There is a number sitting inside your P&L right now that most cannabis operators either do not know or are too afraid to look at. It is called your labor to sales ratio and it is one of the most important metrics in your business.

If you are running a dispensary and your labor costs are eating 35, 40, or 45 percent of your revenue, you have a problem. And the problem is almost never that your employees are paid too much.

You're running a dispensary with a handful of employees. You handle the schedule, the compliance, the vendor calls, the customer escalations, and somewhere in the back of your mind, a running list of HR stuff you know you should deal with but haven't gotten to yet.

A full-time HR person costs $60,000 to $80,000 a year — minimum. And for an operation your size, that math doesn't work.

From wage theft claims to worker misclassification, these are the HR mistakes dispensaries get sued for most often — and what cannabis operators can do to protect themselves.

The conventional advice for growing cannabis companies goes something like this: once you hit a certain headcount, hire a full-time HR person. Put someone on payroll. Get it in-house.

The data does not support that advice. And in cannabis, the structural problems with internal HR are worse, not better, than in other industries. This is the case for why separation is not just a cost play, it is a people strategy. And what it looks like when it is done right.

Understand that progress is rarely linear and that setbacks will happen. It's okay if you don't get it right the first time, or the second, or even the third. Success takes time and effort, and often involves a lot of trial and error. It's essential to not be overdramatic, remember that failure is not the end of the road. Even Drake released Tootsie Slide. Use your failure as fuel for growth and development. Examine them to the point that you feel ownership over that failure. Pick it apart. Know it better than anyone. Then adjust.