What Worker Possession Means for Trident Cafe and Booksellers

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to rage in March 2020, Trident bookseller and cafe in Boulder, Colorado, small businesses around the world faced a similar challenge: how to stay afloat.

Employees wanted an honest financial picture of what was happening to their employer. They also had tons of ideas on how to keep the company afloat, and they wanted a bigger voice than the group of people who regularly interact with customers.

It found that employee participation solved both problems, providing transparency and a new path towards sustainability and growth.

Open for over 40 years and initially owned by four partners, one owner sold his shares to employees, increased the total number of owners to 13 and welcomed employees to buy shares in the company after a year of service.

In what some people might describe as an anti-capitalist nightmare, Trident Booksellers and Cafe (aka “the Trident”) not only found new life, but also discovered growth opportunities emanating from its new employee owners.

With insights from Buffer’s Small Business, Big Lessons Podcast Episode Four, and the accompanying unpublished interview, several employee owners of the Trident shared why the bookstore has become employee-owned and how the change has had a positive impact on the business.

The partners of Trident Booksellers and Cafe

Selling shares to employees

After decades of ownership, one of Trident’s four owners wanted to cash out its shares during the pandemic. He started looking for a buyer and discovered a promising opportunity: his employees.

When the Trident partner wanted to sell his shares, no one thought of it at first, an employee buyout immediately made sense in view of the history of Trident and the appearance of the employees in the company.

The cafe drew a serious crowd of regulars, some of whom have been coming for decades, and cited the quirky culture, friendly staff, and historic building as the main reasons it keeps coming back. Employees and regulars have built strong friendships over the years. Sophia, a barista owner at Trident, even said a regular almost feels like her uncle and not just a customer.

This type of environment made employee participation attractive to the other three owners of the Trident. They realized that the strong loyalty of employees to customers could benefit the entire organization.

The employees regularly acted like owners within the Trident, shared ideas and looked after the customers intensively. Giving them the opportunity to actually become owners was therefore a great next step as it not only rewarded employee loyalty, but also helped the Trident maintain its unique culture under the new owner.

Cyanne Stonesmith, a staff member who runs Trident’s bookstore business, said that “with all the uncertainty that has come with the pandemic,” the “time” is “the right time” for employees to buy into the store. Nine employees bought shares at the time, and Cyanne said the employees combined own a third of the company.

Anyone can talk to the manager

A significant positive change occurred for the Trident after it became the property of the employees. In the past, regulars who had questions or wanted to speak to an owner – feedback from customers has always been part of the culture – asked for great singing and dancing. Employees would either have to grab an owner when they were around or forward the notes up and hope someone was listening.

Now any customer can speak to the manager because they probably just made your coffee. And with the new cooperative ownership structure, the original three owners also work occasionally in shifts at the Trident to be closer to their customers and co-owners.

Jake, an assistant manager and partner who runs the Trident’s beer and wine program, shared his feelings about the change.

“We’re not just trying to get into the next quarter and grow and grow and grow,” Jake said. “Which is nice. It feels like people’s voices are respected. They feel heard.”

Part of this newfound feeling that employees are feeling heard is due to the Trident’s new consensus-based leadership style. Under the previous ownership structure, the four owners made decisions and the employees carried out those decisions. Feedback from employees was always welcome, but it didn’t always make it to the decision-making table. Now, Cyanne announced that the 13 owners are focusing more on building consensus to make decisions and using a majority voting structure to make decisions.

“It’s not about an individual,” said Cyanne. “It’s about a community, and being able to work with your employees and your co-owners is one of the most rewarding things.”

It is a priority in meetings to make sure everyone’s ideas are heard before a vote, then the team works on a structure that disagrees and commits so that decisions are not lost in endless conversations. That means people don’t always get their way, but the weekly (or sometimes biweekly) structure of the management meetings gives everyone the time to do their bit.

“Every opinion is respected, everyone has a say, and at the end of these discussions, when we have to make a yes or no decision, we vote and it is a majority decision,” said Cyanne. “Even if not everyone agrees or does not achieve the desired result, we all respect each other’s opinions and thoughts.”

The effects of ownership

The Trident has been a central figure in Boulder since it was founded over 40 years ago and cultivates a community with global reach. Baristas have even been recognized by travelers who visited the Trident in different countries, regulars and holiday guests alike were delighted that their favorite barista is also a partner in the company.

An unexpected benefit for the Trident is that employee participation has become something of a marketing campaign in its own right. Cyanne said new customers – both from Boulder and local tourists – choose to stop at the Trident because they are fascinated by a coffee shop where the baristas own part of the business. This was neither intended nor actively marketed, but the Trident’s tight-knit culture meant regulars heard of the shift, the word got around, and people were intrigued.

Behind the global recognition and cool factor, however, lies the real impact of employee ownership: Not only do employees feel proud of their company again after owning a piece of it, but owning a piece of an asset gives employees real leverage in it her life. As home ownership becomes increasingly inaccessible to Millennials and Gen-Z in cities like Boulder, ownership of company shares is becoming the asset that employees borrow, use and have a deeper personal impact on.

Since the Trident is already set up for consensus-based management and new employees are welcome to buy into the company after a year of work, there are even more opportunities for the Trident to exert influence beyond creating local jobs. And the 13 current owners are excited to see who’s next.

“I’m really happy that more people are shopping,” said Cyanne.