A More Sustainable Business Model

Equinox Woodworks’ Transition to a Workers’ Cooperative

BY MEGHAN LUNDY - JONES

It’s hard to imagine the building industry as anything but a constant grind, pushing fast and furiously to meet housing needs as our population grows. Even though we identify as green builders moving towards sustainable house designs, we don’t often take the time to consider what it might look like to apply the same principles of sustainability to our businesses. Folks at the helm of our organizations are often working overtime, but what if we could run our businesses in a way where everyone on our crew had the same level of investment as the owner? What if decision-making was less hierarchical and the company vision was shared by all the employees? Would sharing the responsibility of ownership create more sustainability in our business? We decided to try it out and see if that was the case.

From the beginning, when Todd Kindberg started Equinox Woodworks in 2013, he had an ethical desire to step out of mainstream capitalism and explore a different kind of business model. Todd lives in one of the oldest intentional communities in the country, Celo Community, and also worked for six years at the Arthur Morgan School, a staff-run school where he learned about the benefits and rewards of consensus decision-making. When he read The Company

We Keep by John Abrams, the then-CEO of South Mountain Company, a design/build, workerowned cooperative in Martha’s Vineyard, he knew that transitioning to a workers’ cooperative was his long-term vision for Equinox. Not only were the values of shared ownership and non-exploitative practices a match for his values, the cooperative business model takes the sole responsibility of business success off of the shoulders of a single owner, allowing for a more equal distribution of work. As a sole proprietor, this shared work model appealed tremendously to Todd, who could see that he was on the road to burnout if he didn’t delegate more responsibility.

Upon further research, he discovered that owners transitioning into retirement were also choosing to transition to a cooperative model at the end of their tenure because it ensured the long-term sustainability of their businesses. Ultimately, sharing ownership of the business allowed employees to maintain sustainable employment. So not only was a cooperative business model looking good think about our transition plan and provided resources for our education. For two years, six of us worked together, pouring over bylaws and operating agreements, talking with accountants and valuing the business, and thinking about what the culture of the new cooperative might look like. This spring, we signed the paperwork visible. Other owners are stepping up to chair committees, to take on communications, and to facilitate research and decision making. We’ve also noticed an increase in the investment and involvement of our employees, and it’s clear that they’re more interested in the outcomes of our decisions as they affect not just the overall wellbe- in the short-term, its long-term impacts were beneficial too.

In a serendipitous meeting with Molly Hemstreet of The Industrial Commons a few years ago, Todd finally got the ball rolling and formed a Steering Committee of workers within Equinox Woodworks to make the transition. Aaron Dawson of Industrial Commons and Rob Brown of the Cooperative Development Institute helped the Steering Committee served some things that lead us to believe we’re headed in the right direction. First, although we’ve increased the number of meetings we have in a weeks’ time, the changes in the burden on the sole proprietor have been immediately ing of the business but also their longevity and satisfaction in their employment.

As we move forward in this new phase of our business, we’re excited to keep exploring how to further increase investment amongst owners and looking forward to lateral, rather than hierarchical, growth. For us, this change in structure feels far more sustainable than it did before and more in line with our values. If this sounds like something you’d like to explore in your own business too, feel free to reach out to us and/or to The Industrial Commons to learn more.

Meghan Lundy-Jones has spent the past 20 years of her life as an educator, helping kids learn how to be awesome humans. She is now an owner of Equinox Woodworks along with her husband, Todd Kindberg, and four others. She is mostly the Finance Manager but likes building science too. Learn more at www.equinoxwoodworks.com.