This is the seventh of an eight-part series centered around the themes of an inspiring new book, “Assets in Common,” published by Common Trust and Purpose. The series explores innovative employee ownership models, shared services cooperatives, mutual credit systems, steward-owned holding companies and more, all based on research into real initiatives working at scale. More than a dozen working examples are outlined in the book, which light the way for an economy that can help reverse wealth concentration, community fragmentation and environmental destruction. Learn more and get a copy of the book at assetsincommon.org.
In previous articles, we’ve learned about the enterprises pioneering new models for transforming the economy. We all want to see the world heading in a good direction. We wrote the book with action-oriented pragmatists in mind. We’d like to influence and inspire the people who get stuff done, who make projects happen, who start nonprofits and community organizations. We encourage you to see yourself in that group!
With all this emphasis on actionable solutions, let’s roll up our sleeves. How can we each help forward the action? What are the low-hanging fruit, and the ripest opportunities to sink our teeth into?
For entrepreneurs
We need trailblazing entrepreneurs to launch steward-owned holding companies and stake their claim as catalysts for democratized business ownership. By “steward-owned holding companies” we mean umbrella companies that can steward a group of small businesses and enable value sharing while protecting social mission and human values.
Entrepreneurs and investors – now is the time to focus on something bigger than another startup looking for an exit. The world needs your help to counter the wave of private equity consolidation. Rather than small companies being seized by extractive capital interests, you can ensure small business remains rooted in place, people, and purpose. You can strengthen small business networks through “conscious consolidation,” which allows SMB’s to benefit from the scale of a collaborative pool of partners.
This won’t just be a solo crusade, but an ecosystem play. Entrepreneurs are called to be community weavers – launching enterprises dedicated to provisioning shared services and complementary offerings to other values-aligned businesses. Take the example of CarpetOne. This shared services group was an entrepreneurial endeavor led by two existing carpet business owners. It didn’t just magically fall into place. It was a deliberately researched and designed strategy that two people dedicated themselves to, and raised capital to launch. What other industries might be ripe for a shared services model? Retreat centers? Produce distributors? Solar installers?
For investors
We are amidst one of the largest wealth transfers in American history. Baby boomers own a major portion of small businesses, and as they retire, someone needs to take over these firms. You control the much-needed risk capital to shift small businesses into purpose-driven hands and align incentives toward stewardship. The investment model is straightforward: financing small business acquisitions with equity and debt. Operating cash flows from these already profitable businesses go to pay back acquisition funds. You can finance acquiring them into trust ownership and stakeholder-governed entities, benefiting workers and communities more broadly.
Organizations like Common Trust are already mapping this way forward. But they need more co-conspirators and capital partners to join the movement. This isn’t a fringe effort, but the vanguard of economic reformation aligning ownership and labor after decades of divide.
For NGOs and philanthropies
NGOs and philanthropists have a crucial role in catalyzing a shift toward an economic system rooted in shared ownership and the commons. Your organizations can seed the connective tissue that brings together diverse stakeholders—workers, businesses, community groups, investors—to chart a new course.
Lending your resources, convening power, and advocacy megaphones can help seed and nourish the alternative economic models highlighted in this work. Whether it’s supporting the establishment of steward-owned trusts, multi-stakeholder cooperatives, or trust-owned holding companies, you have an opportunity to disrupt “business as usual.” Your efforts can make space for innovations in shared governance, distributed ownership, and value creation that spans beyond just financial profit.
With these strategies, we can reshape our economy from an extractive force into a regenerative one. We must move beyond corporations hoarding and exploiting assets toward assets held in common for the benefit of all stakeholders. This is a moment for boldness—a time for us to mobilize our resources in service of an economic renaissance.
For local governments
Local governments can spearhead a revolutionary shift—reinvesting municipal resources into public benefit and common wealth. Too often, public goods and assets have been eroded by austerity policies or privatization schemes that concentrate resources into fewer hands. It’s time to reverse that trend. As stewards of your communities, you are uniquely positioned to activate municipal assets in service of the common good through shared ownership structures.
The concept of urban wealth funds, where cities take stock of existing public holdings and revenues and sync them under a holding company model to generate widespread community benefit, is ripe for exploration. Forward-thinking cities like Copenhagen and Hong Kong have already proven it works—now it’s time for U.S. municipalities to adapt this powerful framework to our context.
Your catalyzing role extends beyond just public assets and funds. Local governments can seed and nurture a pluralistic ecosystem of value creation and exchange among residents and businesses. Imagine complementing conventional currency with community-minted mutual credit systems to facilitate neighborhood trade and collaborations. Or using municipal funds to incentivize transitioning businesses to employee ownership models that bake in shared governance.
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If you’re a business owner interested in employee ownership or steward-ownership in the United States, please contact common-trust.com.
This article originally appeared on Shareable.net.
