The CBD industry is booming. Wildly popular CBD, which stands for Cannabidiol, is a chemical found in the cannabis plant. People are discovering the health benefits of CBD. Those suffering from chronic pain are experiencing relief from CBD oils or tinctures.
And, people who suffer from anxiety or sleeplessness are also finding relief. Naturopaths, doctors and other healthcare professionals are discovering that CBD and is an easy and healthy way to take advantage of cannabis without their patients experiencing a cannabis “high.”
And, although more and more people are hopping on the CBD industry wagon, as CBD brokers, CBD oil sellers, or even as hemp farmers, there is a lot of room in the industry to start and maintain a successful CBD business. In 2020, the global CBD market is worth about $553.7 million, and, by 2026, that number should reach $4 billion!
Why has CBD become so popular? Well, in many states, marijuana is now legal, so a side effect of that is that more and more people are getting interested in all parts of the cannabis plant. Entrepreneurs are working to find uses for every part of the plant.
Plus, industrial hemp farmers are jumping into the fray, as selling CBD is lucrative and well-paying. A hemp farmer these days can’t afford not to sell their product to CBD businesses.
The benefits and popularity of CBD are helping the industry create jobs and other opportunities for success. Don’t get left behind. Read on about CBD certification programs!
The 5 best CBD certification programs
Going through a CBD certification program is vitally important if you want to run a successful CBD business. You will need to know your product, from its chemical composition, how it’s grown and what are its risks and side effects. You’ll also need to know all of the uses of CBD, from tinctures to oils. And, you’ll need to know about the human body and its systems that interact with CBD.
We looked at the best CBD and cannabis certification programs out there and in our opinion, CBD Training Academy is the best course out there to start making a name for yourself in the CBD industry. I realize that it’s the most expensive, but if you check out their course syllabus, you’ll see that students are getting an incredible amount of education for the price. I like the fact that when you finish the course, you’ll still have access to webinars and other helpful material. We also like the fact that CBD Training Academy’s courses are offered live or online, for every type of learner.
So take a look at the courses below and see what you think! Then, keep reading! We also discuss the question of CBD certification, give you the ins and outs of how to be a CBD broker, talk about how much a CBD shop owner can make and well as how much it costs to open a CBD shop online, and we show you how to start an online CBD store. So, get started on your new career today!
- Alternate Medical offers a Cannabinoid Certification Program: CBD, Physiology and Health to give students profession certification in what the company calls the endocannabinoid system, “a biochemical communication system that helps regulate various critical functions withing the human body.” The course is 2 hours long and is broken up into 11 video lessons that each cover a different system in the human body. Not only will students learn about the endocannabinoid system, they’ll be given an overview of CBD. Also, you’ll learn the health benefits and side effects of CBD and discuss how CBD can balance the endocannabinoid system and offer optimate health. You can take a free lesson from the course to check it out before you buy. The program costs $37.48 for one person; there are discounts for groups of three or more.
- CBD Training Academy offers three payment levels of classes. The $97 basic course goes over the endocannabinoid system, how CBD works on the body, an overview with the industry, best practices and more. The priciest class, at $497, includes everything from the basic course, but adds to that monthly CBD Webinars, discounts on other courses, and teachings to attain CBD professional certification. However, students will have to pay a further $199 for the actual certification. The courses are offered live or on-demand online, which is helpful for students who also have a job.
- Centre of Excellence offers its $180 Medicinal Cannabis & CBD Oil Diploma accredited course to teach students everything about the cannabis plant and its varieties. You’ll also learn about the products that come from the cannabis plant and will go in-depth about CBD oil and its uses. Further, you’ll learn about the endocannabinoid system and its interaction with CBD. The course is separated into three modules and includes 150 hours of study.
- ProProfs hosts a $99 Certified CBD Consultant Designation course that will discuss the history of hemp, the endocannabinoid system, the benefits of CBD in people and their peds. After passing the course, you’ll be able to use the course’s Certified CBD Consultant designation and logo. However, you’ll have to pass an exam each year to continue using it. Besides saying that the course has 15 chapters, there is no syllabus as to the actual organization of the course. The course’s website does say that it is intended for CBD consultants, advisors and sales reps.
- Medical Cannabis Mentor offers its Counter Intelligence course for cannabis industry professionals. It includes teachings about the handling, storage and uses of all parts of cannabis plants, flowers, oil, edibles and more. The course discusses different state laws and opportunities in the cannabis industry. This course is not just for the CBD industry as it is focused more on the medical marijuana industry. But the sections on the endocannabinoid system and tinctures, oils and other uses will be helpful to those wanting to focus on CBD. The course is $349; before you sign up, you can click on a free preview.
