Publication: SoHo News and Tips
Is Entrepreneurship For a Cause For You? | |
Subscribe FREE to SoHo News and Tips by clicking here.
SoHo NEWS & TIPS
Helping You Make the Most of Your Small Office/Home Office
SoHoTIPS.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings,
If you think setting up a not-for-profit business is for
you, today's article will give you plenty of information.
Read about one woman's personal story of success, and
learn from her experiences.
Best,
Mandi
Be sure to visit the SoHo News and Tips blog!
SoHo News & Tips Blog
~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW DISCOVERY LOWERS CHOLESTEROL QUICKLY, NATURALLY
PRINCETON, NJ - A clinical study at UCLA confirms that a
safe, natural supplement reduces cholesterol absorption
40% or more with no side effects. Says CholesterolWatchers
Medical Director Dr. Arlene Donar, "With high cholesterol
you need to do something now. Take it with meals and..." (more)
Lower your cholesterol naturally
*
NEWS & TIDBITS
- Peugeot announces it will close its Coventry
plant, which will result in the loss of 2,300
jobs...
- Bausch & Lomb has pulled ReNu with MoistureLoc
from U.S. store shelves...
- Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey Skilling denied a government lawyer's
accusation that he lied to investors about how
the company made money before it declared bank-
ruptcy in 2001...
- Austin-based Winternals has sued Best Buy,
alleging the company used unlicensed versions of
its diagnostic equipment...
- ProQuest dumps 40-50 employees, amid recently
discovered accounting inaccuracies...
- Apache Corp. announced it was buying BP's remain-
ing oil and gas production assets on the Gulf of
Mexico's shallower outer continental shelf for
$1.3 billion at a time...
- Ford announces it will close plants in Virginia
and Minnesota...
GopherCentral's Question of the Week
Should President Bush be impeached?
Question of the Week
*
One (1) Million SATISFIED Customers Can't Be Wrong...
It's easier than ever to get better service on your phone
and save money on your bill with VOIP.
You've probably heard about Voice Over IP but didn't know
what it is or how you could benefit. Well we've made it
easy to start. Get one (1) month free. Unlimited local and
long distance calling just for just $24.99/month. Get more
info and details by visiting:
Get one (1) month free.
*
Is Entrepreneurship For a Cause for You?
By JULIE BENNETT
After her two sisters died of breast cancer,
Barbara Hensley, of Shakopee, Minn., took two
radical steps. She had a preventative double
mastectomy and later quit her job to help others
with the disease.
Today Mrs. Hensley, 57, operates the Hope Chest
for Breast Cancer, an upscale thrift store in
Wayzata, Minn., that contributed more than $55,000
last year to the Hope Chest for Breast Cancer
Foundation she also runs. The nonprofit funds
breast-cancer research, programs and services. She
expects to open a second store this year in the
Minneapolis area and plans to franchise 50 Hope
Chests that can contribute millions more.
She came upon the idea in tony Sanibel Island, Fla.,
when sprucing up her father's condo there in 2001.
She asked neighbors what to do with the old pillows
and bedspreads. They sent her to a church that ran
a thrift shop. "I walked in and nearly had a heart
attack when I saw the [high] quality of the items
for sale," she says.
She'd been looking for ways to help women battling
breast cancer since her sisters died in the mid-
1990s, she says. "Breast cancer has a tremendous
effect on your life, even if you don't have to
worry about how you'll pay for treatment," she
says.
Mrs. Hensley was a vice president, product
strategy and management for Ceridian Corp., a
human-resources company in Minneapolis but knew
little about starting a fund-raising venture.
Mrs. Hensley returned to Minnesota, quit her job
and started researching resale stores. Those she
found in the Twin Cities catered to a low-income
clientele. She gathered well-to-do women into
focus groups to learn what they might want from
an upscale thrift shop. They suggested polite,
on-time pick-ups, respect for their donations and
a bright store in a nice part of town where
customers would enjoy shopping for slightly-worn
St. John knits.
