{"id":3770,"date":"2016-06-28T14:30:05","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T18:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/?p=3770"},"modified":"2026-08-04T16:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T20:09:40","slug":"advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you own or have the inclination to own a small business, take time to become familiar with ESOP basics.<\/p>\n

An ESOP is a profit-sharing stock bonus plan usually set up by the owners of a closely held business.<\/p>\n

It spreads some or all ownership to employees of that business. It is also a tax-deductible contribution and tax-deferred retirement plan.<\/p>\n

Shares are transferred to employees following legal rules, such as minimum hours worked, and value is disbursed years later, under other strict and complicated rules.<\/p>\n

The Internal Revenue Service<\/a>\u00a0provides extensive legal hoops for the formation, control and disbursement of assets.<\/p>\n

As you can see, establishing and managing an employee stock ownership plan is not a do-it-yourself process. Pros are required to set up and manage ESOPs.<\/p>\n

Many rules, such as vesting, disbursement ages and penalties are similar to 401(k) and IRA rules, but not exactly.<\/p>\n

Small plans can be expensive to establish, but have payoffs. Statistics point to faster business growth and better profits.<\/p>\n

Why? Employees share in profits, so they work harder, think about bettering the company and sit on boards making decisions from feet-on-the-ground, hands-on perspectives.<\/p>\n

Read the entire article, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you own or have the inclination to own a [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdvice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you own or have the inclination to own a [\u2026]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SES ESOP Strategies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tjgivens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tjgivens\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"tjgivens\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3955d0bd14f01445a132248eff2d400b\"},\"headline\":\"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":208,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/\",\"name\":\"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/articles\\\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/\",\"name\":\"Griffin Financial Group\",\"description\":\"TAILORED ESOP SOLUTIONS. SUSTAINABLE RESULTS.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Griffin Financial Group\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Griffin Financial Group\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/griffin-financial-group\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3955d0bd14f01445a132248eff2d400b\",\"name\":\"tjgivens\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.stevenslee.com\\\/sesesop\\\/author\\\/tjgivens\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies","og_description":"If you own or have the inclination to own a [\u2026]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/","og_site_name":"SES ESOP Strategies","article_published_time":"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00","author":"tjgivens","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tjgivens","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/"},"author":{"name":"tjgivens","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#\/schema\/person\/3955d0bd14f01445a132248eff2d400b"},"headline":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business","datePublished":"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/"},"wordCount":208,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/","url":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/","name":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business - SES ESOP Strategies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-06-28T18:30:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-04T20:09:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/articles\/advice-from-the-field-consider-an-esop-stock-plan-for-a-small-business\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advice From the Field: Consider an ESOP Stock Plan for a Small Business"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/","name":"Griffin Financial Group","description":"TAILORED ESOP SOLUTIONS. SUSTAINABLE RESULTS.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#organization","name":"Griffin Financial Group","url":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Griffin Financial Group"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/griffin-financial-group\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/#\/schema\/person\/3955d0bd14f01445a132248eff2d400b","name":"tjgivens","url":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/author\/tjgivens\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3770"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4260,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions\/4260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevenslee.com\/sesesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}