Stellar Sellers are in business to educate
Originally Published: June 13. 2007 in the Erie Daily Times

"I can go out, take someone else's trash and make money from it," Dixon, 52, said. "That's better than begging, borrowing or stealing."

Dixon is part of Stellar Sellers, a group based in Stairways Behavioral Health's adult-education program that sells items on eBay and in the group-operated Nook & Cranny Gift Shop, located behind the Stairways Fresh Start Gourmet Coffee Shop at 2906 State St.

The education comes as members log inventory, record profits, read about collectibles and compose ads, enhancing the business and improving their math and language skills. They also meet twice a week for classes and business meetings.

As the popularity of online-auction sites continues, the group considers its income a success.

According to a 2005 report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 24 percent of Internet users -- about 35 million people -- have used an online-auction site to buy or sell something.

Since its formation in July 2003, Stellar Sellers have made a profit of about $9,350 and sold more than $15,000 worth of goods, said Marge Mechlenburg, the skills instructor at Stairways who leads the group.

Taking care of business

Stellar Sellers have gone from a small club to a well-organized business, said Bootsie Barbour, Stairways' education department supervisor.

More than 60 people have participated in the program, and the group currently has 17 members. Each has a set role -- Dixon, for example, logs inventory -- to make the group work.

The goal for this year, Mechlenburg said, is to make a profit of $3,000. Ten percent of the earnings are used for supplies and activities like estate sales; the rest is shared among group members. Participants keep timecards, and profits are distributed accordingly.

At a recent business meeting, members discussed Nook & Cranny's marketing plan. As they debated how to portray the store, several sellers said the shop's personable and professional staff should be the group's advertising focus.

But Rick DeWitt, 34, disagreed. He wanted to emphasize the merchandise -- a variety of low-cost antiques and other used items.

"People have to know what kind of store we have before they come" and meet the staff, he said.

The Stellar Sellers business setup reinforces work-environment skills, Mechlenburg said.

"They can actually use this as an experience on their résumé," she said. "They can build their job skills. They can say they've worked on an inventory or know about shipping and receiving because they've done it."

'I won't be lost'

Skill development in the work force is a main goal in adult education. There currently is a "huge push" from the Pennsylvania government to teach work skills, Barbour said.

Barb Warner, adult-education coordinator at Barber National Institute, said she has also noticed the statewide push for developing work skills, adding that it is a worthwhile endeavor.

"Everybody needs job skills," she said. "Job skills can be transferred into the home, into the community, as well as into the work force."

Stellar Sellers does its part in enhancing them, Mechlenburg said.

By using a standardized process to handle items, "people learn to keep track of what they do, just like they would in a job situation," she said.

Mechlenburg added that sellers receive immediate feedback on their work from her and group-member managers, which helps teach the tasks at hand and social skills.

Members also recognize the importance of tools they develop. Ron Bonacci, 52, said he might one day want a job that requires computer use.

"And I'll have that skill, so I won't be lost in the computer generation," he said.

A big component of the Stellar Sellers program, Mechlenburg said, is that members learn in ways that are meaningful to them.

"I don't mind textbook learning, but I find you learn better when you do it," said Todd Sykes, 42, who is the store manager of Nook & Cranny and teaches shop procedures to others.

Learning and living

Some members, Mechlenburg said, have struggled in prior work or team settings, often because of difficulty in controlling emotions. Work habits are difficult to develop, she said: "They're not skills you can teach by writing something on the board."

Stellar Sellers seem to have found ways to get the message across.

"When someone says they can't keep jobs, we talk about what happened and what they can work on," Mechlenburg said. "You have to be flexible and allow people the opportunity to stumble a little bit, to struggle a little bit and let them know they're still OK during that process, that that's part of the learning."

And members agree that this process has made their experience a positive one.

"People with mental illnesses need therapy and support, but they also need sort of a normal life," Sykes said. Learning in the business atmosphere, he said, "makes you feel like you're getting somewhere."

-EMILY BABAY