Building Strong Southern Vermont Businesses through Employee Ownership & Business Succession
Brattleboro, VT – Southern Vermont is home to one of New England’s strongest communities of employee-owned businesses. From nationally recognized ESOPs to worker-owned cooperatives and community-based enterprises, employee ownership has become an important part of the region’s economic landscape. This November, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), in partnership with the Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC) and regional partners, will bring together business owners, employee-owners, advisors, and community leaders for a full day of learning, networking, and collaboration centered on the power of shared ownership.
The event will feature multiple educational tracks focused on employee-owned companies, and business transition strategies, creating opportunities for organizations at every stage; from those simply curious about employee ownership to established ESOPs and cooperatives looking to deepen their ownership culture.
The full-day event features two complementary educational programs designed for different audiences while encouraging shared learning throughout the day. To register: veoc.org/sovt-eo-forum
Everyone registered is welcome for Lunch 12-1:00 and Reception at 4:30pm
9am-12pm: The morning program, Business Owner Succession Workshop, is an interactive, small-group session designed for business owners who are actively considering retirement, succession planning, or transitioning their business. Participants will work through key questions surrounding business readiness, valuation, timing, financing options, and ownership transition strategies. The workshop will explore a variety of succession pathways, with a focus on key employee or broad based employee ownership conversion.
1pm-5pm: The afternoon transitions to a broader regional forum focused on Employee Owned Businesses, bringing together people from employee-owned companies, business owners and advisors from across Vermont, Southern New Hampshire, and Western Massachusetts.
Sessions will explore topics including:
- Building ownership culture
- Open-book management and financial education
- Employee ownership committees
- Governance and cooperative leadership
- Leadership succession at Employee Owned Businesses
- Practical tools for existing ESOPs and worker cooperatives
- Roundtable discussions connecting business leaders and practitioners
If you are a current business owner interested in Employee Ownership for the future of your company, please register for the Ownership Succession Workshop. You are welcome to attend the entire day if you want, but that workshop is especially for you!
Hosted by VEOC and BDCC
About BDCC
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is a private, nonprofit economic development organization with the mission of investing in the drivers of the regional economy so that people, businesses, and communities in Southern Vermont can thrive. In addition to its private nonprofit leadership role in regional business acceleration and expansion programs and projects, economic, workforce, and community development programming, BDCC is also contracted to carry out the work of one of the twelve the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporations (RDC) for the greater Windham County area (including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall, and Weston). BDCC’s activity is made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information, visit: https://brattleborodevelopment.com/
About VEOC
The Vermont Employee Ownership Center is a statewide non-profit whose mission is to promote and foster employee ownership in order to broaden capital ownership, deepen employee participation, retain jobs, increase living standards for working families, and stabilize communities.
