wanting to start, have 2.5 mill capital ...

blueberrydrumz said:

90% of the time a consultant will be bias and like mentioned will only take your money, unless they are a friend or somebody from your circle who you can pay to help..

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This is a stupid view to hold. If every consultant ran away with your money they wouldn't be in business very often.

It's basically insulting to anyone that is trying to make an honest dollar in the industry as a consultant. Are there some that don't really know much and will preach to the choir? Sure. But there's plenty of us that do know what the fuck we're doing, have the educational background, and do provide a service that is valuable.

^^^ Funny stuff! A consultant promoting consultants!

Habeeb, you don't need consultants IMO. You need to start a small warehouse, and go from there. Build it up. Get bigger, but in small steps. Learn by your mistakes, and eliminate them as you go. This also gives you opportunity to see how the game shakes out. You have a huge unknown in the government. They can be capricious, and can pull the rug out from under you at their whim. You have to be able to adapt to them on the fly. Hard to do with a large operation.

I worked for a guy that set up a 400 bulb wharehouse with full AC ect and he over payed in many ways by not getting a good grow consultant before the electrical engineer, who was required to pass codes Ect, he was 3 mil in and at 12 months had made back 600k ish with monthly expenses of 20-30k.

I would say for un inspected semi legal your looking at 2k per 1000w minimum more likely 3k if from ground up and really legit. Expenses with a big crew and start up/learning curve I would count on about 600-800 dollars a pound operating expenses and about 1 lbs per thousand until bugs are exposed and dealt with.

When I gave him a plan for 400 bulbs I had figure you need 12 full time employee's and 3-4 of those would have to head crews for cleaning, stripping leaves, trimming and a head grower to manage plants and hopefully oversee the other 2-3..

Work adds up after first cut, we did 42 lights a week so yeah if you don't have the workers you loose $, and machine trimmers while solving one problem create a second in a flooded market.... Even at 1200 and 800 expense it makes good numbers once your running... If your willing to respect the risk and the people funding and the people makin it happen then you stand to do well, but chances of enduring that stress and coming out the person you are today is slim to none...

If that's what you want is to mange the stress of 14-15 people at great profit then start planning, if you can't be brutal and immediately assert your position fairly without creating rifts then prepare for a shit storm of lying primadonna's who over value their time and under value your investment, and coddling a bunch of put out investors who are sure of immenant jail and failure at any hour or point in their personal existence you will have to talk them out of...

thank you johnkimble... you have the most positive comment, and are the least concerned about getting caught up in drama... keep the good vibes flowing

consultants... they exist in every corner of the world for many reasons.. not everyone has the time a consultant knows to learn.. for whatever reason a consultant is nothing bad.. I'm not sure why people think someone that knows packaging, staffing, training, laws, security, layout, planning, site development....... is a bad thing??? it's like saying you have to know how to skydive before you go skydiving, NO YOU DON'T, you hire a company with someone who knows what they are doing and you get to skydive.. it's that simple guys.. ever go to college if someone of you have... you pay someone to teach you.. suba diving? surfing?

I get a lot of people do things on there own, that's cool, but there is a lot more people who have vasts amount of money to reach out for help and making sure they have the best plan and course for success...

I will get in touch with someone, but i have listened to everyone, I might start out small as I have managed multiple rooms by myself, I just never sold as I was invested in seeds, and to be honest it's a lot more daunting task and process as it's about a 8-10 step process from chop..

one option might be to run 15 lamps, and work my way up seeing what goes on and to scale bigger... the problem is really I want to run an automates setup and huge dosers don't scale smaller, that requires a completely different controller and thus the tech doesn't really switch over, second is there is a huge difference to ghetto rigging something, and laying out a bomb ass setup, when you think forward it's really hard to scale say 15 lamps to a hundred.. you would end up building a completely different room

another thing as some have mentioned is outdoor, last I heard a year or two ago was outdoor for whatever reason seemed that people wanted indoor.. I don't know what the scare was or is, but that's what I hear.. it's a good question to put on my radar, as I was thinking that indoor brought more harvests, but didn't think greenhouse space is superior if you have big land and setup.....

