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.

Don't start from scratch. Sample worker cooperative bylaws in word doc form for you to edit for your own cooperative. 

A chart to assist with selecting the most appropriate legal entity for your worker cooperative. Compares: Sole Proprietor, C-Corp, S-Corp, Limited Liability Company (LLC), and Cooperative Corporation. 

28 essential questions for any start-up to ask - and try to answer - before meeting with a lawyer. 

The legal and financial framework described here came out of three and half years of collaboration with attorney Bart Deamer, a partner at the Silicon Valley office of Bingham McCutchen LLP. Key concepts and terms used in our system are highlighted in bold italics. Those who are interested can use the footnotes to learn more about the technical details of implementation and find the corresponding provisions in the legal documents.