The History of our Habitat ReStore (Part 1)
The opening of our Habitat for Humanity ReStore in July 2004 marked the beginning of an amazing turn around for our small Habitat affiliate. It was a bold move, which some would call a gamble, and which literally saved the affiliate from utter collapse as a result of years of mismanagement (which I won’t get into here). We shared our highly successful ReStore model with affiliates across northern Michigan, and I continue to share what we’ve learned with affiliates across the country. It is extremely rewarding to know that we have made a huge impact on dozens of affiliates across the country and the mission of Habitat for Humanity as a whole. This article is designed to help those affiliates who are looking to start their own ReStore without having to reinvent the wheel. I hope rural affiliates or those looking to start a smaller scale store on a limited budget find this article useful.
In the winter of 2004, our Habitat for Humanity affiliate was really on the ropes financially. When the idea of starting our own Habitat ReStore was first proposed, there was a lot of skepticism. At that time, there were only 12 ReStores in Michigan and all of them were located in large cities, at least compared to us in Gaylord (Otsego County). There were no ReStores in northern Lower Michigan. The only northern ReStore at that time was in Marquette, MI, but Marquette is a very large city by comparison to Gaylord. So, without a model to follow and little ReStore support from Habitat for Humanity International at the time, we were left to develop our own model.
Our timeline was critical because our affiliate was deficit spending every month and our line of credit was nearly maxed out. There simply was not enough money coming in from traditional fundraising campaigns and contributions to make the affiliate fiscally viable. At the June board meeting, where we asked for the funds to start the ReStore, there was plenty of skepticism. In fact, the board refused to vote on the venture in May. Anyway, it was made clear that if this venture didn’t work, I would likely be out of a job. Of course, the affiliate was virtually dead anyway, so that was inevitable. We had nothing to lose. Nonetheless, the ReStore was approved. We went from beginning our research to opening the doors in two months.
The business plan was pretty simple:
- Get board approval
- Secure a location
- Hire a manager
- Buy a box truck
- Get stuff to sell
- Open the store
- Sell stuff
- Pray
Believe it or not, it was just that simple (and it’s not much more complex now). We took exactly $5000.00 from the affiliate checking account, about 40% of our total cash available at that time to get the store up and running. From that $5000.00, we spent the following:
- $2500.00 on a 1986 Ford box truck with a lift gate
- $1500.00 on first month rent
- $500.00 on two weeks manager’s salary
- $500.00 on a cash register
In the two weeks prior to opening, the ReStore committee worked feverishly to get the building ready (an old warehouse on a dead end street, two blocks off Main Street). We were out with the truck picking up used furniture, building materials, and whatever else we thought would sell. This was done during the community spring clean up, so almost everything we stocked our store with was stuff that people considered junk and were going to throw away.
To be continued…
Mike Wood
Tags: Business, Habitat for Humanity, Non profit, Recycling, Resale, ReStore
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