These days it’s harder than ever to break through, especially in an industry whose bandwagon is quickly filling up like the SF cable car. There is so much noise, everyone is screaming and trying to get their message across, staking their claim in the green rush. It’s great in the sense that without gatekeepers more people are able to express their ideas, but the downside is that it’s harder than ever to actually be heard. I, personally, like when the best ideas win.

So, how do you find your breakthrough idea? Many people know generally where they want to go, but it takes more than that. There are five major ways to get to your “idea destination”. You don’t even have to do all five. Pick one and execute it well. That’s enough to make your name in the cannabis industry. 

Start with a niche strategy then expand strategically outward

You can’t just say I’m going to be the expert in something. In that category, you will compete with the entire world. You have to narrow it down. The secret to that however, is that you don’t want to be pigeonholed doing that. You need to move into new territory from there. It’s all about circling the area around a niche. A good niche is one that you can become the master of, because the big players in the industry only talk about it periodically. Where do you get the seed for finding a niche? Well, solving your own problem is one way. If you are in a situation, others are too. Also, draw from your personal experiences. Notice needs and find a solution. 

Combine disciplines

If you are coming from another field into the cannabis industry, it’s hard to see how things can be done in a different way (the cannabis industry is very different). If you can combine different experiences and mash them up that’s a combined discipline. That’s where things get juicy.

Create original research

This can be doing surveys, product reviews, data crunching, whatever. In the Internet era everyone has opinions. What is much harder to find is actual new information or facts. If you are creating new information or facts somehow, then you are a new player. People are going to take that info and talk about it. Instead of just writing a blog post, what could be better is to act like a journalist by interviewing people. It can be quantitative or qualitative, doesn’t matter. Just be original. The industry is new. The white board is truly blank on the new info you can put out.

Attack a big problem

There are so many small, incremental “me too” products. I hear it’s the “uber of cbd oil!” (or whatever) all the time. Part of the challenge is picking something that is big enough to get people’s attention, to make them care. What does the oil specifically do? What problem is it attacking that can save lives? Think: what is a big problem and how do we solve it? The thing here is that if it’s big enough and you don’t even solve it, you will get recognized for the progress. Today, in the cannabis industry, there is now a speed of disruption. There is no more competitive advantage. If you are able to put forward real solutions for real problems people care about, then you are going to get noticed. When you try to do something big, it’s hard to fail completely, as author Tim Ferris says.

Creating a framework

 We assume that for any problem that because humanity has existed for so long, everything has been figured out. The truth is that the fundamental framework of many fields, especially the cannabis industry, have not been articulated. Take influence and persuasion. It wasn’t until recently that it was broken down to know that there are only 6 ways that people persuade each other. There are 5 stages of grief, etc. Once they have been articulated, people more easily understand the world.

Now, How do we build a following around the idea? 

In general there is a three-step process that should be followed. Building your network, building your audience then building your community. It’s about whom you share your message with and when you share it. 

Too many people get an idea then say, “I’m going to share it and blog about it”. It gets thrown out there but then gets no response so it gets thrown away. You need to just tweak it a bit, but don’t necessarily throw it away.

Building a network

Build a network to bounce ideas off of. Get feedback. Then you will be going public with a really solid idea. 

Who should be in your network? You want to find like-minded people. They don’t have to be doing what you are. You want people who are smart with a great mentality. No naysayers. Yes, you want them to tell you if your idea is bad but no negative Nancy’s. Then again, you don’t want your mom, though, either (does she know you are in the cannabis industry by the way?!). ;)

So about now you are thinking “oh ok it’s a mentor she’s talking about”. Not exactly. I believe that the idea we have of mentorship in this culture is outdated. It’s broken due to economic shifts. It used to be that senior professionals (50’s-60’s) didn’t do day-to-day work so they had the time to mentor. That is gone now due to economic pressures. Professionals in that age bracket continue to be rainmakers. Everyone would like to have a mentor, but few people take time to be a mentor. That creates a problem. If you want to learn from other people, instead of looking for someone you want to be in 10 years, think expansively like a board of mentors to learn certain skill sets. It’s like a-la-carte mentoring. Do the “every 6 months I’ll buy you breakfast” sort of approach.

Building your audience

This is the most visible part. You begin to share your ideas with the world here. You become findable. Optics are key and content creation is the driver. Being found on Google is your goal. It’s when you are no longer the only person talking about your idea within the cannabis industry that you know you have built your audience.

Community

Make things easy for people to share. How much of the idea (from it’s inception) is about more than just you? That’s the question that creates your community. If the idea is generous, then from the beginning, it will be attractive to a community. Add value to other people. Think about the Star Trek “trekkies”… they live to be part of that community, a truly loyal following.

The only thing addicting about the cannabis industry is it’s massive forward motion, which is appealing to any entrepreneur (ones with passion for the industry can be beat). Marketing and branding within it is even more interesting. It’s an art. Find your idea, take it to a niche, brand yourself through it, and take your seat in what will be an amazing ride.

Author:

Celeste Miranda, President and CEO at Miranda Marketing Labs and The Cannabis Marketing Lab

Original Post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-find-your-breakthrough-idea-brand-you-cannabis-industry-miranda?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like