A project funded by the EOX State Center Grant Program

Meeting business owners where they are

The Illinois Center for Employee Ownership (ILCEO) used its EOX project grant to design a business training program that meets owners where they are: focused on performance, people, and profitability. 

The People, Profits & Performance pilot:

• Built a curriculum rooted in open-book management and financial literacy, using the “Great Game of Business” framework as an anchor.

• Positioned the training as an on-ramp to conversations about employee ownership, rather than starting with EO jargon.

• Created marketing and evaluation tools and reached more than 200 partner organizations through outreach.

• Achieved 50%+ email open rates, signaling strong interest from the audience ILCEO is trying to reach. 

This work sits on top of Illinois’s capacity gains — implementing a CRM, donor platform, new website, and stronger engagement with policymakers and regional partners. 

WHY THIS MATTERS

ILCEO’s project recognizes that many owners care first about how their business performs, then about how ownership structure fits into that story. By starting with operations, transparency, and team performance, the program opens the door to EO for owners who might not attend an “employee ownership 101” workshop.

For other Centers, People, Profits & Performance is a reminder that framing matters — and that training programs can be designed to align with how owners actually think and talk about their businesses.