Founding a Cannabis Chamber of Commerce in 2011 in Colorado was not an ah-ha moment. It was based on my decades of experience as an entrepreneur, and member. and ambassador for my communities’ chambers. Chambers of commerce are a group of businesses that support the interests of its members. I felt cannabis businesses would benefit from communicating and working together to find solutions to non-political issues. It turned out to be a hard sell. 

What was not a hard sell was the monthly women’s breakfast. The subjects of conversation were consistent and specific to women working in the cannabis industry. It was obvious that the direction of the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce should be focused on women entrepreneurs and career women transiting into the industry. In 2016 the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce had evolved into and became the Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.

Six months into 2014 and the legalization of adult use, smart women who had worked in the medical marijuana market in Colorado started coming to me with stories of how they had verbal agreements and sweat equity in medical marijuana businesses that were not honored. I heard stories of women getting their business open but with no money or plan on how to market they found investors. They lost their companies to their investors.

That was the turning point for WCCC. I could not help each woman individually, but I had a platform that could provide networking, connections, resources and business education – the Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.

The Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce continually evolves, like the industry, to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs and business owners in the cannabis space. My vision in 2011 for a chamber of commerce for the cannabis industry was based on traditional chamber templates. It became obsolete immediately. The cannabis space is complex and multifaceted. 

For me the Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce is not a business, for me it is a passion, an obsession, my swan song, my legacy.