there's a million things going in my head.. I was just wanting to start a bigger project then I've ever done as I get bored quickly.. it's why I have used and perfected every nutrient out there and made my own recipes for organic dry nutes..

if your a good grower and produce a top notch product it shouldn't be hard in the right state...cali has way to many people growing ....san diego the market is flooded and prices are down....I would grow on the east coast ..having large scale growing experience would be a asset...closets I could do blind... in one area/building I have never done more than 20 in flower and 5 veg..so 25 ,,1000watt in lights....but in cali unloading it is simple as becoming a vendor and getting lowballed usually...yeehaw ...but I am street smart and went to school for horticulture.....these days I have a tiny grow and greenhouse...how fast your investment pays its self back depends on your growing skills and how you unload product!!!!!...getting rid of large amounts you have to sell for less but get it over and done ..a few lbs each to diff folks makes you more generally ...not having to deal with that end of business===== +++ priceless!!!!!!!!!!!...find you a middle man /broker....growing and selling weed is so simple..legal or not...not is more fun tho....good luck I have a feelin you might need it...

haheeb,
None of my comments were meant to be negative,,,just being honest.

I flower with 55 X 600W HPS lites non-stop, 12 months a year,,,plus my T5HO's for vegging, and cloners, and all my babies prepping to flip. It's a major undertaking to "control" costs, expense, help, risk, and sanity at times. Take your time and grow up in size, you'll be happier and better off financially at the end...trust me on this

siftedunity said:

man you are completely clueless. how do you think half the worlds crops are actually grown in greenhouses all year round??

a person savvy enough to make this venture a success wouldn't even need to be here asking questions about it.

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Well, they don't have a bunch of solar panels and wind power. I can assure you of that.

if how to grow and sell it aint almost second nature to you your in deep shit....yeehaw...very few people percentage wise succeed in growing and selling large amounts on their own,,atleast for very long ...any idiot can unload 15 lbs or so ...more takes skills if you want to stay free and alive....what you need is a crew of experienced people and partnerships don't usually go well.....its nice to dream tho...

I havn't met one "consultant" in the industry worth two shits other than Tierra Rojo in CO and NPKali in Cali. The scaling of industrialized agriculture is nothing like a closet.

You mention knowing all the nutrients out there? At this level, you should be making 100% of your own based on whatever parameters/goals/strains/yield/quality is desired. If you havn't been doing that for at least a few years, the curve will be very steep, very soon, and you better be willing to run like Usain Bolt if you plan to catch up.

99% of the consultants I've ever met "in the industry" (I go to several NCIA and other cannabusiness events/organizations every year) aren't worth shit and literally know nothing when talking horticultural practice and industrial ag. They always have TRASH herb to show off covered in Powdery mildew or dudded the fuck out. And they have no clue. The reason they are consulting is typically because they consistently produced sub par quality and yields, and they figured it'd be easier to try and "teach" people whatever bullshit they learned in their short tenure as a professional cultivator, than actually try and PROFIT from cultivation themselves. The only thing these "consultants" know, that is once your business is licenesed, you better be a mother fucking PRO with the least overhead possible, if you plan to do anything but survive. For now.

First time I've actually agreed with Docta, his post is spot on.

The most difficult thing you will face is not going to be plant care of any kind. It will be the test of your organizational skills. You will need a staff of workers that will need supervised. Do you have supervisory experience? The accounting aspects will be a huge part too. Did you ever have control over a 2.5 million dollar budget? Did you ever do a payroll?

Answer these questions honestly.

1. Are the people giving you the money because they know you or are they giving you the money because they think you are the most qualified person they could get?

2. After reading all these posts are you still confident you could do everything involved (plant care, budget, staff supervision,purchasing, sales and maintenance)?

