How often do we hear people say, “I hate my job!” Creating profitable companies isn’t in conflict with creating happy employees; in fact, it’s much the opposite. People support what they help create. This mantra was repeated at a Great Game of Business workshop we attended in Asheville, NC, hosted by New Belgium Brewing, an employee-owned company. Thousands […]
In the dawn of the Information Age, our nation finds itself radically redefining how work is organized. This spring, Project Equity attended the 2018 Equity Summit hosted by PolicyLink. This year’s Equity Summit generated unprecedented interest, swelling to over 4,000 attendees and demonstrating a deep national desire to advance racial and economic equity. We were honored to participate
The business of the future cultivates real ownership Read More »
On March 28th Mayor Lily Mei presented Fremont’s annual State of the City Address and recognized Project Equity for our recent work spotlighting baby boomer business ownership in their thriving manufacturing sector. We performed an analysis for Fremont to quantify the number of manufacturing and supply chain companies that are 20 years or older —
Two monumental bills in support of employee-owned companies have received federal bipartisan and bicameral support, The Main Street Employee Ownership Act in the House of Representatives and the Small Business Employee Ownership Promotion Enhancement Act in the Senate. In her statement, bill sponsor Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) remarked, “Baby Boomers own a vast number of
Rock City Roasters Location: Rockland, ME Industry: Cafe Number of employees: 25 Conversion date: 2018 Professional support from: Cooperative Development Institute In Source Renewables Location: Pittsfield, ME Industry: Energy Number of employees: 10 Conversion date: in progress Professional support from: Cooperative Development Institute A Child’s Place Location: Queens, NY Industry: Childcare Number of employees: 50 Conversion date: in
For most businesses, the employees are the most valuable assets. Imagine, if job satisfaction skyrocketed, how much would that increase the productivity of a business and keep people in their jobs longer term? Studies conducted by the National Center for Employee Ownership found that after becoming employee-owned business productivity increases 4-5% on average and job
The business owner’s best kept secret to success and succession Read More »
Project Equity was invited to write a piece for The Democracy Collaborative, a national research institution working to build a more democratic economy by growing and preserving community wealth. In it we show, by inventorying retiring business owners, city by city, across the nation, we can gauge how many businesses and jobs are our communities at risk of losing.
With 1 in 6 jobs at risk, how do we turn lemons into lemonade? Read More »
Our most recent publication highlights the role of participatory management in high-performing businesses, including a spotlight on New Belgium Brewing, a 100% employee-owned company. Participatory management is a management philosophy and approach in which employees at all levels of an organization are engaged in planning and decision-making to optimize organizational effectiveness. This publication serves as an
In her latest article for Forbes, Trump Has Manufacturing All Wrong – And So Do The Rest Of Us, founder of Make it in LA and the host of The Art of Manufacturing podcast, Krisztina ‘Z’ Holly, busts 8 myths about American manufacturing starting with: “The biggest risk to American Manufacturing isn’t outsourcing, it’s the Silver Tsunami.” Holly, then, asks us
In January 2018, Hilary Abell and Franzi Charen from Project Equity had the opportunity to participate in the Workers to Owners collaborative’s national gathering. Workers to Owners convenes practitioners from across the country (technical assistance providers, coop developers, lenders, and business support organizations) to share best practices and accelerate conversions of businesses to employee ownership.
