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At the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC), we pride ourselves on providing educational tools and resources for hands-on learning about employee-owned businesses and their economic advantages. Nowhere was this more evident than at our annual Employee Ownership Celebration! Recently held on October 16 at the O’Henry hotel (100% employee owned), the event brought together…

Exploring a path to employee ownership is exciting, yet overwhelming. We’ve found that many business advisors, business owners, and leadership teams work well with a structured approach.  And typically, the first step in deciding to venture down the employee-owned (EO) path is a simple one: Conducting a feasibility study. This is a testing ground to…

In the world of manufacturing, there are companies that simply produce goods, and then there are companies that build a legacy, not just with their products, but with their people. Columbia Forest Products, North America’s leading manufacturer of hardwood plywood and veneer, is a shining example of the latter. Their story is one of resilience,…

As a business owner contemplating your exit strategy, you will likely encounter a persistent myth in the marketplace: The belief that selling to employees means accepting a lower price for your business. This misconception has circulated through boardrooms and business communities for years, potentially steering owners and advisors away from considering employee ownership as a…

Every business owner will eventually face a pivotal decision: How to transition into the organization’s next chapter.  In other words, how will they go about preserving something they’ve poured their life’s work into? While retirement should be a time to celebrate years of dedication and success, it takes proactive planning to protect one’s legacy. This…

Congratulations to Blythe Development Corp. on celebrating its first anniversary as an employee-owned company!  Founded in 1921 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Blythe has a long and storied history. Originally established to build roads and highways, the company quickly took on ambitious projects, including the construction of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, airfields in North Africa,…

Representing North Carolina, NCEOC Executive Director Illa Burbank and Founder Anne-Claire Broughton attended the 2025 National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) Conference, held April 14–17 in Salt Lake City. The event marked a milestone as the largest in NCEO’s history, drawing more than 2,000 participants from across the United States and internationally. One of the…

The North Carolina Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC) was pleased to be featured in an article in the Q2 2025 print edition of WNC Business, a publication serving Western North Carolina. The article, The Silver Tsunami: Preparing for “The Largest Wealth Transfer in History,” also features the work of NCEOC partner The Industrial Commons (TIC) and…

When considering options for transitioning a business to employee ownership (EO), understanding the primary types of EO is crucial. Three distinct models have proven successful across different industries and company sizes: All successful forms of EO lead to increased productivity and profitability as employees gain a direct stake in the company’s success, especially when paired…