Reframing Ownership
- Project Equity
A six-part series celebrating employee ownership and the emergence of a new ownership economy
1: Recruit and retain employees | The Local Butcher Shop ↓
2: Reward those who built the business | Proof Bakery ↓
3: Retire and protect your unique legacy| Alternative Technologies ↓
4: Foster a culture of ownership| Atthowe Fine Art Services ↓
Employee ownership is one of the smartest ways to structure your business—it’s also a powerful tool to retain employees and foster long-term job stability.
In early 2022, Project Equity launched Reframing Ownership, a six-part series celebrating employee ownership and the emergence of a new ownership economy.
In this series, we looked at employee-owned companies that are part of a growing movement to redefine ownership as a plan to help U.S. businesses recover from the pandemic.
REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART ONE
Employee Ownership helps recruit and retain employees
Watch their story, “The Local Butcher Shop brings employee ownership to the table”
Carving out a slice of ownership: The Local Butcher Shop
First up, meet The Local Butcher Shop, which embodies a key benefit of employee ownership: increased employee engagement.
“We created a really good crew that is responsible and really loves and enjoys what they do—and has just as much respect for the products as we do.” Aaron Rocchino, former owner of The Local Butcher Shop.
REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART TWO
Employee ownership rewards those who helped build the business
Watch their story, “Proof that employee ownership works is embedded in this LA bakery”
For the good of the whole (wheat): Proof Bakery
The pandemic has taught us how many jobs we rely on as part of our everyday lives. Bakeries and other food service industries are emerging from the pandemic thinking about new ways to take care of the employees who have helped grow the business.
Na Young Ma, Proof Bakery founder, had a vision from the start that involved everyone in the business. Employee ownership rewards many of those employees, taking care of those who helped build the business.
REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART THREE
Employee ownership allows you to retire and protect your unique legacy
Watch their story, “The golden rule leads to employee ownership”
When the golden rule becomes your legacy: Alternative Technologies
The legacy that Alternative Technologies has had from the beginning is one where the golden rule prevailed. Now, they are an employee-owned company, where owner Jerry Skomer leveraged employee ownership as a means to retire.
“We held an all-staff meeting where I gave a speech about parallel computing,” Skomer reminisced. “The idea is that a computer with a bunch of processing units works better than a single processing unit. That’s the definition of employee ownership.”
REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART FOUR
Employee ownership fosters a culture of ownership
Securing a cultural legacy: Atthowe Fine Art Services
Transitioning to employee ownership is a lot like handling fine art. Working with Scott Atthowe and his entire team at Atthowe Fine Art Services, Project Equity guided this specialized logistics and shipping company through a transition that maintained the culture of the business while ensuring its legacy.
