How to Use Facebook for Your Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Increase you fan base and over all profits by utilizing facebook for you medical marijuana dispensary

Social Media is like free advertising and if properly utilized can be very effective in bringing in more foot traffic to your medical marijuana dispensary. Cafe Cartel has highlighted some of the strategies used by some of our dispensary friends.

Poles

River City Phoenix knows hat asking questions is a great way to get the conversation going. Even better make it a pole and you are more likely to get more responses because it's very easy to reply. Keep it simple and gain more insight into your clienteles' preferences.

Announcements
If you need to get the word out to attract participants Facebook is a great way to tell your community about it or just give them a little reminder. The honey spot does this very efficiently with few words and a picture of their new product and reminding their fan base that using this product is a more efficient way to medicate.

Recipes

Offer fun and inventive recipes that they can use with products that you sell. Preferred organic chose a great recipe for ice cream, not only is it relevant and delicious, they posted it in the middle of summer when ice cream is on everyone's mind to beat the heat.

Specials

If you have any specials or deals going on, talk about them! And if it's for more than a day be sure to post multiple times, it’s good to give a reminder here and there or give an update. Nature's Herb is great at posting their daily specials... well daily. They don't have to be amazing, simple and to the point works great.

Articles

Articles about your store or products in your store are useful pieces of information and great for posts. Olive Tree Collective gives a great example of an article that features their shop and ads a few comments to update customers on current products.

News

Keep current with what is happening in the news, locally and nationally. Being part of the conversation and knowing what everyone is talking about is key. Preferred knows it is important to know what is happening in their community and even joins in to help out.

Pictures and Videos

Pix and video excellent attention getters, if you find any interesting or funny pix or clips, post away. G Farmacy in LA actually has their own Youtube channel, which is a great way to get people interested and expand your reach further than your FB fan base.

Keep it Casual

This is important especially for dispensaries. Facebook is a casual networking tool, so be sure to keep it all conversational. And since you are a dispensary and your clients are adults, feel free to post away anything humorous... even if its a little vulgar or has a swear word in it. At the very least try something a little risque to see what kind of response you get. Noho Organic has a good example of this; simple, relevant and funny.

We hope this post has helped give you some ideas on how to stay competitive and successful as these shops have. These Dispensaries also know that to stay successful, the right point of sale system is vital. Find out more about why Cafe Cartel has the experience and know how that you have been looking for in a dispensary point of sale system and service!

Click Here! for more cannabis club point of sale information

Successful Business Practices For MMJ Dispensaries

Growing Your Medical Marijuana Brand with Professionalism

In the past, the medical marijuana (MMJ) industry has come under attack as being a “seedy business” similar to illicit drug trafficking.

Steve DeAngelo, director of Harborside Health Center and this year’s keynote speaker for the National Marijuana Business Conference urged, above all else, the need for a new degree of professionalism in the industry.

“It’s critically, critically important that we bring professionalism to the cannabis industry,” he stated, at the conference.

He and many other big names in the medical marijuana field believe that more professionalism in the workplace will further legitimize the MMJ industry and bring new support from across the nation for the continued growth of the movement.

Times are changing in the cannabis industry of the United States. But it is still unclear whether the majority of the country believes that cannabis should be legal.

In order to garner further support and continue the trend of decriminalization of cannabis, especially for medical use, businesses are making a number of changes to convey their legitimacy, just like other industries.

Making Your Dispensary Successful: Putting Professionalism First

What can you do to make your medical marijuana business more professional?

1. Keep your dispensary clean. How often do you see restaurants, retail stores or medical offices that are cluttered, dusty or grimey? Not very often. Those that are filthy are usually shut down within a matter of weeks or months. Cleanliness is a success builder!

2. Sell only to legitimate card holding medical patients. The sale of cannabis for recreational use is still illegal in most states. To maintain a legitimate medical marijuana business, you should sell to medical patients instead of minors or others for recreational use. Unless the legislation in your area stipulates that you may do otherwise.

3. Get involved with your community. Steve DeAngelo stressed this as a key part of how to achieve “professionalism” in your business. A business that is involved with its community is harder to delegitimize. If you are helping people in your community, then the community will want you there. The less people you have against you, the harder it is to kick you out. Get involved in your area and watch as support for your dispensary grows and new patients line up to purchase from the community’s favorite shop.

4. Keep excellent records of sales, stock, quotes, everything! You should have a record of everything you do with your business, just like other businesses have. The more explicit, the better. This shows that you take your business seriously, so they should too.

