and have been for a while really participate in Hall of Flowers at this point.
[00:28:39] Layla That makes sense. It’s kind of more of like an expo for the newbies.
[00:28:42] Salwa Yeah. Oh, CannaCraft, isn’t CannaCraft by you guys?
[00:28:47] Layla Yeah.
[00:28:48] Salwa That’s a good one. Okay, that would be a really good one. I’m an investor in CannaCraft. They’re out completely across the supply chain and they have so many different brands and so many different things that they’re doing that that might be a good one.
[00:29:04] Layla Okay. I was going to ask about how do you feel about like the idea of like because I was trying to reach out to people or like find someone who would be, like, interested in like maybe mentoring me or like, trying to, like, help me get my way into the industry. Like, besides, outside of, like, volunteer opportunities, I didn’t know if you knew anyone who would be interested that or if you knew how I could try to find something like that.
[00:29:28] Salwa I think mentorship in general is like a little bit new for us in California, specifically just because we were so shrouding, like in all the regulations, lists and stuff that I don’t think anybody had much bandwidth for anything extra. Like we went from having our businesses be in the gray area to then compliance coming on. Then we have to get all of our stuff into the new market. Then we had new regulations coming down for new packaging, the new laws, the new SFP. So we’ve been constantly trying to play catch up to a point where I don’t think most people had that ability to do that. At least I’m speaking for myself. I guess I shouldn’t project on people, but like for me, like it’s been such a whirlwind of changes and pitfalls and things moving that I haven’t had a chance to really do mentorship. But right now is such a good time because that’s the conversation we’re having. It’s like how to it the only way to advance our industry and really get what we want out of it is really to bring people along with us. And so I think that’s just a timely type of a thing.
[00:30:43] Layla Okay. Yeah. Because I feel like for me, like the conversations I have, sometimes I have a difficult time networking because I have a little bit of hard time like jumping into the conversation. Once I’m in the conversation, I usually do fine. But I feel like like the event I’ve been to, it almost feels like a gated community. And so I feel like I have such a hard time trying to, like, get my voice out there. Like, I promise I can add something to the industry. And so I it does help me, like I feel a little bit more relaxed and like, that’s kind of like the ideology, like going on right now of like they kind of want new people because I’ve just felt like for so long that like they didn’t want anybody new.
[00:31:17] Salwa Yeah, I don’t know. It’s, it’s, it’s such an interesting thing because I feel like I prior to this conversation, I had just said, I have a baby at home, so I’ve been home for a while. Right. But this last 420, I got to go on a trip to D.C. and go to New York. And so I went into those markets pretty blind where, you know, the people there don’t know or care who I am or what I’ve done or whatever. And so it was interesting for a moment to like, feel that and be in your shoes where it’s like, Oh, hey, I have something to offer, or Hey, I have done this X, Y and Z. But it’s very true in that sense. I was even joking to a girlfriend. I was like, We need to make pens that are just like, you know, it’s like I am someone, I have something to say, have some respect, you know? Right. So, no, I totally feel that. And it is kind of an interesting thing of I think there’s also a little bit of trauma there, too, because I think a lot of us had gone through this. Oh, let me pick your brain season, especially around 2017, 18, 19, where it was like, you know, we were all trying to figure out who’s relevant, who’s not relevant. And then I think a lot of people with a lot to say kind of got used by larger companies for their knowledge and their IP. So everybody kind of became a little bit more guarded. I don’t know. Do you have any suggestions on like how to change that part of the culture?
[00:32:41] Layla I don’t know, maybe just being, having like a more receptive ear. I feel like sometimes people come into like maybe the events or whatever being like, okay, I already know, like my friends are coming or like, I know these people from these different brands are coming. I’m just gonna talk to them or like just be more receptive to like, Hey, like, I’ve never seen this person. Let me just hear about. I feel like that could just say like that. A simple like mindset change I think could do like a lot. Because when I went to that one event with my partner in the city, we only talked to like one person. I think he actually okay, I have a secret. He actually did a little like podcast with you. His name was Alex. Oh, yeah, that’s my boyfriend. Yeah. So he was actually the one who was like, You need to email her. I was like, okay, I’ll do it. So we both talked to start on a Harden and she was like the only one who was super like, Let’s talk like we were the only ones all like lighting up all over the lounge and we’re like, Are we supposed to be smoking in? They’re like, Isn’t that how we got the conversation started? And, but like everybody else was just like in their groups. And so I feel like just having someone like her who just, like, opened the door, the conversation of just being like, is anyone else going to light up? Like just those little windows I feel like helps so much when it comes to networking.
