In the 20th century, access to capital was the principal source of economic advantage. The business organizations that dominated the developed economies were those that excelled at acquiring large amounts of capital and deploying it productively to produce the steel, concrete, fuel, transportation and other physical materials that drove economic growth in that period. My … Read More
Businesses interested in transitioning into employee ownership are often presented with a structural dilemma: convert into an ESOP or a cooperative? Go for the democratic worker control and participation of a cooperative, or the tax benefits of an ESOP? In this article the author describes how he helped a company, Sun Light & Power, combine … Read More
The “ESOP-Owned S corporation” structure offers truly remarkable advantages that can transform a business into a tax-exempt, for-profit entity. An S corporation whose stock is held in an ESOP, of course, pays no federal income tax (and little or no state income tax) at the corporate level…
This interview with Martin Staubus discusses employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). As Executive Director of the Beyster Institute at UCSD, Staubus has extensive experience in workplace issues and the challenges and opportunities of implementing ESOPs.
This Critical Mass Radio Show discusses why, when and how business owners should choose the ESOP path as the correct succession strategy…
A tale of entrepreneurship – and a leading holiday decoration company becomes employee owned…
In this 20-minute radio interview, Martin Staubus, executive director, Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management is interviewed by host, Bill Black on ExitCoachRadio.com.
In 1964, the famous television bandleader Lawrence Welk went for a drive in the country north of San Diego, Calif. planning to invest in a grove of orange trees. Instead he bought a motel and a nine-hole golf course. One of the keys to their business success has been their philosophy of treating their employees like family…
Change initiatives are notorious for their failure rate…
Any business owner who evaluates their succession options without investigating the concept of an employee stock ownership plan will be making a mistake. What is an ESOP, and how does it work?
With ESOPs now formed almost entirely at very healthy companies – and many of those enjoying the unique cash flow benefits of operating as ESOP-owned S corporations – a growing number of these companies have become the predators of the M&A jungle…
What do veteran ESOP companies have much to teach us about what it takes to sustain employee ownership over the long term?
Beyster Institute Senior Consultant Martin Staubus is teaching a course entitled ‘Management 269: Creating a High-Performing Workplace.’ In this interview, Professor Staubus describes the course’s five themes.
As the baby boom approaches retirement, prospects for employee ownership are ramping up…
Technically, an ESOP is a retirement plan and serves the purpose of accumulating retirement savings for the company’s employees. In practice, however, they can act as a cash buyer of private company stock, thus creating a source of liquidity for the company’s owners.
It’s all well and good that a shared ownership stake may promote a team orientation, but does teamwork necessarily translate into superior business results?
Ask Don about what it’s like to run a company where the employees are stockholders, and he can wax warm and fuzzy.
The great potential of employee ownership to improve business performance lies in its capacity to bring people together to work as a team toward shared success.
Until the industrial revolution, work was performed in the U.S. (outside of the slave economy) by individuals who had direct and obvious motivation to maximize the quantity and quality of their production.
Study after study proves that broad-based ownership, when done right, leads to higher productivity, lower workforce turnover, better recruits, and bigger profits. ‘Done right’ is the key.
Today, more than 25 percent of American workers own stock in their employers. Now Corey Rosen, John Case, and Martin Staubus present convincing evidence that employee ownership can be much more than just a good benefit program.
Using a leveraged ESOP to buy out a departing or retiring business owner is a strategy with considerable benefits for all involved.