SECURING JOBS, SAVING LEGACIES
Owners have put years into building their business. Employees have dedicated countless hours to their jobs. Communities across Canada benefit from vibrant local businesses anchored firmly in their local economies.
Why not consider selling your business to those stakeholders that know it best and love and value it most - your consumers, employees, suppliers, or the community - and help to transition it into a co-operative? Here are resources to help.
WHAT IS A
CO-OPERATIVE?
STEPS TO BUSINESS TRANSITION
RESOURCE DIRECTORY
WHEN SME OWNERS SHOULD CONSIDER A
CO-OP CONVERSION
Situation #1
If your business has a long legacy in your community, committed employees, a solid customer base, and is in fairly good economic standing, transitioning to a co-operative is an option for selling the business to any of these interest groups. People from your community could, for example, turn your business into a non-profit community service co-op that provides a service to the public. Or your employees could buy out the business by converting it into an employee-owned cooperative. Or your customers and/or suppliers may value your business enough to buy-in and create a consumer- or producer-owned cooperative. Each option is a viable alternative when an individual buyer can’t be found.
Situation #2
If your business is at risk of closure for any reason, there are alternatives to shutting down or selling off assets. Rather than closing the firm permanently, your employees, customers, suppliers, or other community stakeholders could purchase the business, they could convert to a co-op, and you would guarantee that jobs, your legacy, and the economic capacity of your community are saved.
The conversion to a co-op option
In both scenarios, your years of hard work, market recognition, and legacy-building will be preserved and carry on.
