Current Events > Anyone work for an employee owned business?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have a business idea for setting up an employee owned business where to start the employees own 25% stake in the company. All employees get an equal share of the portion of profits that are shared (the company would keep a good amount of cash for future growth). Also 10% of profits would be donated to the community. Food banks, homeless shelters, after school programs, youth sports, etc.

It is an industry with high margins but low quality employees who are unmotivated in my experience. The goal is to set up individual locations slowly growing

The company would be Employee Stock Ownership Preferred so when I go to retire and sell my stocks the company would have first right of refusal so the idea is to eventually get it 75% owned by employees, 25% owned by initial financing company.

If you worked at employee owned were you motivated to work hard and fight for the bottom line?
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It heavily depends on what the business is.
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its a storage unit facility
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bump
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It'll be as successful as every other attempt at communism.
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What if the company has to downsize? Who will decide who gets fired? Who will be the vote-breaker if the company is unsure of how to reinvest money and how to pursue new ideas?
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So it's an employee owned business that they only own 25% of?

And then if they quit they can just keep their stake?

How much capital would they have to contribute initially? Are they responsible for further contributions?
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FLUFFYGERM posted...

What if the company has to downsize? Who will decide who gets fired? Who will be the vote-breaker if the company is unsure of how to reinvest money and how to pursue new ideas?

I would maintain majority control of the storage unit business so really the voting on stuff would be just an exercise until I sold out.

Duties would still be delegated and there would be still be a CEO, but once the employees owned the majority of the company they could theoretically vote the CEO out.
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SK8T3R215 posted...

So it's an employee owned business that they only own 25% of?

And then if they quit they can just keep their stake?

How much capital would they have to contribute initially? Are they responsible for further contributions?

Employees would not owe stock individually, they would own stock as a class. So if the company generates $100k in profit and does $25k in dividends, the employees would get a share of $6250 split between employees.

I would get $12,500 as a 50% owner, and the financing arm, which I would also be a part owner of, would get 25% for them to split so I'd get like 1/4 of that quarter from there too. The remaining $75k would be kept by the business for future investments/growth.
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I like the idea of worker co-ops, but this wouldn't quite be one until you sold out I'd say. Still, I'd love to try working at a place that was employee owned and practiced workplace democracy.
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Master_Bass posted...

I like the idea of worker co-ops, but this wouldn't quite be one until you sold out I'd say. Still, I'd love to try working at a place that was employee owned and practiced workplace democracy.

it would be. im a worker, it would count by definition as employee stock owned. the vast majority of employee stock owned companies the founder retains a high percent of stock.
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KILBOTz posted...

Master_Bass posted...

I like the idea of worker co-ops, but this wouldn't quite be one until you sold out I'd say. Still, I'd love to try working at a place that was employee owned and practiced workplace democracy.

it would be. im a worker, it would count by definition as employee stock owned. the vast majority of employee stock owned companies the founder retains a high percent of stock.

makes sense

though management isn't typically considered part of a company's 'labor force' in discussions like these
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Sounds like a dream only Trump could make become a reality.
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Dark_SilverX posted...

Sounds like a dream only Trump could make become a reality.

well the financing arm will need a small family loan of about $1M so...
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KILBOTz posted...

where to start the employees own 25% stake in the company

so... a partnership

edit: never mind, I read that as each employee owns 25% >_>
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KILBOTz posted...

its a storage unit facility

no joke, I've had a lot of thought in starting one of those. I had to store some stuff a couple of months ago, and I had a bitch of a time finding a place with space. There must be room for more competition.
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Drpooplol posted...

KILBOTz posted...

its a storage unit facility

no joke, I've had a lot of thought in starting one of those. I had to store some stuff a couple of months ago, and I had a bitch of a time finding a place with space. There must be room for more competition.

I owned one for about a year as a turnkey business. It was about 2 hours away so I could only chekc in on weekends but get the employees to actually care was hard. I was spending too much time on it and it was a small operation, I think 120 units? You need as many employees for 500 units as you do for 120 though so I'm looking bigger.
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up for capitalism
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KILBOTz posted...

Drpooplol posted...

KILBOTz posted...

its a storage unit facility

no joke, I've had a lot of thought in starting one of those. I had to store some stuff a couple of months ago, and I had a bitch of a time finding a place with space. There must be room for more competition.

I owned one for about a year as a turnkey business. It was about 2 hours away so I could only chekc in on weekends but get the employees to actually care was hard. I was spending too much time on it and it was a small operation, I think 120 units? You need as many employees for 500 units as you do for 120 though so I'm looking bigger.

How many employees do they even need? I imagine you buy a few places with a partner and do all the work yourselves.
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so there is new like ATM kiosk type stuff out there now for payments. I would have some sort of assistant who would do front of the house normal business hours when renting new units and a weekend part timer. or 2 part timers in hope that one of them could take over when I am ready for the next place.

nature of the business seems to be the larger the better since your labor costs remain the same whether its 100 units of 500. i would be trying to put my business acumen to use, marketing and PR, getting good maintenance contracts in place so when i'm gone employees just have to call someone for each subject, working strategy stuff and trying to come up with new financing so additional locations can grow.
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