Here's what Gina has to say.
How can a locally owned brick-and-mortar business succeed in an ever expanding big box and online marketplace, and what can we learn from these experiences? Find out by listening, reading, and watching the media below.
Interviews, Panels & Podcasts
As big box goes impersonal, Gina grows her company and success through a culture of acceptance and community.
Gina Schaefer on Building Communities & Instilling Culture
Gina Schaefer is the Co-Owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, Board Member at CCA Global Partners, and the Author of Recovery Hardware, a book about Schaefer's path to building a business that revitalized her neglected urban community and provided opportunities for everyone to thrive, no matter their past. While expanding to 13 hardware stores in the Washington, D.C. Gina established a culture of acceptance, respect, and community. Gina shares why no question is a dumb question, how to develop greater buy-in from employees, and what happens when you treat everyone around you with the same respect without judging their past.
Building a Business in Non-traditional Ways w/ Gina Schaefer
Gina Schaefer knows a thing or two about building a business in non-traditional ways. Gina is the founder and Co-CEO of a chain of Ace Hardware stores located in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, Montgomery County and Northern VA. She is a passionate entrepreneur who grew her company from one to 13 stores in only 14 years and now leads a multimillion-dollar business that employs more than 300 people.
Gina Schaefer Reveals Nuts On Bolts Strategies On Building A Business And Changing Lives
"When you’re the underdog figure out to use this to your advantage." - Gina Schaefer Gina Schaefer is the founder and CEO of over a dozen hardware stores in Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and the surrounding areas. As a member of the Ace Hardware Cooperative, Gina leads a multimillion-dollar business that employs more than 250 people. She is dedicated to maintaining a strong corporate culture and has begun a transfer of ownership through an ESOP to her teammates. Schaefer’s big passion is for developing urban markets, supporting small businesses, and helping women to succeed in all aspects of the hardware industry.
Recovery Hardware: Retooling the Human Spirit
In the Season 3 of What Does It Profit Podcast, we step into the psyche of Gina Schaefer, the founder and CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores in-and-around Washington, DC. Gina combined her entrepreneurial spirit and love of community into a space for people recovering from substance use disorder to rebuild their lives.
Gina Schaefer Discusses “Recovery Hardware” and Community
Taking Care of Business hosts, Dan and Renee have a conversation with Gina about her memoir, "Recovery Hardware: A Nuts and Bolts Story About Building a Business, Restoring a Community, and Renovating Lives,” her experiences hiring employees who are in recovery from addiction and the rewarding experience of giving second chances. Learn more about the writing experience, her inspiration for the book and how retailers can apply her hiring practices in their own operations.
Gina Schaefer's Nugget (Recovery Hardware)
Schaefer is Founder and CEO of a chain of Ace Hardware stores located in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, Alexandria, VA, Takoma Park, MD and Silver Spring, MD. She is a passionate entrepreneur who grew her company from one to 13 stores in 18 years and now leads a multimillion-dollar business that employs more than 250 people. She is dedicated to maintaining a strong corporate culture. Schaefer's big passion is for developing urban markets, supporting small businesses and helping women to succeed in all aspects of the hardware industry. She has tirelessly focused on the "Return to Main Street" movement in her own city of Washington, D.C., to promote Shop Local campaigns and community revitalization in urban areas.
Building Community: How A Few Cool Hardware Stores Transitioned to Employee Ownership
Sometimes companies transition to employee ownership to help spark a transformation in workplace culture, in other cases a move to employee ownership is the continuation or next logical step in a vibrant company culture that already exists. A Few Cool Hardware Stores is firmly in the latter category. In this episode we speak with selling and co-owner Gina Schaefer and a new employee-owner Courtney Belew about what transitioning to employee ownership was like for both a business owner and an employee, the importance of community engagement, and the benefits of building a strong workplace culture.
From 0 to 13 Hardware Stores and an ESOP
After 18 years of growing her business to 13 stores and employing over 250 people she decided to sell her ownership to her employees via an ESOP. Gina was a brand new entrepreneur when she opened her first store- formerly in SaaS - when she started in her early 30s.
This is a great story of someone who saw opportunity in a low income place and created a mission to change the lives of people through “a few cool hardware stores.
Return to Main Streets
Schaefer's big passion is for developing urban markets, supporting small businesses and helping women to succeed in all aspects of the hardware industry. She has tirelessly focused on the "Return to Main Street" movement in her own city of Washington, D.C., to promote Shop Local campaigns and community revitalization in urban areas.
Navigating the Pandemic with Gina Schaefer
Gina Schaefer, who operates 13 Ace hardware stores throughout the Washington, DC region is an optimist through and through. Her positivity and commitment to doing business that does good for her employees and community has enabled her to come through challenging times of the pandemic stronger than ever. In this episode, Gina shares her secrets of staying power and success: hint listen to everyone carefully and be prepared to communicate often and in different ways. And signs of optimism: sales of flower pots are up.
Frontline Conversations
The ACE Hardware stores owned by Gina Schaefer ('17) are foundational parts of the neighborhoods they serve. As brick-and-mortar stores fight to hang on during the pandemic, Schaefer is holding firm, keeping her businesses thriving and over 250 employees working. In this video, learn how A Few Cool Hardware stores are managing and evolving during the pandemic.
Second Chances
In life, making mistakes is inevitable; however, it is not the mistakes that define us but the lessons we learn and the choices we make in response to those actions that can change a life. In this video, Gina shares how she decided to not only see past a person’s mistakes but see their opportunity for growth and help them on their journey.
What's Working in Washington
Gina Schaefer is the CEO and founder of a chain of hardware stores called A Few Cool Hardware Stores. In fact, there are more than a few - with a total of 14 locations throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia! On today's episode, Gina shares her inspiring story of success, explaining how a unique business model revitalized her urban community and changed hundreds of lives in the process.
In the News
Impressions in the local community through business spotlights and profiles.
Cabot Community Celebrity Cruise
Honoree for National Cooperative Bank, 2017
Published in:
CNN
The Washington Post
Washington City Paper
The Baltimore Sun
HBS Dealer
Profiles in Diversity Journal
Entrepreneur Magazine
Remodeling Magazine
USA Today
The Hardware Connection
Hardware Journal
Hartford Courant
Bloomberg News