Why Invest in Cooperatives?

Coperatives empower people to come together in a way that serves both individual and community needs. This structure gives us an advantage over traditional businesses, making us a safe and dependable investment whether you’re an employee investing your time and energy or an investor looking for a decent return.

How we form organizations matters

The structure of an organization can cultivate or stifle creativity. It can encourage or discourage productivity. Whether we’re coming together to live, to work, or for faith and fellowship, the way we gather dictates the limits of what we can accomplish and who will benefit.

If a traditional corporate hierarchy is a straight line, a cooperative is a circle. We put our minds, skills, and resources together for mutual benefit and mutual support. Leadership within a cooperative exists to support rather than command.

As humans, we’re not wired for a winner-take-all system. We’re social creatures who want to see our co-workers, friends, and neighbors prosper. Cooperatives use this to our advantage by building a structure where every employee shares equally in prosperity and works together to weather downturns.

A structure with 4 distinct advantages:

• Resiliency

• Retention

• Innovation

• Consumer Preference

These advantages make cooperatives a sound and stable investment. Let’s look at how.

Resiliency

Business is chaotic. More enterprises fail than succeed, and few last forever. However, cooperatives have double the lifespan of traditional businesses. Why? Simple. When things get rough, we aren’t handing out golden parachutes or shedding employees to reduce costs. We tighten our own belts, reinvest in our companies to improve our services, and work together to find a way forward. 

Retention

Employee turnover is a huge expense for any company. It hits their bank accounts and hurts their productivity. Experts suggest improving retention by encouraging employee engagement. This can mean maintaining competitive wages, cultivating an employee’s sense of ownership, and giving employees the chance to participate in decision making.

While traditional businesses have to find ways to work these practices in, cooperatives have these values baked into the structure. Our employees literally own the company, participate in decision making, and earn higher than average wages. Because of this, worker-owners have a 53% higher median job tenure. 

Innovation

When everyone’s voice matters in a company, that diversity of thought can release previously untapped creativity and problem-solving skills. Greater autonomy combined with shared responsibility and promise of shared reward fosters a culture of innovation. It’s no wonder, then, that employee-owned cooperatives are more productive than traditional companies.

Consumer preference

Finally, consumers prefer to patronize cooperatives over traditional businesses. Studies show consumers view cooperatives as more trustworthy, ethical, and accountable, and would rather patronize them if given the option. Every Obran Cooperative company is dedicated to giving consumers an ethical, trustworthy, cooperative option. We’re confident they’ll take it.

Given all these advantages, is there a safer place to invest?

We’re excited to work together with our investors to build a better, more sustainable economy.