ICYMI: How To Find Balance As A Cannabis 'Sidepreneur'

This article was originally published in November 2021 on Confident Cannabis and appears here with permission.

How to Find Balance As a Cannabis Sidepreneur

Startups are hard. Cannabis is hard. Starting a cannabis business is harder. But starting a cannabis business while working a day job is even harder. For many entrepreneurs, it’s necessary to keep working at their full-time jobs to make ends meet while launching their cannabis business before generating revenue. It takes time to launch a business and having a steady paycheck while taking on startup risk is necessary for many. So let’s look at some tips and tricks for balancing being a cannabis ‘sidepreneur.’

Schedule all of your to-dos

When you work a full-time job and run a business at the same time, you’re going to be a little short on time. This makes it easy to ignore your personal needs in order to grow your business while balancing your normal workload. Finding balance can be tricky when you have a to-do list longer than your arm. It’s time to really lean into your calendar. Don’t just schedule meetings and appointments, block out time on your calendar to devote to your business and your personal life. Need some quiet time to work on a project that will help you expand your business? Set some time aside every Thursday from 5 pm to 9 pm. Same goes for personal commitments like spending time with your family or hitting the gym. You need time to decompress and to focus on your health and wellness if you want to be able to sustain working and growing a business for an extended period of time. Burnout can creep up on you when you least expect it. Schedule that yoga class or long hike with your dog just like you would a meeting with a client — and don’t cancel it if you can avoid it.

Have systems in place

All entrepreneurs can benefit from structure and well-organized systems, but this is even more true for busy sidepreneurs who are wearing a lot of hats at the moment. While it takes time to set up systems for planning inventory, staying on top of sales and marketing needs, and keeping up with clients, once you have a good system in place for tackling all of your to-do you’ll get through tasks more efficiently and will make fewer mistakes. Onboarding employees, following up with leads, and making sure you never run out of necessary supplies, are all processes that can be optimized with proper systems in place. Carve out some time to determine step by step processes for every system you’d like to develop. When determining your system, keep in mind all of the important details and steps you can’t forget and find a way to make sure that every time you follow this process the job gets done correctly.

Learn how to say no

It may feel like saying yes is what opens doors, but sometimes you really do have to say no in the pursuit of balance. When you have too many requests being thrown your way (whether that be in your work life or your personal life), it can be helpful to ask yourself the following questions to determine whether you should say yes or no.

Will saying yes help me reach my goals?
Will saying no hurt my chances of reaching my goals?
Will I build skills, connections, or strengthen my personal relationships by saying yes?
Will saying yes force me to bump something important off my to-do list?
Chances are, once you’ve answered these questions, the right answer will become clear to you.