Knowing where you draw your business from is a good idea; knowing how you’re performing in your trade area is even better. A Customer Address and Transaction (CAT) survey accomplishes both, giving you a valuable snapshot to inform marketing focus. It’s a straightforward analysis worth returning to time and time again.
East Aurora Co-op Market East Aurora, NY Founded: 2010 Opened: June 2016 Number of members: 1,280 Number of employees: 25 Member investment: $200 Retail square feet: 4,445 East Aurora Food Co-op in upstate New York has been open for over a month now, but they continue to celebrate the co-op’s opening in large and small ways. It is always a giant accomplishment for a [...]
As a new co-op project progresses through the 3 stages of the development process and the workload and complexity of the co-op development process increases, founding team and board members often wonder when to hire help, and for what roles.Though the size, skills and situation of each startup group vary, there are points along the 4 Cornerstones in 3 Stages development model where hiring [...]
By Ben Sandel 182 January-February 2016 Gaining members quickly and efficiently is a major hurdle for most startup co-ops. A co-op is selling a dream when it has no store, minimal (if any) staff, and, when organizing in areas that don’t have other food co-ops, no credible examples to refer to. This can make membership growth slow and painful. Nevertheless, some startups have had [...]
By Bill Gessner 180 Sept-Oct 2015 Expansion projects for food co-ops fall somewhere between a labyrinth and a maze. With continuous improvement and development of best practices, expansion projects are moving closer to the one path of a labyrinth and further away from the messiness of a maze. We invite you to step into the expansion labyrinth. You will learn to navigate it through [...]
Say hello to Maine's newest cooperative grocer, the Portland Food Co-op! Board Member Chris Stacey takes us through their startup story, and shares valuable insights about what startups can teach all co-ops, new or established: Participation Matters.
