I graduated with a computer science degree in 1998, catching the tail end of the dot com era for my first professional job. In those days, most of my classmates wanted to work in gaming or internet and there was stiff competition for who could get the highest paying entry level programming job. My goals were different. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted a good salary, but I was interested in meaningful work first and foremost, and I was willing to take a lower salary to have that meaningful work. I needed to work for a company whose mission I could support. I learned business software at a wonderful company called Patient Care Technologies. PtCT provided medical software that ran on handheld devices to visiting nurses. The software saved the nurses a daily trip to the office to gather charts and also eliminated double entry between charts and the EMR (electronic medical records) system, overall saving the medical offices money and the nurses valuable time.
The lesson that good software should ALWAYS provide more value than it costs stuck with me. It is a founding principle of MJ Platform. Our north star is to serve the cannabis industry. In every product we offer, we think about the ROI and how we can make sure we are providing an x-factor of value beyond what we cost. This in turn gives us, MJ Platform employees, job satisfaction that we are not “just trying to make money” or even “just helping the industry be compliant.” We are providing value and serving the industry so the industry can help so many others.
When our operational consultants engage in a consulting engagement with a client, we take this approach as well. First, we look at the data and what specific value our client has to offer its target market. We look at internal and external value factors for their demographic. Internal influences are what happen in the heart and mind of the consumer, for instance how a particular product makes them feel. External influences are all the social and cultural aspects of the consumer’s life, for instance, whether all their friends like a certain brand or consume a certain type of product. We work with our client to craft a benefits versus cost approach with the ultimate goal being to provide internal and external value to the consumer. We assist the client with which reports from MJ Platform provide the data our clients need to track these initiatives as well as information on how to use the loyalty features within MJ Platform or one of our partner loyalty providers (SpringBig, Baker, etc.) to tweak their value driven customer marketing approach.
This idea of providing value first isn’t just a business concept. I try to live this in my personal relationships and to teach my daughter the value of contribution as well. I’ll never forget a day last Fall when I realized how much she has learned to embody the value of giving to others. It was a classic Denver day where the day before had been 80 degrees and that day would only reach 40 with rain as well. I sent her to school with both a down vest and a rain jacket, and when I picked her up, she only had her jacket. Exasperated, as she often forgot things, I asked her “where is your vest”?! And she said, “Mama, I gave it to a little kid who only had a tank top today”.
None of us are perfect, and I don’t pretend to always virtuously achieve this, especially in my personal life, but whenever I do in some small way, the dividends I receive back are enough to make me recommit to trying. If we were all to approach business and life with a “how can I provide value first” approach, just think of the positive change we could affect in the world.
Jessica Billingsley is the co-founder and CEO of MJ Platform Business Solutions. In June 2019, she became the CEO of the first cannabis industry company to be listed on the NASDAQ.
