911: Hilary Abell & Carolyn Berke on Worker Co-ops as a Business Model

Hilary Abell is a co-founder of Project Equity, currently focused on demonstrating and expanding impact and fueling public policy to support broad-based employee ownership, driving racial and economic equity. Project Equity is a nonprofit that builds economic resiliency with low-income communities by demonstrating and replicating strategies that increase worker ownership. Since its launch in 2014, Project Equity has grown to work with small business clients around the country on employee ownership transitions and is raising awareness and building the ecosystem of support for this powerful business model nationwide. Carolyn Berke is the Founder of Niles Pie Company, which has retail sales, classes, dinners and catering, and is a unique presence for local artisanal food in Union City and, as of July 2017, is the first cooperative on the 880 corridor. The owner, Carolyn Berke, sees the coop conversion as a way to to bring job stability and growth to the business, as well as a way to provide staff with profit sharing and ownership. It is also a way for her to eventually retire from the business, and she will continue to build it with her 8 employees for the coming years. Check out 845 with Corey Rosen as mentioned in today's episode! Today's feature affiliate: Bentobox. In need of a restaurant website? Click this link to find out why so many of my guests use Bentobox! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me!  Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans. Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!) Favorite success quote or mantra: "In a cooperative everyone can be a leader." "Stress cannot exist in the presence of pie." In this episode with Hilary Abel & Carolyn Berke we will discuss: ESOPs and Co-ops Brand-based employee ownership Three models to explore: ESOP - Employee Stock Ownership Plan Cooperative - good for small to medium sized business Employee Ownership Trust What does the model do for culture? The myths of co-op companies Easier to scale in most cases Today's sponsor: At Popmenu, we know that in today's world, a great hospitality experience usually begins online. Keeping the conversation with guests going beyond the meal also requires simple, powerful, fun technology capable of expression through all kinds of channels. Our team takes pride in helping restaurants put their best foot forward digitally so they can focus on what they do best. 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Real hospitality and restaurant industry veterans, the My Restaurant CFO team understands the daily frustrations restaurant owners experience managing their establishments. By partnering to create a custom solution, we streamline your flow of financial information, create a clear picture of your overall financial health, use your historical data to forecast your financial needs, and suggest ways to cut costs and increase revenue. My Restaurant CFO - Let us help you achieve your goals. Contact info: Website: project-equity.org Hilary's email: [email protected] Website: nilespie.com Carolyn's email: [email protected] Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Hilary Abel & Carolyn Berke for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time! Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!