Her Story
About Amanda
I have been in the cannabis industry for about 15 years, serving as CEO of Shelf Alchemy Global. My background is actually in social services and public mental health with an emphasis on business. I originally was going to be a person who ran nonprofit organizations, and I've been in the cannabis industry for so long - it was a non-profit at one point, and now it's a corporate business. The reason my skill set is needed here is because it's an industry that's very young and very new, and it didn't originally have a lot of people who had a ton of business history and skill set, so it's kind of unique that way. As CEO, my job is essentially to manage company growth, create expansion and business opportunities, serve as the spokesperson for our company, and ensure our corporate structure continues to thrive. We do sales and marketing merchandising for cannabis brands - we like to call ourselves the brand alchemists because we have the chemistry to move your product on and off the shelves. My most notable achievement in business is that I've sold over $600 million worth of cannabis over the last couple of years, and we employ about 80 contracted staff to our company who work at least part-time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Amanda
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success definitely has been attributed to passion. What I do, I have a very strong passion for what I do. I love the fact that this industry is a little bit of all things. It's a little taboo, it's a little science, it's a little political, it's finance, it's health and wellness, it's entertainment, it's so many different things. It's never a dull moment here. Like, literally never a dull moment. If you're working in this industry and bored, you must be doing something wrong.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To be a lifelong learner. It's important to never think that you know everything. The person who thinks if they know everything and can't be taught, I think is the dumbest person in the room.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Find a mentor that you want to be like. It is a bit difficult to break into the industry, so you want to have somebody who can kind of help steer you in the right direction. And then the other piece is finding what you love about the industry and becoming an expert at what you do, because the industry is so new, it's so primitive, that we need experts from all lines of backgrounds. We need people who are great at accounting, we need people who are great at legal, we need people who are great at sales. We need experts who can speak about this plant from a political standpoint and an educational standpoint. So get a mentor, and then really hone your skill on what you want to do. That's the most important thing.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are the government interference with our overtaxation. It causes a lot of businesses to fail before they can even figure out the system that they're operating in, so that can be a little daunting for an entrepreneur. The opportunity is significant if you can figure out how to navigate the system. Navigating the system is the hardest. Getting in, getting somebody to help you avoid pitfalls and barriers can be a little bit difficult in the beginning. A lot of entrepreneurs come in this space, and they just don't have enough relationships, and they underestimate the amount of financial backing that they're going to need to really launch their business successfully here.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is number one. Your word has to mean something. So saying that you're gonna do something means you're actually going to do it. I also think positive attitude is important, because life is full of challenges and not every day is meant to be easy. There's no growth in easy.
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