Is CBD certified?
The U.S. government says that if a marijuana plant has 0.3% or less THC, it’s considered industrial hemp. Most states believe that this rule means that the plant is “certified” to be legal for use in oils, capsules, tinctures and topicals and can be sold to consumers. But, if the plant exceeds 0.3 THC, the federal government believes it to be marijuana and products made from the plant are limited as to where they can be sold. And that’s even in states where marijuana is legal!
Watch out for chemicals
Even if the plant is considered hemp and is planned to be used for CBD products, manufactures need be aware of how the plant is grown. The growers could have used chemicals that should be injected by humans. It’s important when you’re starting a CBD business that you educate yourself about how your growers are operating. You need to get to know them and discuss with them how they are growing their product.
Understanding the differences between the types of CBD can help you make an informed decision when choosing a CBD product.
How do I become a CBD broker?
There are so many new job titles with the advent of the cannabis business. And CBD broker are becoming an important part of that industry.
What is a CBD broker?
First of all, let’s talk about what a CBD broker does. They are the middleman between the hemp farmer and the buyer. A CDB broker needs to be able to look at the economy and the hemp market and understand market trends. They also need to be able to communicate effectively with the hemp farm and the buyer and understand the relationship between the two. They’ll have to successfully negotiate sales and purchased between the two parties. And, a successful broker can earn a commission of between 10% to 25% from the deal!
Steps to become a CBD broker:
- Study food science or agriculture to learn about seeds, hybrids, GMOs, fertilization and pesticides. Study business to learn how to understand the CBD market, prices, and sales work.
- Talk to your state to see what licensing is required for CBD brokers.
- Gain relationships with established brokers. You could even try asking for an internship. Networking is a must.
- Gain relationships with CBD sellers and hemp farmers. Go to cannabis events and get your name out there with hemp farmers and CBD sellers. You could even offer to broker a few sales but take a lower cut than usual, to show that you’re knowledgeable and know what you’re doing.
- As you gain success, you could expand your business to representing consortiums of small hemp farmers
How much does a CBD shop make?
CBD shop owners mark up prices by up to 50%, making it a wildly profitable business. If you mark a CBD product by up to 50%, the product you purchased from a supplier for $50, well, you could sell it for $75. On howtostartanllc.com, they figure that if a CBD shop sells 200 products per month, they’ll make a profit of $6,000.That’s a lot of profit each month!
One thing a CBD shop owner has is their favor is that the FDA does not yet regulate the price of CBD products. So, a shop owner can price their products whatever they like.
Don’t forget about your costs
We’ll go into this more later in this article, but there are quite a few necessities that you’ll be paying for to make your shop successful. First, there’s the set-up of your shop, the payout for your products, and of course, marketing.
How much does it cost to open a CBD oil store?
Figure on spending at least $10,000 to open a CBD oil store. Why so much? Check out this list of all the things you’ll need to invest in to start your shop:
- Company costs, such as licenses, fees for starting an LLC, attorney fees, insurance, merchant processing fee and brand creation.
- Product costs, such as wholesale costs, equipment, testing, and packaging or if you add additional products like CBD Gummies.
- Advertising and marketing costs, such as paying an ad agency for copy writing, social media posts, radio and print advertising, etc.
- Website costs, such as paying a designer to create a website for you.
How do I start an online CBD store?
In my opinion, the first thing anyone should do before starting a business, whether brick and mortar or online, is to take a business course, either online or in person. Your local library, your county or your city may offer free courses to aid a prospective small business owner in starting up a business and becoming successful and profitable. I’ve worked for small businesses before and I believe that the number one reason that they fail is because they didn’t do their homework. And, to open a CBD shop, not only do you need to know how to run a business, you’ll also need to know all there is about the product, as CBD is relatively new. You’ll have a serious learning curve, but, if you’re a hard worker, you can make a real success of your online CBD store.
Here are some of the steps you’ll have to consider when opening your online CBD store. And most if not all of these tips will also be helpful if you are opening a brick and mortar location.
Know the law
When you are planning to open an online CBD store, you first must understand the federal and state laws concerning the product. Remember, your product’s active THC level needs to be under 0.3%; if it’s over 0.3%, it will be federally illegal to market.
Write a business plan
Your business plan should include an analysis of the market, what you are going to sell, an analysis of your competition, and an operations plan for the company.
