In business, as in life, the biggest risk you run is not knowing what you don’t know. That’s why risk management is an integral part of any successful business’s operational plans—even more so in the emerging cannabis industry.
The reality is that running a business—let alone a cannabis business—comes with a lot of complexities, and a lot of pitfalls that could derail your business goals. That’s why it’s imperative to not only have practices and policies in place to mitigate those risks, but also to be prepared to minimize the impacts should they become reality. But for new business owners—which by some estimates more than 60 percent of cannabis entrepreneurs are—it can be difficult to even know where to begin.
This is where the National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA) trade organization comes in. The nation’s only dedicated cannabis risk management association, NCRMA has put together a disruptively innovative risk management platform for the cannabis industry, supplemented by an insurance platform that offers businesses committed to the risk management process access to lower-cost coverage designed for this nontraditional industry.
The platform includes robust risk assessment and consulting services through the National Cannabis Risk Prevention Services (NCRPS); the NCRM Academy, a virtual educational platform where NCRMA members can access discounted courses, webinars, and customized trainings; and exclusive access to insurance products designed for cannabis businesses through Trichome innovative Risk Protection TM Insurance. Together, these benefits offer NCRMA members tools, procedures, knowledge, and support.
“We first created NCRMA about four years ago because we recognized that emerging markets and industries like cannabis require fundamentally sound risk management in order to be successful,” says Rocco Petrilli, chairman of NCRMA. “Growth in cannabis is not guaranteed, and one of the major derailers is the weak states of risk management and insurance, which threaten the industry’s ability to reach its projected potential. But with the right solutions, these threats can be mitigated and overcome.”
This is the first of a three-part series discussing risk management in the cannabis industry with NCRMA.
