9 KiB
Session 0: Kickoff + Onboarding
Peer Supports: See PS Guide: Session 0 for pre-session tasks.
Welcome
- Tag Yourself activity
Intro - 2 min
Session 0 orients us to the shared work ahead. This opening session grounds participants in the purpose and structure of the program while setting the tone for a peer-driven, care-centred space.
We'll begin building the relational trust and shared accountability that will carry us through the following 8 sessions. We'll reflect on our own privileges and lived experiences. By the end of this session, we'll have a shared understanding of how we'll learn together. This is the beginning of practicing cooperation together.
"The most important thing is if there's trust between the people in the group because that's what carries it through." - Russ Christianson
Agenda
Welcome, land acknowledgement, values - 10 min
- Quick round: name, pronouns, location, why you're here
- Acknowledge land and virtual space, and share our values
- We acknowledge and thank all those who have struggled for workers’ rights and racial, economic, and environmental rights and emancipation
- We are recording this session for team members who can't attend
- Please post questions as we go in the chat
- Opportunity to ask more questions during Q&A at end
- If you have any access needs, put it in the chat or DM @jennie or @eileen
Participant intros - 15 min (3 mins each)
- Each team says hello - have one person talk for the team and the others chime in the chat with:
- name, pronouns, location
- Tell us about your game - briefly
- can share pictures in the chat if you want
- Biggest studio pain point right now
Peer Support team intros - 5 min
- Who is paired with who
- What Peer Support sessions look like
Where you are: The co-op development journey - 10 min
SLIDE: Coop Journey Map (visual showing: pre-formation to formation to operation)
First, let's look at the statistics:
- Small business startup success rate: ~20% (8 in 10 fail)
- Cooperative startup success rate: ~40% (6 in 10 fail)
- Co-ops significantly outperform conventional startups – but it's still not a guarantee
You're still going against the odds. But it's a worthwhile thing to do, because you learn so much.
Being a co-op improves your odds, it doesn't eliminate risk.
This program focuses on pre-formation - the relational and governance groundwork that determines whether your co-op will thrive or struggle.
Most resources out there focus on the legal and operational stuff: how to incorporate, how to file paperwork, how to structure bylaws. That matters, of course! But it's not where studios fail.
Studios fail because of unspoken assumptions about money, time, and commitment; wishy-washy and undocumented governance; conflict avoidance; unexamined power dynamics
This program exists to build the foundation before you incorporate. By the end of this program, you'll have shared values that you know how to put into action. We'll walk you through designing and practicing cooperative governance structures. You'll know how to decide how to decide! and we'll test low-stakes decisions. And you'll have drafted conflict tools ready for when (NOT IF!) tensions arise.
You are here: Pre-formation and building your relational infrastructure
What comes after: Incorporation support, ongoing community (Ghost Guild), and continued learning. We'll talk about pathways in Session 8.
Program overview - 10 min
- Program schedule, session themes, and format
- Gamma Space / Slack explanation
- Slack structure: main channel(s), cohort channels, project channels, random and other general channels
- Expectations for engagement (Slack reflections, homework, participation)
- How to participate
- How to book with us
- Review accessibility practices (captions, breakout choices, asynchronous options)
- Tools we'll use (Miro, Slack Canvas, Huddles)
Note: Much of this info will also live in a Slack Canvas for reference.
This program will give you tools to notice when informal hierarchy forms, have hard conversations about money, power, and expectations, make decisions collectively, and navigate conflict as valuable data. It will NOT make you hierarchy-free, tell you exactly how to structure your co-op, eliminate disagreement, or do the hard conversations for you. We're here to support you, but the work is yours.
Friction is part of the work - 5 min
Before we build our community agreements, we want to chat about something that has come up in every previous cohort.
This program will ask you to have hard conversations - about money, about power, about what you actually want from this collaboration. Some of those conversations will be uncomfortable. You might discover that your group is less aligned on values than you assumed. You might have disagreements you've never had before. Someone might go radio silent, and someone might get defensive.
Examples:
- "I've been doing most of the work and I'm starting to resent it."
- "We said we'd share decisions equally, but one person always gets the final word."
- "I thought we agreed on this, but I actually don't think I had a real say."
- "I can only commit 10 hours a week and you're working 40 - how do we make that fair?"
- “I want to leave the studio.”
This is normal. This is the work!
We bring these questions up to normalize friction. And because unspoken assumptions are where studios fall apart. The friction you feel now, when the stakes are low and you have support, is infinitely better than discovering it later when you're under deadline pressure or financial strain.
A few things to reframe…
- Discomfort often means something important is coming up.
- Disagreement tells you something isn't clear and gives you an opportunity to include more people.
- If everything feels easy, you might not be going deep enough.
We're here to support you through the hard parts - that's what Peer Supports are for. But we can't do the hard conversations for you.
Commitment and permission - 5 min
Let's talk about what commitment actually means in this program.
Time - About 2-3 hours per week (sessions + homework + Studio Support meetings). Some weeks will be heavier. If you can't make a session, let us know - recordings are available, but live participation is really important.
Openness - This work asks you to be vulnerable with your collaborators: To say what you actually think, to hear things you might not want to hear - this will take energy and might be unfamiliar. Give it your best shot.
Money - You're receiving a grant as part of this program. That comes with accountability - to yourself, your studio, and the cohort.
Purpose - Why does your studio need to be a co-op? Not "why are co-ops good" but what specific problem does working cooperatively solve for you that you couldn't solve another way?
You have permission to leave early - If you realize partway through that this isn't the right time, or this isn't the right team, or you need to step back - that's okay. It's better to face that than to go through the motions. We'd rather you make an honest choice for yourself.
Leaving isn't failure. Sometimes it's the most cooperative thing you can do.
Code of conduct & community agreements - 15 min
Now let's build some shared agreements for how we'll be together.
We'll start with a few agreements and build from there. We are naming what we need to do the hard work together.
Activity: Collective drafting via Miro
- We'll start with a few prompts
- Add your own via stickies
- Emoji reactions
- We won't finalize today - we'll revisit and refine
Starter prompts:
- What do you need to feel safe raising a concern?
- What helps you stay present when things get uncomfortable?
- How do you want to be supported when you're struggling?
- What makes you feel able to jump into a conversation?
Activity: Power Flower overview - 10 min
Your first piece of individual work is a reflection on your own power and privilege.
Power Flower - a tool for mapping the identities and experiences you bring into this space.
This is private and for your own reflection. Baby Ghosts won't see it. Your studio won't see it unless you choose to share. We'll use it as a jumping-off point in Session 1.
- What lived experiences or identities shape how you enter this space?
- What kinds of influence or resources (social, economic, relational) do you carry?
- Where do you need support?
- What hopes or expectations are you bringing into this program?
Complete this in your private Miro board before Session 1.
Closing - 5 min
- Each person shares one intention or hope for the program
- Reminders: next session prep, Slack channels to check, Power Flower homework
Homework
- Complete your Power Flower – Use the template in your private Miro board. Reflect on the identities, experiences, and forms of power you bring into this space. This is just for you – we'll use it as a jumping-off point in Session 1.