Four NC Companies Just Grew Employee Ownership — By Buying Other Businesses
Executive Summary: Four North Carolina-based employee-owned companies expanded this summer, not by going public or bringing in outside investors, but by acquiring other businesses and rolling those employees into their existing ownership structures. It’s a growth pattern worth understanding, whether you’re weighing an exit or advising someone who is. The conversation around expanding employee ownership…
What is Involved in a Business Valuation?
By Rob Hilton, South Park Advisors, in collaboration with the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center One of the first steps of transitioning to an employee-ownership model, such as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Employee-Owned Trust (EOT), or Work-Owned Cooperative, is to determine the overall value of the company. This requires a business valuation. These…
Why Employee Ownership Belongs in Your Startup Conversation, Not Just Your Exit Conversation
Executive Summary: Employee ownership isn’t only an exit tool for owners ready to retire. It’s also a way to launch a new business, build a stronger culture from day one, and free up capital for entrepreneurs ready to start something new. The earlier founders think about ownership, the more options they have later. The exit…
Which Type of Employee Ownership Is Right for Your Business?
Which Model Is Right for You? How to Choose Between an ESOP, Worker Cooperative, or EOT You’ve done the hard work. Now comes the real decision. In Part 1 of this series, you saw why employee ownership deserves a serious look alongside traditional exit paths. In Part 2, you worked through the internal checklist —…
Common Communication Pitfalls for New ESOPs
By Danny Lamastra, in collaboration with the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center Launching an ESOP is a major milestone. For founders and leadership teams, it represents years of planning, negotiation, and vision finally coming to life. It’s natural to feel a sense of pride and relief. We did it! For employees, however, the experience may…
Are You Conversion Ready?
Written by: Illa Burbank, North Carolina Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC); Gene Holland, Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) This is part 2 of our 4-part Employee Ownership Journey series, where we explore the path from founder-led to employee-owned. In part 1 of our Employee Ownership Journey series, we talked about all of the options…
The “Aha!” Moment Leading to the Employee Ownership Decision
This is part 1 of our Employee Ownership Journey series, where we explore the path from founder-led to employee-owned. As a founder or owner of a small-to-medium-sized business, your brain is wired for strategy. You spend your days obsessing over customer needs, navigating roadblocks, and securing resources to achieve your vision. But when was the…
What Does It Take to Become Employee-Owned?
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…
Will You Lose Money Selling Your Business to Employees?
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…
Why Succession Planning Matters
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…
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