Local Hours Currency Start-up Steps

By Wayne Walton

The MOST important focus on starting the local currency is to get the IDEA spread. Therefore, the perfect graphic artistic creation is NOT the most important thing to do. Don’t worry about getting a perfect currency design. Just get it started, and circulated. The design will be modified despite your best efforts at perfection. Until people SPEND Hours, it will always be a theory. Don’t let the process slow by waiting for too much input from those who may, or may not contribute anything but criticism.

Create demand for Hours!  Recruit businesses to accept currency first. This can be started BEFORE currency design is done. By recruiting businesses first we create the acceptance of the Hours currency. The Hours currency is not the value, the businesses products, and services are the value. Currently we offer equal $200(20Hours)/3 mos to local indy biz regardless of whether they have a brick and mortar, or home office biz. 

EX: For mileHighHours.com in Denver we are offering a free electric skateboard to whoever recruits the MOST businesses in the first 30 days after the currency is circulated. The promoters can win this in addition to each $100(10Hours) referral for each biz that signs up. With this extra incentive promoters are lining up businesses in advance and putting them into a cue.

For quick national expansion of this IDEA we like the plan of each state having its own general template, then each community can ad their logo/images. This way communities can quickly get set up, and there is some uniformity. This uniformity will imply the interchange-ability of each systems currency. Later, they can have design competitions and innovate the look to appeal to the people who have now PROVEN that they are committed. Waiting for approval from a committee is a very long process from people who may ultimately do nothing.

Keeping a regional, or state-wide template also implies inter-changeability of currency between networks.  Networking Hours system is essential for all communities to have abundance. The bottom up system sources local, organic products/services FIRST. 

Day 1: Locate/Cooperate with any existing “go local” groups. A. Do a domain name search, and purchase. B. Create a Facebook Fan Page C. Run advertisement in craigslist.org to recruit as many DOERS as possible. Direct interested activists to go to FB fan page and like.   In order to be a “voter” on the design, they must commit to volunteering 5 hours/week within their expertise. Get a written commitment in exchange for vote on design, and future plans for currency. 

Early skills/goals needed:

Artists: to do logo/design currency/marketing.

Website:

Printer: 

Promoters

They must offer: 1. Expertise 2. Cooperative can do spirit 3. Funding 4. Dedication 5. Commitment to setting group goals.  Deadlines. Show steps to climb out of the hole.  Commitment to participate means vote on currency design. Costs for design, printing, t-shirts, window decals, $2000-3000. With marketing of anything the sky is the limit with expenses. 

I. Fast track!  If one has money, pursue getting design, print, and currency circulating as quickly as possible. 

II. If one does not have money, search on craigslist.org for those that do. If you don’t have money, find those that have FREE talent that they are willing to provide for the cause. This will take longer, but will achieve the same end result.

Goals: Create plan to show the People achievement levels/steps to climb out of austerity hole. Gain confidence of society by “replacing fear with peace of mind”

Get 1-3 people who will be the Board of Directors who are unpaid. They will locate people with expertise who will fill the below roles which will be paid with newly born Hours Credits.

3 People are ideal to begin a tribal leadership 90 day plan. Consider using Dave Logan’s 90 day challenge plan to FOCUS on what HUGE GOALS you intend to achieve. 90 Day Micro-Strategy. Excellent info for achievement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exWfICLCVa4&feature=plcp

Get time commitment written from each of the directors. Commit to 90 days to change the world.

Day 2: Initiate process to create logo. And request, and locate images which exemplify a person, place, thing, event which is most universally liked in that community.  This is the essential first step, and will be put on all marketing materials, website, and local currency itself. Logo essentials. 1. Iconic image. 2. 3 Color combo 3. Domain 4. Currency Name

Day 3:     Using logo order biz cards, “Hours accepted Here” reverse stick window decals, regular decals, bumper stickers, t-shirts, buttons, ESPECIALLY biz cards. EX: List business benefits, and generic email. info@mtnHours.com

Day 4: Agree on currency template, and insert images/logo into template. Realize that the first design will not be perfect, and a design competition can be held months later after the People embrace the IDEA. The IDEA that the People are the money and can create it anytime they wish. 

Day 5: Locate printer. Template must have location for serial number, biz signature which turns our paper, into their money. Biz gives value to the paper by signing it into existence. Ask printer for advice on anti-counterfeiting techniques. 1. Serial numbers 2. Signatures, 3. Paper type 4. Embedded foil 5. Bar codes for example. When you first start counterfeiting is not an major issue. This is an expense which can be added later.