[00:33:53] Salwa Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tash, I. I love that. That was the conversation you guys have, and I love that connection. Thanks for drawing that. I appreciate it. So funny, so fun. It’s totally a thing, unfortunately. And it’s funny because I, you know, when I was saying about my trip that I just went on, I always I always felt like it’s because I’m a girl. Like they’re like, oh, it’s a girl. It’s somebody’s girlfriend, you know? I mean.
[00:34:17] Layla Yeah, I feel like I sometimes get stuck in that position because usually me and my boyfriend, we go to these events together and then I’m just standing there. I’m like, I do not want to be seen as just the girlfriend. Like I, I can talk to, you know?
[00:34:28] Salwa Yeah, totally. Unfortunately, like, that’s just like a part of it. But you know what? Just keep showing up, keep trying. And also, I would say that, like, keep in mind that most of us who love the planet, I would say a lot of us have anxiety. So it kind of does it matter that like how big of a boss or how cool somebody may look or be or even like the famous rapper guys that are in our industry, they all have really bad anxiety. And so we’ll kind of take that with a little bit of a grain of salt when you’re trying to approach people, because just because you might be gaining the courage to have that conversation, they might be experiencing the same thing too. So I know that one time I had this conversation with these guys and I walked up to them and I think my first thing out of my mouth was like, All social anxiety sucks and I’m going to have weed. And like, that was the icebreaker that was like And so I ended up talking to them for the rest of the night, you know what I mean? Yeah. So I would just say like, you know, keep trying, keep trying different stuff, keep building your brand, because like, the more followers you have, unfortunately, like, just the more credibility you have, the easier it is to knock down doors, the easier it is to connect with people, especially if you can, even if it’s like you don’t have that many followers, but you have a ton of posts that are like smart and make sense and educate. Like I think that that that’s enough to be relevant.
[00:35:57] Layla Okay. Yeah, that’s given me I was having like I, I wasn’t discourage but I was like, how am I going to get in? But like, this is making me feel a lot better about it.
[00:36:07] Salwa Absolutely. I don’t think you should be discouraged at all. At Fiery. I’d be super excited.
[00:36:11] Layla I am. I definitely am.
[00:36:13] Salwa Especially the education standpoint. Like, especially like, just like, truly like I want you to go through this exercise of, like, the three circles of the entire of your education. Like what you’re passionate about and who you are as a person, your experience. And let’s just start mapping all of that out and start kind of pushing towards the middle, all the overlap and just start there because being your authentic self is the best way to be. It aligns with you and it’s not something that you get resistance from, right? It’s like something that’s true to you. So it gives you the energy to keep going because you’re not faking it. But at the same time, it’s like authenticity. Authenticity sells. That’s what we’re all looking for. We can always tell somebody’s Instagram when someone is faking it and they’re not aligned with themselves. Right. So it’s like, but the people who are super aligned with themselves go super far.
[00:37:08] Layla Totally.
[00:37:09] Salwa And it’s like, I just really want you to know that you’re unique, your experience is unique, you are valuable, you add value. And whether or not these assholes are noticing it right now, they will one day. And so just like align and learn and try experiment.
[00:37:28] Layla Thank you. I really. Yeah, I needed I needed that because I feel like I’m very against the whole anxiety conversation. I’m just thinking over like, is the risk worth it? Like, do I do this? Do I do that? And I think I just need to tell myself, like, just do it. Like, do it. I have to remind myself the mistakes are whole. Like, part of the progress. Like, that’s the only way.
[00:37:46] Salwa You’re not making.
[00:37:47] Layla Mistakes. Yeah.
