Yeahhhhhhhh, you will never find skilled labor at $20/hr. Don’t sell yourself short
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Exactly!!
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theres a lot of good knowledge and advice right here in this thread.
this is a tough one though. someone suggested negotiating more equity if they are stuck on that wage, that strikes me as a good idea. but its troubling that theyre stuck at that introductory wage. i dont think it sets up an appropriate relationship, regarding mutual respect, that you need between an employer and employee. really starting off on the wrong foot.
the best results usually come from open communication. if this is truly a deal breaker, or just not workable logistically, maybe you can speak with them on this in person, and explain exactly your issue(s) are. if they value you, they should work to reach a middle ground with you.
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This right here!!
This seems like your best bet, let them know your concerns, express your feelings and if they dont budge at least you know how they would respond to later negotiations. It really concerns me that 20/Hr is the rate and they wont even budge or work with the person that they were happy to drop decent change for on a consult.
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My 2 cents: $20/hr to build out a full facility with the promise to bump you up when things are going well is such a common story I hear and I’ll even admit I’ve been suckered in by it in the past. That’s a “closest trusted friend/business contact” sort of deal so ask yourself if you trust this person that much? The way startups work is they either offer cash salary upfront or equity with the option to buy it back if they don’t have cash now. That way you both have incentive to get it profitable so your equity doesn’t end up being worthless. Plus, as an extractor, you don’t have a direct involvement in the sales pipeline, so you could make the most fire extract ever and if they don’t have a sales pipeline in place they can say “well see we aren’t making money so we still can’t pay you” (ask me how I know about this one 
). If this is THC then I’d be less worried about that one but you never know.
Again, unless this is someone you completely trust, this smells like “please build this all out and make me money but I only want to pay you out of the profits you’re making me” which is an unfair position to be in IMO. I mean shit even if you agreed to a lesser initial title like “manager” or “engineer” that’s still a $50-60k a year salary minimum, not $20/hr lol. If $20/hr is all he’s comfortable paying, then he can expect $20/hr talent which is like operator pay (no offense to all you talented and knowledgeable operators and techs out there).
Edit: I think a fair suggestion would be to ask for equity with the option to sell it back to them for slightly more than whatever salary you’d be missing out on that first 90 days leading up to certification. Take that with a huge grain of salt tho because I’m not a business guy and I’m sure that that is way too generous to your prospective employer 
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I’d love to see these diamonds
You know, I’m something 
of a scientist myself
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They are probably gonna fire you after they get what they need at 20 an hour then hire your underlings for your position at 18
Textbook weed industry play. Seen it several dozen times.
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Not just weed industry, this is common practice now. You get raises by switching employers generally, not from within.
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Do employers in the weed industry not fear retaliation?
Like do hatians not exist out west?
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Enter a clause stating you’ll be paid a years salary in full as severance pay if they decide to axe you upon startup…
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Where I’m at, no. Or very few…
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Brads always hiding behind their lawyers, so they feel invincible.
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I see a whole bunch of liscenced robberies on the blacklist. I wonder how many could have been avoided by paying denbts
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Is the founder of your company raising capital @MI_TERPS? Or is what he’s “comfortable” with the only reasoning he used?
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This is the bullshit all the POS owners in Michigan try to pull. Ask him to include a mandatory severance in the event your “employment” is terminated in the first year. 25k should cover it.
A lack of willingness to provide any type of severance agreement is a sure sign they plan to screw you.
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If this is still in the startup phase, is it likely that it will be profitable in the next year or 3-5 years?
The founder is financing this all himself and that was the only reasoning he could give me, being comfortable at what’s offered.
Yes it is still in the start up phase. I believe there is 100% a potential for profits in the 1st year. However that requires a plan and a group of employees who can collaborate on the same level and develop a plan of action where everyone involved is on the same page and going for the same goal.
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And business currently has zero income?
Because: compliance…?
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