If you are confident with the answers than go for it and don't look back.

ThaDocta said:

99% of the consultants I've ever met "in the industry" (I go to several NCIA and other cannabusiness events/organizations every year) aren't worth shit and literally know nothing when talking horticultural practice and industrial ag. They always have TRASH herb to show off covered in Powdery mildew or dudded the fuck out. And they have no clue. The reason they are consulting is typically because they consistently produced sub par quality and yields, and they figured it'd be easier to try and "teach" people whatever bullshit they learned in their short tenure as a professional cultivator, than actually try and PROFIT from cultivation themselves. The only thing these "consultants" know, that is once your business is licenesed, you better be a mother fucking PRO with the least overhead possible, if you plan to do anything but survive. For now.

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Great post... might have to put that in my sig haha...

First thing is what state is your best option. WA and Colorado are legal for recreational grows, not sure if there are any others. But it costs a few million here in WA for a recreational license. That is what I heard anyways.

There are quite a few more states with medical cannabis.

Did you just win the lottery or what?

It's entertaining to think about

It's entertaining to think about

It seems picking the location would be the first and most likely the most important decision. My background is in construction and I think there would be many advantages in building a facility from the ground up in a private rural agriculturally zoned area. 20 acres minimum with a gated drive and no visibility from any road and eventually fenced. Build a large building, at least 60x100 with 16 ceilings, on a concrete slab with drains everywhere. Underground electricity with highest amp service available, 1200 amps in my area with 3 meters. Start with 8 rooms framed into the larger building. 4 20x30 flower rooms with 30k lights each so you are harvesting 50+lbs. every 2 weeks=$100k. The other inside rooms would be 1 for drying, 1 for processing, 1 big veg./clone, 1 for storage/water. Use simple nutes, foliage pro, at first with every flower room on a separate set. Coco on timed drippers if it is me. I would say a team of 6 good workers could pull it off maybe less once processing was dialed in. Find a broker you can trust like a brother to move it for you. I would say in the right location $2mil would make this plan happen but it would be at least a year to reach full potential and that's if you work at it all the time. It's been my plan all along, there's no partner and I add as I go so the time frame is extended but it's going well and I don't owe anybody anything. Good luck

ThaDocta said:

I havn't met one "consultant" in the industry worth two shits other than Tierra Rojo in CO and NPKali in Cali. .

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I have helped several people with business plans, reports, profit/cost analysis. Supplies lists. And MUCH more.

But, I did nothing more than cursory info until I saw cash sent.

There were a couple people who understood the fact that there were 29999 ways to fail in growing with no information. And it WAS a service.

Another Richy Rich I knew had two HUGE crop failures in 5-7 locations all utilizing AEROPONIC "spaceships" as I called em. He built them, and they were EXCELLENT. Only thing, He had NO idea how to grow..! ANd did not address his water issues, considering RO water to be "Expensive" water, and not using it most of the time.

Well, I was called in after the 2nd failure almost happened. Root Rot in ALL the plants...

So, Your humble author saved the day, and we went on to work together for 2 years, Me getting 50% of all proceeds. Costs to me = 0.

We took over the town (no small feat, if you knew which town it was, a major 420 city) in no time at all.

Could HE have succeeded with out a consultant.

No way Josefina..!!!!!!

I would pre emptively add a week minimum to your expected schedule... They are plants and unless your going to do minimum 25% extra in early phases and have impecible conditions and work ethic/support it will get to be a cluster fuck in no time, pretty easy math though, go do ten plants and average out required man hours. Like I mentioned 12workers with minimum skills and 2 foreman and a head grower your set. We ran 400 bulbs and with a better set up easily same crew could do double that once ironed out. Best bet is use all them for the first round of plant work, and high grade off the best 6 for continued plant work(or best 4 and worst2 as grunts for heavy tasks like TP) then steal the others for full time manicuring. Do not let all the growers help trim! It seems like a good option but will hurt future cycle fast!

