Cannabis Business Start Up
Spend Your Investment Funding Right: On the Front End
After working hard to win a state license, many entrepreneurs underestimate how important the engineering and design phase is to the overall success of their operation. Many rush to hire a commercial builder to start a design-build process for their cannabis facility without planning first. While this may look like the best and quickest way to become operational, this non-industrial approach is a sure path to spending more time and money in the long run.
You can spend twice as much to fix design mistakes during construction, or you can spend the time and money on the front end to engineer and design your facility with proven capital planning methodologies that have been used for decades in other industries.
With the Canna Advisors team serving as your owner’s representative, you can avoid costly mistakes and improve your time to market than by skipping steps and not engaging the appropriate resources.
Expert cannabis facility design tips
Learn the Dos and Don’ts of cannabis facility design
The #1 Most Important Step - and Most People Skip It
Define the process. Then design. Then build.
It’s a proven capital project planning and execution methodology, but many cannabis business owners have the process flipped or skip key parts. Setbacks and increased spending are quite common when builders manage the project and the roles of engineers and architects. Hiring an owner’s representative to hire and manage the roles of engineers, architects, and builders is the most cost-effective use of money in the start up phase.
The Canna Advisors team is experienced in leading business owners from concept to operation. With our extensive and large-scale capital project execution experience, we can guide you to the right resources and manage all aspects for smooth execution.
The High Cost of Inefficient Planning & Prep
Start strategically. Don’t skimp on engineering.
Process or industrial engineering is essential, and skimping on this phase can lead to costly breakdowns later on in the process.
Lack of planning, engineering, and proper design can lead to making big decisions in the middle of construction that waste time and money. Operational timelines get pushed back, revenues are delayed, and vendors may take advantage of clients who are backed into a corner. A lack of education in this step often leads to cannabis business operators making uninformed decisions,
One real world example is a business operation that skipped proper planning and spent about 40% more than necessary before engaging the Canna Advisors team. The owner spent $140,000 on specific equipment, while our experts defined the process and determined that they should have spent only $85,000.
A Better Way to Build
When spending millions of dollars on a capital project, invest wisely in capital planning. Secure an owner’s representative to manage the project and plan “down to the thread of the screw”. The engineering and planning investment will pay off with a clear path, no surprises or wasted effort, less budget required for building, and a quicker time to production, with on-time delivery.
Capital planning using an owner’s representative is standard practice in other industries that involve scale. Canna Advisors brings this expertise to the cannabis industry. Our team provides experience from both the cannabis and pharmaceutical industries and has been designing, building, and operating cannabis facilities since 2009.
As an owner’s representative, the Canna Advisors team represents the owner’s – not the builder’s or designer’s – best interests. The owner maintains all decision-making authority while the owner’s representative advises on best practices and the pros and cons of big decisions.
We will lead you from Front End Planning (FEP) and capital estimates, to finding suitable resources, to taking you through your first harvest or extraction.
We can help you from concept to operations.
Let us manage your design with proven methodologies.