Christina
christina@common-trust.com
Curious about
employee ownership?
Two short experiences to help you figure out whether — and how — employee ownership could work for your business.
Experiences
Want to talk to an expert?
Book a Call with Common TrustVisit our website
Suggested reading
Stay in the loop
Get notified about new tools, webinars, tax updates, and stories from businesses making the shift.
Email your results
Send a copy of your results to yourself — and to anyone else who should see them.
Sent.
Check (and ) for your results.
EOT Feasibility
Can I implement an EOT
for my business?
Answer a few quick questions to find out if an Employee Ownership Trust could work for your business. Takes about 3 minutes.
Step 1 of 6
Your business
Tell us a bit about the company — just the shape of it.
Looking good so far
Nothing about your business rules out an EOT. Now let's walk through a few things about how they work.
An EOT isn't a fit right now — but employee ownership can still start today.
Based on what you've told us, a formal EOT transaction isn't possible for your business right now. Here's why.
Industry
Profitability
An EOT requires the business to be profitable, since the trust is funded from company earnings over time.
How to get started on employee ownership today
You don't need a formal transaction to start building an employee ownership culture. Many businesses begin the journey well before they're ready to transact — and it makes the eventual transition smoother and more meaningful.
Open your books
Start sharing financial information with your team. Transparency builds trust and helps employees connect their work to the company's success.
Introduce profit sharing
Even an informal profit-sharing program gives employees a direct stake in the company's performance. No legal structure required — just a commitment to sharing the upside.
Develop shared governance
Bring employees into decision-making. Start with team-level input and work toward more formal governance structures over time.
Think this doesn't apply to your situation?
Want to talk about your options?
Book a Call with Common TrustStep 2 of 6
Seller Note
Are you open to that?
Step 3 of 6
External Debt
Are you comfortable with external debt to help finance the transition to employee ownership?
Step 4 of 6
C Corporation status
Nothing to do here. On to the next one.
C Corp conversion
Are you open to that?
Step 5 of 6
Real estate & assets
Is that something you can work with?
Step 6 of 6
Leadership & governance
Do you have leaders in place — or in development — who could step into that kind of role?
Your EOT feasibility
Here's how it breaks down
—
Curious what this could look like for your business?
Book a Call with Common TrustWait — what about ESOPs?
You may have heard of ESOPs as another path to employee ownership. Here's how the two compare for a business like yours.
| ESOP | EOT | |
|---|---|---|
What's next
Keep exploring to see if an EOT is the right path for you.
Values & Structure
Values & Structure
Alignment
Find out which employee ownership structure best matches how you want to run your business. Takes about 5 minutes.
Step 1 of 13
First — how is your business structured today?
This helps us compare where you are now with where your values point.
Scenario 1 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 2 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 3 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 4 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 5 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 6 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 7 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 8 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 9 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 10 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 11 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Scenario 12 of 12
Choose the option that sounds more like you.
Your Results
Here's how your values align.
Here's how your values align to the structures for running your business — ranked by how closely each matches what you told us matters.
Best match Your current structure
Your current structure
Your current structure
Here's what would give you.
Since we don't have a profile for your current structure, here's what your top match looks like across the key dimensions.
Here's what you're missing
Based on your answers, here are the gaps between what you value and what your current structure delivers.
Your values point toward , which differs from your current structure in several important ways. We'd recommend speaking with a Common Trust advisor to explore what that shift could look like.
Want to see how it compares?
Your values and your structure are in sync. Pick another structure to see how it stacks up.
vs.
Here's how your current structure compares to .
No detailed comparison for this pairing — try another structure or book a call to explore further.
Curious how you could align your structure with your values?
Book a Call with Common TrustWhat's next
Keep exploring to see which path is right for you.
You've Been Abducted by Aliens
Your great-great-grandmother was Earth's emissary to the Intergalactic Federation. Every 200 years, the eldest heir is summoned — that's you. The family records got lost a few generations back — so you had no warning. A beam of light just pulled you out of your office. You're gone. Your business has to figure it out.
Before you left, how was your business structured?
Pick the option that best describes your ownership setup.
You've disappeared.
Your business is structured as . Let's see what happens across six critical dimensions.
Tap each card to see the comparison.
Lens of 6
With your EOT
Your Business Survives. Survival Forecast:
Your EOT was designed for exactly this scenario. The trust has governance, the mission is legally protected, employees keep their jobs, and the business continues operating under the framework you built.
The biggest thing you'd want to ensure is that day-to-day leadership is strong enough to operate without your personal involvement. But structurally? You're covered.
Biggest vulnerability:
What would have been different with an EOT?
Send a Postcard from Space
Let someone back on Earth know what you learned. Share this with a partner, advisor, or your leadership team.
Want to protect yourself against alien abduction? 👽🛡️
Book a Call with Common TrustWhat's next
Keep exploring to see which path is right for you.
Suggested articles