Having the right Point Of Sales (POS) system will alleviate any record keeping problems you may have. Cafe Cartel Systems has been involved in the medical marijuana industry for years. We can help you make important decisions about your business by providing you with valuable information regarding trends in the industry, as it progresses.

Cafe Cartel Systems can help you keep records of everything you do, too. Community efforts, business transactions, weight measurements, you name it. We have a POS system that can improve your business.


Click Here! for more cannabis club point of sale information

Boost Your Dispensary Revenue

For many Dispensaries the transactions are cash and there are no bar codes or very efficient ways to track inventory. Because of this, dispensary owners commonly have issues with "inventory shrinkage", which stunts their growth in revenues. many owners are doing so well that they don't feel it's worth it to find out just how much they are losing, but many are realizing it is more than worth their time to have a "grow tracking" system in place.

Some of the ways you can have better controls are management based and the other is your actual point of sale system. First let's talk management strategies.

Dispensary Management Strategies

Have opening and closing protocols to ensure employee consistency and avoid carelessness. Don't be afraid to be detailed, employees secretly like structure because they then they don't have to ask the question, "now what do I do?"

Opening Procedures Example

* Turn off alarms
* Check on surveillance cameras
* Count Inventory
* Count cash drawer money
* Get storefront ready: Check restrooms, turn on AC and lights
* Unlock Doors

Closing Procedures Example

* Count Cash, Compare with Inventory
* Lock up Inventory
* Turn off lights
* Turn on alarm
* Lock Doors
* Make bank deposit

Another piece of the puzzle is checking out new hires by calling their references and checking with their previous employers. Although this is an important step, you can't rely solely on what others say or judge on appearances. The employees with the "stickiest of fingers" are often the "ideal employees".

This is where having the right POS software system comes into play. With the right point of sale software you can accurately track your inventory, meaning you wouldn't have to worry so much about the inventory once it is entered into your system.

Medical Marijuana Point of Sale System

Cafe Cartel has devised a complete integration of the grow tracking solution with the POS software system. Grow tracking tracks the growth of products and processing it into buds and hash, as well as any items that you are going to dispose of.

The system provides:

* Labels with bar codes
* Batch management of inventory
* Batch updates to your master inventory list
* Tracking of sales and inventory of the batches

This software also has important features such as:

* Price Negotiation
* Paperless Documentation
* Employee Scheduling
* Employee Hour Tracking

Click Here To Find Out More About Our Dispensary Point of Sale Systems

10 Issues to Weed Out At Your Medical Marijuana Facility in California

10 Issues to Weed Out At Your Medical Marijuana Facility in California

Hi, I’ve been working in the medical industry for the past 8 years. I’ve worked with DME(Durable Medical Equipment). I’ve also worked with the Medical Marijuana industry. Our company provides inventory control and software systems for the prescription based medical marijuana locations in California; we’ll provide systems from southern to northern areas of California.

With that in mind: I’ve had a chance to look at what is important to the medical marijuana industry. I’ve put this guide together for you and our community. Please feel free to comment and to add your ideas. This is for the benefit of the community and your input is highly valued.

1. Security. This is a must. You must have a plan of action. It should be in your policies and procedures guide. Security plans can range from conformance to HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability), managing installed Surveillance Systems, utilizing Inventory & POS Systems. Even your Location applies to site security.
2. Know the laws. Don’t think that just because everyone else does it, you can. You know this is a highly controversial industry. You should also know how to minimize any risk.
Over Compensate. If it sounds like you should be doing it, do it. HIPAA Compliance, Proper Storage, Site Security should all be the foremost thoughts on your mind. Sales are easy, you’ll get those. You probably already are. But the government, the local police, everyone is going to be after you. Don’t give them any reason to.

3. Get involved with your community, and stay involved. Your facility only existed because of the community, because of the real need for medical marijuana. It can only exist because of your continued support of the community and proper behavior.
4. Be Professional. Nothing is more important than being professional. The medical environment has a lot of relaxed industries, but these are generally in the eastern medicinal facilities. You can’t afford to go that route. Be professional, don’t stand out. This is not to say, back down on your companies personal image, and profile, this is to say, stay under the wire, stay in business.
5. Employee only the best. You can afford professional staff. Employee trained medical administrative staff. Be sure to have your employees researched by any good background agency. Always keep their background checks on file. Always keep records of all events that include employees.

6. Have a business plan. Don’t except your high quality low cost marijuana keep your business going. This is just like any other business. You are going to have good days and bad days, business will run lean. You will come across legal issues, location issues and more. You can compensate and afford these by having a great business plan.

