Creating an action plan

Early Stages

How to start a co-operative: a step-by-step guide Creating an action plan What a steering committee is and does Choosing a business structure: A questionnaire How to name your co-op Transitioning a Business to a Co-operative Co-operative Shareholders and Governance Choosing a Co-op Type Hosting a Community Meeting Focusing Ideas for Your Co-operative Co-operative Business Model Comparison with Other Models Building Consensus

Incorporating

A Guide to writing Rules of Association in BC

A Guide to writing bylaws in Manitoba

Guide to writing Bylaws in Saskatchewan

Guide to Federal Bylaws

Provincial comparison: Incorporating a co-op in Western Canada Incorporation time frame Articles and bylaws (video) Choosing a name (video) Why incorporate? (video) Shaping your Co-op’s Identity Incorporation Checklist

Business Planning

Do a PESTLE Analysis How to find new members How to create a governance structure Creating a Preliminary Budget Building a Business Model Canvas Risk Identification and Management Legal Risks for Start Up Co-ops Why create a business plan? (video) Roles and Responsibilities Business Planning Pitch Practice Allocating Surplus in a Co-operative Business Co-operative Shareholders and Governance

Financing

How to handle share capital in a co-op Debt vs Equity (video) Tax Treatment of Co-operative Businesses Ongoing Capitalization Guide to Writing a Financial Plan Financing your Co-operative Business Budgeting and Co-operatives

Up and Running

Creating a Terms of Reference Creating a Strategic Plan Creating a Human Resources Policy Online Governance Course Creating a Conflict of Interest Policy Board of Directors Evaluation Board Member Recruitment Board Decision-Making Exercise

A Guide to Insurance How to Read Financial Statements Keeping track of members Member Onboarding and Engagement Guidelines for co-operative elections Filing your Annual Return Annual General Meetings and Co-operatives Ongoing Capitalization Allocating Surplus in a Co-operative Business

Additional Resources

Co-ops and charitable status

Back

Starting a new business can be overwhelming. So, break the project into manageable steps. By assigning a set list of tasks, an action plan increases organization and decreases stress.

Here’s a list of possible tasks to get you started – customize this action plan to suit your project.

First, compile a toolkit:

Dedicated group of people to start the business
Somewhere to store files for everyone to share: try Dropbox or Google Docs or a project management software, like Trello, Monday, etc.
A scanner or scanning app on your phone (we like CamScanner) or software to record an online meeting (Zoom)
1-2 vigorous notetakers or ability to record meetings (Zoom)
1 Co-operatives First team member
A few flipcharts or an online program that replicates the process like mural.co
Lots of pens and paper or an online doc (Google doc) or program (mural.co, for example)
Coffee
The best of intentions

Task	Notes
Outreach Conduct a survey Present findings Clarify a purpose	It’s a good idea to seek feedback on your business idea to gauge interest. Create a survey and check in with potential members. With the results, you can host a meeting to get more feedback. Work towards distilling the discussion to a clear purpose that the business will help achieve.
Budget Planning Identify start-up costs Create member equity plan Begin searching for grants	Strike a Finance Committee to crunch the numbers. Starting with our budgeting tool, begin compiling a list of start-up costs and potential sources of funds. It might be helpful to work with your local Community Futures office to get the data you need.
Fundraising Identify opportunities to secure funds Organize and hold fundraisers	Because the co-op isn’t incorporated yet the committee can’t take out a loan or sell memberships, but you can raise money in other ways. Hosting fundraisers or accepting informal donations can help cover the early costs of creating a co-op.
Governance Planning Identify ownership group Draft an org chart Present for feedback	Strike a 2 to4-person Governance Committee to tackle the tough questions of ownership, authority, and accountability. Work through our Governance resource to identify who the co-op’s members should be and begin putting together an organizational chart that potential members can offer feedback on.
Business Planning Early market research Identify consultant/support Begin business planning	Rely on the Finance Committee to continue digging into the data. Consider hiring a third-party consultant to help create a business plan— or start creating your own using our online tool.
Choose a Name Compile legal framework Engage potential members Select the best option	Task a committee member to organize a process for naming the co-op. They can check provincial regulations to find out what has to be in the co-op’s name then check in with potential members to get some suggestions. Have the committee vote on their favourite using a dotmocracy exercise.
Incorporation Reserve a name File articles Draft bylaws	As the governance committee clarifies important organizational details, begin capturing this information in the articles of incorporation. Reserve the name with your government’s corporate registry and begin thinking about other processes that need to be captured in the co-op’s bylaws. You will find more specific information about this in your province’s workplan.
Take a moment to celebrate the co-op’s incorporation. Hurray!
Membership Start-up Create a membership agreement Set-up an e-mail Create a member registry	Have the board secretary set up an e-mail account and put together a member registry. Once there’s a system in place for accepting payment for memberships, the co-op can begin selling membership shares.
Finance Start-up Set up a bank account Incorporators deposit Compile a list of funders	Have the finance committee, led by the treasurer, set up a bank account and collect the membership fees from the incorporating members. Monitor the new memberships the co-op issues and begin researching and applying for additional start-up funds.

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