From Fast Company: Massachusetts wants to nudge these business owners toward another option: selling their companies to their employees. The state hired two nonprofits with expertise in shifting to employee ownership models–Working World and ICA Group–to revive its Office for Employee Involvement and Ownership (EIO), which was initially established in the late 1980s but faded […]
From Nonprofit Quarterly: Vartikar says that most small businesses choose one of three options when their owner retires: 1) sell to a competitor or institutional buyer, 2) pass the company on to their children, or 3) shut down entirely. Vartikar estimates that two-thirds of businesses end up closing down. Now, however, state and business officials […]
From the Boston Globe: he news: The Massachusetts Office of Business Development last month hired two consultants, ICA Group and Working Wealth, to revive the Massachusetts Office for Employee Involvement and Ownership. ICA and Working Wealth will be paid $150,000 to travel the state and preach the gospel of employee ownership — at events and in meetings with potential candidates […]
From Fifty by Fifty: Since 2012, CFNE has financed 15 co-op conversions including providing nine loans for business acquisitions and twelve working capital lines of credit to recently converted businesses. Some of our borrowers include: A Yard & A Half Landscaping Co-op, a largely immigrant co-op serving residences throughout the greater Boston area; Island Employee […]
From the International Economic Development Council (pdf): For the busy owners of small businesses, short-term pressures often take precedence over long-term planning. That’s why many business owners lack a succession plan to ensure that the enterprise will continue when they’re ready to step down. The stakes are especially high when the firm is a community […]
From the Greenfield Recorder (pdf): Both men decided to move to co-op ownership, giving their employees a chance to buy into the business and allow for democratic governance, with each of the worker-owners having an equal share in the business. “For Tom and I, it was very much a business decision,” said Ewing, who specializes […]
From Commondreams.org (pdf) Hacking the American Dream: Progressive Senators Go Big for Worker Ownership Two common-sense pieces of federal support for employee business ownership on the table The best-kept business model secret of our age is about to get the spotlight it has long deserved. It’s employee ownership—a proven, common-sense pathway to reduce inequality, anchor […]