Marijuana Business Magazine - Issue 09, Oct 2017

T ake a peek at Chanda Macias’ diverse educational and professional background, and it’s easy to see why she’s been able to build a thriving medical mari- juana business in Washington DC. In fact, one could argue that eve- rything she did up until starting her dispensary, National Holistic Healing Center, prepared her for success as an entrepreneur in the MMJ industry: • She earned a Ph.D. in cell biology at Howard University in 2001, immers- ing herself in the study of can- nabis along the way and building a comprehensive understanding of the plant and how it can help patients. • That same year, she transitioned into the business world, landing a gig as a research scientist at Colgate- Palmolive, a Fortune 500 corporation known for toothpaste and dishwash- ing soap. During her time there, she deepened her knowledge of cannabis and also learned how companies run. • In 2006, she left Colgate and spent a year at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before taking a position in 2008 as director of Sci- ence, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) Education at Howard, where she honed her scientific knowledge and developed her management practices. She also mentored students – a skill she would eventually parlay into an informative and comforting approach with patients. • A few years later, while keeping her Howard post, she enrolled in the MBA program at Rutgers University in New Jersey, specializing in supply- chain management.That experience helped round out a powerful arsenal of scientific and business know-how. Macias’ background in these areas helped her land a hotly competitive dis- pensary license in the nation’s capital and navigate a challenging business environ- ment with stiff black-market competition. It also has helped her overcome several hurdles, including suspected discrimina- tion she has faced as an African-Ameri- can woman, skittish business neighbors, price-gouging growers and an issue with key software her dispensary uses. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Chanda Macias, owner of the National Holistic Healing Center dispensary in Washington DC, has overcome a challenging local market to establish a thriving business. Her task was made all the more difficult by being an African- American woman in an industry dominated by white males. Macias succeeded because she: • Used her experience as a trained scientist and her business background to land a license in Washington DC’s limited medical marijuana market. • Cultivates good relations with growers to ensure a steady supply of product at an affordable price. • Keeps a lid on costs by purchasing ancillary products such as packaging and glassware in bulk. • Collects a trove of data detailing her customers’ needs and how many out-of-state medical marijuana patients inquire about reciprocity. • Records her dispensary’s daily transactions and relevant customer data on Excel spreadsheets to serve as a backup in the event the automated system malfunctions or crashes. 56 • Marijuana Business Magazine • October 2017