The motivation behind my interest in developing this concept is the alarming rate at which income inequality continues to accelerate as a result of a concerted effort by corporatist business cartels to undermine the economic security of the citizenry with the help of the corrupt political establishment.
There is currently an all out assault on the middle class, on collective bargaining rights (unions), on public-sector employees' pensions, and on the social safety net in general.
As the condition continues to deteriorate, more and more people are feeling trapped, working harder and longer (huge productivity increases) while their wages fall or remain stagnant. All this is being done deliberately, cohesively, and strategically against the workers.
I'm sharing this idea and some concepts I've developed over time, but what I'm really interested in is in getting feedback and ideas from readers about how something like this could be implemented.
Employee-Owned Business Incubator
The employee-owned business incubator would consist of a website specifically dedicated to fund, support, and feature (listing/directory) employee-owned businesses around the country.
There would be an emphasis on making it as easy as possible for people with similar interests to connect to form employee-owned businesses. Some businesses could focus on services that could be offered online, with very little overhead, opening up opportunities for people located in different geographic regions (but with similar interests) to connect.
Others would be more traditional retail businesses like bakeries, clothing/boutiques, barber shops, real estate, auto repair shops, restaurants, etc.
Funding
These are my ideas, but again, I would love to hear others'... Once the entity is set up as a "Benefit Corporation," it then proceeds to draft a plan to be crowdfunded.
I came across an interesting news article in the San Francisco Chronicle about an entrepreneur in Oakland, CA planning on opening a "People's Community Market" through what is called "direct public offering."
They're selling stock in the supermarket on the People's Community Market website without using an underwriter. The method, known as a direct public offering, was used by companies such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Annie's Homegrown foods and Costco when they were still fledgling businesses, and it is growing in popularity.I recommend people read the article to get more familiarized with the idea...So far Ahmadi, the founder and former executive director of the nonprofit People's Grocery, has raised $240,000 from investors who are disillusioned with Wall Street and want to put their money toward building a better community.
I may need some input from people who know more about this particular subject, but what I envisioned is to present this concept to the public and allow people to participate with a minimum of let's say, $20.00 or so.
Then they get some piece (even if fractional) of the business...
Let's say that eventually the organization raises $200,000 or so, and then starts accepting employee-owned business proposals. The applicants would submit a business and marketing plan. Then the members who helped fund the organization set up a procedure to vote on whether to fund the businesses based on the strength of the business and marketing plan.
Funding could be in the form of grants or loans, or a combination.
As the number of successful employee-owned businesses are established, they would pay back their loans/funding to the organization, plus some interest. Again, people more versed on this sort of thing could chime in...
Advertising & Marketing / Outreach Campaign
I think this would be an extremely important aspect of the project in order to educate the public about the benefits of spreading the concept of employee-owned businesses far and wide, so it can get broad acceptance as just one more normal way of doing business.
It would be important that every aspect of the organization be very professional, from the advertising and marketing campaign, to marketing collateral, website, etc.
Other Applications
The organization would also have a social justice activism component, similar to what CREDO does. It could work on helping unionize as many workplaces in the country. It could also develop business incubators for sustainable energy, food production, and housing.
Share Your Ideas
For example... I have systems administration, web development, databases, advertising and marketing experience. For somebody like me, it would be feasible to find 5 or 10 people from around the country to form some sort of online-based business.
About you? Are you a baker, or a jewelry designer, or an accountant, or have lots of experience in the restaurant business? Can you picture starting a conversation with five or ten close associates to form an employee-owned business?
For more ideas, please visit the Evergreen Cooperatives website.
Now, share your dream business idea with us!
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