This brief reports on interviews with eleven Black small business owners focusing on their expectations around succession planning, and the impact that awareness of worker cooperatives would have on their decision-making process to sell their business to a worker cooperative when they decide to exit their business. An exit from their business also includes retirement … Read More
This free video-based educational program is designed to help minority business owners learn about employee ownership strategies for business succession planning. Developed by the Rutgers University NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership, with the support of the Kellogg Foundation, this program will help business owners assess the relevance of establishing one of two employee ownership models, based … Read More
What happens when the founder of a business retires? How can they keep their legacy in tact? If you’re a business owner or executive, and you’re looking at business succession options, consider selling your business to your employees and reap the benefits.
From orphan to owner and then finally deciding to secure his legacy and transition his company to an ESOP, the founder of Mid South Building Supply, Norman Rales, had a monumental impact on the future of his company and the people who work there. Hear from the new owners (the employees) about how being an … Read More
You may recognize him from the cover of your favorite flour or oatmeal, Bob Moore, founder of Bob’s Red Mill, based in Portland, OR, tells the story of his company’s transition to employee ownership through an ESOP.
In this video a group of professional advisors discuss how employee owned companies with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) are structured.
This free online course from Start.coop is for entrepreneurs building cooperatively owned businesses. Modules include: Lean Co-op: The Basics Defining the Problem Designing the Solution Designing Your Business Model Designing Your Ownership Model Next Steps
What is an ESOP and how do business owners decide to transition ownership of their business, and often their life’s work, to their employees? Most business owners know that there are three options when planning for retirement. One, they can sell their business. Two they can, pass the business to a member of their family. … Read More
Hear the story about how one of the first craft breweries in the nation became one of the most successful employee owned breweries in the world. Most business owners know that there are three options when planning for retirement. One, they can sell their business. Two they can, pass the business to a member of … Read More
This mini-case study examines employee share ownership at National Van Lines, where an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) provided a family-run business a succession plan that ensured the continuation of the company and protected employee jobs. Just one-third of family businesses successfully transition from the first to the second generation of ownership and only 12% … Read More
This case study examines employee share ownership at North State Grocery, where the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) solved a transition challenge in a company owned by two siblings. Thanks to the ESOP, long-term employees, including frontline staff such as cashiers and bakery workers, build a larger cushion of retirement savings than is typical in … Read More
This case study examines employee share ownership at Parksite, Inc., where the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is paired with a strong company culture and high job quality. For the company’s co-founders, the ESOP provided a solution to a major transition challenge. The company’s long-term employees accumulate considerable stock wealth through the ESOP. Discussion questions … Read More
Policies and practices of the 19th and 20th centuries have had a lasting impact into this century. This is most evident when examining racialized wealth inequality between Black and White families. This study of low-income employee owners examines the following questions: (1) Does employee ownership reduce the racial wealth gap? (2) How does employee ownership … Read More
Studies show that when people are intrinsically motivated and engaged in a healthy environment, innovation and productivity thrive―yet many business leaders stick with “command and control” organizational structures, using extrinsic reward frameworks that fail to inspire others. How can we do better? We believe the solution starts with values-based individuals dedicated to improving the lives … Read More
Even before the pandemic, many workers struggled to build wealth. Divisions between men and women, and between white households and households of color, are particularly striking. The pandemic has exacerbated and heightened awareness of these inequities, and there is a mounting sense of urgency to find practical solutions. Increasing participation in business ownership can help … Read More
This case study describes John Lewis Partnership. John Lewis Company has been in business since 1864. In 1929, it became the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) when the son of the founder sold a portion of the firm to the employees. In 1955, he sold his remaining interest to the employee/partners. JLP has a constitution and … Read More
City and state policymakers across ideological divides can help raise standards for workers and boost sustainable economic growth by supporting employee ownership and broad-based profit-sharing.
This article focuses on worker-owned apps, specifically Up & Go, and how they are the new best thing for labor economies. It walks through what worker-owned apps are, what obstacles there might be when making one, and how to build it with the workers at the forefront of designing.
While all kinds of businesses become employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies, there is a large percentage of engineering firms that have chosen the ESOP structure. Why so?
With the emergence of worker-owned apps, where they own and run the marketplace themselves, the on-demand labor apps are seeing a new light. It’s a trend that could save the gig economy from itself. One of these apps is Up & Go, which lets you order house-cleaning services in New York City. The cleaners are … Read More
This case illustrates the rationale for adopting employee ownership, and difficulties in implementing employee empowerment beyond investment. In the beginning it focuses on why Jerry Pritchett, one of the co-founders of Pritchett Controls, decided to convert it to an employee-owned company. In the body of the case, it details the efforts of the company to … Read More
A review of the literature found that companies that practiced a progressive set of HRPP and made decisions based on democratic principles are rare. Thus, knowledge of such a company should be valuable.
Led by CEO Zhang Ruimin, Haier in 30 years has gone from a money-losing, rigid hierarchy, state-owned, local firm to a profitable, flexible structure, collectively-owned, multinational enterprise. This transformation has been done in well-defined steps. In 2012, it was moving toward operating as a platform for microenterprises. The platform was to be open to both … Read More
Last May, we introduced you to a new effort aimed at spreading the word about employee ownership at local and regional levels throughout the country. Building on pioneering efforts in Ohio and Vermont, the idea of proliferating state centers throughout the U. S. was initiated by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)…
In December, my family finalized a very personal, and we hope impactful, gift titled, J.R. Beyster Papers, to UCSD Library’s Special Collections. After about one year of pre-processing, the collection includes more than 200 boxes of documents covering more than 50 years of hundreds of advanced scientific innovations, small- to billion-dollar business experiments, and discontinued to transformational government program development.