We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Stuck. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.
Kimberly, appreciate you joining us today. Please tell us about starting your own firm and if you’d do anything different knowing what you know now.
I started in the cannabis/hemp industry as a regulator in Denver CO in 2014 when THC cannabis became legal for adult use. Those were crazy times but they were exciting as well. I was the cannabis specialist for DDPHE for a little over 3 years until I started my own firm in 2017. As a regulator you aren’t allowed to give any operators advice or solve their problems for them. My job was simply to identify if a facility was or was not in compliance, and let them know. Then the ownness was on the facility owner to get into compliance, and that was it. If they didn’t get into compliance, then they would be fined, closed, or worse. One day I was at a hearing with my boss, and I asked why we couldn’t just tell the operator what to do, why couldn’t we help them when they were out of compliance? My boss at the time explained that it was a liability issue and that they needed to hire a consultant, that was what consultants were for. So I went home and googled Cannabis Compliance Consultant, and to my surprise I couldn’t find one. That was when I got the idea, “why am I not helping these people?” So i looked into it and over the next couple months, I made the decision to become a consultant and help the industry instead of being a regulator who just states regulations.
I didn’t have anyone in my family that had owned their own business, so I kind of just winged it for the first few years. I did have some close family friends that did though, and their advice was priceless. I think this is the way it goes for most beginner company owners. After about a year I was so busy that I had to start hiring other consultants, and luckily I had some very smart and talented contacts that wanted to work for me. The first consultant I hired, is actually still with the company! Originally we had an office, and then had a company wide vote to go remote in 2018, which made our lives much easier when the pandemic hit. Since then we have been riding the unpredictable ups and downs of the economy just like everyone else. We also work in an industry that is ever changing, so it’s hard to tell what to be prepared for next. With federal legalization on the horizon though, we have high hopes regarding longevity and profitability in the future. I stopped taking on individual clients in 2020 and now just run the company, speak at conferences, do expert witness work and take on government contracts. I think the consultant to CEO transition is hard for most, but entirely necessary for the business to grow and thrive.
My advice for anyone thinking about starting their own business would be to just do it. It is a lot of overtime working in the beginning, but in the long run it is worth it. Just make sure you stay flexible with the way the company is run and jump on opportunities as they are presented. What your original vision for the company was will most definitely change in 5+ years, and you have to let it or the company will fail. The best thing about owning your own company is that if something doesn’t work you can change it. There’s no higher ups, bosses, or boards (at least yet) to stop you. You can really structure and change anything you want to make it more efficient or work better for you and your employees. I also think you should embrace your employees opinions. I know without their support and opinions I never would have made certain decisions that have significantly helped the business over the years.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
About Allay Consulting:
Whether your business involves THC, hemp cannabinoids, kratom, or psychedelics, Allay Consulting serves all plant derived product industries to ensure regulatory compliance across all operations. We work with cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, investors and other stakeholders across the U.S. to develop customized strategies and avoid compliance pitfalls. Drawing from years of experience working on the regulatory side of the equation, our team is well-versed in rulemaking lingo and best practices, from product and food safety, to cGMP, GACP and ISO certifications, to OSHA, Organic and due diligence audits. Comprehensive knowledge of evolving regulations and unwavering attention to detail are central to Allay Consulting. We put your compliance worries to bed so you can focus on your products and services. Learn more at AllayConsulting.com
A little about Me:
Kim Stuck is the founder and CEO of Allay Consulting, a compliance strategy and services provider serving the hemp, cannabis, kratom and psychedelic industries nationwide. She brings a regulator’s keen eye and wide-reaching knowledge on evolving compliance and safety mandates to support businesses in tightly regulated industries. Previously, Ms. Stuck held a pioneering role as the nation’s first cannabis and hemp specialist for a major metropolitan public health authority. During her tenure with the City of Denver, home to hundreds of cannabis businesses, she worked as an investigator covering cultivation, manufacturing and retail. Her duties included facility inspections; conducting investigations into improper pesticide use and worker safety; creating regulations; instituting recalls; and public outreach. Ms. Stuck holds numerous accreditations, such as certified quality auditor (CQA) and certified professional of food safety (CP-FS), among others. In addition to serving on several industry advisory boards, she is a TEDx Speaker, SXSW speaker, and has been a member of ASTM International’s cannabis standards committee since its 2017 inception and is the Vice Chair of the cGMP Standards sub-committee.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Well, about 5 years into the business I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Up until this point i couldn’t even take a proper vacation because I as so engrained in the day to day functioning of the company. I was sick for about a year and a half dealing with chemo and surgeries and everything. It was a really hard time, because I also kept running the company regardless of being sick. Thankfully I had a really great team and they stepped up to take on more responsibility and structured things differently so that I wasn’t so integral. It was all about trusting my employees and allowing them to make decisions for me. It was honestly the stress test the company needed to make it to the next level. It was a terrible situation, that ended in success. Oh, and I have been cancer free for almost a year now.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
We built partnerships with other professionals that provided services/goods to the industry and built an amazing reputation as being professional and trustworthy. Social media is nearly impossible to navigate in the cannabis industry, really LinkedIn is the only platform that won’t kick you off of it, and even there they won’t allow our company to do advertising. So word of mouth is our number one way to get clients. We love our partners and frequently throw happy hours with them, and refer our clients to them as needed. The good thing about being in business for a long time is the amount of connections we have. If our clients need anything, we know someone that can help. We have a really great ecosystem of amazing companies to lean on if needed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allayconsulting.com/
- Instagram: @thekimstuck
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allayconsulting/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-stuck-cp-fs-cqa-420a257a
Image Credits
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