June 2021 Welcome

Things are heating up as we step towards the warmer summer months and we couldn’t be any more excited…especially as the nation relaxes covid restrictions. We are ready to rock and know you are too! 

 

First in the line-up…’Clean’, ‘safe’, ‘natural’, or ‘pure’ CBD are pivotal selling points for many CBD brands. However, these buzz words are meaningless without the evidence to support such claims. Check out our most recent feature to see which companies make the cut and which are on the chopping block. 

 

Next up, join us as we go behind the scenes with The PowerHitter. The seventies may have been groovy, but for pot smokers. The choice of pipes was a real drag, being limited to ceramic and metal spoons, some basic glass bongs, and maybe an apple or Mr. Pib can with holes punched in them if you were desperate or low on dough. Not anymore, though! Say hello to the PowerHitter: innovative, BPA-free and flame retardant plastic, and hits harder while easily popping back to shape.  Try it today…their 31K+ social media followers aren’t lying when they say they love it! 

 

Lastly, Tom Pierson (Husband and co-owner of Kaleidoscope with wife Pam) offers sage marital advice after almost a half century of being married. He sums it up in just a few words. “No matter what she asks for or says, my answer is the same‘honey whatever you want to do is fine with me.’”  Check out HQ’s Shop of the Month to learn more about how this shop survived the storms for over 50 years! 

 

We hope to see you all next month in Las Vegas at The HQ Event & Trade Show! You don’t want to miss it! Call our office today 505-275-6049 for details or register at www.TheHQEvent.com.

Recent Articles

I went home and told my girlfriend, who, after Googling the name of the business I bought it from, told me that, yes, it was technically weed. But it was CBD. She started laughing, telling me I had been ripped off.
State-sanctioned medical and recreational cannabis programs benefit the average user in many ways. Still, they remain a double-edged sword for dispensary owners, greenhouse growers, and others who earn their living from the cannabis industry. There are plenty of profits to be had, sure, but how exactly are you expected to secure your cash or process electronic transactions when banks refuse to work with you?
Aubrey Amatelli wants to help dispensaries and cannabis retailers navigate one of the toughest parts of the industry: money. When the company she worked for right out of grad school was acquired by JPMorgan, Aubrey entered the complex world of payments and has stayed there for her entire career.
There’s a paradox to business conferences. The best ones manage to swing from buttoned down to wildly unscripted—sometimes seconds apart. For attendees, it’s the combination of personal connections and professional development that makes regular trips to conferences worthwhile. And in an industry like this one, pulling that off is harder than it looks.
Your shop is not only a smoke shop; It's also a hangout spot and a community hub. It is a place where the regulars know your staff by name, and your staff knows what the regulars need. That's the secret sauce that the big-box chains can't replicate, and it starts with who you put behind the counter. A well-staffed smoke shop is an operational strategy, but it's also a community. In lean economic times, that community is what keeps the lights on. When people feel like your shop is their spot, they don't stop coming in when money's tight. They prioritize it. It all starts with Hiring.
Dr. Macias first fell in love with science while studying at Howard University, where she completed her undergraduate studies and later earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology. While at Howard, she became especially interested in cancer research due to personal ties. Growing up in a Creole family and predominantly Black community in Louisiana, Dr. Macias watched many women around her battle breast cancer, so at Howard, she decided to focus her research on the BRCA1 gene.
It’s almost amazing that the same institutions that brought us the 2008 financial crisis have a problem with selling glass pipes. Almost. The truth is that an industry's past sins are only held against it when the money isn’t right. Big banks were willing to risk cratering the U.S. housing market because the profits were too good to ignore. But the cannabis industry rolls a different kind of paper, so instead of a slap on the wrist, it gets a surcharge.
Smokeshop and counterculture enthusiasts enjoy discovery as part of the experience. Customers enjoy browsing. When they walk into a shop, they don't simply grab a product and leave. They look for something new. This is the main reason flyers and posters still work. Smokeshops and dispensaries are highly visual environments. You want to see bold artwork, psychedelic graphics, and street-style posters that naturally capture attention.