Hi, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with worker-owned businesses/cooperatives?
With the short-term economy continuing to be stagnant, the continued decline of the US economy in general, and with the lack of credit available (even if you have a high credit score, banks are not giving out loans), it makes sense to me to pool resources and to promote and become involved with worker-owned co-ops.
Here's a little about me: I've been a personal chef for the past few years and I was a baker a long time ago. I also have a couple of certificates in cheesemaking. In between culinary careers, I went to college and I worked as a researcher for a while for several state agencies. Recently I have been updating my skills in Santa Rosa JC's wonderful baking and pastry program, because I want to get back into working with my hands rather than with computers all of the time.
Even with my experience, education, work ethic, and passion, when I apply to jobs in the greater Bay Area (Sonoma, Marin, Napa, East Bay, SF etc)....the potential employers are offering only $10-12/hr and without benefits....yet they want me to do anything and everything for them.
Instead of expending all of my energy working for someone else, I've been thinking about starting or joining in a worker-owned co-op. I'm not expecting to become rich - I'm just hoping to be viable and I'm not afraid of hard work.
I have little experience with this business model, except that I have had friends in the past who were involved in co-ops. Unfortunately, most of these co-ops did not appeal to me - they were not clean, the workers were often slovenly and unskilled, they were badly run as organizations, and they only appealed to a very limited clientele. The most successful of these that I have seen that are very well-run, successful and clean are Arizmendi and Rainbow Foods in SF and Bob's Red Mill up in Oregon (which unfortunately didn't start as a co-op, but is now one).
Anyways, if anyone has any advice, I'd sure appreciate it. If you have worked as a co-op member or started one, I'd love to hear about it. If you want any pastries or cookies in exchange for in-depth info or help with a business plan or leads to funding resources etc, let me know.
Thanks, Shane