When we first got together with the aim of having a bookshop in Malvern one of the first things we decided was that the right business structure for the venture was a cooperative.
Cooperatives are very trendy right now. 2012 is the United Nations Year of Cooperatives. For us a cooperative made sense as it captured the spirit of the venture – a group with similar views and aims working towards a common goal. Being a coop isn’t easy! If you want to set up a company you can go online and buy an off the shelf company for £4.99! Forming a co-op is a bit more complicated. However we persitisted and are now registered as a co-op.
However being a co-op has great benefits. One of which is the legal structure that allows us to sign up members to the co-op. And this is where you come in. To finance the co-op one option is to take membership subscriptions or to offer shares in the co-op. The famous Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth (set up by Christopher Robin of Winnie the Pooh fame!) has been ‘saved’ from closure by a co-op in this way.
So here’s the question: if we sold membersips/shares would you be interested in investing a small (or large!) amount to ensure Malvern has a bookshop. If you would we would be very pleased to hear from you. Please fill in our contact form and we’ll be in touch with more details.