Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 4, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 25 W ith warm weather and baseball season on deck, I thought I'd take an opportunity to share lessons learned from Kevin Costner's iconic baseball movie "Field of Dreams" and years of coaching. I'll apply them to the cannabis industry, truly its own "Field of Dreams" as this industry booms. Here are four lessons learned for business owners – cannabis or otherwise: 1. Get your head in the game. Like Ray in "Field of Dreams", it's time to stop spinning and get out of the analysis paralysis that can come with starting your own company and get into the game. ere are many great resources, from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to your local chambers of commerce, to help you build your own field of dreams in this industry. I have found industry leaders are open and willing to step up to the plate and help other entrepreneurs. Just ask. 2. What's your vision? Baseball coaches always tell hitters to envision where they want the ball to go. Can you visualize what kind of cannabis business you'd like to visit every day of every week of every month of the year? Do you have the resources in place to make that vision come to life? What challenges are in your way? A business plan will put all of these hopes, dreams, and challenges into one document. You can't get anywhere without a map. 3. "Recognize significant moments while they are happening." is quote from the movie will sustain you through the difficult startup phase. Don't give up. Acknowledge even a first-base hit is progress forward. Preparation is a mental skill great baseball hitters tout as their secret to success, especially under pressure. 4. "If you build it, they will come." Spoiler alert: ey didn't come at first. e truth is all your success thus far was mere preparation. Dial up your focus and prepare to move into the major leagues. Commit to the daily process of preparation and execution. It isn't easy, but if you are committed, the rewards are plentiful. Adult-use and medical marijuana continue to be a rewarding and lucrative industry for entrepreneurs with incredible projections for future growth – projected revenues by 2035 are $30 billion – and I encourage entrepreneurs, especially BIPOC business owners, to get inspired and in the game I love: the cannabis industry. By Maria Remillard Maria Remillard is a partner with Worcester firm Bowditch & Dewey, focusing on probate and domestic relations cases. Reach her at mremillard@ bowditch.com. 10. Yes, you need one. Half of all mar- riages end in divorce. Prenups protect your assets, preserve your inheritance, and make sure you don't get stuck with your ex-spouse's debt. 9. Divorce lawyers have seen a sig- nificant rise in demand for prenups, especially among Millennials, who are getting married later when they have established careers and often keep separate bank accounts. 8. They can save you money. You'll pay lawyers less in legal fees, since you've already resolved most thorny issues. 7. You can protect yourself from exorbitant alimony payments. Without a prenup, you could get stuck paying your partner up to 35% of the difference between you and your spouse's income. 6. You can avoid paying your spouse's credit card bills. Without a prenup, the court could rule divorcing parties equally split their debt. 5. You can make sure that children from a previous relationship can still get money you plan to give them. Without a prenup, spouses can even go to court and override a will. 4. Bring up the subject before you get engaged. If you start before the proposal, you can have more casual, amicable discussions since there's no time pressure. 3. Put it in writing. No court would uphold a verbal prenup agreement. 2. Each partner needs an indepen- dent lawyer who will advocate for their best interests. Without separate lawyers, courts would not likely consider the agreement valid. 1. Forgot to get a prenup? Lawyers often draft a post-nuptial agreement. K N O W H O W Cannabis lessons in a 'Field of Dreams' A well-trained employee is more than one who knows their stuff and needs minimal supervision. ey are also employees who feel valued, primed for promotion, and professionally engaged, which can only improve client relations and team morale. But there are benefits beyond this, too, in terms of hard savings. When adding professional development expenses into your next company budget (as you should), remember they pay off in terms of what you won't have to spend, and these are only three of the ways that happens. Waste is minimized. e result of well-executed training, points out the editorial team at Indeed.com, is employees learn to make wise choices and economical use of company materials, tools, and equipment. is helps reduce the number of accidents, equipment damage and wasted materials, saving on costs. You can sidestep a recruitment process (and get better results). With candidates already on standby, they are familiar with your company's culture, aware of corporate goals, and you can save not only the cost but time spent on recruiting someone for a role (if it's a specialized role, add even more time to that). Wouldn't that be nice? "e only thing existing employees need is a little push," to apply for internal positions, according to the digital innovation business network site IntelligentHQ.com. You have industry trend experts on staff right now to guide new training. Who better than employees that work in that arena to guide company knowledge on what's important to know in terms of tech trends? "Let your employees take charge by asking them what and how they would like to learn," said Edward Fleischman of Forbes. "As long as they understand the budget you've set and can explain how their plan can benefit the organization in the long run, they'll be able to find something that works for both parties." 1 0 T H I NG S I know about... ... Prenuptial agreements BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to WBJ 101: D E V E L O P M E N T S A V I N G S BY PETER DECARO Special to WBJ W W W Peter DeCaro (right) CEO and founder of Worcester cannabis firm Resinate Inc., showcases a branded product partnership with rapper Cappadonna of the group Wu Tang Clan.

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