How We Built a Social Enterprise 2

Growing Pains

Business in manufacturing is not always consistent but our manager Kate Stewart has been dogged in her work to keep business coming in the door, even amidst her many other tasks. Other relationships have also been essential to our success; a couple notable examples are Saul Brown from the Saul Good Gift Co. , who has been a mainstay for our business over the years, introduced us to Chris Livingston, who has provided us with business and a booth at EP!C. Since 2009 EP!C has led to many other jobs and relationships. More recently we’ve been working with Kemp Edwards of Ethical Profiling, a design house and sourcing agency for environmentally and socially conscious products. These positive ongoing business relationships are key to making a social enterprise work.

When TCP first started out, we had a lot to learn about the manufacturing business. We were busy and understaffed and we had trouble staying on top of shop organization.We didn’t do art proofs before producing a new product, we had to figure out an assembly process for dealing with larger quantities of parts and finished products and we had to develop communication protocols that worked. We didn’t know the standard procedures for these tasks, or how to discuss them or that they were even necessary. Luckily, we’ve had help.

A few years ago we went to JDQ Systems Inc’s Social Enterprise Dragon’s, a contest for social enterprises to receive free business consulting from the JDQ experts in business improvement. After looking over our shop and talking to us about our organization, they had three suggestions: Use a computer generated quoting system, utilize the 5S system of organization for manufacturing, and set up a simple online sales and accounting database. Currently we are working with Sandy Huang at Pinpoint Tactics to try to refine and focus our sales strategies.

In addition to working with industry professionals, we have been fortunate through the years to have a number of excellent interns who have done everything from set up our web store, to metrics, to produce video about the work we do here. But don’t assume all these people came knocking at our door: for the most part we had to go out and find them, write grants or participate in competitions. We had to seek improvement. We won’t say it’s been easy, but it’s definitely been worth it.

How We Built a Social Enterprise

The Early Years

We periodically receive visitors from around the world wanting to know about Tradeworks Custom Products (TCP) because we have a reputation for being a successful social enterprise. A definition of Social Enterprise is that they are social mission driven organizations which apply market-based strategies to achieve a social purpose. This means that you start with a desire to improve people’s lives and a business plan with which you accomplish that goal.  In our case TCP was developed under the umbrella of Tradeworks Training Society whose mission primarily involves training people from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in the trades. Our business idea was to run a carpentry shop and create custom products for clients. We have worked hard to make this plan a reality.

Tradeworks Custom Products developed out of other programs, including warehousing, construction carpentry and our direct predecessor, a course called Home Improvement for Women (HIP-W). This program was very well received by women wanting to learn more about tools and home repair but funding was dependent upon grants. Tradeworks wanted to develop a program that could be fiscally independent so they began to research social enterprise, a business model that had the potential to fund itself.

The main movers and shakers for this initiative were Ross Gentlemen, the Executive Director of Tradeworks Training Society; Kate Stewart, a red seal carpenter and instructor for the HIP-W Course and Karen Seraphim, a marketing and development consultant and grant writer. The three researched, met and consulted the tradeworks board of directors and the greater business community. They wrote and received grants from Vancity and Enterprising Non-Profits for the start up funds. They also developed a proposal for RONA/REVY to maintain an end cap in the Grandview store in which to sell products which was signed into agreement in early 2007.  RONA has been a staunch supporter of TCP ever since.

In the meantime, Kate and a few graduates from the HIP-W course were hard at work in the shop, developing products. One of our long term partners, Concert Properties, Inc. gave us our first sale – a tool caddy with Concert’s name branded on the side. Initially we built an actual forge and heated up a branding iron to create this burned logo and this led to the idea of using a laser engraver to create a more consistent image. We applied for and received a grant from Central City Foundation for this large-scale purchase and bought a Universal Laser System. This tool has made a significant difference for our business because of it’s ability to personalize our wood products. Both large companies and individuals have come to us for engraving and this has made a crucial difference in our business success.

 

Check back next week to read about our middle years in social enterprise building.

 

It’s All Good Gift Baskets

One of the things about being a Social Enterprise is trying to balance business with values. We have bills like any other business. But we’re a non-profit, we exist to improve the lives of women through training and employment. Our other primary purpose is to practice sustainability. That’s why we like to work with businesses that share our values. In that vein, we’d like to call your attention to one of our long term business associates: Saul Good Gift Co.

Saul Good is owned and operated by Saul Brown, an engaging, ethical, local entrepreneur who focuses on buying local and organic gifts and he works with organizations that do good in the community. Consequently, Saul has been the source of a large amount of our business over the years and has enabled us to do work for companies that want to give back to the community. Saul was the impetus for our FSC® certification which gives us the opportunity to offer sustainable products to our customers. All these positive connections with the world give us a sense of purpose in our work so the benefits just keep coming around and around.

