Kaya Cast

Social media has the power to connect people across the globe. It allows content creators to share their stories and dog owners to post cute pup pics for all the world to see.

Even though cannabis is legal in the majority of the U.S. states and Canada, there are still large limitations to advertising and posting on mainstream social networks. The most popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have strict community guidelines on what cannabis businesses can share. This may be in part because in the USA, cannabis is still considered to be a controlled substance. So where do you go to promote, engage and connect? Enter cannabis business social networks.

Cannabis business social networks are where industry leaders, business owners, and enthusiasts can interact openly and share their thoughts and experiences. Are you curious to learn about some of our favourite cannabis friendly social networks?

Read our blog article: 10 Cannabis Business Social Networks You Should Check Out

Amber Erickson is an experienced cannabis technology marketer. She is Head of Marketing at Seed Technology, empowering dispensary owners and operators with digital signage and interactive solutions to decrease wait times, increase revenue, and reduce staffing costs.

In my conversation with Amber we discussed how to create impactful in-store digital experiences within your dispensary. We also discussed how Seed Technology is using their technology to impact the customer journey for dispensaries and consumption lounges.

The Cannabis Consumer Survey aims to help the industry understand how customers and patients feel about their dispensary experience so that we can improve and grow.

Find out more about Seed Technology:

Tahir Johnson is the Director of Social Equity and Inclusion at the Marijuana Policy Project where he developed and launched an internship program in partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus foundation placing interns at some of the most prominent companies in the industry. He advises legislators, regulators, and other industry stakeholders on best practices to ensure equitable cannabis laws and programs.

He is also the host of The Cannabis Diversity Report Podcast. Featuring cannabis industry operators, advocates, and allies discussing issues related to social equity and highlights of their experiences, challenges, and success stories as minorities in the cannabis industry.

Together we unpack the recent reform on cannabis policy announced from the white house on October 6, 2022. This is a huge step in the right direction towards legalization of cannabis. Our expert guest, Tahir Johnson, dives into what this announcement means for the industry and how we can create a more equitable future for cannabis.

Find out more about Tahir Johnson:

As of 2022, more than 400 thousand cannabis industry jobs were created in the United States alone (that's 33% from the prior year.)

That number hit over 151 thousand cannabis industry jobs in Canada, with the market size growing by 83% over five years.

Here are the Top 10 Cannabis Jobs: 

Find a cannabis job you love at Kaya Push. Check out our careers page at: https://www.kayapush.com/careers

Tommy Truong (CPA) is the co-founder and CEO of KayaPush. With over $1 Billion of payroll processed last year, Kayapush helps dispensaries scale through an easy people management platform. Tommy has helped thousands of business owners grow their companies through simplifying workforce management.

In the first of many conversations with Tommy, we discuss growth principles for your bud tenders and dispensary teams. It all starts with investing in the futures of each of your team members and having growth conversations now. This will lead to higher retention rates for your teams and create a more fun place to work.

Tommy Truong will be coming back every month with new cannabis industry insights from his conversations with hundreds of cannabis retailers across North America.

Dianna Tarbell is the General Manager and Myan Adams is the Sales Manager for Seven Leaf which is the first 100% indigenous-owned and –operated Cannabis producer to receive a Health Canada license.

In this episode, we discuss the story of building Seven Leaf which is an indigenous owned and operated cannabis producer. Our guests discuss the challenges facing First Nations professionals looking to enter the cannabis industry and how Seven Leaf positioned their company to be one of the first producers operating on Indigenous land.

Seven Leaf’s motto is “happy people grow happy plants!” and this is foundational in every aspect of the business. They are building a company that honours the generations that have come before, and invests in the future of the generations to come.

Find out more about Seven Leaf here:

Tom and Maria discuss some of the most important insights from our recent cannabis industry seminars that we hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Maine.

We joined with our partners across the country to share growth techniques to successfully launch and grow a dispensary. It was fantastic to connect with cannabis retailers and hear their stories.

This week’s episode features the “Greatest Hits” from our cannabis industry seminar that we hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Portland, Maine.

Designed to help you navigate the process of opening a cannabis dispensary with best practices of over 3000 dispensaries and how they succeeded.

Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova

Gary Cohen is the CEO of the most trusted award-winning POS brand in North America. He has met with nearly 2000 dispensary operators from coast to coast and leveraged expert knowledge to provide cannabis retailers the support they need to get a license, pass inspection, launch a store, and improve operations. Gary frequently leads seminars on retail technology, compliance, business operations, and cannabis banking laws at some of the industry’s largest events including NCIA and MJBizCon.

https://www.covasoftware.com/

Naomi Granger, Founder of NACATS Pros, CPA, MBA

Naomi Granger is the only CPA to have been featured in The Wall Street Journal for her unique approach to helping accounting professionals expand their practice to support the legal Cannabis industry. She’s provided her support, consulting, and business development skills to over 600 accounting professionals across the United States.

Naomi entered the cannabis industry in 2017 and went from start-up to exceeding $3 million in revenue in just over two years. She’ll guide you to your own solid revenue gains in the highly regulated Cannabis industry with a strong foothold in the market.

https://nacatpros.org/

Tommy Truong, CEO of KayaPush

Tommy Truong (CPA) is the co-founder and CEO of KayaPush. With over $1 Billion of payroll processed last year, Kayapush helps dispensaries scale through an easy people management platform. Tommy has helped thousands of business owners grow their companies through simplifying workforce management.

https://www.kayapush.com/

Christine Gervais, CFO Cultivate Consulting

Christine has been a licensed CPA since 2010 using her skills to help small businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential.

With a Master’s degree in accounting, in addition to years of experience both in public accounting as well as serving as the CFO for large private organizations, Christine has the knowledge base to provide comprehensive accounting and consulting services to Cultivate’s clients.  Most notably, Christine is also a nationally recognized speaker and 280(e) expert, providing cannabis tax education not only to her clients but to other accountants.

http://www.cultivateconsulting.co/

Kirk Morrison, Co-Founder Budsense

Kirk is one of the founding partners of BudSense and has a background in product development, marketing, sales and management consulting. Kirk has been involved in the creation of a number of technology products in the retail sector and has been working with cannabis retailers since the earliest days of federal legalization in Canada.

https://www.mybudsense.com/

Neal Chaudhary is the founder of Red Pill Labs and Irie Systems.

Neil is a consultant with cannabis retailers on best practices, strategies, and finding unique solutions for businesses. To use innovative techniques and technology to make their systems and their retail operations grow.

He is here to help solve those complex business problems all cannabis retailers face. We also talked about Bob Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers and how to help your budtenders deliver exceptional service.

Be sure to check out Neal and Red Pill Labs

Ernest Toney is the founder of BIPOCANN, and leads the strategic efforts to improve equitable representation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) entrepreneurs and business owners in the cannabis industry’s state-legal markets.

Ernest Toney shares practical insights for BIPOC people who are looking to enter the industry and businesses that are looking to connect with those individuals. He also gives insights into strategies for the cannabis industry to become a more social equitable industry.

It starts with business owners and cannabis retailers changing their mindset and promoting black owned businesses. It's exciting to hear some of the momentum and changes that are happening within the industry.

Be sure to check out BIPOCANN