Know your product
For your business and your customers, you’ll have to become an expert on CBD. You’ll need to know:
- How CBD physiologically works on the human body and brain.
- What the difference is between hemp and marijuana – They’re both members of cannabis sativa family. But hemp is used for industrial purposes and will not produce a high, unlike marijuana.
- What customers can use CBD for – Consumers can use CBD to stave off insomnia, help with anxiety and lessen chronic pain. It can also ease the effects of heart disease and help with acne.
- What the difference is between medical marijuana and CBD – Medical marijuana contains THC, which causes a high; CBD is not allowed to contain over 0.3% THC, thus will not cause a high.
Brand your business carefully
It’s going to be hard to find a bank that will do business with you if you have CBD, cannabis, hemp or other related words in your business name. Talk to experts to find the right name and logo for your business.
Set up your LLC
Speak to a lawyer who will guide you through the process of setting up an LLC. There are attorneys now who have centered their practice on the marijuana and associate industries, such as CBD. Check with your local Bar Association for a referral or recommendation.
Set up your website
Find a designer who will create a website for you that will welcome new visitors and drive repeat traffic to the business. Make sure the website’s host will allow a CBD company to do business on its host site.
Find a reputable supplier
Again, you’ll have to do some research to find the right supplier for you. Ask yourself what products you want to sell and then talk to suppliers. Learn everything, from the chemical makeup of the products you want to what additives the suppliers are using. And compare prices between suppliers. Discover what the best supplier will be for your business and your customers. Find a supplier you can trust.
Find a sales processor
This step is harder than you’d think. Just as many banks will not take your business, same goes for credit card processing. You’ll want to find a reputable processor, also. Do your research and check those online reviews. You don’t want your business or your customers to get scammed!
Choose to stock only a limited number of products at first
When you open for business, stick to the basics. The most popular CBD products right now are tinctures and soft gels; try selling them first. Then, when your business is established, begin adding the riskier products. Get your business off the ground first.
Hire a marketing agency
Engage a cannabis-related marketing agency to help grow the business, establish customers lists or use already-proven customers lists, write engaging copy to draw customers in, and help with your overall marketing strategy.
And, to nab those first sales, talk with the agency about creating and developing a grand-opening campaign via email and social media. There are also many cannabis events throughout the country that you could attend to call attention to your product. You could hand all sorts of branded material, from business cards to pens or stickers so that potential business partners will remember you. Keep track of which states are soon to legalize marijuana so that you can get in on the ground floor of their fledgling cannabis industry with your CBD products.
And a marketing agency can also help with packaging; they’ll design and deliver packaging that will make you stand out from the competition!
Jump into a new industry, today!
The explosion of the CBD industry is going to create new professions, an increase in jobs, and new products, which is welcome news for our current economy insecurity. And, more and more, people are talking about their mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. They’re discussing their chronic pain issues. And they are experiencing insomnia and sleepless nights. These folks, and others, want relief from their problems. And we’re finding out every day, more and more of the ways CBD can help. There’s more research, there’s more evidence and there’s more people who are sleeping through the night, having happier lives and are reporting that their chronic pain has lessened. All of this evidence shows us that the CBD industry is here to stays. And it’s up to us to educate ourselves about the industry and check out all of the opportunities for business and success that we can strive for in the industry.
To that end, we hope you’ve learned some helpful information that will aid you in pursuing business in the CBD and cannabis/hemp industry. We review a list of the five best CBD certification programs, and it is our hope that you find the program that is right for you. We’ve given you our pick for top program so why not check it out today? We have also discussed whether CBD is certified and what that means when you are pricing your CBD products. We talked about how you become a CBD broker, giving you an overview of the hemp grower and CBD seller relationship and how a reputable broker can be a great asset to the industry. Then, we showed you how much a CBD shop can make; it’s a wild market out there right now and you can make a pretty penny. Everyone wants to know how to set up a CBD shop, so we give you a rundown of all of the things you’ll have to pay for when starting your company. Lastly, we gave you the most important steps to take when you are ready to open an online CBD store. And, we’ve educated you on the way that CBD shops are discriminated against from banks and credit card processing companies, which means that it’s more difficult to open a CBD shop as opposed to a non-cannabis-related store.
We hope that the information in this article will help you gain success in this exciting new industry. It’s an industry that is trying to help people with their physical and mental issues and for many people, it’s an industry of compassion. If you work hard and get your name out there, you too can be a part of this exciting movement.
