Converting a small business to employee ownership can be a practical solution for ownership succession, job stabilization, and employee retention. Especially as Baby Boomers, who own almost half of all privately held small businesses with employees in the US, plan to retire in the next decade. The majority (over 85%) of business owners have no succession plan and of the businesses listed for sale only 20% ever sell and only 15% of businesses are passed down to the next generation. (See Project Equity for more on the small business closure crisis or “silver tsunami.”

Through conversion to broad-based employee ownership, we have the opportunity to keep many of these businesses locally-owned for the long haul and to deepen their positive impact on our local economy by saving jobs. To learn more about the transition of conventional business to employee ownership see Becoming Employee Owned.

Example: A Slice of New York

A Slice of New York is a newly converted worker co-op restaurant. The original owners and founders continue in their roles, but 13 worker owners now make decisions about workplace governance, annual budget, company direction, and strategy. To become a member, employees must have worked full time for at least 1,200 hours, commit to work there for two years and pay $3,000 to buy a share in the company.

For more conversion examples on conversions, check out this case studies guide.

A Slice of New York Website