starting processes for opening a Colorado retail/manufacturing cannabis shop

[Yes4Prop215]

The problem is not the contracts. The problem is how long it takes to get someone to abide by the contracts via the court system.

Contracts are great until you need to light up 500 lights in a 1.3 million dollar warehouse.

Kind of hard to have your warehouse sit stagnant for a year to wait on the court system.

Also the local inspectors are going to make the process so hard you will want to murder them. The worst part of the entire process is going to be getting a certificate of occupancy.

They will come in acting like they know everything about growing, and you have no choice but to do what they say. They can throw out a 250k change like it's nothing.

Major headaches all over the place. For the right people though it can be lucrative.

fuck that is crazy, what are some things they are red flagging?

god damn i hate permits, rules, licenses, all this fucking nonsense. id rather stay black market and deal with possible jail time than deal with city, county, and court bureaucracy bullshit.

 

[sdd420]

If you didn't buy a warehouse or greenhouse the rent would be way more than those figures in the earlier post maybe 25 k for a month. Good luck and go big peace sdd

 

[Photosynthesis]

If you didn't buy a warehouse or greenhouse the rent would be way more than those figures in the earlier post maybe 25 k for a month. Good luck and go big peace sdd

Not true at all. I have seen warehouse starting at $2,500 in Denver, and going up to $25,000 for something 50,000 sq ft. or larger.

If you leave Denver then you can get things way cheaper.

 

[z-ro]

Was at a warehouse this weekend that is rec., and medical.

insulating the ceiling? 50k

Building one wall? 40k

Once contractors realize what you are building they will pull off of your job, and not return until you pay more.

CO2 extractor? 100k

I stand by my 1 million figure.
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=53425&pictureid=1246666&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=53425&pictureid=1246665&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=53425&pictureid=1246664&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

No offence but that grow is straight amateur hour at best.

 

[Photosynthesis]

No offence but that grow is straight amateur hour at best.

That is not offensive at all.

When economics out way diligence you have to get your grow up and going regardless of what has been done.

This grow was just started a few months ago, and had been moved from another warehouse.

Honestly it is not even close to being built out.

However with a business to run you have to pay the bills.

So hence what you see in the pictures.

How long can you have millions of dollars of building, equipment, people sitting stagnant not producing before you go under?

Amateur probably not. Not complete would be more accurate.

But you wouldn't know that from just looking at the pictures.

 

[nastynate420]

z-ro the boss

z-ro the boss

No offence but that grow is straight amateur hour at best.

Are you kidding?!? If not lets see some pics of your badass 50+ light grow. It does look like they may be using lower quality ballasts and low's pots, but I bet it sells the same.

 

[Xxero]

what about water costs?

 

[SirStynkalot]

Not true at all. I have seen warehouse starting at $2,500 in Denver, and going up to $25,000 for something 50,000 sq ft. or larger.

If you leave Denver then you can get things way cheaper.

But 3/4 of the dispensaries in CO are in denver because they have the most green-friendly zoning laws. Average cost in Denver for a blank, run down warehouse for marijuana growing is over $4 psf and for a to-code space is about $14.50 psf last time I checked.

In WA rent for a to-code warehouse is $5-15 per square foot, and rent on a run down shack in the middle of nowhere is tripled if they see your business name. Seriously - get in touch with the folk offering space for 25-50 cents per square foot and just see what happens in a month.

$1 million is on the VERY low end of reasonable for what you're proposing.

 

[farmerstealth]

How about this.
With 5-600k, 250-350k for a small house on a LARGE lot, 5 acres+, some where out of town, spend first two years working on growing trees in a small green house, then get just a #1 or #2 commercial grow license and set up 2-5 green houses.

Seems feasible to me.
I'd rather start smaller with really good genetics, build a loyal clientele, then expand.

At least it sounds good.

 

[Connoisseur300]

The problem is not the contracts. The problem is how long it takes to get someone to abide by the contracts via the court system.

Contracts are great until you need to light up 500 lights in a 1.3 million dollar warehouse.

Kind of hard to have your warehouse sit stagnant for a year to wait on the court system.

Also the local inspectors are going to make the process so hard you will want to murder them. The worst part of the entire process is going to be getting a certificate of occupancy.

They will come in acting like they know everything about growing, and you have no choice but to do what they say. They can throw out a 250k change like it's nothing.

Major headaches all over the place. For the right people though it can be lucrative.

Good Point. Do you know the average time it takes the court system to allow it? I have no idea.

Can you give an example on a 250,000 change? Specific H vac units?

 

[Connoisseur300]

You're. Doubt you have a million if you don't know the difference between your and you're.

shows how much you know.

 

[Connoisseur300]

That Armenian (I think?) dude that runs sexy pizza started with 3 or 4k and a half pound around three years ago. You've got to remember, three years ago was a completely different time. Now it costs 40.5k just in fees to get started as a level 3 dispensary. That's just for MMJ. Add another 40k at least on that to go rec. The days of a 5k start up are loooong gone, unfortunately.

Thats what i figured. I've wanted to start years ago but didnt have the residency or in financial position to do it. Now is a different story so im getting in ASAP. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Connoisseur300]

If you didn't buy a warehouse or greenhouse the rent would be way more than those figures in the earlier post maybe 25 k for a month. Good luck and go big peace sdd

I agree with this statement. which is why I'm looking to purchase the buildings and possibly the land.

 

[Connoisseur300]

That is not offensive at all.

