Reframing Ownership

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 ↓

5. Reward those who built the business| Bellegarde Bakery ↓

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

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.

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REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART TWO

Employee ownership rewards those who helped build the business

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.

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REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART THREE

Employee ownership allows you to retire and protect your unique legacy

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.”

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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.

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REFRAMING OWNERSHIP: PART FIVE

Employee ownership rewards those who helped build the business

Old world process meets new world vision: Bellegarde Bakery

Graison Gill was a baker with a successful wholesale and retail business – Bellegarde Bakery – that served the New Orleans community. When he got a dream opportunity to open a new bakery in London, he wanted to leave Bellegarde in a place he knew it would thrive. So, he sold it to the workers.

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