Announcement
The purpose of this announcement is to gauge the interest in the DIY Program. The DIY Program is still being created and some of the elements of the program may change. The intent is to offer the DIY Program in Northern California (In the Sacramento Area), between March and May, and Southern California (Location TBD), between June and August, for approved participants.
Attorney Dale Schafer is a pioneer in the cannabis industry, practicing attorney of more than 30 years and expert on the california cannabis regulations. Since 1999 Mr Schafer has been working hard to help small cannabis business owners to follow california state law and bridge the gap between medical cannabis businesses and policy makers in local municipalities. As California moves into a regulated and legal market, Mr. Schafer is focused on helping small cannabis businesses to be successful and sustainable, not only in the application process but also in their first years of official business.
The average consultant/attorney charges approximately $25,000, per license, to complete the necessary paperwork to obtain the temporary and annual state cannabis license. That fee does not include the necessary education to be successful and sustainable, in the california cannabis industry, over the next 5+ years. It is the objective, of the Law Office of Dale Schafer, to participate in training and educating cannabis business owners to not only complete their paperwork but also to understand the landscape, of the up and coming cannabis industry, so as to be as successful as possible. It was with this objective, in mind, that we created the Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program and set the fee at approximately ¼ of that $25,000 cost.
The Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program is a pilot program, offered by the Law Office of Dale Schafer, to help cannabis business owners, who would only be prohibited by the cost of hiring an attorney to handle their paperwork needs in order to successfully open a legal state cannabis business within California. The program has been created to walk the applicant through the entire temporary and annual application process as well as many issues, the applicant will face, within the first year of business. The applicant will receive a 3-ring binder with resources to help with your application and business set-up process, sections and notes for each workshop, as well as section for the applicant’s business plan and standard operating procedures.
The objective, of the Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program is to help cannabis business owners, struggling to come up with all of the funds to obtain and maintain their temporary and annual state license, obtain all of the necessary tools to be as successful as possible in their application process as well as within their first year of business.
The goal, of the Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program is to offer each of the cannabis businesses, admitted into our program, all of the necessary one-on-one appointments, workshops, physical and online resources, etc. to obtain their temporary and annual license as well as maintain their license through the first year of business.
Who Will Benefit From The Program:
- California cannabis business owners looking to transition from a non-profit mutual benefit model to a state licensed, for-profit, cannabis business.
- New cannabis business owners looking to open a legal, state licensed, cannabis business in the State of California.
- Operations Managers and/or Compliance Officers for licensed cannabis businesses
Please Note:
- Only 25 applicants will be admitted into the Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program per program phase
- The first phase will begin in March of 2018
- Each program phase will be 12 weeks in total
- Each and every client, of The Law Office of Dale Schafer, is required to complete an initial consultation. The initial consultation is approximately 2 hours, in length, and is billed at a rate of $500. Should Mr. Schafer determine that you are a candidate for the Successful Cannabis Business DIY Program, the initial consultation fee will be applied to the $7,500 program fee and your initial consultation requirement will be checked off as completed.
- The order of workshops and/or content discussed within the workshop is subject to change based upon changes made within the state regulatory systems, development within the industry and/or subject matter which is found to be beneficial to the applicant.
Applicant Requirements:
- Applicant must sign a contract and pay a $7,500 fee to begin the program.
- Applicant must participate in a consultation which will be approximately 2 hours in length. Discussed at the consultation will be the desired license(s) to obtain, any potential hurdles to obtaining said license(s) and a basic plan to obtaining and maintaining said license(s).
- Applicant must attend and participate in the required workshops as follows:
- Regulations Overview (Approx 3 hours)
- Temp. License Application Process – Includes information about all required elements of the temporary license application for the BCC, CDFA and/or CDPH (Approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 1 – Business Plan & Description, Business Formulation Documents, Fictitious Business Name Process (Approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 2 – Lists of Funds, Lists of Loans, Lists of Investments, Lists of Gifts, List of every individual with financial interest (approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 3 – List of every owner, Livescans, Evidence of Legal Right To Occupy, Evidence of Premises Compliance, Labor Peace Agreement (Approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 4 – Seller’s Permit, Proof of Bond, Standard Operating Procedures (Approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 5 – Cultivation Plan, Water Board Regs, Prohibited chemicals, heavy metals, etc. (Approx 3 hours)
- Annual License Application 6 – Track & Trace, Supply Chain, Local Authorization (Approx 3 hours)
- Maintaining Your License – Liability Issues, Potential hurdles, What to watch out for, Maintaining your License. (Approx 3 hours)
- Having a successful business – Your website, marketing your business, setting yourself apart in the industry (Approx 3 hours)
- Between workshop’s B & C there will be a required consultation appointment to review all of the client’s collected elements, of the Temporary License Application, and ensure that all of the elements are up to par and therefore is likely to be accepted and approved by the regulating agency. (NOTE – From the date the Temporary Application is submitted there is approximately 30 days to get approved by the regulating agency. From the date the Temporary Application is approved there is 120 days to get the Annual Application submitted and approved by the regulating agency.)
- After all workshops have been completed their will be a required exit appointment to review all of the client’s collected elements, of the Annual License Application, and ensure that all of the elements are up to par and therefore it is likely that the application will be accepted and approved by the regulating agency. All final questions will be answered and the client will be exited from the program.
To Qualify Client MUST: (No Exceptions)
- Have completed their Initial Consultation before the 1st Workshop date.
- Have signed their contact before the 1st workshop date.
- Have paid their program fee before the 1st workshop date.
- Be willing and able to attend ALL workshop dates. Each date will cover a great amount of information essential to understanding exactly how to be successful in both submitting their application and running their business. However, we should consider allowing the main participant to list up to 2 alternate participants who could attend in their place should an emergency come up and the participant is unable to attend a workshop date.
- Complete the entire program, including the exit appointment, within the allotted 12 week time period.
Program Timeline
- First Workshop to begin in the 1st week of March
- Workshops will run every Thursday from March – May:
Regulations Overview TBD
Temp. License Application Process TBD
Annual License Application 1 TBD
Annual License Application 2 TBD
Annual License Application 3 TBD
Annual License Application 4 TBD
Annual License Application 5 TBD
Annual License Application 6 TBD
Maintaining Your License TBD
Having a successful business TBD
*** You have approx. 2 weeks to complete your exit appointment and finish the program ***
What The Program Provides For The Applicant:
- Approximately 30 hours of workshop time with Attorney Dale Schafer.
- A 3-ring binder filled with cannabis business resources and workshop content.
- One-on-one appointment to review both the Temporary Application and the Annual Application for the applicant’s cannabis license(s).
- Access, via email and phone, to Attorney Dale Schafer’s staff, to answer questions, as the applicant completes their application process.
Application Process
To apply for the program click the link, below, and we will contact you once we are notified that your application has been received. If you have not heard from our office, within 2 business days, please email daleschaferlaw@gmail.com
Law Office of Dale Schafer 