HOW WE HELP
Free, confidential help for business owners weighing their options — plus training for the advisors who serve them, and place-based programs run with local partners. Open a section below to see what fits.
Free, confidential guidance on whether employee ownership fits your business. We talk through your situation, explain how ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and employee ownership trusts differ, and connect you with vetted professionals — appraisers, attorneys, feasibility analysts, trustees — when you are ready for them. We can also introduce you to executives at North Carolina companies that have already made the transition.
Advisor's Edge CE Workshops. Continuing education for the exit planners, financial advisors, and CPAs who counsel North Carolina business owners. Sessions cover ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and EOTs, built around real North Carolina conversions. Offered in person and virtually, with CE credit on completion.
Ambassador Program. A four-week cohort for business owners, economic developers, attorneys, financial advisors, and chamber leaders who want to understand employee ownership well enough to raise it with the people they serve. One virtual meeting a week plus independent learning modules — about 7.5 to 8 hours in total. Cohort dates are announced here and by email.
Employee Ownership Raleigh. Free, confidential succession planning support for Raleigh business owners, run with the City of Raleigh and the Democracy at Work Institute. Built to keep Raleigh businesses open, jobs stable, and ownership local.
Keep It Durham-Owned. Succession support for Durham business owners, with particular attention to the legacy and minority-owned businesses that anchor the city's commercial history. NCEOC has worked with the City of Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Democracy at Work Institute on legacy business preservation since 2020.
Education and Training. Chambers of commerce, county economic development offices, trade associations, advisory firms, and community organizations bring us in to introduce employee ownership to their members. Lunch and learns, in-person workshops, and webinars, shaped around your audience. Past hosts include the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce and economic development offices in Martin, Halifax, Northampton, and Rutherford counties. Tell us who is in the room and what you need them to walk away knowing.
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