More and more people are recognizing that our current economic system benefits a small few at the expense of many, especially working-class communities and communities of color. What many people don’t know is that there’s a better way already taking place that represents a path forward to create a more just and sustainable economy —…
ESOP plans offer a myriad of benefits for companies, employees, and selling owners alike. While we’d love to help every business out there promote employee ownership through an ESOP plan, we know they aren’t perfect for everyone. That’s why comparing an ESOP with other retirement plans like a 401(k) is an important step in securing…
How popular is employee ownership? Whether in the form of an ESOP or co-op, employee ownership is more common than you might think. According to a 2018 article in the Harvard Business Review, about 10% of Americans hold equity stakes in their workplaces. That accounts for the upwards of 14 million employees who are vested…
In October 2020, the Aspen Institute hosted a webinar aimed at addressing the question: Can employee share ownership improve racial and gender wealth equity? Speakers from worker cooperatives, think tanks, universities, and public radio came together to confront the systemic inequality that workers at the bottom end of the opportunity scale face in this economy.…
From bakeries to auto shops to home health care networks and everything in between, employee ownership is a rising strategy in the movement to create a more equitable and inclusive economy. While some businesses are formed from the start with some type of employee ownership built in, many employee owned businesses didn’t actually start out…
It’s one thing to know that you want to convert to employee ownership. It’s another to know how to do it. For nearly 25 years, Iron Woman Construction has worked in the areas of trucking, civil construction, environmental services, mining infrastructure, utilities, and more. And while their status as an employee owned company didn’t become…
“Who has time to run a company and figure out how to transition it at the same time?” When it comes time to retire, a lot of small business owners struggle to find an exit strategy that benefits them and their employees. Should you close the doors? Sell to another company? Promote from within and…
When you’re wondering what’s next for your business, an ESOP is an important option to consider. Rather than going about “business as usual,” an ESOP can enable you to cultivate the right kind of relationship to your business, your employees, and your own life. At their core, ESOPs are a method of promoting employee ownership…
Despite the circumstances, 2020 has been a good year for Bill and Teri Cardell. After 31 years of selling performance parts for the Mazda Miata, their aptly-named business Flyin’ Miata based in Palisade, Colorado, is on target to have its best sales year yet — all while converting to a worker cooperative. When Bill and…
If the events of the twenty-first century have made anything clear, it’s that the economy created by doing “business as usual” doesn’t work for everyone. From the Great Recession and the Occupy Wall Street movement to a global pandemic that’s left countless families struggling to get by, small business owners and their communities are often…