Learn How to Start Your Own Co-op!
The Mount Vernon Co-op Academy will be held on-line this Spring from May 7-June 25.
Register Today
Space is limited to 25 people or 5 groups in order to provide support and engagement between on-line sessions.
Who Should Attend:
- Business owners who want to secure the legacy of their business by selling to their employees.
- People interested in creating a cooperative to meet their needs for housing and/or work,
- Consumers or producers seeking control over their marketplace.
- Existing staff and board members of cooperatives who want to learn more about the co-op model.
Everything that You Need To Know to Join
Time: Thursdays from 10:00 am-12:00 beginning May 7, 2020
Schedule of Classes
- Week 1: Co-op Basics
- Week 2: Governance and Decision-making
- Week 3: The Business Model Canvas
- Week 4: The Money Talk: Equity and Feasibility
- Week 5: Business Planning and Marketing
- Week 6: Accountability
- Week 7: Cultural Literacy
- Week 8: Putting it Together with a Strategic Plan
Instructors
- Cindy Brooks, Mt. Vernon SBDC
- Deborah Craig, NWCDC
- John McNamara, NWDC
- plus guest speakers and presenters.
Recommended Reading and Viewing
There aren’t any textbooks for the academy, but we recommend the following:
- Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur
- Many Voice, One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy by Ted J. Rau and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
- The Legacy Project is a series of videos about the legal and accounting practices involved with converting a business to a worker-owner entity. This series will also provide a good basis for much of what will be covered in the academy.