[00:37:49] Salwa It’s not a mistake. It’s learning. Everything is an experiment. Nothing’s a mistake. That’s like, Oh, I try. I experimented with that. I didn’t like it versus, Oh, I messed up. I made a mistake. Right now, everything’s an experiment.
[00:38:00] Layla Yeah, exactly.
[00:38:01] Salwa It’s like I tried. That was. I wasn’t aligned. I don’t like that.
[00:38:05] Layla Yeah.
[00:38:06] Salwa I love that. And especially you’re a scientist, so, like, isn’t that all you guys do? It’s just stuff.
[00:38:11] Layla Is It really is. I mean, all we do is, like, I remember getting told by one of my professors, like, you better get used to failing because that’s all you do. And, like, all you do is, like, make mistakes. But that’s the whole point of your job is to do that experimentation. So yeah, I feel like that’s something I need to work on.
[00:38:27] Salwa That’s what they say. Feel fast. That’s I swear. So for my podcast it was like, okay, so my podcast, it originally started as like a YouTube thing. I was like, I’m gonna do these YouTube videos, right? And I like, tried that and then I hated it. I hated that. I hate it. It was like, I hope I never see that video again, you know? And then so I was like, okay, failed. That’s what’s next on the list, right? And then I’ll try podcasting. And then I was like, Okay. And then I tried it and I was like, I love it. And then I was like, okay, well, let me see. Like this. I wrapped it up. I went from one episode a week to two episodes a week because I wanted to see if I can. I wanted to get better faster and like decide what I liked or what I didn’t like and things like that. And so I now I’m at a point where it’s like, okay, I like this medium check. All right, we’re going down this route. However, I don’t necessarily like my structure of my show, so I need to pull it back. Then I got to reorganize it and then I’ve got to launch it again. Right. But at least I’ve picked a track. So I guess my point is, is that, like, you should really enjoy and embrace failing because it’s not and I hate that word failing. It’s like you should really enjoy and embrace experimenting. Yeah, and process of elimination, that’s what everything is. It’s a process of elimination, right? Like you try stuff to then decide whether or not it’s something that you want to do or it aligns or doesn’t align. And maybe it does for a little bit and then it doesn’t. Excited for you?
[00:39:55] Layla I’m I’m excited to I feel like I was very wishy washy on like, do I want to do it? And now I’m kind of like, yeah, I’m going to do it. Like I’m going to get this done.
[00:40:04] Salwa Okay. I have a I have a homework assignment for you.
[00:40:07] Layla Okay, I’m ready.
[00:40:08] Salwa Okay. So I want you by the end of what’s. Let’s look at the date today. How about by? This is going to be aggressive. Are you ready? I’m ready by May 5th. I want you to post three cannabis educational videos that are aligned with you, your brand, and your education.
[00:40:28] Layla Okay, I can do.
[00:40:29] Salwa That. And like who you are, whether it be talking about anxiety and how cannabis infects anxiety or talks about how you personally cultivate for or you look for strains that help you with your anxiety, whatever mishmash that aligns with you and your brand. Do three videos. I want you to tag me and I want to see them.
[00:40:45] Layla I’ll definitely do that. Yeah, I got some ideas for sure.
[00:40:48] Salwa Keep me posted on if you get into a volunteer position with any of these bigger events that are happening. If it works out, if it doesn’t holler, let me know because I want to pivot my advice to if it’s just that people are not receptive to that type of that type of like offer, I guess check out EventHi and keep me posted. I want to hear I want just keep me posted.
[00:41:13] Layla What’s the best way to like contact you?
[00:41:15] Salwa IG at highsalwa. Yeah.
[00:41:18] Layla Perfect.
[00:41:19] Salwa Go into my DMs. That’s the thing. It’s so funny. How many how much business is done through Instagram. Even though Instagram hate us like so much of our world. Yeah.
[00:41:30] Layla No. To delete your account like five times over again.
[00:41:34] Salwa Yeah, totally. So much of our world runs on Instagram. So like, go into the DMs, comment on your favorite brands, do that whole thing, build your following. Start posting, tag all the right people.
