Autumn Brands Is On The Cutting Edge Of Cannabis
Autumn Shelton
Autumn Brands is a 50% women-owned and operated cannabis cultivator and creator of top-grade health and wellness products. The vision of the two families spray-free approach allows for a PURE guarantee, providing a clean, and potent cannabis experience. PURE stands Pesticide-free, User-first, Responsibly grown, and Eco-friendly. Autumn Brands produces top-quality strains built on their six generations of farming expertise that started in Holland more than a century ago.
What was the inspiration to start this business?
“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” – Serena Williams
When you started your business, did you ever envision that you would be where you are now?
No not at all. Women who are natural caregivers could be the leaders just purely by their innate knowledge and experience with the plant. I don’t think there is any part of this industry that women cannot be a part of or thrive within.
Was there ever a time that things didn't fall into place, struggles, or challenges? What were they and how did you get passed it and grow from the experience?
Meeting the strict regulations with getting our Cannabis Cultivation licensing and Land Use Permitting in Santa Barbara County. The application, by the way, is a 100-page document demonstrating proof of compliance with all state and local cannabis laws. A partial list of agencies signing off includes CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), Fish and Wildlife, local water authority, fire departments, law enforcement …This extensive and exhausting process takes anywhere from 12 to 34 months with a minimum cost of $100,000. That’s just to submit the application. On top of that, once submitted anyone can appeal the project.
The biggest obstacle was deciding to be 100% spray free. About 4 years ago we decided to stop using any chemicals on our farm because we want to grow the cleanest most natural flower possible. We use a biocontrol program along with controlling our greenhouse environment to combat all of our pest issues. There were large yields lost during the transition as we watched and waited for our living program to catch up to the pest problems but we stuck through it because we want to produce the cleanest most natural cannabis possible. Along with biocontrol, the greenhouse environment is a large part of a fundamental tool for suppressing problems. When you stop spraying, the humidity decreases which gives powdery mildew the environment to thrive. We had to set new parameters for control. We also had to focus on our genetics and find pest and mildew-resistant strains that thrived in our greenhouse. Now you can walk through our greenhouses and see an abundance of predatory biocontrol alongside naturally entered bugs, like ladybugs, working away to control any issues.
What was the biggest lesson you learned while starting and growing this business?
Challenges come with the busy territory, however we are two families that own and operate our business. Our employees are the crutch of our business and making sure we keep a happy and healthy environment is number one. It’s important to come together and be a team on a macro and micro levels. It’s important to listen and adapt when change is necessary. Failure occurs when you give up on something. So even when challenges, loss, or what seems to be impossible to fix, we have always taken a deep breath, cleared our heads and found a solution to be able to move forward. Every challenge brings a new lesson that only makes us stronger and better at what and how we do things.
What would you tell a FEM that is struggling in her business and feel like it's too difficult?
Unlike Lettuce we don’t wash our weed, so whatever we put on our plant during it’s growing cycle is consumed. So we find it better to NOT add any products, organic or not! We are hoping that more brands stop praying pesticides and provide clean cannabis you can trust.
What continues to inspire you to keep on growing your business?
The best part about this industry is that it’s still relatively new and has no glass ceilings or ‘boys clubs’. Cannabis is an incredible plant that naturally regulates our bodies. It’s all about Health and Wellness and most women are naturally experts at taking care of themselves and their families. I know more women will get involved in this industry, so this incredible plant will continue to help more people every day. There are so many different ways to get involved.
Specifically, being a grower takes a specific skill and passion whether you are male or female. I personally do not have a green thumb and should never be in charge of the plants. But I am good at many other aspects of running a business and problem-solving. It’s important to always know your strengths and your weaknesses so that you can collectively help the business be successful. I love the people I work with within our company and outside our company. I love watching the plants grow throughout their life cycle. I love to watch our packaging room assemble our consumer products and to hear feedback from the consumer about how much they love them.
Final advice for those thinking of starting a business or looking to grow their current business?
As a minority leader it's important to present yourself in a clear, professional, confident and humble manner in order to gain the respect of your employees and industry partners. In any business, but especially in a new industry, it's important to stay frugal and not try to be the fanciest company out there, or you could lose everything. We saw so many cannabis businesses go out of business because they spent too much before they even got their business up and running. Always stay true to your company vision and when something isn’t working, make small revisions so you can figure out exactly what needs to change.
To connect: Website: https://autumnbrands.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnbrands/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumnbrands_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/autumnbrands
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autumnbrands/
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