Blog Post
February 16, 2023

Is an ESOP Right for You? Storms into Portland

Megan Bonwell
Events Director
 

The NCEO kicked off 2023 with a bang! Two weeks ago, we held our first feasibility meeting of the year in Portland, Oregon.

The rain of the Pacific Northwest didn’t deter prospective companies from attending. In total, more than 40 attendees gathered together in downtown Portland to discuss the fundamentals of an ESOP with experts from across the employee ownership community. California and Oregon were well represented in the attendee count, with almost half of the audience hailing from the west coast.

Is an ESOP Right for You? was an excellent opportunity for business owners to gather together to learn more about the process of becoming employee-owned and build valuable connections within the EO community.

If you were unable to attend this feasibility meeting, not to worry—we have plenty of resources that can help guide you in the meantime!

NCEO Members: Issues of governance and financing were discussed in detail during the seminar. Your membership grants you access to our Board Excellence Toolkit and Candidate Directory and our ESOP Finance Toolkit and Lender Directory. The former will illuminate some of the specifics of ESOP governance and provide with you a starting place to search for external board members, while the latter will guide you through the basics (and beyond) of ESOP finances and offer a list of ESOP lenders throughout the country.

Non-member resources include: 

  1. Start Here: ESOP Decision-Makers
  2. Publication: Understanding ESOPs
  3. Publication: Selling to an ESOP
  4. Article: Things to Do in Your First Year as an ESOP

Never fear! This won’t be the last time we discuss whether an ESOP is right for you. Join us in Kansas City for the NCEO’s 2023 Annual Conference. There will be myriad sessions that cover the basics of employee ownership. You can learn more about all the conference has to offer by visiting annualconference.nceo.org.

If you’re specifically interested in attending Is an ESOP Right for You?, we’ll be hosting this feasibility meeting again in November 2023, this time on the east coast. Stay tuned for more details!