We recently connected with Joshua Munn and have shared our conversation below.
Joshua , appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job
One of the best lessons I’ve learned to date has been to under promise & over deliver on everything.
Coming from a background in sales I saw that most sellers would say just about anything to close a sale and make a commission. Most of the time that would result in the customer being disappointed as a result of over-promising. Some customers may even interpret that the failure to deliver upon a promise was in some way a “bait & switch”. Once this is perceived by a customer/client there is no way to undo it. Their perception is their reality.
By always pitching our clients conservative estimations of the results that we can get for them we are able to ALWAYS deliver on a pitch. But when we over deliver (pretty often) it is then that you become their hero and create a customer for life!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
After doing 10 years in prison in Florida and successfully rehabilitating myself I entertained a couple different careers before finally admitting to myself that I was an entrepreneur. Embracing entrepreneurship didn’t happen until my (now) wife, Kara, and I moved to Oregon. She was working for an ad agency in Portland, OR and I as a sales manager for The Men’s Wearhouse when we both decided to make a major change and go into the cannabis industry.
We both love the plant and appreciate its medicinal benefits and the cannabis culture as a whole, so it made perfect sense. Very early in our cannabis journey I saw that there may be an opportunity for us to build an independent business around our own skills so I incorporated a business and began really building my contacts within the industry. After a couple of years working primarily for others we rolled the dice and struck out on our own.
Cannabis business consultants sometimes get a bad rap. Usually as a result of the industry itself being so casual. However, WTG Advisors is able to operate professionally in this casual industry as a result of our discipline and drive to succeed.
We offer a wide variety of services for cannabis businesses and non-cannabis businesses alike: Start-up Consultation, Marketing (Social, SEO, Digital), Regulatory Compliance, Sales Development, Graphic Design, Web Design, and license brokerage.
Most of our clients come to us for our business development program which usually encompasses all of the above list. These clients pay us $10,000+ to help turn their businesses around for the better.
Common issues we are tasked with solving for our clients is come-to-market strategies and regulatory compliance issues.
What I’m most proud of is the word-of-mouth business that we get as a result of doing a great job for our clients!
Have you ever had to pivot?
In this day and age one of the ultimate resources one can have is foresight and the ability to pivot. If you don’t have the foresight to see the need for a pivot before the need ACTUALLY arises, then you could already be too late.
In 2021, as we were really finding our stride as a consulting agency, the cannabis industry in Oregon tanked. Oregon went from setting sales records to having the cheapest weed in America in less than a year!
As we were going through our daily contacts/calls we were hearing less of businesses seeking our primary services and more licensed cannabis operators asking for our help to exit the industry. After getting enough of these requests I looked into what would be required for us to sell business licenses. I was surprised to find that ANYONE can sell a business license! Then it was off to the races.
Seeing that opportunity and then taking advantage of it was essential in helping our business survive through some pretty tight times. We continue to offer license brokerage along with all of our other services to this day.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
It was my dream to become successful on my own terms. I wanted to be able to make my own schedule and have a great work/life balance all while having no ceiling for how far I could go.
To be your own boss; to be an entrepreneur; sacrifice is mandatory. Instead of going out to expensive restaurants or paying for expensive entertainment, I chose instead to save money. Every dime that wasn’t needed for us to survive was invested in building our business. We have zero capital loans and very little debt as a result of how we funded our business.
It’s funny to say that my commission from selling weed built my business, but it’s our reality.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wtgadvisors.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/wtgadvisors
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weedtestguy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-munn-wtg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeedTestGuy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJWARsoXuTFVb-4JIwtNUA