Tara Wells is the founder of Ganja Goddess, a premium cannabis brand with delivery services and award-winning CPGs catering to consumers in California, and CBD Goddess, a national e-commerce site for consumer and pet CBD products. Tara realized early on that women were being underserved and underrepresented in the industry and became determined to make the cannabis experience aesthetically beautiful and judgment-free, as well as safe and convenient for everyone. Previously, she was an executive producer and writer, winning an Emmy for "The Amazing Race" on CBS. 

Can you tell our readers about your background?  

As someone who loves gardening and plants, I realized at a young age that we are so connected to them. When I was older, I experienced firsthand the physical and mental therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant. First, it gave me creative insights during my original career as a TV writer and producer. But more importantly, it has since been an amazing anti-inflammatory, treating my knee issues caused by athletics, and I’ve seen it help many of my friends and family with pain, appetite, anxiety, and sleep issues. When I realized that cannabis was such an easy, gentle addition to living a good life, a new path opened up for me, personally and professionally.

What inspired you to start your business?

My goal is to spread the many ways in which cannabis can help society. I first got into the space in 2006, founding Ganja Goddess Food, selling infused brownies and gingerbreads from old family recipes. In 2011, I founded Ganja Goddess, envisioning an easy, convenient and accessible cannabis delivery company that could reach any person in California, as so many towns and cities didn’t allow cannabis shops despite it being legal statewide. I also wanted to create a low-cost service, taking down another barrier to access.

 

Then in 2014, I founded one of the first legal cannabis shops in the country (in Seattle), and in 2020 launched CBD Goddess, a national e-commerce and delivery company with top-quality, hemp-derived products.

Where is your business based?

Ganja Goddess is based in California.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

Being a TV producer was great training for me. I learned early on how to navigate the space through trial and error, making sure to focus on the outcome and not get discouraged by obstacles. And there were many, especially as legalization emerged, as cities and states made it difficult to get licensing. Ganja Goddess and my other businesses were all formed very organically, learning new skills and making new relationships that would inform the next steps. It was vitally important that I got to know the market and what my customers wanted and then responded to that by creating something that reflected consumer desire.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I have always believed that teaching and living by example is the best method. Our company strives for diversity, has a social equity partner we support and we try to maintain a healthy, happy workplace. With cannabis, my biggest challenge has been to 'normalize' it as a substance that heals and helps everyone. I try to participate in forums, do interviews, and spread the word everywhere I go.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I don’t think I initially realized how hard it would be to deal with the strict regulations in the cannabis industry. It continues to be a real hurdle for us. The intense regulation with high taxes, locally and state-wide, make running our business a lot more complicated. The best way to overcome this obstacle has been to surround myself with a great team, from legal to accounting and oversight. They stay on top of it all, which is essential to our success. 

How do you stay focused? 

I get a lot of sleep, exercise, and break my workday up into small manageable time capsules.  And of course, I use cannabis at the end of the day so I am relaxed. Relaxation and enjoyment of life are the best healing modalities.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?  

For us, it’s all about the customer, which I believe makes us stand out from the crowd. Personally, I find it frustrating when I can't reach someone if I run into problems with an online order. Right away when founding Ganja Goddess, I made sure everyone knew our focus -- to listen to the customer and understand exactly what they need. I think that type of service really makes a difference in raising awareness of a brand, and it's who we are at our core. We look at it all pretty holistically. It's not just a business, but an interaction and relationship with our customers. What they want and need matters to us.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?  

It's really been a mixture of a lot of things. We try to do non-traditional advertising to reach markets that are not served.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?  

Learn as much information as you can about your trade. It’s important to focus on understanding the variety of business procedures necessary to run an operation and embrace them. From the marketing, legal and financial sides to the hardcore understanding of a product or service, it is the key to building and maintaining success.  But most of all, have fun!

What's your favorite blog and book? Why?

My favorite book is “The Overstory”. This Pulitzer Prize-winning tome is amazing. It weaves together several stories against the backdrop of trees and nature. It's stunning. My favorite blog is ours over at ganjagoddess.com. It’s full of tasty information.

How do you balance work and life?

I try to remember that taking time to do nothing is as important as doing a lot during the day.  Downtime makes everything more clear. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Spending time in nature… I like to exercise and then have a great cannabis drink or edible.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

At Ganja Goddess, we are expanding all over California and have plans to branch out to other states in the coming year.

With the ongoing pandemic and continued normalization of cannabis, we have experienced incredible growth, so we are looking to continue our expansion. We are focused on high-growth areas in emerging markets and continuing to service our existing communities with the best products out there. We also want to keep growing CBD Goddess and bring high-quality CBD products to people all around the country. This will make sure we are in a good position when cannabis becomes federally legal. 

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find us at GanjaGoddess.com, CBDGoddess.com, or on Instagram and Twitter. Feel free to reach out at info@goddessdelivers.com.