TheThinkTank October 2007

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

61 participants
55 discussions

selling bikes, making bikes for yourself?
by Paul Park 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Hi all, At the Mount Rainier Bike Coop in Mount Rainier, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, we are working how to sell our bikes that we refurbish. We really don't have any fixed or regular costs; the city gives us the space (a garage), so we just use our money on spare parts and tools. We have an earn-a-bike program so youth can build up bikes for us, learning mechanic skills, and then after fifteen hours of voluteering, the youths can build a bike for themselves. Volunteers who have already put in 15 hours of work can basically just keep refurbishing bikes. No one gets paid anything at this point. Generally, at this point, we just sell our refurbished bikes in one way or another. Do other shops do this? Also, presumably, volunteers could, after working fifteen hours, refurbish bikes for themselves, and then sell them on craigslist or something. Do other coops have a policy with regards to refurbishing bikes for yourself, one after the other, and then selling them for your own profit? Or perhaps a system where you refurbish a bike and then you have to give a certain percentage of the sale to the coop? -- PJ Park http://www.biketobrazil.blogspot.com http://www.imagestation.com/members/pjpark http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulJosephPark

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Minors in the shop and general shop rules
by omar 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

we have minors at all of our projects. usually there's no special consideration, but for formal programs (earn a bike, after school, etc.) we get them and the 'rents to fill out a medical info/consent/waiver thing. never had to use one, but the lawyer in me and the bod feels better if we cover our butts the way everyone else does, our insurance guy appreciates it and a couple of funders have asked about it. i could post a copy of what we use to the wiki but its pretty standard fair. as to your second point, there's a list of "10 commandments" at the shop that can be pointed to with an "oy!" when a custy gets out of line (again, standard stuff like "let us know beforehand if you're broke", "respect the staff, other customers and tools", and "if you have a question about how we work, ask us"). at the workshop where i work, we get participants to come up with a list of rules and guidelines at the begining of each earn a bike class that they all agree to abide by, and stick it up on the wall for the duration of the class. they rarely miss anything important, and if someone gets rowdy it seems less authoritative when you can remind them that they agreed to the rule they're breaking. -- omar bhimji project manager pedal bike depot p. 604.708.4992

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Minors in the shop and general shop rules
by Urban Bike Project of Wilmington, Inc. 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Hey from Delaware! Just a couple questions for those with established shops....we will soon be moving out of my living room and are trying to learn from all your hard earned experience (the wiki has been great too). 1. How do you deal with minors in the shop? Do you have permission slips they need to get signed or require a parent/guardian to come with them before a bike can be worked on? These are currently our main "customers" and there is no way i'd turn away a kid with broken brakes because he didn't have a slip signed. I just want to make sure we keep everything kosher here. 2. Could you share your general shop rules so we have a starting point? Stuff like no profane language, be respectful, no tools outside....that sort of thing. Thanks err'body! Brian Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -- Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org

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how do you track shop activity?
by rachael spiewak 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Hello, friends. We've created a shop sign in sheet, which is great for capturing some numbers, like how many people come through the shop during a particular session, how many were volunteers, how many were kids, etc. What I'm having trouble tracking is the number of unique people accessing the shop over a period of time. In other words, I don't know how to factor out repeat participants when I start adding up numbers from session to session. Has anyone developed a good system for tracking shop activity? What kind of information do you ask for on your sign in sheet? Do you have another system, like tagging the bikes and having tags collected when people complete their projects? Thanks! rachael

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Fundraising Ideas - Films? Demonstrations?
by Colin Dixon, Phoenix Bikes 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

We are hosting a fundraising/"friend"raising event as a way to connect to more of the bike community and to thank those who have already supported us. We plan to have some food and auction or raffle, but need something interesting to get people there! Would love to do a bike art show, but no time. Was wondering if anyone had other entertainment ideas? Any especially attractive interactive workshop ideas or demonstrations? Any bike-related short films that would of interest to a multi-generational, urban & suburban audience? Thanks for all! - Colin On 9/24/07, rachael spiewak <rachael(a)sopobikes.org> wrote: > > one idea we've toyed with, but haven't implemented yet, is an art bike > auction. you can get local artists (and kids!) to paint frames, and then > you can auction them off. the people who win them can then come to your > shop and build them up into ridable pieces of art! > > -rachael > > On 9/24/07, Bruce Lien <bikedadlien(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > RAFFLES: In Colorado I believe you are required to have a special > > permit to do so. I bet this applies to other states as well. Check with > > your local government before you do a raffle, or your local government will > > be checking with you (and possibly checking you in). Careful and good > > luck. Bruce > > > > *Kim Jensen <kimonabike(a)gmail.com>* wrote: > > > > HI JAKE, > > > > I suggest a bike raffle or two or three- build up some bikes that > > represent the aesthetic and types of bike you guys roll and raffle- > > not a dollar- like $10 and maybe a super duper bike for $20 tickets > > and include a complimentary membership with the bike. > > > > Maybe you could sell bike horns and people could use them at the > > game..? I don't know but raffles are my vote. > > > > Ride on! > > Kimchi > > > > The BICYCLE KITCHEN L.A. > > 323 NO CARRO > > www.bicyclekitchen.com > > > > On 9/20/07, Jake Liefer wrote: > > > Myself and several students from the local college are starting up a > > > bike co-op in our town and are looking to raise funds to buy tools and > > > acquire space. The college's homecoming event is next week and we were > > > able to get a vendor booth for free. While we primarly want to get the > > > > > word out about what we're doing and get some bikes, this seems like an > > > excellent opportunity to raise some funds. There will be several other > > > vendors there selling coffee, drinks, and food. Do you guys have any > > > ideas about what we can sell that will set us apart from the others? > > > We are not limited to food, so if you have any non-food ideas that > > > would be great too! > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Jake > > > The Hub - Beaver Falls, PA > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Thethinktank mailing list > > > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > > > -- > > Kim Jensen > > > > Studio > > la (213) 482 76 62 > > www.fleurstudio.com > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Building a website is a piece of cake. > > Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48251/*http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting…> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > >

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TheThinkTank October 2007