Mrs. Hensley invited prominent community members
to join her board and worked with an attorney who
donated her time to set up not-for-profit status
for her foundation. She also searched for a
location. Once she found the right building, she
bought it, then spent $100,000 to build it out.
The store opened in November 2002. It's run by
four paid experienced retail managers and
volunteers. Interior designers donate items and
help with displays, and local merchants drop off
overstock merchandise. Experts help set prices
for items like fur coats, jewelry and antiques.
Other donations sell for one-fourth to half their
original retail price. "When I tried to donate my
corporate wardrobe, half my clothes were rejected.
Now, everything I wear comes from the store," Mrs.
Hensley says, laughing.
Resources: The National Association of Resale &
Thrift Shops (NARTS) in St. Clair Shores, Mich.,
sells a "Guide to Opening a Resale Shop" for $45
to nonmembers on its Web site. The site also has
listings for events and seminars.
Continued below....
*
How Smart Are You?
If you're like me, you always wondered what the heck your
I.Q. is and what an I.Q. test is all about.
Well, now you can find out. And the best part you can do
it online, now, for free. You'll get the results right away,
too. Have some fun and hopefully you will get to brag :)
VISIT: How Smart Are You
*
You can find information on seeking non-for-profit
status at the Internal Revenue Service's Web site,
the Council on Foundations and GuideStar, a not-
for-profit research organization.
Getting started: Setting up a not-for-profit may
take months, and $5,000 to $15,000 in legal fees,
says Renee Schoenberg, a partner with the law firm
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP in Chicago.
Thrift shops like the Hope Chest for Breast Cancer
must gain 501(c)(3)federal tax exempt status from
the IRS and also be approved by state agencies.
NARTS members have started resale shops for $1,000
to more than $100,000, says Adele Meyer, the group's
executive director. The most difficult task often
is finding a low-rent location that your customers
can find and will visit, she says.
Mrs. Hensley is working with franchise attorneys,
also on a pro bono basis, to sell Home Chest for
Breast Cancer franchises to like-minded people who
would be required to donate 15% to 60% of their
revenues to the Home Chest for Breast Cancer
Foundation. Mrs. Hensley estimates that the total
investment for a Hope Chest for Breast Cancer
franchise could be $100,000 to $160,000. She says
she expects to offer the first this summer.
What you can earn: Mrs. Hensley takes a small
salary from her store, which also pays a modest
salary to her husband Jay, 60, who recently left
his corporate job to serve as vice president of
operations. Her son earns an hourly wage for doing
the store's pickups and deliveries. She declines
to specify their pay. Ms. Meyer says that the
typical payroll of a non-for-profit thrift store
is 27.8% of net sales, which can range from
$100,000 to $1 million a year. People who work in
thrift stores are there for the love of the
establishment's cause, not the money, Ms. Meyer
says.
Advantages: Mrs. Hensley says the venture gives
her "an opportunity to apply my business skills
and acumen to a cause I am passionate about."
Downsides: To promote your not-for-profit "you
must always be in front of people" asking for
donations, volunteers, event hosts and other
assistance, says Mrs. Hensley. Running a thrift
shop is labor intensive, Ms. Meyer says. People
underestimate the work involved.
DID YOU KNOW?
Trying to avoid hassles by not going electronic will
probably cost you money. Everyone is better protected with
electronic processing because you lessen the chances of
mistakes and omissions. You should probably just take the
electronic plunge from the start or expect to pay higher
discount and transaction fees.
So what did you think about this issue? Drop me a line and let
me know at mailto:mandi@gophercentral.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Archive link:
SoHo News & Tips Archives
************************************************************
End of SoHo News & Tips http://www.SoHoTIPS.com
Copyright 2006 NextEra Media. All rights reserved.
 E-Mail this issue
Subscribe FREE to SoHo News and Tips by clicking here.
|