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Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Setting Up the Retail Environment
In an earlier chapter, The Crazy Reality of a Creative Reuse Center, we touched on the unconventional nature of the retail environment in a creative reuse center. While not nearly as easy to organize as a grocery store, or even a big box craft store, you’ll want your store to be shoppable and navigable as possible. Adding some structure and policies to the following categories can certainly help:
- Flow
- Sorting and Packaging
- Pricing
- Sections
- Signage
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| photo courtesy of morguefile.com |
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
Getting Started - Your Infrastructure
The opposite of infrastructure is chaos. Setting up a creative reuse center is unpredictable enough by virtue of dealing with donated materials. Having systems in place will save your hide when you’re up to your ears in fabric, bottle tops, paper, and crayons.
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| photo courtesy of morguefile.com |
While there are many elements to building capacity in your creative reuse center, we’ll stick to the basics:
· Decision making
· Staff/Volunteers
· Programs
· Administrative systems
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
Monday, July 30, 2012
Solid Gold - Your Volunteer Team
That’s what volunteers are to an organization – solid gold. Volunteers can play a variety of roles at your creative reuse center. Depending upon your needs and the volunteers’ skill sets and interests, you can have many of your essential functions covered. Volunteers make it possible to accomplish your mission with little or no initial funding. And, when you’re ready to hire – you’ll have a pool of super stars to choose from that already know the organization, are committed to the mission, and are known to you.
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| image courtesy of morguefile.com |
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Risky Business
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| image courtesy of morguefile.com |
Belinda (not her real name) was a super star volunteer. She showed up regularly for her shifts and worked diligently stocking and organizing store sections. During a typical shift, she was cleaning up the wood section which was badly in need of organization. As she was moving varying sizes of wood to make them more salable, a piece with a sharp point fell, penetrated her shoe, and went right through her big toe. Apparently this piece of wood was balanced precariously between two other larger pieces. As they were moved, the sharp piece dropped to the ground. Belinda was new to town, worked as a nanny part time, and did not have medical insurance.
This unfortunate incident was indeed a wake-up call for us that mitigating risk doesn’t just mean having contracts, liability insurance, and criminal background checks in place. It also means physical safety and well-being for staff and volunteers.
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
Friday, July 6, 2012
All About the Money
Fundraising, Friend Raising, Crowdfunding, Corporate Donors, Individual Donors, Loans…all are ways of fund development for your creative reuse center.
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| photo courtesy of sxc.hu |
There are some distinct areas of difference between doing business as a for-profit and a nonprofit organization. This is one of those areas. You can’t offer a return on investment for an interested donor as a nonprofit but in most cases, you can offer a tax deduction to friends, fans, and funders
If you decide to become a for-profit venture, you can look at bank loans, investor capital, Kick Starter, or other ways of getting the money together. Here, the opposite is true; you can’t promise a tax deduction, but you can offer a return on investment or other stake in your company.
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Creating a Buzz - Engaging the Community
There are multiple routes to reach
out and touch the community. Creating a buzz is getting people to talk
about your project. It’s communicating with the community in smart and
engaging ways. You’ll know you’ve created buzz when you go to a
neighborhood barbeque and nearly everyone has heard of your creative reuse
center. They read about it in the local paper. A friend posted on
Facebook. They saw your video on YouTube. A friend of a friend said
“you’ve got to check this out!”. They are enticed and intrigued – and you
have a captive audience.
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| photo courtesy of sxc.hu |
To read the full chapter, please pick up a copy of our book:
Print:
Digital (PDF):
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