The Eternal Business : How to build and exit a business for employee ownership

The question of 'what happens when I want to step away from all this?' is one that keeps many business owners awake at night. 'How does my entrepreneur story end in a way that preserves the good I've built up, and looks after the employees and clients?' For the owner who has spent a big chunk of his or her working life building up a business they passionately believe in, and nurturing staff they care about, traditional succession planning doesn't work. Employee ownership is the new and better way of preserving your achievement. Done the right way, you can leave a legacy and pass on control without employees having to raise finance. Financial expert, podcaster and author Chris Budd recently sold his own business to its employees through the UK's Employee Ownership Trust. But the movement for employee ownership is global - and interest in this alternative succession route is growing fast.