Tuesday, August 25, 2020 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM CDT Add to Calendar
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This is an online event.
Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
Free Webinar: Retaining Rural Business through Employee Ownership
Join us to learn about the five stages of transition for business conversions to employee ownership.
A generation of American business owners is retiring, yet many lack a plan to transition their business to new ownership and leadership. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, more than 110,000 Minnesota and Wisconsin businesses with employees were owned by people 55 years or older. If these businesses are not retained, local economies are threatened by a loss of jobs, income and quality of life. Rural communities are especially at risk because retaining home-grown businesses is the most practical approach for rural economic development.
Employee ownership, particularly in the form of worker cooperatives, offers a solution for some business transitions. Shifting to employee ownership can keep business doors open, save jobs and maintain the business as a valued part of the community — a triple-win solution for the owner, the employees and the community. Surprisingly, few companies take advantage of this option. There are fewer than 7,500 employee-owned companies in the U.S. (out of millions of employer firms). While most of these are Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives are a more viable and practical option for businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
Who should attend: Business owners Economic developers Business support professionals Workers interested in learning more about worker cooperatives