Sharing a Share Of the Company

摘要

In 1995, Susanne Ward opened Rock City, a homey cafe in the Maine fishing town of Rockland offering morning coffee, warm lunches, and evening performances by local musicians. Fast-forward 20 years, and Ward was tiring of the grind and wanted to cash out and travel, but she feared a buyer might change the character and charm of the business she'd spent much of her adult life nurturing. So she floated the idea of converting Rock City to a cooperative owned and managed by the staff, and after some initial resistance, 17 of the 35 workers opted to join. "We're small and live in a rural area where good jobs with retirement programs are few," Ward says. "None of my employees could have bought a business like Rock City on their own. Buying it as a group allowed them each to have ownership."