Now on tap: A plan to brew more employee-owned companies in Colorado
“State House Democrats believe Colorado could be on the crest of a new wave in the business marketplace: employee-owned companies. While the concept has been around a long time – and occasionally has been put into practice – it seems to hold new allure amid the uncertainties of the rapidly changing, 21st century economy.”
Colorado Legislature passes measure to promote employee-owned businesses
Colorado is about to get into the business of teaching individuals how to pass along their businesses to their employees. The state Legislature has passed a bill that that requires the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade to promote the employee-owned business model. The bill now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper for his signature.
Democrat Jared Polis kicks off gubernatorial campaign at employee-owned Colorado Springs grocery store
Halisi Vinson, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center, an advocacy group, was on hand to tout the benefits of encouraging the business model, although she stressed that her role heading the nonprofit means she can’t endorse a candidate “Colorado is leading the way in creating a more profitable, productive and equitable environment for our workforce,” Vinson said. “Jared Polis’s plan to further lift the barriers to setting up employee-owned businesses is not only good for our state’s employees, it’s also great for our economy.”
Employee Owned is Alternate Route to Success
“We helped craft that legislation with District 7 Rep. [James] Coleman [of Denver],” Vinson said. “This is extremely important because of how many businesses are owned by Baby Boomers. We call it the ‘Silver Tsunami’ since Boomers have about $12 trillion in assets that will be for sale in the next decade or so, about $24 billion of that in Colorado.”
Can Employee Ownership Hold Back a Tsunami of Small Business Closures?
“In short, people’s livelihoods across the nation are at stake—not because of the usual culprits, such as globalization or automation, but for the simple reason that hundreds of thousands of companies are likely to shut down due to a failure to develop adequate business succession plans. The impending mass retirement of baby boomers has been labeled by some a silver tsunami.”
218: Colorado EO & the RMEOC Revisited
In this episode, Bret Keisling interviewed Dick Peterson and Bill Kirton, co-founders of the RMEOC, and also spoke with Jennifer Briggs on Colorado Governor Jared Polis's efforts to build EO.
A workers’ co-op rises from the remains of a Colorado mushroom farm
Former Colorado Mushroom Farm workers use local backing to keep fungi fruiting in Alamosa.