Co-operatives are a unique way of doing business — and most co-ops will need support from advisors. So, if you’re a bookkeeper, lawyer, financial advisor, or if you work for an economic development or business support agency, there are some important things you should know about co-ops. Catering your practice to accommodate co-ops’ unique governance structures will help you secure more clients and provide better service.   

Keep these tips in mind when working with a co-op or trying to secure contracts with co-operatives.

1. They may not have a lot of co-operative experience  

At Co-operatives First, we help people create co-ops every day — and we find most of those entrepreneurs have never created a co-op or served on a co-op board. And, if you check in on a co-op’s staff, it’s likely that this is the only co-operative they’ve worked for.  

So, it might be helpful to check in with your clients to determine how much experience they have with co-operatives and how familiar they are with the model. If your clients don’t have a good understanding of how co-ops work, it’s worth providing a “Co-op 101” session or directing them to some of our online learning.   

Our Introduction to Co-operatives online course is the perfect primer to get everyone on the same page.   

2. Co-op leaders may have limited business acumen  

Co-ops are controlled by boards of directors, and in Canada most of those boards are made up of volunteers. For many of them, it’s the first time they’ve overseen the operations of a business.   

Instead of appointing experts to govern them, co-op boards are made up of their members. This ensures the directors are also users of the co-operative’s services and are committed to keeping the co-op focused on what members want. So, while the board will be able to provide good input on the member and user experience, they may not be as familiar with things like business planning, risk analysis, or financial projections.  

If your work with the co-op requires a baseline understanding of technical concepts, be sure to provide some introductory coaching to get everyone up to speed.   

3. People wear different hats in their co-op 

Co-operatives are unique because they’re created by people coming together to access the goods or services they need. As the users of the co-op, they serve multiple roles in its governance structure. A consumer co-op’s board will be comprised of members who are also customers. A producer co-op will have members who are also suppliers. And a small worker co-op will likely have the same people filling the roles of members, board, and staff. So, there’s plenty of room for confusion.   

Depending on the nature of your work with the co-op, it may be valuable to check in with everyone and ensure they’re wearing the right hat. For example, if you’re helping a housing co-op’s board prepare an annual budget, it may be helpful to remind them to wear their board member hat, even though they are also tenants. A tenant may be hesitant to increase monthly rents, but the board must act in the best interests of the co-op, even if that affects them personally.   

If your clients are struggling with their role in their co-op, encourage them to check out our Co-op Professional modules.

4. You’ll need to prepare for group work  

If you’ve worked with non-profits or large corporations, you probably already have experience working with big teams. But, if you’re more familiar with mom-and-pop businesses, farm businesses, and other sole proprietorships, co-ops are quite different.   

A co-operative is a form of group entrepreneurship, and you need at least three people to create a co-op. So, in most of your work with co-ops, you’ll be working with a small team. That means you’ll have more input from different perspectives, but it also means the process may take more time. A little patience and practicing your facilitation skills will be helpful for moving the group’s conversation forward.  

5. Co-ops work differently  

Because co-ops are created to provide their members with the goods and services they need, a co-op will operate a little differently than your other clients. Where an investor-owned firm will prioritize returns on investment and increasing value for shareholders, co-ops prioritize member benefits.   

For this reason, a consumer co-op may be hesitant to increase prices, and a worker co-op will prioritize staff retention over maximizing profits. This doesn’t mean co-ops shouldn’t be profitable; ensuring the co-op is sustainable is the best way to ensure it can continue to benefit members. And for-profit co-ops will want to generate a profit so they can reward members with a patronage dividend.   

Keep these subtle distinctions in mind when helping a co-op build its business model or during business planning.  

Get the training you need  

If you’re interested in working with more co-operatives and want to ensure your practice is tailored to a co-op’s unique needs, check out our Co-op Advisors online course. This unique course is designed for economic developers, consultants, and service providers who want to learn more about co-ops and how they can support them. Plus, this course is free and entirely online. So, sign up today and work towards becoming a Certified Co-op Advisor.