MJBizMag July 2020 - 14

HempNotebook | Kristen Nichols
The Old Normal
Why hemp entrepreneurs have lessons for all businesses facing an economic downturn
I
didn't mean to start a joke, but my
innocent question almost ruined
everything.
I was moderating a recent webinar
featuring some titans of the hemp
industry, entrepreneurs who have
built multimillion-dollar companies
in a tumultuous business sector
that was arguably illegal when
they started.
While preparing for the webinar
to go live, I asked the panelists how
their banks are responding to loan
requests to get through the current
economic downturn.
One business owner cackled.
Another said he didn't know what
I was talking about, because he
couldn't get a bank to return his calls,
even when the economy was strong.
Pretty soon the whole gang was
laughing so hard that when the
event went live, the audience found
a panel wiping away tears and short
of breath.
For me, the lessons were twofold.
One, no one thinks I am funny
when I am trying to be, only when
I ask a dumb question, which
is probably how I ended up in
journalism.
And, two, the hemp industry was
absolutely made for these rough
economic times and can teach all
businesses a thing or two about
thriving during adversity.
Familiar Territory
The business challenges faced by
most mainstream companies right
now are old hat for anyone working
with hemp.
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. (I'm looking at you, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.)
Reading the business-page
headlines these days, hemp pioneers
can be forgiven for guffawing 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.
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.
Hemp pioneers can be forgiven
for guffawing 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. "
12 Marijuana Business Magazine | July 2020

MJBizMag July 2020

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