Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 13, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 15 ROCG is the business value growth expert. We'll help you plan where you want to be... and help you get there. Our "end in mind" proprietary business roadmap helps owners take control of their business by proactively recommending changes to improve profitability and productivity. The result? We'll help you build greater business value. Our team has over two decades of proven experience advising small and medium sized businesses. We offer customized solutions, not cookie cutter plans. Call us at (617) 412-4640 or email to set up a no obligation consultation. 617-412-4640 • americas.rocg.com Ready to Focus on Growing Business Value? Our Experts Can Help! ROCG - Shepherd & Goldstein Consulting Group, LLC Terry Shepherd Terence.Shepherd@rocg.com Matthew Allison Matt.Allison@rocg.com We Help Business Owners: • Re-energize their Business Model • Develop a Stategic Plan to Meet Long-Term Goals • Execute the Plan Successfully D I V E R S I T Y & I N C L U S I O N F O C U S e company assessed its progress toward these goals in April as part of its licensing renewal process, Youngblood said. Because Major Bloom had not yet opened, it could only report on prospective employees Lucien and he had interviewed. In their company report, the pair found 65% of job candidates interviewed were women, and 85% of candidates were people of color. ey similarly exceeded their vendor goals, as well. "Usually, it comes very natural for us, because obviously, it starts with ownership," Youngblood said of their diversity plan and its success. "So when you have two Black owners, you know what I mean? … Believe me, I worked in corporate America for a number of years, the biggest issue when it came to diversity and inclusion was it didn't start in leadership." Self-imposed limits e City of Worcester is capped at 15 adult-use cannabis dispensaries, meaning three more will be allowed to open up shop, unless the cap is raised. is cap comes from a state requirement limiting the number of cannabis retailers to no less than 20% of Worcester's allotted 74 alcohol licenses, which prospective dispensary owners may pursue by entering into a host community agreement, a local required step before applicants move through the licensing process at the state level, according to an informational page on the City of Worcester's website. City government spokesman Walter Bird confirmed all 15 available adult-use retail licenses in Worcester are spoken for, although not all dispensaries are yet open. "We will wait until they all open and see what the market is, and whether [they can] compete and be successful, before we entertain any thoughts of expansion," Bird said. As one of the first hurdles prospective cannabis businesses must pass in order to pursue licensing, host community agreements have faced increased scrutiny, as towns and municipalities are essentially le able to decide what companies they want setting up shop within their borders. ey are not required to prioritize any type of applicant, although several communities have set their own standards, such as Somerville and Cambridge, which have imposed four and two-year exclusivity periods, respectively, during which they will only award licenses for equity applicants and/or, in Somerville's case, locally-owned or co-op cannabis businesses. An adult-use dispensary has yet to open in either city. Worcester has no such requirement. Across all 12 dispensaries in the City of Worcester, only two are owned and operated by state-certified economic empowerment applicants – New Dia/Cook- ies, which opened in March, and Major Bloom, which opened in August. Worcester is not unique in these trends, though. To date, the CCC has awarded 171 final licenses to cannabis retailers, with five of those licenses going to economic empowerment applicants, according to commission data. e stats don't improve significantly when looking at the CCC's other key equity initiative – the social equity program, which provides training for entering the legal cannabis market at a variety levels, including, like the economic empowerment status, expedited license review. Out of the 986 licensing applications approved by the CCC to date, 126 are SEP participants, with 11 receiving final licenses as of the commission's August meeting, according to the CCC. W

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