Aldrich Law Firm, Ltd.
Aldrich Law Firm, Ltd.

Call us toll free at
877-508-0433Good People Deserve Good Lawyers. ®

Call us toll free at
877-508-0433
Good People Deserve Good Lawyers. ®

Future looks bright for worker co-ops

Baby boomers own approximately 12 million businesses in the U.S., plenty of which are small companies that help prop up local communities. Many of these small businesses need to prepare for their inevitable fates thanks to the fact that baby boomers are on the cusp of retiring. Lots of Nevada businesses will either have to change hands or close down.

Interestingly, business owners have been exploring a new model for passing ownership of the fruits of their labor — employee-owned cooperatives. Put simply, this model allows an entrepreneur to pass on their company to their employees directly. This helps maintain stability and entice the workers to do their best to grow the company. According to one pro co-op nonprofit, these types of businesses often see a boost in profits and employee wages.

Nevertheless, there are significant hurdles facing employers that wish to hand their companies over to their employees. For starters, it may well be the case that the workers are unable to pay for their share of the company. To make matters worse, acquiring finance for going co-op is difficult because of how alien the concept still is. Another issue is the possibility that the workers won’t know how to best manage the company, which forces employers to groom their employees for the job before handing over the company.

Since there are so many obstacles to setting up a worker co-op, a retiring business owner may want to reach out to an experienced lawyer who can help deal with finances. Furthermore, business owners will need assistance when it comes to restructuring the company in anticipation of the change in management.

John P. Aldrich
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