Three common mistakes in creating a cooperative … and how to avoid them-Ateneo

Creating a cooperative can be very enriching, but it also involves challenges. Know some of the most common mistakes and how you can prevent them with good accompaniment.

Creating a cooperative involves much more than constituting a company with a different legal form. It involves launching a collective project based on values ​​such as democracy, equality and social commitment. This approach, though powerful and transformative, also involves challenges. Many projects that are born with enthusiasm can be difficult if they do not take into account some key aspects from the beginning.

In this article we identify three usual errors that are often repeated in the creation of cooperatives and share some strategies to avoid them.

1. Do not clearly define the project before constituting it

One of the most common mistakes is to want to constitute the cooperative before being clear about the business model, the main activity or the internal operation. In some cases, the driving group precipitates to have access to grants or to formalize a project that is still green. This urgency may cause essential questions to be set aside:

• What social need do we want to cover?
• What service or product will we offer and who?
• How will we organize ourselves internally?
• What values ​​do we share and how do we apply them in practice?

To avoid this, it is essential to make a ripening phase of the project. At the Ateneu Cooperativa we help structure this phase through diagnostic sessions, strategic advice and collective planning tools.

2. Do not take care of the human group

A cooperative is nothing without the people who make it up. And yet, all the energy is often put in the legal, economic and fiscal part, forgetting that the nucleus of the project is the promoter group. A cohesive team, with spaces for communication and care, is essential for medium and long term sustainability.

Among the usual risks are:

• Lack of defined roles
• Desalineada expectations
• Difficulties in making decisions
• Unco Participatory or Little Shana Dynamics

Working internal governance, spending time knowing itself and establishing conflict resolution mechanisms from the beginning can make a difference.

3. Do not ask for specialized advice

There are still many people who think that creating a cooperative is a simple procedure that can be done by following an internet workforce. And while legally it can be done, the lack of adapted advice often ends up generating subsequent problems: poorly defined statutes, errors in the form of high, misunderstanding with the taxation or ignorance of the rights and duties of the members.

Technical accompaniment can prevent obstacles and ensure that the project is born with a solid base. The Ateneu Cooperativa offers this service for free to all those who want to start collective.

Creating a cooperative is a great opportunity to make a company with values, but it also takes time, care and good preparation. Avoiding errors of origin can make a difference between a project that is consolidated and one that is blurred.

Are you in the creation of a cooperative? From the Ateneu Cooperativa we offer personalized advice to avoid obstacles and right from the beginning.