INCEO would like to recognize and thank the Hendricks County Community Foundation, the Stronger Together Grantmaking fund for awarding a grant to help fund our 2026 – 2027 employee ownership education series in Hendricks County. Our mission is to provide employee ownership education to Indiana business owners, and this grant will enable a dedicated series…
Interested in learning more about employee ownership, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs), or Worker Cooperatives? Request our free booklet on Selling your Business To Your Employees!
A 10-year review of DOL5500 filings for Indiana ESOPs (2015 to 2024), identified the average account balance increased from $88,986 in 2015 to $154,630 in 2024, a 73.8% increase. In the majority of ESOPs the funds are contributed to the employee share accounts from the company profits with no contribution required from the employee. Each…
One way that ESOPs or EOTs may grow in value and size, is through the acquisition of companies. These acquisitions may be bolt on acquisitions that expand existing services in a new geography, or they may be companies that provide a diversification in services and client base as a means to diversify risk of customer…
Posted Sunday April 5, 2026 by Carla Dempsey in Building Indiana Business Shared Success – Exploring Indiana’s Growing ESOP Movement. Carla Dempsey Across Indiana, a growing number of company leaders are exploring employee ownership as a long-term business strategy. While employee ownership succession planning has been implemented across all industries for decades, interest in employee-stock…
Why do business owners choose an employee ownership model as a partial liquidity event, or as a transition on retirement? The most common reasons for choosing employee ownership are: Remaining independent, keeping the business focus and decision making independent of external drivers or out of region owners. Keeping the culture and legacy you have created…
Many thanks to Michael Palmieri, Chris Cooper and the staff at the Ohio Employee Ownership Center / Kent State University for developing and sharing the booklet Selling Your Business To Your Employees – An Overview of Employee Ownership Models and Strategies. A PDF of the document can be viewed below and downloaded using this link.…
Are you an Indiana Business that will be attending the 2026 NCEO Annual Employee Ownership Conference April 6-9th in Milwaukie? If YES then use the following discount code AC26IN to obtain a $50 discount on your registration. Rick
In late 2025, Indianapolis-based architecture and engineering (A/E) firm Guidon became the first company in Indiana to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Founded in 2011 as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Guidon has grown into a team of more than 90 professionals grounded in stewardship, shared accountability, and steady leadership. As consolidation accelerated…
Are you a business owner? Are you thinking about succession planning? Have you considered an ESOP? Check out Jane in the below video… She found her answer…Have you?