Rock City Roasters owner Susanne Ward of Rockland, Maine, never intended to spend her career as a business owner. Instead she describes Rock City’s success as a happy accident that owes a lot to the passion and commitment of her
Employee Ownership Helps Family-Owned Businesses Plan Ahead
Family-owned businesses don’t often stay family-owned for long. Not many businesses have a strong succession plan, and family-owned businesses are no exception. Most are unlikely to remain family-owned as a 2014 study found. 56 percent of family business owners are
Earth Designs Cooperative Plans for Growth through Employee Ownership
A one-woman gardening business in upstate New York has blossomed into a major enterprise since 2001. Now, with the help of Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), that business is sharing its prosperity and becoming all the more successful through employee ownership.
Booming Business for Co-ops
Baby boomers are the next big thing in co-ops, according to Shelterforce, the nation’s oldest housing and community development magazine. As business owners move to retirement, employees have the opportunity to buy the company, and such conversions are a major
How Worker Co-ops Decide to Share Profits
Meet Cathy, the Cooperative Development Institute’s new answerwoman! She can take on any co-op questions you might have, big or small. Today we address the submitted question: “How do worker co-ops decide how to share profits amongst the employee-owners?” See
CDI Wins “People’s Choice Award” for Transitions to Worker Ownership
Rob Brown, director of Business Ownership Solutions at CDI, was among ten finalists chosen to do short presentations on their innovative economic and community development ideas at the Friends of Midcoast Maine annual meeting. His presentation showed how converting existing
How does a co-op structured as an LLC affect members’ individual taxes?
Meet Cathy, the Cooperative Development Institute’s new answerwoman! She can take on any co-op questions you might have, big or small. Today we address the submitted question: “How does a co-op structured as an LLC affect members’ individual taxes?” See
How A Worker Co-op Structured as a LLC Can Retain Earnings
Meet Cathy, the Cooperative Development Institute’s new answerwoman! She can take on any co-op questions you might have, big or small. Today we address the submitted question: “How can a worker co-op structured as an LLC retain earnings?” See all
Why We Must Support Maine’s Cooperative Development Legislation
CDI staff members Rob Brown and Jonah Fertig recently testified before the Maine legislature on the importance of a bill that would improve the state’s support for co-op and employee-owned businesses. Below, Rob shares his thoughts on why this is
New Case Studies in Worker Cooperative Conversions: CDI’s Collaboration Featured
A new report by Project Equity has been released that features a dozen case studies on worker co-op conversions, and CDI is proud to have our work on the Island Employee Cooperative in Maine featured alongside so many other amazing projects