Glossary
Plain English for operator terms. Less confusion, better decisions.
Core terms
3 C’s
The three operating lanes: Cultivation (supply), Conversion (product + margin), Compliance (staying operational).
Cadence
Your repeatable rhythm: how often you run the workflow without chaos.
Cycle time
Time to complete one full production cycle. Shorter cycle time usually increases throughput.
Throughput
How much sellable output you produce per time period (week/month).
COGS
Cost of goods sold: the direct costs tied to producing sellable units.
Contribution margin
Price − variable cost. The amount that pays fixed costs and profit.
Gross margin
Revenue − COGS. Useful, but not the same as contribution margin.
Fixed costs
Costs that don’t change much with volume (subscriptions, baseline utilities, rent, etc.).
Variable costs
Costs that scale with volume (packaging, inputs, payment fees, etc.).
Break-even
The point where contribution equals fixed costs. After that, you’re profitable.
Traceability
Your ability to prove what happened to a unit from creation to sale/transfer.
Recordkeeping
The documents and logs that prove your operation is controlled and legitimate.
QC
Quality control: grading and checks that keep output consistent.
SOP
Standard operating procedure: the written steps that make results repeatable.
SKU
Stock keeping unit: a specific product format (size, label, variant).
Sell-through
How fast inventory moves. The opposite of product sitting and dying.
Overhead allocation
A simple method to spread fixed costs across units so pricing reflects reality.
Waste
Unsellable output. If you don’t measure it, it steals profit silently.
Next step
Use the glossary to remove confusion, then move to the lane you actually need.