With all the information out there about its benefits and uses, the hemp industry has been gaining traction at a breakneck speed in the last few years – but the floodgates were just officially opened in December 2018 following the signing of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 . This bill contains the legislation that empowers farmers to expand the cultivation of industrial hemp and everyone is either at the edge of their seat, waiting to see what happens next – or they are jumping in headfirst, getting things started and assembling their new businesses to be part of the imminent hemp wave. If you’re looking to get into the hemp industry and launch your own CBD line of products, you’ve made a great business choice, as this is expected to be the next big success, set to change everything and make a lot of savvy entrepreneurs a lot of money. Here is a guide on how you can go about starting your CBD line of products.

How to Get Started in the CBD Oil Business

1. Research

The first step, especially if you have no prior experience and minimal knowledge on the subject, is to research the plant. Get to know all the complexities of it and how the different strains are geared at treating different illnesses and conditions. You will need to research to get started – but since this is such a new industry, your research won’t stop there. You will likely be heavily involved in research and pursuing information on it throughout your run in the business. There is still a lot of research left to be done on the product and there will likely be new developments, discoveries and that might be able to help enhance your business model. Staying up on the latest with hemp is how you’ll continue to stay competitive.

2. Uses and Target Market

CBD oil has a very long list of uses – some therapeutic, some cosmetic, some supplemental aimed at improving overall health. Get to know all the uses so you can understand what target markets will be best for your product and business model. Basically anyone can use CBD oil since it is used for so much including anxiety relief, skin softening and healing, reducing chronic pain, treating seizures that come with epilepsy and much more. It’s main selling point is the fact that it gives you all the health benefits people want without the psychoactive effect that the cannabinoid THC contains. Decide if you are looking to sell CBD oil for a specific purpose or if you want to keep it general and offer the full variety of uses in your selection.

3. Legal Entity, Registering for Taxes, Accounts, etc

Once you’ve laid out your business plan that take an overview of initial costs, your target market and how long it will take you to break even, all the preliminary stuff needs to be covered. This includes forming your legal entity so that you’re not personally liable in case any legal actions are taken against your business. Register for your state and federal taxes (consult with an accountant for more help) and set up your accounts. Keeping track of expenditures and income will be essential in assessing how your business is performing. Make sure to obtain the necessary permits and licenses needed to comply with both federal and state regulations.

4. Opening Costs

Costs to start a business will vary; lf you want to open a storefront, your overhead will be a lot more than if you opt to start with a simple e-commerce website. There are plenty of options for that depending on your experience level or how many resources you have available to build the site. There’s more hands on options like wordpress or magento and then there’s more started friendly ecommerce websites like Shopify or Squarespace. Going with a website based business will be much more lower cost than investing in a brick and mortar.

5. Establish a Brand and Web Presence

Whether you eventually want a brick and mortar or not, you should first start with a website anyway as customers will always check you out online first. Define your branding and disseminate all the brand pages like social media pages and business listings.

6. Considerations, Tips and Legality:

Although hemp was just legalized as a legitimate crop, there are still plenty of regulations and a lot of gray area surrounding it including needing to be less than 0.3% THC content. Also, the CBD extract must be from pure hemp instead of marijuana – a concept that can be confusing to the average joe. Get familiar with the laws and make sure you’re in adherence so your product doesn’t end up getting shut down. You must also be as transparent and honest with your customers. Don’t say it will for sure cure anything. The evidence is complain, but you need to present all sides when making any statements about the potential benefits of your product to avoid legal repercussions in the future involving accusations of false claims. Getting certified with the right associations and organizations and even getting an analysis from a third party lab can help establish transparency and truth in selling. Looking for a CBD Oil manufacturer that already has these things in place is a great way to eliminate some of the legwork yourself and to be able to provide assurance to your customer base that what they are getting from you won’t make them ill.

7. Get a Marketing Budget and Plan Together

You can have the world’s best business model and product ready to go, but if no one know about it, you will most likely fail faster than it took you to get started. Put marketing high up in the priority list as this is the way you’re going to get your name out there and start building your client list. You will face some serious competitors since the industry is growing incredibly fast. They will be capitalizing on the fact that people are online looking for this product and staying on top of search results, popping up in paid ads, organic blogs, social media and everywhere else. Developing relationships with grocery stores or local businesses is another way to get your product out there, negotiating deals to have them put your products in stock. This is another way to get around having to spend on a brick and mortar right away – but being on shelves in brick and mortars that are already established.

8. Feedback

Your customers will have the most valuable information you need: which products are working for what and which ones are not. They will not be afraid to take to review sites to sound off, so be proactive about it. Gather emails, follow back on social media and check review sites often to gather information about which products are selling and if they are delivering enough relief and results to your customers to continue being hot selling items.

This guide is just to get you thinking on the right track and to get started. Of course, as your business continues to grow, you can eventually assess if it makes sense to add certain CBD Oil products to your inventory, or cut others; whether to hire a team of employees or whether to keep it small; whether to invest in a brick and mortar or whether to keep the business model online. All this comes with jumping in and getting your hands dirty – good luck and remember to never stop researching and analyzing. The more you know about your industry and product, the better you will fare and the quicker you will start seeing those returns!