City offers new co-opportunity

Interested in starting a cooperatively owned business? The city is looking to help Austinites launch co-ops through training, coaching and information via a fairly new contract with University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. According to a press release about the new initiative, the city is offering a series of courses on, among other things, forming a housing cooperative, converting existing businesses to co-op formats and cooperative governance. This spring, the classes will be offered via webinar (with supplemental coaching sessions) starting March 24. Information on all the courses can be found on the city’s website, with registration for the first class available here.