The only thing that stood in the way of the guy I worked for was himself! And that place made it through lowest prices I ever saw..... And higher build costs in Canada to boot.


Actually had to add one thing because of the next post below here! Signage is actually very very important, you need to consult with a lawyer and figure out the exact wording with a phone # that will actually prohibit any trespass by any agency at all, yet won't warrant its own inspection...
Ie don't put danger hazardous chemicals because they might be able to search based on proper storage of said chemicals... But clear no trespassing, danger escort required with a company name a # is key to avoiding problems.... We had work safe come do surprise walk through... Best to have regular meetings with all employees and honestly discuss worst case in the event of situations, I was lucky my crew was on point that day and even though I was scared and stoned we made it happen, I managed to keep my mouth in line and avoid their repeated fishing for financial info... And every one else stfu, there was a JW crew doing electrical there and they fricken ninja vanished into nowhere in 2 seconds flat,lol.

Itsmychoice said:

It seems picking the location would be the first and most likely the most important decision. My background is in construction and I think there would be many advantages in building a facility from the ground up in a private rural agriculturally zoned area. 20 acres minimum with a gated drive and no visibility from any road and eventually fenced. Build a large building, at least 60x100 with 16 ceilings, on a concrete slab with drains everywhere. Underground electricity with highest amp service available, 1200 amps in my area with 3 meters. Start with 8 rooms framed into the larger building. 4 20x30 flower rooms with 30k lights each so you are harvesting 50+lbs. every 2 weeks=$100k. The other inside rooms would be 1 for drying, 1 for processing, 1 big veg./clone, 1 for storage/water. Use simple nutes, foliage pro, at first with every flower room on a separate set. Coco on timed drippers if it is me. I would say a team of 6 good workers could pull it off maybe less once processing was dialed in. Find a broker you can trust like a brother to move it for you. I would say in the right location $2mil would make this plan happen but it would be at least a year to reach full potential and that's if you work at it all the time. It's been my plan all along, there's no partner and I add as I go so the time frame is extended but it's going well and I don't owe anybody anything. Good luck

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That's what I did years ago, after it is all built and up running...get a nice "Bob's Specialty Welding" sign for the front entrance, it keeps the power company from getting suspicious on consumption

ThaDocta said:

The scaling of industrialized agriculture is nothing like a closet. 99% of the consultants I've ever met "in the industry" (I go to several NCIA and other cannabusiness events/organizations every year) aren't worth shit and literally know nothing when talking horticultural practice and industrial ag.

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Agreed 100% When you talk to plant biologist that work in commericial ag production it becomes very clear that 99% of the people involved in the cannabis industry are really uneducated. If your not doing sap analysis, if you don't understand nutrients (how to make and adjust your own), how they are used by the plant, and if you don't know organic chemistry then gtfo. I can hire a college kid for a few hundred a week and get lightyears better information than anything from within the industry.

MisterBlah said:

Yes, a mechanical engineer promoting consultants. I'm not a "grow" consultant that will tell you how to grow because I've been doing it illegally in a basement for 5 years. I'm an engineer who spend 5 years getting a mechanical engineering degree and then went and worked in the industry before doing my own thing as an independent mechanical engineering consultant.

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You're the type of consultant I would gladly pay for. If I needed to build a custom hydro set-up, or automate some type of system then you'd be who I call. I know engineers and they are very smart about a lot of things, but the professional engineering code states that if it's not your field of expertise you cannot give advice and the recipient should not accept it. You can easily get sued for that. I just wanted to use that as an example that the bar is set very high for consultants and that even engineers with a great scientific education cannot just decide to consult on something that they think they are qualified for, even though for all intensive purposes they probably would be.

stasis said:

ANd did not address his water issues, considering RO water to be "Expensive" water, and not using it most of the time.

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Serious question, did you force him to use RO water?

if I had 2 mill, i'd retire