Startup

This pro forma template is intended to aid cooperative entrepreneurs (and the developers who serve them) in making a preliminary financial assessment of their worker cooperative startup.  Many worker cooperative startups are learning business finances for the first time. This tool offers a framework to think about their business and some labor-saving, pre-built Excel formulas.

This resource is intended to give small business support organizations a background on how the worker cooperative model can help entrepreneurs reach their dreams.

After working with professionals to determine which entity type is right for your worker cooperative, the next step is to work with professionals to develop your governing documents. Bylaws and operating agreements should include high-level information about the governance of the organization. They clarify and codify the democratic governance and ownership of your cooperative, help provide a structure through which the cooperative can grow, and provide a last resort for conflict resolution if relationships break down.

Becoming Employee-Owned is a guide for business owners interested in employee ownership. It provides an overview of the three primary transition approaches for employee ownership: worker cooperatives, ESOPs, and management buy-outs. Regardless of what stage the business is in--from expansion to succession planning-- this resource can help business owners understand their options for becoming an employee-owned company.

Multi-stakeholder cooperatives (MSCs) are co-ops that are owned and controlled by more than one type of membership class such as consumers, producers, workers, volunteers, or community supporters. Stakeholders can be individuals or organizations such as non-profits, businesses, government agencies, or even other cooperatives. Instead of focusing on the needs of a single membership class, MSCs are often built around a broad mission that addresses the interests of the various stakeholder groups. The number of MSCs in the U.S. is small but growing.