Day 6: Set up basic website to: A: Answer FAQ,  B. Focus on marketing benefits for becoming a member. C. Collect emails of interested activists, businesses, and facilitators. D. LOL! Don’t be scary truthers! This was EXTREMELY difficult for me. Realize that a “sheeple” using Hours currency is “Being the Change” more than a “truther” using FRN’s. The FOCUS is on use/acceptance of Hours currency not being right, arguing, and fear mongering. Earning referrals is about offering BENEFITS, not being contentious. Focus on rewards, not punishment.

Day 7: Create Hours marketing benefits videos, CD’s, and DVD’s. Post on website. Show fun, and community spirit. Create a dream experience for business members, and spenders. Benefits, benefits, and more benefits.

Day 8: Create agreement which is just an outline of use. Requiring signed agreement is un-necessary. It will prevent businesses from joining, and not stop them from quitting. Members agree to 3 month term. They get $200/3 mo. Their employees get $25/mo as a bonus if attendance minimum is met. Employee of the month too. Have biz/employees/referrals sign money into existence. Agreement should list basic currency denominations. Hours accepted for full/partial payments etc. Keep it as a 1 page referral sheet. Ideally laminated as a reference for employees.

AFTER CURRENCY IS PRINTED, and now ready for circulation. 

Day 9: Organize day for the group to promote initiative by going door to door at local independent business part of town. DO NOT ARGUE about politics, monetary policy, Federal Reserve, or controversial truther history. Make “Go Local, Buy Local” AND “We do free marketing” the benefit focus to participation.

Day 10: Create bylaws for rules for meetings, policy changes, voting procedures etc.

Day 11: Locate responsible officers, and subs engage in their respective roles and maximize their productivity.

Make sure to verify the actual competency of each person for their role. Get referrals from others in the community. Have a meeting or two with group so all individuals can get a feel for one another before roles are assigned/voted on.

Roles to fill: 1. President 2. Vice President 3. Events Director 4. Director of Sales 5. Office Manager 6. Web and Digital Media Manager/IT Director 7. Marketing Director 8. Membership Director 9. Accounting Manager 10. Director of PR

1. President: Visionary leader
2. VP: Political/govt activist to get votes for Hours for taxes. Temporarily fills in when others cannot perform roles.
3. Events Director: Create, plan and manage monthly “pot-lucks” and other events
4. Director of Sales: Creates, plans, and manages processes which raise FRN’s to reimburse systems expenses.
5. Office Manager: Creates a physical space where others can maximize their roles when needed.
6. Web/digital media Manager: Go to currency design, website, and software manager. Time schedule
7. Marketing Director: Innovator who sets up education, systems to maximize the People’s  embrace of the currency. 
8. Membership Director: Recruiter and maintainer of membership. Sets up systems to ask the members of the currency cooperative “what they want”
9. Accounting Manager: Comptroller who physically counts, holds, and distributes Hours. Open source circulation accounting online. Counterfeiting prevention. Provides open books to 3rd party audit to ensure integrity of system. Validates that all newly born Hours Credits were created within voted procedure. 
10. Director of PR: Sets up events, and initiatives for cooperative events with other groups. Sets up donations to charities in Hours etc.
11. Director of Circulation: System operator who actively communicates with businesses to clear concentrations of currency. Maximizes circulation.

Maximize the fun, and create abundance!

Phases:

 Research: Backing, monetary theory, physical, and virtual etc. 

1. Design: logo, template, images, 
2. Currency Marketing tools: Website, biz cards, banners, currency sample flyers, buttons, window stickers(reverse stick), newspaper ads, craigslist ads.
3. Member biz marketing. Benefits for currency cooperative membership. Coop is the FREE benefit for being a coop member. a. Create copy for sales letter which is the basis for all marketing. b. video c. website d. Facebook, e. craigslist f. mixers g. joint ventures(ex: wedding focused businesses) h. jingles i. logo design j. group ads k. Biz cards
4. Testing: test exchanges, marketing, software, text payments
5. Maintenance: Membership, events, replacing officers, explain next goals. Maximize velocity of currency
6. Goals: a. Target businesses which provide essentials for life. Food/water, shelter, energy, transportation, communications, utilities. b. Achieve independence/self-sufficiency. Create video of Hours only individual. c. Number of biz d. Number of transactions e. Create virtual system to incentivise use of Hours. Hours earned just for accepting/receiving Hours transactions.

“mtnHours replaces fear with peace of mind”

Ultimately, Hours Credits should be created for everything which the community values. All taxes can be replaced with Hours Credits.

Hours Credits can SOLVE problems related to: Employment, energy, home ownership, insurance, small business, large, small, and new corporations, interest(0%), property taxes, economic security, retirement, veterans, poverty, environment, natural resources, income, purchasing power, and social/economic equality.

Checkout:  http://zerocosteconomy.com/goals.html  for a general outline of benefits to local, debt/interest-free Hours Credits currency.

NOTE: This article is originally published at this website:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/wayne-walton/local-hours-currency-start-up-steps/4516508241982