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 Posté le: Mer Sep 18, 2013 8:09 am Sujet du message: How I did it: Tara McDonald |
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{How I did it: Tara McDonald}
Tara McDonald, executive director, Vancouver Farmers MarketsTue Sep 10, 2013 12:01am PSTBusiness in Vancouver’s “How I did it” feature asks business leaders to explain in their own words how they achieved a business goal in the face of significant entrepreneurial challenges. In this week’s issue, Tara McDonald, executive director of Vancouver Farmers Markets, talks about how the social enterprise geared up for growth – and delivered.“In 1995, when we set up the first outdoor temporary farmers market in Vancouver,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.net]Michael Kors Outlet[/url], our organization set out to rebuild farmers markets from scratch but to do so in an extremely temporary environment. We didn’t even have permits to operate in the first couple of years. We were operating on private parking lots in violation of city bylaws.“By the end of the first decade, we were running three outdoor markets each week for six months a year, in temporary locations where permits were offered by the park board.“We were hearing that we were making an economic difference for [the farmers]; they were able to keep their farms going, but we realized that if you want to save farmland and keep it economically viable, what you need to do as a member of the public is make sure farms can exist and that they are viable outlets for people to buy their products.“As we entered our second decade of operations in 2005, the board of directors was shifting its focus and looking at the foundation they had built and looking at how to move that forward.“I worked with them to develop our first organizational strategic plan,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.net]Michael Kors Handbags Outlet[/url], and we took a look at what we wanted to achieve … We launched a second strategic plan, and we’re right in the middle of it right now. I would say it’s the success of those plans and rolling them out and implementing them … it’s really helped us grow and meet our challenges.“Currently our strategic plan has three goals: to secure our existing farmers markets and grow new ones, to invest in the professional development of the organization and to be a leader in sustainable local food systems.“We did a few things since 2005, and they have really resulted in a huge amount of growth. We greatly enhanced our communications and collaborations with our vendors and community groups and businesses. We built strong staff and volunteer teams, and we empowered them to go out and run really fantastic markets and to embrace best practices. We looked out to other farmers markets, like Seattle and Portland [and duplicated some of their practices like] running a network of farmers markets.“We’re now operating 12 months of the year instead of six. We’ve seen growth from $1.4 million in member sales to $6.3 million just last year. And we’ve seen growth in the number of shoppers to 18,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.net]michael kors canada[/url],000 a week from 5,[url=http://www.michael-korshandbags-outlet.net]Michael Kors Handbags[/url],000.“In the next two to three years … we’re looking forward to … possibly develop [permanent] pavilions in Riley and John Hendry Park that would house farmers markets, hopefully with access to power, washrooms, etc.“We also have a major initiative underway to develop a local food hub here in Vancouver, and that’s called New City Market. Right now it’s in the City of Vancouver’s domain. They’re doing a feasibility study.”Tags: agriculture, board of directors, food, entrepreneur
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