Building tools for long-term owner readiness

When the Vermont Employee Ownership Center received a 2025 EOX project grant, they focused on a gap many of us see every day: business owners wait too long to think seriously about succession. By the time they’re ready to sell, options are limited, and employee ownership can feel out of reach.

With project funding, Vermont developed two practical guides designed to reach owners 5–10 years before a transition:

• Laying the Groundwork – an internal guide for State Center staff and partners to help them support owners over a longer runway.

• Understanding the Journey – a plain-language guide for selling owners that walks through what a thoughtful, long-term transition can look like, with employee ownership on the table as an option.

Both pieces are digestible and “practitioner-ready,” not academic white papers. Feedback from groups like Democracy at Work Institute, NCEO, Shared Capital, and others has affirmed that Vermont is naming something the field really needs: early-stage tools that acknowledge the emotional and practical pieces of succession, not just the deal mechanics.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Most State Centers work with owners who are already on the brink of a transaction. Vermont’s project deliberately pushes the conversation upstream — helping owners think years ahead, and do it in a way that feels humane and realistic. That’s directly in line with EOX’s strategic focus on growing the pipeline of EO-curious owners, not just reacting when they’re ready to sign.

For other Centers, these guides provide a template for talking with owners about time, legacy, and readiness without jumping immediately into technical structures.