Re-Inventing Small Business: Employee Ownership, Multiple Bottom Lines, and Business as Community

John Abrams to Lead Small Business Course at Yestermorrow

Warren, VT - Builder, author and small business proponent, John Abrams, will lead the class Re-Inventing Small Business: Employee Ownership, Multiple Bottom Lines, and Business as Community, a two-day course at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, VT. The class will run April 24 and 25.

Based in part on Abram's book Companies We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place, this 2-day class is a radical business primer full of stories, activities, and information about making everyday business a thrilling adventure. The class is geared toward business people young and old, experienced and inexperienced alike, who want to think together about how to create living, thriving, prosperous businesses that are positive contributors to community life and that honor the employees who create the wealth that is essential to doing good business.

As a proponent of working for the benefit of people and community, John explores the role of business in promoting community, creating social equity, and maintaining ecological balance. He challenges conventional business concepts: that bigger is better, that profits come first, and that location is incidental.

"The events that made this year so dramatically different from any other also inspired us to open our minds, to think differently, to address tough issues, and to challenge ourselves in wonderful ways," said Mr. Abrams recently. "Difficulty and opportunity mingle. At times it is hard to distinguish one from the other. It's a great moment for putting our heads together to figure out how we might adjust, and lead, in these complex times."

Abrams is the co-founder and president of Martha's Vineyard-based South Mountain Company, an employee-owned design, building, and renewable energy company committed to responsible business practice. In 2005, Business Ethics Magazine awarded South Mountain its National Award for Workplace Democracy.

Yestermorrow Design/Build School was founded in 1980 on the belief that the best built environment depends on the joint cooperation of designers, builders and homeowners. The school's goal is to empower people to express their values and lifestyle through an integrated design/build process, and to foster a self-awareness that reconnects people to their communities, their natural environment and to each other.

Yestermorrow's 1-day to 2-week hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country. Classes are for people of all ages and experience levels, from novice to professional. Yestermorrow also offers two certificate programs: the Woodworking Intensive, the Certificate in Sustainable Building and Design, and the Natural Building Certificate.

Admission: $300 Pre-registration Required; Vermont Residents Get 15% Discount

Event Website: www.yestermorrow.org

Contact Information: Jose Galarza, (802) 496-5545, jose@yestermorrow.org