Nov 19

Nov 19 Lessons from the first DCWF Co-op Academy

When we first founded Detroit Community Wealth Fund, we knew there were Detroiters curious about cooperative businesses, how to start one, and how to be a worker-owner. We were eager to lend to cooperatives and community-based businesses, but it took us a couple years to realize how hard it was to help people learn about cooperatives and recognize that we could do something about it. How could we help Detroiters learn how to start or grow a cooperative business?

Piloting an academy

Graduates of the Grace In Action Co-op Academy in August, 2019.

In the Spring of 2019, we partnered with Grace In Action to develop and implement a co-op academy to help them incubate a childcare cooperative. Co-op academies are a tool co-op developers use to help a group, or a group of businesses, learn how to start a cooperative. We used our network of co-op educators and developers, and open-source resources to develop a curriculum relevant to our partner’s clients. Our team developed a curriculum (that was even bi-lingual!) to help the emerging co-op learn business skills, and democratic governance and management. DCWF team members B. Anthony and Zahra spearheaded this 15-week program at Grace In Action and in August, they graduated 12 participants.

Working with Grace In Action to deliver a co-op academy made us realize that this style of learning, with a curriculum and a cohort model, completely free to participants, could be the perfect platform to support emerging cooperative entrepreneurs in Detroit. So this summer, we began to develop our first in-house Co-op Academy to test our theory that there were Detroiters hungry for resources and space to learn how to start a cooperative business.

Over 25 people applied for our 10-week Co-op Academy. We knew access was important, so we also offered transportation and childcare stipends who those who needed it to participate, and we used our community to find a fantastic learning environment at Co.Act Detroit, and used the delicious woman-owned caterer, Sisters on a Roll, to fuel each of our classes.

What we learned

For ten weeks, our 15 participants learned about the history of cooperatives, co-op principles and values, and set the tone for the class by creating a list of community agreements. We broke the ice by playing Co-opoly, our favorite game to help people learn what it is like to make decisions in a co-op.

In the first half of the class, we focused on business skills, which, to be clear, is the same business knowledge used to start any other business. We discussed developing a feasibility study, investigated each business using the business model canvas, and learned about the different types of cooperative business structures. We were thrilled to have Eric Thomas lend his comical mind to help us think about identifying and empathizing with potential customers, and we dove into financial terminology. We broke out excel and learned about creating a breakeven analysis, and learned about how to estimate start-up, product, and fixed costs. We heard from Joanna Duewke-Perez, the Professional Service Network Manager at Tech Town, and fron Justin Erikson, Program Manager for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project about ways class participants could access the greater entrepreneurship support ecosystem in Detroit.

“I was familiar with co-ops but I did not understand what made a business a co-op. Through this course, my team and I are able to plan our further steps our business needs to take. You all have offered numerous resources!”
- Ebony, Our Creative House

At this point, our class moved into what most business 101, or even 102 classes might not ever cover- governance, management, power, and equity in our co-ops. What does it mean to run a business together? How do we balance the needs of the workers, the owners, with the needs of the business?

Alice from City Commons, Desmond from Public Thrift, Gaby from Building Cooperatively, and Mave from NEW West Virginia.

In week 7, we examined the concept of strategic leadership, and created a Co-op “rights and responsibilities” model, connecting all of the rights we felt we deserved as worker-owners with the corresponding responsibilities. We also heard from our co-op community members, including Desmond from Public Thrift, Gaby from Building Cooperatively, and Alice from City Commons. We also heard from Mave Davis, a loan officer part of the Seed Commons network, based on Charleston, West Virginia. This guest panel made a huge impression on our co-ops, and this was regarded as one of the favorite classes.

For the next two classes, we explored our own social identities, and reflected as a group at how power and privilege and oppression show up in our lives. We also looked at how all of this relates to our workplace, specifically at how it related to making group decisions, responding to the needs of the workers, and navigating conflict.

“Our collective idea had been spinning in limbo until the DCWF co-op academy. we have a much clearer line of site to our goals are we are moving on them”
- Daune, Detroit Textile Artist Collective

We then looked at the components of governance and management, learned the distinctions between the two, and where specific decisions could be made, whether it related to governance, high-level decisions, or management, day to day decisions. We practiced making decisions together, using both consensus style, where everyone has to agree to move forward, and also majory-rule, where only 51% must agree to move forward. The tea, learned first hand how tricky it can be to manage everyone’s ideas and needs when making a decision that best benefits the collective.

Some of the DCWF Co-op Academy participants.

On the last class, we developed strategic plans for our businesses, creating 3, 6, and 9 month goals and objectives. We reviewed everything we learned, and reflected on how we felt about our businesses.

Participants left excited, but with mixed emotions; starting a business is hard! Some participants felt that the “possibilities of their business were endless,” while others continued to wonder “how to get customers, and develop a strong revenue model”. Everyone agreed that the class helped them, “eat an elephant,” or rather, understand the complexities of starting a co-op together, piece by piece.

Thankful and grateful to come across like minded folk. Thankful for the availability, access, organization, opportunity, and purpose of this course [which was] well needed and wanted.
- Nathaniel "Nate", Co-Owner, Pingree Detroit

To celebrate the completion of this academy, and to also showcase other cooperatives in Detroit, tomorrow we host the first Detroit Co-op Showcase! It is a chance for the community to meet the co-ops in the city, and to meet others who are working to start a cooperative business. Be on the look out for photos from the event!