Networking online and offline
14 May 2009
Who would have thought that Co-operatives could be really interesting!
The talk for the May event was very informative and Glen Dott, Co-operative Development Scotland, did a marvelous presentation to the audience. Had always thought that co-operatives were run by barefoot hippies and where the Co-op fitted in that category didn't bear analysis. So when Glen very kindly agreed to do the talk thought could be interesting and with his brief explanation about co-operatives when we first met at the Start up show, thought this has enormous potential for those who would like to start a business but not on their own. It may be this initial attitude that made people think that co-operatives are for hippies or something that could have been part of why many did not turn up or it could have been the weather conditions who knows, but they sure missed a highly informative talk.
Co-operatives are owned by the 'people for the people', are centered more on the employee owners than on profit and are quite resilient to economic boom and recession cycles. These business models are more for the long term rather than companies which are owned by shareholders far away whose only motivation is the 'money' not the human assets.
Business Model
Profit generating enterprises bound together with common goals and ethics, with multiple objectives and a very democratic business and employee/member controlled. Because there are no external shareholders co-ops can focus on their objectives. Their roots are in the local economy hence creating jobs locally and everyone involved has a stake in the business and the motivation of the owner employees from the bottom up to make it work is high. Risk is shared between the people unlike companies where if owned by one person the risk is with the owner. Employee owners know their business and are more motivated to make it efficient and help it become more profitable - a 'bottom-up' approach rather than 'top-down'.
Didn't realise that co-operatives employ more people than multinational companies.
There are seven key principles which run co-operatives:
- Membership of the co-operative is voluntary and open.
- All control is democratic.
- Members can participate in a tangible economic way.
- The co-operative is autonomous and independent.
- It offers education, training and information.
- There is a spirit of co-operation between all involved.
- There is active and practical concern for the local and wider community.
Sectors and facts and figures
Apparently the co-operative model can work with any business activity such as financial services, housing, tourism, food and drink, recycling, credit unions, agriculture, renewable energy, manufacturing and more.
4.25% of Scottish GDP - the estimated combined turnover of all co-operatives and mutuals in Scotland, that is £4billion.
There are 425 co-ops and mutuals active in Scotland of these 20 are fishing co-ops, 80 agricultural coo-ops with a £1bn turnover and 31 football supporters' trusts have 30,000 member fans. There are about 22,000 people employed by co-ops and mutuals that is about one in five adults who is a member of a co-op and one in four of a mutual.
Didn't realise that the following are co-operatives: Loch Fyne Oysters, Boyndie (Scotland's first wind farm), Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, First Milk, Scotmid, the Graphics Company.
Until now would never have thought of this as a viable business model but the more and more I look into it and the news with all the job losses recently is certainly something to look more into. Glen and his team offer specialist support in this area, free for up to 2 days - advise on the best organisational structure and with an appropriate business plan and application they can also provide 50% grant funding.
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EU SME week is taking place the week of 6 - 14 May 2009. To take advantage of this week we are organising an evening networking event.
THIS MAY EVENT IS FREE FOR MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS - light refreshments provided
Date : Wednesday 6 May 2009 Time : 1830 - 2200
Please register for the event send an email to events@scotlandinbusiness.co.uk or fax : 0141 571 7277
Venue: Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow G3 6NG
Speaker: Glen Dott will talk about "Alternative Innovative Durable Successful Democratic Business Models"
| Speaker | Bio | Company Info |
| Glen Dott |
From 2005 till 2008 Glen was a general Business Adviser for Scottish Enterprise in Lanarkshire. He is currently a specialist adviser consulting in the area of co-operative business models and work mainly with companies converting to employee ownership. Glen is a Zimbabwean national and worked both in South Africa and Zimbabwe for poultry companies in both production and marketing capacities. Latterly Glen was General Manager of a vehicle dealership grappling with the operational issues in a hyperinflationary economy. Glen has been a Scottish resident since August 2004 and Glen has two children.
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Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) was launched by the Scottish Executive in 2006 to promote the development of successful co-operative enterprise across Scotland. We are a subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise with our own advisory board. By working closely with key partners, at CDS we're here to demonstrate the numerous personal, social and economic advantages of this business approach and support the growing co-op sector by: - raising the profile of co-operatives with success stories and much more - helping the development of new co-operatives that work and succeed -opening up existing markets for co-operatives and helping to develop new ones through our research. You can contact us directly with any queries. And if you'd like to receive regular email updates and other information, why not take a moment now to sign up? |
dates of future meetings:
Thursday 11 June 2009
Thursday 9 July 2009
Thursday 13 August 2009
Thursday 10 September 2009
Thursday 15 October 2009
Thursday 12 November 2009
Thursday 10 December 2009
