Who better to include in our International Women’s Day profiles than the uber-motivated, women in weed champion Amy Margolis? Amy is an entrepreneur, an attorney, founder of the Oregon Cannabis Association, and creator of The Initiative, an accelerator program, business bootcamp and funding resource for female founded cannabis businesses. In other words, one of our heroes.

Amy, what drew you to work with this magical cannabis plant?

What drew me to working with cannabis is this plant’s undeniable power to help and heal the body! Plant power to the next level.

How do you and your company hope to impact and/or inspire women?

There is so much opportunity in cannabis. It’s a new industry. It’s a huge, fast-growing industry and it’s the first time women are entering a category at the same time as men. Rather than trying to break into an established industry, we are the innovators, visionaries and business builders. Fantastic opportunity for us to shine and shape the future of cannabis industry.

What has been the most difficult and the most rewarding thing about building your business?

The most difficult is the rollercoaster ride of regulations. You’re forced to decision make on speculation and must be prepared to pivot at the next turn. Most rewarding are the learnings and lean-in mentality this community offers ~ especially fellow female business owners. There is such support and encouragement from other business owners in this industry.

Cannabis so far is a local industry, born from a global movement. How can leaders across geographies work together to bring other women into the industry?

We can continue to connect with one another, share, mentor. Women supporting women is huge in cannabis and we are working to educate, create opportunities and jobs as well as ways to give back. We are sharing our ideas and having honest dialogues at cannabis conferences, such as Females To The Front. These conferences raise awareness, broaden the local conversations and help us as leaders grow the industry together. These conferences also welcome and inspire other women who are canna-curious to seriously consider their skill sets and look at how the skills they have translate into jobs in our industry.

What is one bit of wisdom or advice you have for other women looking to lead in this space?

Be bold. Be resilient. Be prepared for the path to be long, but totally worth it.

Read up on The Initiative at https://www.intheinitiative.com/