What is the role of the start-up Project Manager (vs. community organizer)? What activities are they responsible for, what skills and experience should they have, and how do you hire your co-op’s first Project Manager? This presentation gets into the details of the start-up Project Manager's role in co-op development.
2. Overview
• Intro
• How Can You Afford a Project Manager?
• What’s Your Role?
• What Needs to Be Done?
• Leadership Structure
• Who’s Your Network?
• What’s in the Works--with Jake S.
• Questions
3. My Story
1. Meeting my own
need
2. Meeting my
community’s need
3. Meeting our
region’s need
NETWORK OF FOOD
CO-OPS, New England
MONADNOCK FOOD
CO-OP, Keene
HAPPY CO-OP
SHOPPER
4. Two Different Projects
1. Organizing the structure for a democratic
Association
2. Setting up a
grocery store
5. What’s Your Role?
• Manage risk
• See the big picture
• What needs to be done?
• Plan (& analyze)!
• Empower others
6. How Can You Afford
a Project Manager?
• How can you not?
• Brainstorm list of funding sources
• Get out there and ask!
9. What Needs to be Done?
What do established
co-op stores do when
they want to expand?
Milestones:
Who, How, What?
Lunch Dates with Joe
(Prioritizing Time)
10. Weekly Average of Time Spent
10% Communications with Community
50% Volunteer Support and Management
20% Membership recruitment &
Community Partnerships
10% Board Support
10% Consultants & Other Co-op Associations
13. Preparing to Open
• Put Your Members
to Work!
• Get out into the
Community
• Volunteer Greeters
14. No Longer ___ing in Isolation
• Peer Support
• Find expertise
• Learn
15. Who’s Your Network?
Neighboring Food Co-ops:
• 33 Co-ops & Start-Ups
• 80,000 memberships
• 1,450 employees
• $28.6 million in wages
• $200 million revenue
• $33 million in local
purchases
www.nfca.coop/members
16. • Systems & Support
• Roles
• Structure of Teams & “Campaign”
Planning = Key
17. You are Creating
a Business That:
• Community ownership & control
• Focus on service, meeting needs before profit
• Develop local skills & assets
• Ability to assemble limited resources
• Regional economic efficiencies
• Low business failure rate & are long-lived
• Difficult to move or buy-out
• Separate community wealth from speculative markets
• Mobilize member, customer and supplier loyalty…
18. What’s in the Works
Contact:
Jake.Schlachter@gmail.com
937.838.4404