Small Business, Community, and Local Ownership
Subscribe to From the Forum
A newsletter from the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program. Subscribe for highlights from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum.
Imagine a Main Street where the people who serve coffee, fix cars, or build homes also own the business — it’s not just a better job, it’s a better future for everyone. As small businesses face growing challenges, employee ownership presents a powerful strategy for resilience, local ownership, and long-term success.
This newsletter highlights key moments from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University, to inspire fresh thinking and action around expanding ownership.
This year’s theme, “From Workers to Owners,” explored how the experience of ownership can reshape the nature of work, the workplace, and business. The forum featured leaders from the employee ownership field including employee owners and executives from employee-owned companies across industries. The Forum highlighted not only how employee ownership can drive business performance and innovation and help transform the lives and well-being of workers, but also how it can boost our economy and national competitiveness in a time of rapid technological change.
In this issue, we’re spotlighting a conversation on how ownership can help small businesses not just survive — but thrive.
Strengthening Small Businesses Through Employee Ownership
Small businesses are the backbone of American communities and form one of the nation’s most trusted institutions. Restaurants and retail stores, auto repair shops, construction contractors, day care centers, beauty salons, barber shops, and various service-based businesses, among others, are a key part of the social and economic fabric of America. However, they face several challenges, including accessing capital, high overhead costs, market development, talent recruitment and retention, and succession planning. In this discussion from the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, panelists explore what employee ownership entails in small businesses and how it can enhance their strength and resilience.
Check out the highlights
Related Resources
- NCEO Executive Director Loren Rodgers Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
- Ownership With a Purpose: A Case Study of Clegg Auto’s Employee Ownership Trust
- Boots on the Ground: A Profile of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center
About the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
The Employee Ownership Ideas Forum brings together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. It is hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing.
About the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing
The purpose of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing is to study the various models that have emerged and will emerge of employee ownership shares and profit shares in the corporation and society of the United States and around the world.
About the Economic Opportunities Program
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
Join Our Mailing List
To receive occasional emails about our work — including new publications, commentary, events, fellowships, and more — join our mailing list.
Connect on Social Media
For news and updates every day, connect with us on the social media platform of your choice.
Employee Ownership Ideas Forum 2026
View Event
Strengthening Small Business Through Employee Ownership
ASU’s Dr. Christos Makridis Speaks at the 2025 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum
Employee Ownership and The Future of the American Worker
Owning It: Experiences from the Front Lines of Employee Ownership
