CUCI and GDUCI Hosted First Succession Planning Workshops.

In late May, CUCI and GDUCI hosted workshops in Cincinnati and Dayton on succession planning for retiring small business owners, with a focus on engaging manufacturing businesses.  Chris Cooper from the Ohio Employee Ownership Center led these workshops, which were also co-sponsored by Ohio Means Jobs, the Ohio Small Business Development Centers, Montgomery County, and the law firm of Pickrel, Schaeffer, and Ebeling.  Attendees included small business owners, service providers such as CPAs and financial planners, and representatives of county economic development agencies. Participants got an overview of the process of planning for retirement as an owner of a small business, as well as concrete tips on tax incentives, timelinesand options. Conversion to worker-ownership, and specifically cooperatives and ESOPs, were discussed in detail.