Project Equity • 10th March 2022

Proof Bakery

Proof Bakery, a beloved community institution, was opened in 2010 by chef/owner Na Young Ma in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. Over the following decade, Proof built a deeply loyal customer base–and earned recognition by the James Beard Foundation, The New York Times, Food and Wine, LA Times, and more–by consistently delivering high-quality baked goods, lovingly made by hand using the finest seasonal ingredients.

The Menke Group • 26th May 2021

Harvard Business Review Touts "Big Benefits of Employee Ownership"

What would happen if every American business became at least 30% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)? That's the question posed by Thomas Dudley of Certified Employee Owned and Professor Ethan Rouen of Harvard Business School in a recent study to see how employee ownership could reshape the American economy.

Project Equity • 7th May 2021

Burnett Specialists

This is the story of a company that gambled on itself and won. In 2010, Burnett Specialists was thriving, but the long-running management team was growing concerned.

The Menke Group • 25th February 2021

Why the Right Time to Create a Succession Plan is Today

Having a roadmap for keeping your business intact in the event of a sudden crisis can be the difference between the business surviving the challenge or falling apart.

Project Equity • 12th January 2021

Proof for employee ownership

There may be no one-size-fits-all method to make a business recession-proof, but the data is clear: if you want to give your business the best odds of surviving a tough economy, turn your employees into owners.

The Menke Group • 18th November 2020

ESOP Companies Outperform Other Firms During COVID-19 Pandemic

Companies with Employee Stock Ownership Plans have “drastically outperformed” traditionally owned businesses at retaining jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic by a rate of 4 to 1, according to a new report.

Project Equity • 7th October 2020

Columbia Forest Products

The employee-owners at Columbia Forest Products have seen it all. Booms and busts, bull markets and bears, health scares, natural disasters and even illegally-operating offshore competition. And throughout every challenge, they have had each other’s backs, worked together, pulled through and risen to the occasion as a team.

The Menke Group • 7th October 2020

Survey Shows Consumers Prefer Companies with ESOP Values

The data shows that the American consumers want to do business with--and work for--companies that embody the worker-centric values at the core of every ESOP.

Project Equity • 15th September 2020

Case Study: Device Engineering Incorporated

If you have flown on a commercial airline in the past three decades, there is a good chance you have the employee-owners at Device Engineering Incorporated (DEI) to thank, in part, for your safe arrival.

The Menke Group • 15th September 2020

Menke Congratulates Applewood Seed Company on Transition to Employee Ownership

The Menke Group was proud to advise and assist Colorado-based Applewood Seed Company, a wholesale supplier of bulk wildflower and garden seeds, with the design and implementation of their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

Stellari • 1st September 2020

Why We Love TENCEL™ Lyocell

Choosing the right fabric isn’t easy. What’s the point in a fabric being comfortable or looking great if it means tossing ethics and sustainability out the window? What’s the point in it being ethical and sustainable if no one wants to wear it?

The Menke Group • 25th August 2020

ESOPs: The Future of a Better American Economy

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, many of us are wondering when things will get back to normal. When will life be normal again? When will business be normal again? What many people—business owners, workers, even politicians—are starting to realize is, the old normal may never come back. And that could actually be a good thing.

The Menke Group • 23rd June 2020

How ESOPs Can Help to Close the Racial Wealth Gap and Promote Economic Justice

[...] ending discrimination in our criminal justice system will not end systemic racism. For there to be true justice in this country, there must be also be economic justice. That means confronting the roots of injustice, beginning with slavery and continuing through to redlining—both in its overt forms which were made illegal in the 1970s and the subtler forms which continue to this day.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

How a Repurchase Obligation Study Can Help Your ESOP Survive the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted the economic landscape virtually overnight. The financial picture your business may have been looking at as of December 31, 2019 could be very different today. Many ESOP-owned companies are understandably focused on what this means for their annual valuation. But the next big threat to your business’s capital may not be on your balance sheet at all.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

Lessons in Resilience: How ESOP Companies Maintained Employee Morale During the Great Recession

With the COVID-19 pandemic casting a cloud of uncertainty and instability over the economy, leading to record numbers of unemployment claims, you may have heard people (including us) saying that ESOP companies are more resilient in the face of adversity. And it's true.

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

COVID-19 and Your ESOP: What You Need to Know

As COVID-19 spreads across the country, we know that your health and the health of your fellow employee-owners is your top priority. And we know you are also concerned about the health of your ESOP. Will it be there as a resource for those who need it most in the times ahead?

The Menke Group • 28th May 2020

Skyline Construction Brings Employee Ownership to Two More Companies with Acquisition of Unimark and Servicemark

Skyline Construction Enterprises, a San Francisco-based, 100% employee-owned commercial general contractor specializing in commercial interiors, has acquired Seattle’s Unimark Construction Group and its tenant services sister company Servicemark.

AmaWaterways • 12th March 2020

Exploring the Upper and Lower Danube

The Upper Danube is the setting for the quintessential river cruise. Closed off to outsiders for many years, the Lower Danube is quickly becoming one of the most popular tourism destinations in the world. Learn about some of the key sites along both ends of this historic river. Article for the AmaWaterways guest magazine Beyond the River Bend.

AmaWaterways • 12th March 2020

Quiz: What Kind of Cruiser Are You?

A quiz for AmaWaterways' guest magazine, Beyond the River Bend. What motivates you to travel? Making memories with family? Trying food and wine you can't find anywhere else? The chance to sit on your butt and do as little as humanly possible? Take the quiz and find a perfect river cruise to fit your personal style.

The Menke Group • 12th March 2020

Client Case Study: Basden Steel Achieves 100% Employee Ownership

The Texas-based Basden Steel group of companies have been providing fabrication and erection operations for the commercial construction industry since 1985. They have built everything from schools to casinos to arenas to military facilities. On January 1, 2020 Basden Steel built a new legacy by turning its 450 employees into owners through the sale of 100% of the company stock to a Menke-designed ESOP.