Reframing Ownership
A six-part series celebrating employee ownership and the emergence of a new ownership economy
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 ↓
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.
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.
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.
Employee ownership allows you to retire and protect your unique legacy
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.”
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.
Learn more
about employee ownership transitions
Discover
how others did it
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Learn more
about employee ownership transitions
Discover
how others did it
Sign up
for a free consultation
San Francisco Chronicle
Worker-owned Bay Area food businesses are on the rise. Is it a turning point for the industry?
The Mercury News
Project Equity’s op-ed: COVID pandemic has shown the value of employee ownership
The EO Podcast
Our latest articles
California passes Employee Ownership Act
Employee Ownership contributes to job quality, featured in U.S. Commerce Dept. Job Quality Toolkit
Employee Ownership contributes to job quality
Employee Ownership contributes to job quality, featured in U.S. Commerce Dept. Job Quality Toolkit
ARPA and employee ownership
The American Rescue Plan (ARPA) is one funding source that local communities are using to unlock the power of employee ownership to support economic resilience and equitable recovery.
Project Equity co-founders receive Heinz Award for the Economy
Hilary Abell and Alison Lingane recognized for their roles in catalyzing employee ownership movement
A bold vision for Black Business Month
There are a lot of important ways to support the growth of Black-owned businesses. We can continue to push for greater access to capital, expand the aperture of creditworthiness and connect young entrepreneurs with mentors.
