Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 26, 2016 | Worcester Business Journal 23 10 T H I NG S I know about... P O T C O M P L I A N C E By Michelle Drolet Michelle Drolet is CEO of Towerwall, a data security services provider in Framingham. You may reach her at michelled@ towerwall.com. 10) Nothing hazy about the laws Marijuana (or cannabis) is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world, and Massachusetts has the strictest rules governing its production, retailing, grow, testing and security operations. 9) You can be raided. Marijuana businesses must comply with federal, state, city and county regulations and requirements. Despite medical-use legality in the commonwealth, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency can raid a registered dispensary at will since the plant is classified Schedule I, illegal at the federal level. Insurers have lined up to offer raid insurance. 8) Schedule 1 defined Despite university research proving its medicinal benefits, pot is still classified Schedule 1, defined as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy. 7) Banking on smoke Although difficult to find, more than 300 state banks and credit unions are banking marijuana businesses. In 2015, marijuana sales exceeded $5 billion. 6) Roll your own democracy. Currently four states (Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington) have made the drug legal for recreational use and 24 more states say that it can be used for medical purposes. Eight states including Massachusetts will consider various forms of marijuana legalization in ballots this November. The Democratic Party endorsed a pathway to legalization and a rescheduling of marijuana to a Schedule II substance. 5) The top dispensary infraction All marijuana product/inventory is not being reconciled daily to account for all variances. 4) The top cultivation infraction The facility is missing required information in its standard operating procedures. 3. The top edibles infraction The facility does not have all required permits required for operation. 2. Rolling organic Colorado has recalled more than 100,000 marijuana edibles due to prohibited pesticide use. Massachusetts requires organically grown pot. 1) Full compliance Marijuana business operations must comply with federal agency rules, even though cannabis firms are not federally supported. K N O W H O W How to make the perfect cupcake A ll cupcakes are made dif- ferently. Some can be mini, standard or large. Some are plain, just the cake and frosting. Others look like they paid a visit to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. In any case, cupcakes are a lot like businesses. Businesses can be small, medium or large. They can be plain and have simple operations or have many layers involved in their day to day activities. Cupcakes are a part of life, and so are businesses. Without either of them, the world would be a lot less sweet. Making the perfect cupcake is a lot like build- ing a business. First, you have to have the idea. What kind of cupcake would you like to make? Once you have the idea, it's time to get the basics. The most basic, but essen- tial ingredients are the flour, baking soda and/or baking powder and eggs. The flour makes up the majority of the cupcake, the baking powder and soda make the flour rise while also balancing the cake out. The eggs hold it all together. Businesses need a plan, much like the flour, to get their creative ideas flowing and have something to fall back on. Once the idea is there, you rely on your instincts and support of those around you to build you up, bal- ance you out and hold you together when things get hot in the oven. When the cupcake is baked, things can get pretty hot and need time to cool down. Once this process is over, it's time to get back to work. Imagine biting into a small piece of cake and being delighted by fresh strawberries or homemade ganache. How good does that sound? When building a business, the same feeling should try and be replicated. What about the business delights the customers, makes them want to return and makes them feel appreciated? The inside of the cupcake, or the business, needs to have an element of surprise, a sense of appreciation and the need to tell everyone about what you just experienced. A cupcake wouldn't be what it is without its captain, the frosting. A business can't be a business without its team. The frosting adds structure to the cupcake, the team is what makes the business function. Without struc- ture and functionality, cupcakes and businesses crumble. The best captains and teams are tough like buttercream, but should also have a soft side like mas- carpone or cream cheese frosting. The cupcake is baked, filled and frosted. The business is built, functions and has a team. Next, it's time to deco- rate. Besides the captain and team, sprinkles add another important component to the layers of life. Rainbow sprin- kles, also known as your employees, should be bright, fun and energetic to be a part of your cupcake or business. Without them, your cupcake appears drab, your business is unappealing. The flour and dry ingredi- ents, or the business plan, when followed correctly bake the cupcake and build the business. The filling keeps the customer coming back for more. The frosting and the team give the cupcake and business structure. The sprin- kles, or employees, make everything appealing. When all of these things blend, the cherry on top are the people you meet, the sup- port you receive and the success that comes with all the hard work. Renee King is the owner and baker at The Queen's Cup in Millbury. Reach her at thequeenscups@yahoo.com. C reating a learning culture – what does that even mean? Training? Crafting a culture of learning within your organization goes deeper than a seminar or Skype presentation. It means to create organizational prac- tices and processes that hold develop- ment of knowledge and new skills as a top priority. The benefits of a learning culture in a company include higher satisfaction, better productivity, more ability to adapt to change and an increased sense of accountability among employees. Here are three things to consider. It improves retention. According to eLearningIndustry.com, a 2012 sur- vey shows that 41 percent of workers said that they would have to take a job with another company to advance their career. Evidence is needed for most that they can progress and evolve where they work. "An effective way to provide that evidence is precisely through well-defined and communicated career paths, skill training, and strong and effective leadership," says the article by Ashley Casey. Embrace mistakes. "Advertising genius David Ogilvy was especially keen on challenging key assumptions … He would run ads he did not believe would work, just to test his theories about advertising. He continually chal- lenged conventional wisdom, including his own," says a Paul Shoemaker Inc. com article. Mistakes equal learning, and the idea is to never get too compla- cent in processes or assumptions, or you'll miss something. Know the enemies of learning. They are ego, fear and complacency, says a Robert J. Grossman article at SHRM.org, as revealed by Virginia business professor Edward Hess. With ego, we may deny anything that might make us look uninformed or not smart. Fear keeps us from risking failure. Complacency can cause us to enter the dreaded automatic-pilot mode, which blocks learning new things. BY RENEE KING Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: C R E A T E A L E A R N I N G C U L T U R E W W W P H O T O / B R A D K A N E Renee King, The Queen's Cup, Millbury

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