[00:41:47] Layla Totally. Totally. Yeah. Cause I have I started talking to some people, like New Jersey, like East Coast is doing the internship for I don’t know if you’re familiar with the brand Cannademix? Joshua Alb is like the dude who runs everything, and we’re doing like cannabis research. So if I can get like, approval, like, talk about that information, I feel like it’d be really cool to post about.
[00:42:12] Salwa Oh, yeah, absolutely.
[00:42:14] Layla Yeah, because we’re supposed to be doing like research on like your cannabinoid receptors and how that can actually simulate the same things like pharmaceuticals are doing, like melatonin for sleep or even like ibuprofen for pain. So I feel like once we get to like, research on that, if I’m allowed to talk about it on my Instagram, I feel like it’d be really cool.
[00:42:35] Salwa Absolutely. Oh my gosh. Layla. I think I like it from my perspective. I know it’s really hard to see where you are space and time when you’re in it, but it’s nice to have an outsider’s perspective, right? And I’m guilty of that too. It’s like, I don’t know what I’m doing with my life, you know? So, you know.
[00:42:55] Layla Yeah. No, it feels like that’s sometimes for sure.
[00:42:58] Salwa That’s how I feel. So I know you know what I mean? Like, from my standpoint, looking at you, I’m just like, Oh, my gosh, she has so much to offer. Like, she has so much credibility. I just actually just for market research, I downloaded Tammy, the cannabis cutie, she does this like whatever like a like a 15 page pdf of the I know cannabinoid system and why you should care. And it was marketed as like, hey, like I’m going to break it down like super, super simple so anybody can understand it. But to be honest with you, I was like, I think if you get broken down even more, you know, like, I think but there’s some things where it’s like receptors. It’s like, what the fuck is a receptor? Like how many like what different types of receptors do we have? Like, you know what I mean? Or like, Yeah, compound, right? What the fuck is a compound? Is it like a Lego? Is it like, is like, what are we talking about here? So it’s like, I’m just saying like, I think there’s so much room for people to educate about, about this plant because it truly is a miracle plant. And also two people like different messengers, right? So it’s like you might align, I might align with somebody, but there’s going to be people who align with you because they see themselves in Layla like that. Like, oh, Layla’s like me. She’s she has a similar background, she has a similar experience. She has this, she has that, she looks like me or whatever. And so I just don’t want you to get discouraged because somebody else might be doing something similar. You’re going to bring a completely different flavor to it. You’re going to bring a completely different context to it. You’re a completely different person. You’re going to have a completely different following.
[00:44:31] Layla Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. I appreciate that.
[00:44:34] Salwa Totally. I can’t wait. This is going to be great.
[00:44:38] Layla Yeah, I’m excited. I feel like I’ve got a lot of plans.
[00:44:41] Salwa Yeah, you definitely have some homework. And then I think another thing for when you’re thinking about your brand and like, or the type of products you want to have like, and you have some time on your hands, like really just start digging into different dispensaries menus, start digging into different brand menus, start thinking about like, what price point are they at? Like think like just start kind of honing in on where the market places and also subscribe to headset. Headset does the like data analytics for for the industry for retailers. So they basically have their pulse on like what brands are selling and what quantities at one time and all that, all the data. So but like they’ll give out information on their newsletter.
[00:45:30] Layla Okay, perfect.
[00:45:31] Salwa There’s another one too. I forget what the name is, though. There’s headset and BDS, BDS Analytics. There’s the other one. So subscribe to their newsletters. So you’ve got like a lot going on.
[00:45:42] Layla Yeah, for sure. And then I’m sitting here, I’m like, Wait. And then I have finals too. Like, so, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Busy. But I’m looking forward to it.
[00:45:50] Salwa Yeah. All right. Awesome. Well, thank you, Layla. Thank you for your time. Thank you for entrusting me to help guide you on your journey. I’m looking forward to hearing from you. I’m looking forward to seeing your homework assignment. I’m looking forward to, like, honestly, keep in touch, hit me up on Instagram, and I’d love to know, like, sort of where you’re at with stuff and keep me posted.
[00:46:09] Layla Yeah. Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.
[00:46:12] Salwa Of course. Tell Alex I said hi.
[00:46:14] Layla Yes, I will.
[00:46:16] Salwa All right. Until next time, classmates, keep on pursuing the high life.
