Blog - Customer First

Sue Lawrence • 10 August 2026

Customers or Employees?

My recent summer reading included a blog on setting strategy, and one line resonated:


   ‘First identify who your customers are’


Too often in EO companies this is forgotten or lost within the focus of what EO could mean for us.


Occasionally it goes further and ‘customer first’ becomes ‘employee first’.


What’s wrong with ‘employee first’?


Employees don’t pay for the privilege of working in your company.


Without customers and their willingness to pay for the services or products that you produce, there is no cashflow.

No cashflow means no money, no business, no employees.


So, whilst employees are incredibly important, when you’re setting your strategy for the future, don’t forget to identify who your customers are.

Without them, everything else falls apart, including your employee ownership.


by Sue Lawrence • 6 November 2026
I often hear, particularly from people who are resistant to the evidence on the benefits of employee ownership, that the practices behind successful EO companies are “just good business practice.”
by Sue Lawrence • 4 November 2026
Why do founders choose an EOT? New research gives a clear answer: 69.2% of the firms surveyed wanted to protect employees from the disruption of a third-party sale. Improving employee engagement (58%) and securing a founder's legacy (54%) were also strong motivations, alongside tax benefits (65%).
An office with employees working at desks
by Sue Lawrence • 28 October 2026
One of the least discussed facts about an EOT is that it's rarely paid for in full on the day it completes. The trust doesn't have the cash, so a significant part of the purchase price is deferred and paid to the selling owners from the company's future profits.
by Sue Lawrence • 21 October 2026
Completion transfers the shares. It doesn't transfer the governance. In new research, 65% of firms surveyed gave no governance training to the employee representatives sitting on their trust company board, and only 42% had engaged employees before the transition. The research surveyed 26 UK firms that have adopted an EOT. It's a modest sample, so the findings are best read as an indicative snapshot.
by Sue Lawrence • 19 October 2026
Continuing our series of articles explaining Employee Ownership (EO) we share tips for onboarding new employees into an employee owned business.
by Sue Lawrence • 19 October 2026
Is on-going, not on transition
by Sue Lawrence • 15 October 2026
Sharing insights from our EO sale experiences
Register Your Interest - a virtual course for experienced leaders
16 September 2026
Register Your Interest - a virtual course for experienced leaders seeking to enhance their understanding of the role of an EO Trust
by Sue Lawrence • 4 June 2026
3 EO Companies, 2 days, 3 Reserved Matters
27 May 2026
Continuing our series of articles explaining Employee Ownership (EO) we explain reserved matters – what are they and why are they important.