Project Management for Start-Ups, CCMA June 7, 2013

Project Management

for Start-Ups

Bonnie Hudspeth

CCMA Conference, June 7, 2013

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

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

Two Different Projects

1. Organizing the structure for a democratic

Association

2. Setting up a

grocery store

What’s Your Role?

• Manage risk

• See the big picture

• What needs to be done?

• Plan (& analyze)!

• Empower others

How Can You Afford

a Project Manager?

• How can you not?

• Brainstorm list of funding sources

• Get out there and ask!

Leadership Structure

BUILD & TRAIN YOUR TEAMS

• Volunteer teams

• Responsibility?

• Train the trainers

Create an Epidemic

INVEST in relationships. Find & engage:

Connectors

Mavens

Sales People

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)

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

Analyze

Leadership Renewal

Biggest hurdle?

Between Major Events

REFRESH Your Team

Preparing to Open

• Put Your Members

to Work!

• Get out into the

Community

• Volunteer Greeters

No Longer ___ing in Isolation

• Peer Support

• Find expertise

• Learn

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

• Systems & Support

• Roles

• Structure of Teams & “Campaign”

Planning = Key

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…

What’s in the Works

Contact:

Jake.Schlachter@gmail.com

937.838.4404

Questions?

Bonnie Hudspeth, Outreach Coordinator

Neighboring Food Co-op Association

bonnie@nfca.coop // www.nfca.coop

www.facebook.com/neighboring

I Y Our Co-ops!The Neighboring Food Co-op Association // www.nfca.coop