“Inclusive” Strategic Planning As Part Of Everyday Environment- Part 3, by Old Bobbert

Inclusiveness in our prepper world of “after the SHTF event” is that element wherein everyone who will be involved in an activity, regardless of the nature of the activity, will be involved in the creation of the plan. This way they can thereby be more fully committed to the plans’ success.

We are currently in the midst of looking at itemized “inclusive” strategic planning considerations to apply in an event situation. Five points have been covered so far.

6. Keep a Daily Journal and Hold Bible Study Classes

Many of the “old” maxims we often follow blindly have lived long past their timelines. They have been overcome by the digital age devices. Carefully throw them away and begin the new-post event life as a well read and well educated person/group leader in the realities of our new survivalist world. Keep a daily journal of activities and conversations. I’ll say it again; keep a daily journal, and read your personal history therein often. Hindsight is always 20-20. Move your hindsight forward to the days you are living in, and apply your knowledge today.

Bible Study Lead

It will be very wise to have a willing and learned group member who is willing to accept the responsibility of being the group specialist on Bible study classes and to gently lead volunteer prayer groups and perhaps be the unit chaplain.

No Denominational Distinctions

Denominational distinctions should, in a post-event scenario, be an unwanted aspect of the old life of contentions and anger. We’d do well to leave them behind with the other trash of the past. Everyone will feel that their personal religious beliefs are respected as a believer and denominational distinctions won’t be not put into competition with a general belief that there is a God of goodness and that the ten commandments actually do fit into every belief system. Goodness fits everyone very nicely and smells just fine, period!

7. Recruit Members To Fill Skill Sets Lacking in Group

Successful planning can be very effective to recruit additional members who may fill the skill sets lacking in the group. Often, in the early days of your post-event experience, there will not be enough quailed persons available to fill these slots. Many times it will be necessary to double up members with multiple responsibilities. It’s often a hard life immediately after the event, but we have to start with what we have on hand now.

Armorer

Every post-event group, regardless of size or location, will benefit greatly if there is a qualified group member who is the best available armorer. All mechanical items need regular maintenance, always! Some post-event groups may want to provide arms maintenance work for non-group persons in exchange for needed supplies, especially silver coinage and food supplies.

Defense Manuals

These defense type item manuals are available from Amazon, Google, and many other sources. Start your manual search before the emergency bites you. Just start now!

Individual Specialists

You will have members who are good at training and demonstrations, while another is skilled at paper work. Another may do a terrific job of moving the visitors to an attitude of respect and trust in your group. Group and individual support of each of these specialists will produce huge gains in unit productivity and morale. We call that inclusiveness in action.

8. Acquire Low Cost, High Quality Items Now

Be frugile. Go for low cost and high quality items, and always do price comparisons.

Acquisition Manager Assignment

Before the event, appoint a group member to be your acquisition manager (AM). The AM will give each member the same shopping list assignment, to get prices from different stores and report back to the AM, who will then make sure that every member knows where to buy a particular item. Often the group will pool monies in advance, and the AM can then buy for the group at a goodly discount. Often cash can generate a small discount. Use the Internet to find local chain store coupons and discounts.

Price Matching, “Allowed” Local Discount

Mention price matching as often as possible. When it fits your situation, ask the manager personally if he/she is allowed to make local discount for you. “Allowed” is the key word. Of course they are. Folks just don’t know about that management ability, so ask when you are able. Practice the wordage in a mirror at home and be happy in your work. You must pursue these discounts even if the money is burning a hole in your pocket, every time. Ask for the discount employee price for a good customer like yourself. Then, pay cash.

Reload Gear

Looking ahead about 12 years ago, we acquired about $1k of shiny new top-grade ammo reload gear and we put it up in our storage area where it sits today waiting for tomorrow, still in the original boxes. From time to time we have added powder and HP pointed parts. We’re very very well supplied for primers (about 25,000) for different casings

I suggest that our readers can easily pay cash at the sporting goods store of choice. Using different stores is a good idea. Watch the dollars. Ask for veteran, senior, local discounts, whatever costs less. In time I expect that these primers will be a choice barter item, better than gold and handy as silver to smooth out differing trade item values.

9. Have a Personal Barter Plan

Our personal plan is flexible. We can see the potential demand in an event for our ammo reloading efforts to be terrific and produce a needed cash and carry cottage industry. For example, someone could bring 300 spent casings and silver or food to buy our reloads. We’d supply powder, printers, bullets, and labor, using high quality tools and materials or high quality rounds.

Quality, Pricing, Immediate Delivery Will Determine Positive Reputation

Whatever you choose to offer, quality and pricing, coupled with immediate delivery, will determine a word-of-mouth positive reputation that will bring continuing repeat business. Use discounts for referrals within a short time span from the first purchase and be known for honest and fair dealing in all of your interests, all of the time, to everyone.

Discount, Referrals

In our plan, when the customer also does on-site, short-time, personal labor as a part payment, the ammo purchase price will be be discounted. Be generous on the amount of the discount and talk about the value to this customer for their referrals in the very near future. Always do referrals.

Generally there will be firewood to cut and stack. ditches to dig. Gardens to weed, work at reloading, et cetera. When you allow labor to be a part payment for ammo, you will be able to see both their attitudes and work ethics. Be sure to show respect for that person’s honest labor and be courteous at all times. Making a friend usually eliminates the possibility of creating a silent enemy. Maintain security over the laborers at all times. Use the group teens as a labor security alert force.

10. Let Members Teach Others

Every communal cottage industry effort will bring to the top in your list of member talents and their willingness to teach others. In some situations your group may have a few very talented members who are excellent teachers who can work a room of strangers who are paying a small token fee for being taught necessary survival skills. Look at a fee of perhaps five rounds of 223 or eight rounds of 9 mm. Think about what others have that you may want or need. Work to be known as a person who is always fair and honest in all of your dealings with others.

We can sell and then resell the same knowledge day after day. A 2+ hour lesson plan on current local needed skill sets plus a 20 minute “Q & A” ending will always be good for your group. Send the students home with handout information sheets and a feel good smile. Consider allowing past students a free second visit, if they bring a single adult paying first timer. Learn to think outside of the box. Being in the box is both boring and dangerous in many ways. Remember that it is usually the teacher who usually learns the most through sound topic research.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been part three of a five part entry for Round 80 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 80 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.