7. Learn about related businesses. As tough as it might sound, always have an exit strategy. Although you can run a great business, and have applied all of these rules, this industry isn’t guaranteed a permanent life. A change in Governor, or local Assemblyman, or Mayor could all change events for you. By learning about related businesses you can have potential to keep your location and run a related business.

8. Know you local politicians. Know your local assemblymen. Know any government official you can. Know what they stand for. Know what they campaign for. Keep an eye out for those for your business. Keep an eye out for those against your business. Make those against know how hard you’ll fight against their opposition. Make those who are for your business know how much you’ll support them. For those who appose you: When they know you are active in the community, that you’ve respected their laws, that you’ve followed a clean and clear plan, they’ll respect you and look to meet you halfway.
So stay one step ahead of the game and you can ensure your future. Keep your customers happy, treat them well. Treat your local law enforcement with respect. Have an exit plan. But for today, get organized and have the best onstage performance you can muster.
About the author: Mark Phillips is a former Durable Medical Equipment Business owner and president of CCS, Inc. a Point of Sale Software company.
Looking for consultation?
We’ve worked with consultants to make sure operations works within the laws. Give us a call and we might be able to help you find the right consultant in your area. Call CCS at at 866-973-8099

Find out about how Point of Sale can Improve your Medical Marijuana Business.

Want to find out about Point of Sale with Medical Marijuana? Get a quote today. CCS Point of Sale can integrate Scales, Customer Patient Data, Age Verification, Credit Card Services, and Inventory Control into your business.
Find out about our packages and solutions for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
You may also contact CCS at 866-973-8099

Boost Your Dispensary Revenue

For many Dispensaries the transactions are cash and there are no bar codes or very efficient ways to track inventory. Because of this, dispensary owners commonly have issues with “inventory shrinkage”, which stunts their growth in revenues. many owners are doing so well that they don’t feel it’s worth it to find out just how much they are losing, but many are realizing it is more than worth their time to have a “grow tracking” system in place.

Some of the ways you can have better controls are management based and the other is your actual point of sale system. First let’s talk management strategies.

Dispensary Management Strategies

Have opening and closing protocols to ensure employee consistency and avoid carelessness. Don’t be afraid to be detailed, employees secretly like structure because they then they don’t have to ask the question, “now what do I do?”
Opening Procedures Example

• Turn off alarms
• Check on surveillance cameras
• Count Inventory
• Count cash drawer money
• Get storefront ready: Check restrooms, turn on AC and lights
• Unlock Doors

Closing Procedures Example

• Count Cash, Compare with Inventory
• Lock up Inventory
• Turn off lights
• Turn on alarm
• Lock Doors
• Make bank deposit

Another piece of the puzzle is checking out new hires by calling their references and checking with their previous employers. Although this is an important step, you can’t rely solely on what others say or judge on appearances. The employees with the “stickiest of fingers” are often the “ideal employees”.
This is where having the right POS software system comes into play. With the right point of sale software you can accurately track your inventory, meaning you wouldn’t have to worry so much about the inventory once it is entered into your system.

Medical Marijuana Point of Sale System

Cafe Cartel has devised a complete integration of the grow tracking solution with the POS software system. Grow tracking tracks the growth of products and processing it into buds and hash, as well as any items that you are going to dispose of.
The system provides:

• Labels with bar codes

• Batch management of inventory

• Batch updates to your master inventory list

• Tracking of sales and inventory of the batches

This software also has important features such as:

• Price Negotiation

• Paperless Documentation

• Employee Scheduling

• Employee Hour Tracking

Welcome

Greetings to all! I would like to take a moment and dedicate this blog to the small business men and women out there that are working hard to contribute to their economy, create jobs, and following their dream of owning your own medical marijuana dispensary. It’s not easy to be the boss, you constantly have to stay on top of yourself in order to succeed, in other words there is no one out there outlining exactly what you should be doing to reach your goals.

This blog is intended to offer advice and examples that will lend a hand in all areas that are small business related and if anything get the wheels turning to lead you down the right path.
These days you may notice a lot of rapid changes due to many factors, but that can all be traced back to advances in technology. These changes may have you feeling a bit bewildered when trying to stay ahead of the game.

A few examples is having an updated website, utilizing social media, automated services and machines. It may be a bit overwhelming trying to adapt to such advances, but in the end what a lot of these advances can do is give you more time and flexibility to focus on the aspects of business that will never be outdated. I’m talking about good old fashion business values such as great customer service, creating a positive customer experience, product and service quality. These advances can also assist you in keeping better track of your operations and providing better security.

Well with that I welcome you to my blog and hope that you find it helpful.

Cheers!