When economics out way diligence you have to get your grow up and going regardless of what has been done.

This grow was just started a few months ago, and had been moved from another warehouse.

Honestly it is not even close to being built out.

However with a business to run you have to pay the bills.

So hence what you see in the pictures.

How long can you have millions of dollars of building, equipment, people sitting stagnant not producing before you go under?

Amateur probably not. Not complete would be more accurate.

But you wouldn't know that from just looking at the pictures.

Very true!

 

[Connoisseur300]

But 3/4 of the dispensaries in CO are in denver because they have the most green-friendly zoning laws. Average cost in Denver for a blank, run down warehouse for marijuana growing is over $4 psf and for a to-code space is about $14.50 psf last time I checked.

In WA rent for a to-code warehouse is $5-15 per square foot, and rent on a run down shack in the middle of nowhere is tripled if they see your business name. Seriously - get in touch with the folk offering space for 25-50 cents per square foot and just see what happens in a month.

$1 million is on the VERY low end of reasonable for what you're proposing.

I haven't found quite $4.00 a sqf in my area or Denver but I have found an average of $1.00 sqf. So for a 100,000 watts It would run me around $25,000 a month. With all the zoning I wouldn't be surprised to find it goes up soon or find people who already have.
I made my move to boulder these last few weeks and am ready to start the shopping and paper process.

 

[Connoisseur300]

How about this.
With 5-600k, 250-350k for a small house on a LARGE lot, 5 acres+, some where out of town, spend first two years working on growing trees in a small green house, then get just a #1 or #2 commercial grow license and set up 2-5 green houses.

Seems feasible to me.
I'd rather start smaller with really good genetics, build a loyal clientele, then expand.

At least it sounds good.

That would be nice. Then I could grow on my land right outside my front door. Unfortunately they have zoning laws.

 

[Connoisseur300]

I know there's a class I need to take before being able to work in the cannabis industry here in CO. Can anyone give me the details?

 

[SoSour]

I know there's a class I need to take before being able to work in the cannabis industry here in CO. Can anyone give me the details?

I think the details are on google? For someone looking to start a business, you sure want a lot of other people to do the free research and leg work for you. If you do somehow have a million dollars (likely inherited), don't invest in the weed game. You're going to lose it all bro, trust me.

 

[BigBozat]

Its not uncommon to find 100$ per oz..Granted its not grown the best but that's how the market works out here. People just don't care about quality. Its all about prices A lot of people will pay for junk at a lower price than some super awesome smoke which is pretty much USA standard on anything nowadays.

Also something I forgot to mention earlier. The IRS doesn't recognize your shop as a legitimate business so this prevents you from various different business write offs. I know several business owners that got spanked because of it. This kinda business falls under tax code 280E, SECTION 280E: No deduction or credit shall be allowed for any amount paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business if such trade or business (or the activities which comprise such trade or business) consists of trafficking in controlled substances (within the meaning of schedule I and II of the Controlled Substances Act) which is prohibited by Federal law or the law of any State in which such trade or business is conducted

COOG's right on here...

The price compression that's happened so far in parts of CO isn't even close to what it'll eventually settle at...

We're ramping up in anticipation of the rec mj referendum coming to Maine for 2016. Our analysts are estimating eventual/end-state price compression for the Maine market of 75% ~ 90%... $900 ~ $1,000/lb. max. (for top shelf, connoisseur quality bud, assuming only 75% compression, and that only for a limited/small segment of the market willing to pay for connoisseur quality & high THC) -to- possibly as low as $200 ~ $250/lb. (for std commercial quality bud, assuming as much as 90% compression, and that is most of the market)... with those kinds of prospects, efficiency/low costs of production are critical to withstanding the coming competition, and indoor warehouses w/ expensive electric lighting just ain't it... IDK about in CO, but for Maine, with the likely price compression from exuberant competition, the electricity costs alone make indoor/warehouse not feasible in the long run...

State-of-the art perpetual grow insulated greenhouses (pref. w/ some land to do an outdoor grow to boost annual production) with automated fertigation & monitoring + supplemental lighting + water/grow media recycling (and any other 'sustainable' ag practice that can lower long-term marginal costs of production) + well-engineered HVAC + yadda-yadda-yadda are the future of the legal rec mj biz...

COOG's even more right about the IRS...
Basically, you can't expense anything other than your direct cost of good sold (CoGS)... you get federally income taxed as if you didn't have any distribution, overhead, selling, G&A expenses and so your effective marginal rate is HUGE!

Now, there are ways to mitigate this somewhat (e.g., capitalizing as many costs into CoGS as possible, biz/deal structuring, etc... find a clever & aggressive tax accountant/lawyers), but I can tell you first hand the investors really hate having their upside constrained like this, and it makes structuring the opportunity in a way to attract capital really hard...

My math for the coming Maine market led us to $1.5 million needed to get started (but that's not all for a pure production/grow op that would presumably be selling wholesale)...

 

[Connoisseur300]

I think the details are on google? For someone looking to start a business, you sure want a lot of other people to do the free research and leg work for you. If you do somehow have a million dollars (likely inherited), don't invest in the weed game. You're going to lose it all bro, trust me.

I understand its on google. If i did that whats the point in starting this thread so other people can learn? With or without this thread ill get my loose ends tied . lol. This site isnt my go to place for important info. Its a fun site to share with other people. Also cannabis is why i have a million. Fail in the cannabis game is impossible. Im already a success , trust me. Sorry for busting your bubble.