Saul Good is a Vancouver gift basket business that sells corporate gifts full of interesting local yummy things that you can feel good about giving. You can find out more about Saul Good on their blog.

Saul with gift boxes and Tradeworks caddies

Power Generated by Cows

Laser Engraved Fridge Magnet using Douglas Fir from an old barn.

Did you know cows can produce electricity? CowPowerBC is a non profit that supports BC farmers to build anaerobic digesters that convert organic waste into renewable energy. Through CowPowerBC, the methane that would otherwise contribute to greenhouse gases is lighting homes and heating water!

CowpowerBC is headed by Bill Vanderkooi, a dairy farmer and innovator in Abbotsford, BC. Vanderkooi takes cow manure, whey and bakery by-products and puts it into an anaerobic digester, which is basically an airtight decomposition chamber. This process forms a methane-rich gas called Biogas, which is combusted into electricity. The farm uses some of the power and sends the rest to the grid.

That seems like a great idea, but according to the CowPowerBC website there are less than 30 on-farm anaerobic digesters in Canada. Proponents of the technology believe that the main reason for this is people don’t yet know enough about it. But this is changing, Anaerobic Digestors are now being widely adopted in many countries around the world. To raise funds for the project in BC, homes and businesses can sign up to pay 4 cents for every kilowatt-hour of renewable electricity they want farmers to inject into BC’s electricity grid (to match 25%, 50% or 100% of the electricity their home, business or event consumes).  If you want to support this movement and help CowPowerBC fund anaerobic digesters for BC farmers, check out their website @ http://www.cowpowerbc.com/home.

Painting the Town Green

Tradeworks Custom Products would like to give a thumbs up to CBR Products, the environmentally friendly paint company with whom we share a building. CBR is a Vancouver-based Wood Restoration company that develops, manufactures and supplies specialty restoration and preservation products for builders and homeowners. Their motto “Protect it All” sums up their vision, which is to protect not only the wood the product covers, but everything coming in contact with the product: people, animals, the environment and so forth.

At TCP, we buy their prothane and stain because it is low VOC (less chemicals). It smells better, it works beautifully and we feel healthier. They have samples of stain when we want to try out some color on a product. They even sell things like food-safe wood finish and shampoo. You can check them out at: http://www.cbrproducts.com/

In addition to their great products, we should mention what great shop mates CBR have been. We have shared a few fun meals over the years. CBR Products is the inspiration for our stepped up recycling program, they let us bring stuff through their shop when we have large loads and they wash their own dishes. Most importantly, they have always been respectful of our staff and students. Hooray for CBR, may their paint always be colorful and protective!

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What the heck is FSC®?

One of the common questions we get from people when we mention that we offer products made using FSC wood is “What is FSC?” FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council®, which brings to mind images of people caring for trees and protecting forests. This image is pretty accurate, but it really involves a good deal more detail.

According to the FSC website (http://www.fsccanada.org/about.htm) “FSC is an international certification and labeling system dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. This means we get our wood from forests that meet strict environmental and social standards.” To us at Tradeworks, this means the overall goals of the Forest Stewardship Council are to protect trees from over-forestation and to make sure people who live around those forests and work with the wood are treated fairly.

If you visit the FSC site and delve into some of their published documentation, you will discover their forestry standards vary from region to region and that the FSC also has formally documented rules for several different types of forests and forestry businesses. Products made of paper and recycled paper, for example, can also be FSC certified. The FSC mandates that businesses with certification abide by local and national laws, stay true to agreements with other stakeholders of the forest and respect the rights of indigenous people, communities and workers.

In our shop, we are part of a chain of custody which means companies who handle (ship, store or use) FSC wood agree to follow certain standards around sourcing, storing, labeling and selling FSC products. We have to obtain our wood from FSC certified sources, keep FSC wood separate from non-FSC wood and label all our FSC products with FSC generated labels. It’s a little more work, but we think it’s worth it. We hope you agree. Ask about FSC next time you purchase wood or wood products and you can do your part to help out forests and people who work with wood.

Need Sawdust?

Tradeworks Custom Products is stepping up our recycling standards! TCP has always been dedicated to sustainability. Aside from using sustainable and FSC wood in our products, we recycle our paper products, newspapers and cans, use low VOC finishing products, and make an effort to give our wood scraps and sawdust away for re-use. But as everybody knows, there’s always room for improvement.
Our goal is to drastically reduce dumpster garbage and we have a few new strategies in mind. To begin with, we have all brought re-usable coffee cups and have committed to their daily use. We are awaiting the arrival of a composter for our cooking scraps – having it on site will make composting so much easier!

Finally, we will no longer be throwing wood scraps in the dumpster. All the woods scraps we are unable to give away, we will pay to have shredded and composted. Anybody out there needing untreated small wood pieces, shavings or sawdust, give us a call @604-253-9354!