This week Vernon interviews Gina Schaefer, Founder and Co-Owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores. Gina and Vernon will discuss her book Recovery Hardware, which chronicles her journey, from the time she purchased the first ACE Hardware co-op store, until she sold all of her stores to her employees thirteen stores later.
Gina Schaefer is the Founder and Co-Owner of 13 hardware stores located in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, and their suburbs. She is a professional speaker and storyteller, engaging audiences on topics that include competing in a male dominated field, building a strong corporate culture, business succession planning, and all things small business.
In her book, Recovery Hardware, Gina chronicles her experiences building a business while learning from non-traditional teachers like folks from the recovery community and returning citizens. She serves as an advocate and spokesperson for causes directly related to raising wages, anti-monopoly legislation and small business development.
When she moved into a forlorn neighborhood that needed a hardware store, she built one. When she thought the recovery community needed businesses to believe in them, she became one, and when she suggested that inequality could be helped with business ownership, she began selling hers to her team.
Gina serves as board chair for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and is a member of CCA Global Partners’ Board of Directors. She spent 9 years on the corporate board of Ace Hardware, and 12 with the House of Ruth. She draws her inspiration from fellow entrepreneurs who strive to be creative, think differently and help make a difference.
