Building a new indoor or greenhouse cultivation facility can cost millions. Depending on the quality of the infrastructure and the capacity of the systems an indoor grow of 10,000sf can easily cost $2,000,000. And that is just the build out (retrofit), not considering the land. So turning a profit in the cannabis industry can be challenging, especially in the competitive environment many states (like Colorado and California) are experiencing. Thus, the importance of understanding the economics of both setting up a grow facility (CapeX) and running it (opeX).

Having many people working together at the grow will increase their risks of getting infected with this disease, a risk that no employee wants. Thus social-distancing: a precaution many workers and customers are taking voluntarily to avoid contact with a potentially infected person or surface that may get them sick. But in a commercial cannabis grow there are a large number of growers, trimmers, admin/sales staff and management that must perform their roles to keep the operation running to make payroll at the end of the month. How can we continue operations without sacrificing margins or putting our people at risk?

As a former owner and operator of a 25,000sf indoor cultivation facility in Denver and 2 retail dispensaries in Colorado, I can understand how the COVID19 situation we are living these days can affect your business. Having many people working together will increase their risks of contagion with this disease and having many customers together in the store can also mean getting the virus, a risk that no employee and no customer want. We've assembled 7 survival tips for dispensary businesses during this pandemic.