5 Reasons Growers Should Join An Online Cannabis Community

Joining an online industry-focused community can provide a multitude of benefits for professionals, and the cannabis industry is no exception. These communities come in all shapes and sizes—mailing lists, online forums, Facebook groups, Meetups, and many more. They’re not one-size-fits-all, however, and many of those online groups target hobbyist, small-scale growers—not professionals.

While professional cannabis growers have access to plenty of knowledge throughout the wide selection of online communities in their field, it’s best to find one that maintains professional, business-like decorum.

Here are 5 reasons growers should join an online cannabis community:

Cannabis-growing is a highly specialized field, which can make it difficult to find networking events or other local professionals. Online communities address that problem by making it easier for niche professionals to learn from each other, collaborate, and even meet in person.

Physical networking events are restricted by their start and end times, and individuals are limited to the list of attendees to network with. An online community opens the audience of potential connections to thousands of individuals, and makes it possible to connect and stay in touch 24/7. With a larger audience, growers can find valuable resources, share ideas, and even find their next cannabis industry job, customer, or partnership.

It can be rather difficult to find trustworthy information and up-to-date news on commercial cannabis growing, and the cannabis industry as a whole. Joining an online community provides access to unlimited resources, information, and knowledge — and one of the most effective methods for finding new resources: connecting with others.

It can be said that the most trustworthy information comes from one’s peers, who are in similar situations. There are a lot of grower communities online such as Reddit’s /r/microgrowery or Grasscity's cannabis growing categories, but these communities primarily target hobbyists. For a medium- to large-scale commercial grower, information targeting small-scale grow operations or hobbyists is not so helpful. Yet, in many online cannabis communities, that’s the only easily-accessible information.

Commercial growing, however, is a completely different ball game. Its players need advice specific to running a commercial grow operation — not how to get started with raising a couple plants as a weekend hobby. That's why it’s important to find a community that consists of commercial growers, those who support them, and their industry partners (e.g. grow operation owners, commercial growing equipment manufacturers, cannabis retailers, master growers, and more).

Professional online cannabis communities can provide access to agricultural data, white papers, growing tips, or analyses on the current state of the business landscape. The people who make up the community are collectively one of the best resources to take advantage of; by talking to fellow community members, growers can learn from others’ past mistakes and avoid making those same mistakes themselves.

In addition to community-sourced insights and knowledge, many online communities also provide access to market trends and industry data, such as Growmetrics. With access to the best information available, growers can learn from millions of dollars of market trends — gaining valuable insight into future economic growth and changes in the cannabis industry. With the right market intelligence, growers can make informed business decisions that pay off in their operations.

There are many more players in the cannabis community than just growers, and the vast expanse of roles and people who make up the field is represented well throughout most online cannabis communities. Even in communities targeting growers specifically, there are many people who come from industries surrounding growing. Professionals active in Growers Network include cannabis processors, retailers, equipment manufacturers, and even academics.

Instead of networking only with fellow professional growers, who may view the industry similarly, growers can interface with professionals throughout the entire cannabis supply chain. That’s a great opportunity to hear varying perspectives and fresh ideas. With access to perspectives from the entire industry in one online community, vetted as state-licensed growers or ancillary cannabis businesses, growers have a chance to see the big picture and contribute to the growth of the industry as a whole.

While an open, cannabis-growing Facebook group may be great for simple questions here and there, the reality is that they don’t guarantee high-quality, informative answers. Frequently, responses will come from people who are only interested in selling their nutrients or grow lights, at the expense of contributing holistically to the community.

Online communities geared towards commercial cannabis growers offer the benefit of a community full of people who are on the same level — the community uses the same terminology and works in similar spheres. Consistency in the community guarantees relevant and quality conversations, to the benefit of community members.

Without questions from hobbyists asking how to get started with growing their first plant cluttering the community, growers can easily find the information they need most.

One of the biggest benefits of taking part in an online community is, well, the community. On tough days, when things don’t go as expected, growers are reminded that they are not alone — they have a support system ready to share knowledge, successes and failures. Perhaps the most powerful reason for growers to join an online community of industry professionals is that the community is always there to continue inspiring and uplifting them with stories of why they chose to enter the cannabis industry in the first place, how growers can learn and improve, and of the benefits seen by patients every day.

Looking for a community of vetted, fellow cannabis professionals? Take some time to browse the web and get a feel for what’s out there. Read reviews. Find the professional ones, the committed ones, the diverse ones.

We here at Growers Network have a very diverse and professional community, and a mission: to connect the world’s cannabis professionals to make them more productive and successful. We offer free membership for licensed cannabis producers, processors, retailers, and labs. Cannabis professionals get access to a global, members-only community of vetted cannabis professionals, market analyses, job postings, and much more. Visit our homepage and explore the website to learn more and join.