I have a small business and sales reps who work for me. What are some ways and give employees ownership?

Question

I pay an hourly rate and commission if certain levels are met.

Answer 1

Giving ownership if your business is going to grow to a size where you can go public may be a good idea. Bill Gates went public to allow his employees to convert their ownership into cash should they want to. To go public these days in the U.S. the company needs to do $100,000,000 in sales.

If your business will not get to this size, consider rewarding your employees with a deferred comp program based on performance incentives for them and company financial accomplishments.

When you give stock that is not and will not be publicly traded, the problems that result are frequently greater than the benefit produced.

Good Luck

Answer 2

You will have to ask yourself 2 questions. 1) How much of your business are you willing to give away before losing control of it. 2) How much can that employee add to the value of your business?
If you can answer those 2 questions, you will probably have answered to yourself as well.