Myths about EO companies which may be held by the general public, opinion leaders, influencers, SMB owners, advisors, etc.

In an equity/stock sale, the buyer purchases equity in the business (or in cases of 100% of the equity, the entity itself) and thus also includes the liabilities of the company (therefore typically seller preferred).

An EO trustee (ESOP or EOT) represents the participants in the negotiation to sell the company to the EO, and manages annual valuations and other duties, taking care of all the work and oversight of the EO on behalf of the participants.

SBDCs are locations where SBA employees offer technical assistance to small business owners

A distribution of profits from a cooperative to its members or investors, based on their use of the co-op's services or product purchases.

A strategic buyer is a company that acquires another company in the same industry to capture synergies, and believes that the two companies combined will be greater than the sum of their separate individual parts and aims to integrate the purchased entity

Any unique taxation considerations for EO companies, e.g., taking a 1042 capital gains tax deferral

Anyone who makes decisions for the plan (whether ESOP or EOT), causes someone to make a decision about the plan, or, in some cases, provides advice to someone making decisions about the plan

Employee Ownership Centers (also called Centers of Employee Ownership) are state-based centers that provide technical assistance, and advocacy for EO, and belong to a national network called EOX (Employee Ownership Expansion Network)

The types of decisions which corporate governors (directors) may make on behalf of owners such as officer appointments, executive compensation, and dividend policy, or call for certain social or environmental concerns to be prioritized.