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SAINT PAUL, MN – Nexus Community Partners and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce have partnered to educate retiring business owners about the option to sell their company to existing employees to form a worker-owned company. Nexus’ Worker Ownership Initiative is a bold effort to capture new economic opportunities presented by the wave of retiring business owners in the Twin Cities. In the Twin Cities Metro, an estimated 26,180 businesses are owned by baby boomers, based on a data analysis completed by Nexus’ national partner, Project Equity. This represents 319,400 employees with combined sales of $82.64 billion. The City of Saint Paul has 2,137 businesses that fall into this category, with 94,300 employees and combined sales of $10.6 billion. Strikingly, 80 percent of owners do not have a succession plan. Worker Ownership is a framework that encourages business owners to sell their business to employees for a competitive price while leaving their legacy intact. For Nexus, the Initiative is part of its Community Wealth Building effort that seek to promote local and broad-based ownership. “At a time when wealth disparities continue to climb, worker ownership has the ability to shift the economic realities of thousands of families. The model is not only good for business, it’s good for workers and good for our communities,” said Elena Gaarder, Director of Community Wealth Building at Nexus. Nexus is currently working with the owners of Happy Earth Cleaning to transition their business. According to Jesse and Marion Dunbar, current owners of Happy Earth Cleaning, “We are working with Nexus and Project Equity to sell to our employees because they provided us with the knowledge, expertise and guidance to ensure our team is set up for success after our departure. Since day one, our goal has been to provide a workplace that respects the employees and provides them with a place they can grow. Knowing the team has hands-on support after our departure gives us the confidence to know we are doing the right thing for the employees and ourselves.” The Happy Earth Conversion will be finalized by the end of 2019. For the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the partnership is an opportunity to educate employers about a model of business succession that helps to retain businesses locally and grow the local economy. “Owners who have spent their professional lives growing their business want to retire comfortably and leave a positive legacy when they sell,” said B Kyle, President/CEO. “Local ownership means more economic benefit to our region and certainty for employees. We are excited to help connect interested businesses to Nexus to learn more.” Nexus is the latest partner of WorkStream, a new division of SPACC providing professional services to entities and initiatives with shared values. To learn more about the Worker Ownership Initiative and Nexus’ Business Conversion services, visit: www.nexuscp.org/our-work/worker-ownership-initiative About Nexus Community Partners: Nexus is a community building intermediary that works at the intersection philanthropy, government, community development and community leaders. The organization supports strong, equitable and just communities in which all residents are engaged, are recognized as leaders and have pathways to ownership opportunities. Nexus believes the key to building more engaged and powerful communities of color lies in the dynamic relationship between authorship, leadership and ownership. About the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce: The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce is a dynamic network of employers and individuals organized to deliver economic opportunity for its members. For more than 150 years, the Chamber has served as a gateway to business advantage. More than 1,200 organizations of all sizes and industries across the region belong to the Chamber. More information can be found at www.saintpaulchamber.com. About WorkStream: WorkStream is a new division of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce providing professional services in support of business and community collaborations, including Chambers of Commerce, Business Associations and Community Initiatives. ###
SAINT PAUL, MN – Nexus Community Partners and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce have partnered to educate retiring business owners about the option to sell their company to existing employees to form a worker-owned company. Nexus’ Worker Ownership Initiative is a bold effort to capture new economic opportunities presented by the wave of retiring business owners in the Twin Cities. In the Twin Cities Metro, an estimated 26,180 businesses are owned by baby boomers, based on a data analysis completed by Nexus’ national partner, Project Equity. This represents 319,400 employees with combined sales of $82.64 billion. The City of Saint Paul has 2,137 businesses that fall into this category, with 94,300 employees and combined sales of $10.6 billion. Strikingly, 80 percent of owners do not have a succession plan. Worker Ownership is a framework that encourages business owners to sell their business to employees for a competitive price while leaving their legacy intact.
For Nexus, the Initiative is part of its Community Wealth Building effort that seek to promote local and broad-based ownership. “At a time when wealth disparities continue to climb, worker ownership has the ability to shift the economic realities of thousands of families. The model is not only good for business, it’s good for workers and good for our communities,” said Elena Gaarder, Director of Community Wealth Building at Nexus.
Nexus is currently working with the owners of Happy Earth Cleaning to transition their business. According to Jesse and Marion Dunbar, current owners of Happy Earth Cleaning, “We are working with Nexus and Project Equity to sell to our employees because they provided us with the knowledge, expertise and guidance to ensure our team is set up for success after our departure. Since day one, our goal has been to provide a workplace that respects the employees and provides them with a place they can grow. Knowing the team has hands-on support after our departure gives us the confidence to know we are doing the right thing for the employees and ourselves.” The Happy Earth Conversion will be finalized by the end of 2019.
For the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the partnership is an opportunity to educate employers about a model of business succession that helps to retain businesses locally and grow the local economy. “Owners who have spent their professional lives growing their business want to retire comfortably and leave a positive legacy when they sell,” said B Kyle, President/CEO. “Local ownership means more economic benefit to our region and certainty for employees. We are excited to help connect interested businesses to Nexus to learn more.” Nexus is the latest partner of WorkStream, a new division of SPACC providing professional services to entities and initiatives with shared values.
To learn more about the Worker Ownership Initiative and Nexus’ Business Conversion services, visit: www.nexuscp.org/our-work/worker-ownership-initiative
About Nexus Community Partners: Nexus is a community building intermediary that works at the intersection philanthropy, government, community development and community leaders. The organization supports strong, equitable and just communities in which all residents are engaged, are recognized as leaders and have pathways to ownership opportunities. Nexus believes the key to building more engaged and powerful communities of color lies in the dynamic relationship between authorship, leadership and ownership.
About the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce: The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce is a dynamic network of employers and individuals organized to deliver economic opportunity for its members. For more than 150 years, the Chamber has served as a gateway to business advantage. More than 1,200 organizations of all sizes and industries across the region belong to the Chamber. More information can be found at www.saintpaulchamber.com.
About WorkStream: WorkStream is a new division of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce providing professional services in support of business and community collaborations, including Chambers of Commerce, Business Associations and Community Initiatives.