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Employee Ownership Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters for Business Owners
Common Trust
Learning Center
Guides, tools, and frequently asked questions on Employee Ownership Trusts, for business owners and their advisors.
Show resources for
2026 guide
The Employee Ownership Trust Playbook
One guide for owners, covering the process, the money, and what changes for your team when you sell to an Employee Ownership Trust.
Not sure where to start? Take the 5-minute EOT Fit Analyzer →
For CPAs, attorneys, and exit planners
Employee Ownership Tax Considerations: What Your CPA Should Be Asking
The questions to raise before a client commits to a succession path, and where an EOT changes the answer on capital gains, deductibility, and timing.
Profiling a client? Run the advisor Fit Analyzer →
Tools to explore employee ownership
Interactive, and built from real EOT transactions rather than theory.
- 5 minutes · Free EOT Fit Analyzer for owners Answer a few questions about your company and your goals and get a personalized read on whether an EOT could be a fit. Start the analyzer
- 5 minutes · Free EOT Fit Analyzer for advisors Profile a client’s business and get talking points on whether an EOT belongs in their succession conversation. Start the analyzer
- Paid engagement The EO Planner Our analysis of what employee ownership looks like in real numbers for your company: valuation, comparables, and scenario models. Talk to us about the Planner
- 30 minutes · Free Talk through a client situation Bring a live scenario and we’ll help you pressure-test fit, structure, and timing before you raise it with your client. Book a call
- Reply by email · Free Ask a question Can’t find it in the FAQs? Send your question and a Common Trust advisor will follow up by email. Ask a question
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Start here: the basics
New to employee ownership? These four cover the ground.
Article
Employee Ownership Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters for Business Owners
Article
What Is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)?
Article
ESOPs vs Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs): What’s the Difference?
Article
Employee Ownership Trusts: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How the money works
What you get paid, where it comes from, and how the tax treatment compares.
Article
How the Money Works in an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
Financing
FAQ
How are Employee Ownership Trusts financed and valued?
Financing
FAQ
Where does the money come from in an EOT?
Tax
FAQ
Are there tax benefits or incentives for EOTs?
Is an EOT right for your business?
Honest answers on fit, risks, and what happens to your role.
Comparison
FAQ
How do I know if an EOT is the right succession path for my business?
Comparison
FAQ
What types of businesses are a good fit for an EOT?
Comparison
FAQ
What are the potential risks or downsides of an EOT?
Process
FAQ
Do I have to retire or leave my business to transition to an EOT?
Your employees and your culture
What changes for your team, and how owners have handled the conversation.
Article
The Outsized Impact of Employee Ownership on Company Culture
Explainer
Best Practices for Communicating Succession Planning to Employees
Webinar
Owners Session: Building Employee Buy-in for Employee-Owned Companies
Employees
FAQ
Do employees need to invest money in an EOT?
Planning the transition
Timing, team, and what the process actually looks like.
Article
Business Succession Planning: Timing Your Exit Strategy for Success
Article
How to Build the Right Team for Your Employee Ownership Transition
Process
FAQ
How does the EOT sale process work?
Process
FAQ
How long does it take to transition to an EOT?
Owners who have done it
Companies that sold to an EOT, in their own words.
Case study
Guidon
Becoming Indiana’s First Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
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Case study
Text-Em-All
Becoming the First EOT SaaS Company in the U.S.
Case study
Clegg Auto
Driving Growth with Employee Ownership
Case study
Cypress Valley
Building Employee Ownership in an Essential Industry
Owners Sessions
Recorded conversations with owners a year or more into employee ownership.
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Webinar
Owners Session: Employee Ownership as an Operating Model at RainTech
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Webinar
Owners Session: How Cypress Valley Built an Ownership Culture
Webinar
Owners Session: Planning a Thoughtful Transition to Employee Ownership
Webinar
Owners Session: From Myths to Meaning — The Human Impact of Employee Ownership
EOTs for advisors: the fundamentals
The structure, how it compares to the models you already know, and where it fits.
Article
What Is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)?
Article
ESOPs vs Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs): What’s the Difference?
Article
Your Guide to Employee Ownership Models: ESOPs, EOTs, Worker Co-ops & Direct Sales
Comparison
FAQ
How do EOTs compare to ESOPs and worker cooperatives?
Deal structure, financing, and tax
How EOT transactions are priced, financed, and taxed.
Article
How the Money Works in an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
Article
Employee Ownership Tax Considerations: What Your CPA Should Be Asking
Financing
FAQ
How are Employee Ownership Trusts financed and valued?
Article
Colorado’s New Tax Incentives for Employee-Owned Businesses
Screening clients for fit
Which businesses suit an EOT, and the edge cases that come up most.
Comparison
FAQ
What types of businesses are a good fit for an EOT?
Comparison
FAQ
Is an EOT right for every business?
Process
FAQ
Can an owner sell only part of their business to an Employee Ownership Trust?
Process
FAQ
Can family-owned businesses transition to an Employee Ownership Trust?
Governance and life after the sale
Who runs the company, what the trust does, and what employees actually hold.
Process
FAQ
How does governance work in an Employee Ownership Trust?
Process
FAQ
Who runs the company after it transitions to an EOT?
Process
FAQ
What happens after selling to an EOT?
Employees
FAQ
Do employees actually own the company in an EOT?
Client stories worth sharing
Case studies you can send to a client who is weighing their options.
Case study
Guidon
Becoming Indiana’s First Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)
Case study
The Ready
Turning Operating Principles into Ownership
Case study
Codeweavers
Preserving Open-Source Values with an Employee Ownership Trust
Case study
Text-Em-All
Becoming the First EOT SaaS Company in the U.S.
Recent EOT transactions
The latest companies to transition, with deal context.
Announcement
P. Terry's Transitions to Employee Ownership, Benefiting 1,800 Employees
Announcement
Rost, Inc. Transitions to Employee Ownership, Preserving Its Family-Built Culture
Announcement
A Pennsylvania First: Signature Vacuum Transitions to an EOT
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Announcement
RainTech Transitions to Employee Ownership — Not as an Exit, but as an Operating Model
New from Common Trust
The most recent articles, sessions, and announcements. Come back for what is new.
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Announcement
New
Mosaic Capital Partners Builds an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) Into Its Southern Shade Tree Investment
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Webinar
New
Owners Session: How P. Terry’s Is Scaling a People-First Business
Article
New
How Profit-Sharing Works in an Employee Ownership Trust
Announcement
New
LockData Transitions to Employee Ownership, With Continuity at the Core