Sarah Kaplan

You could practice with just one person first. I'm up for that.

"Being an extremely shy person, I don't know how much I would like creating a live webinar, so this might be my only one. "

I am a lawyer, and... Jordan, I like what you've said so far.  And you might have a cooperative already!

What makes a business a worker cooperative?  1. The workers own it, 2. the workers control it (1 member = 1 vote), and 3. net income is split based on "patronage," which means the % of the work done by each worker-owner.

This is a bit simplified, there are ways for outside investors to play a role, with limited voting, etc.

So Jordan, if you and your partner have one vote each, and if you split income based on how much of the income each of you generated, then you may very well already have a worker cooperative.  In the US, worker co-ops are often structured as LLCs, often because of employment law, and also because cooperative corporation laws were designed for ag and consumer co-ops.

Marianne Cicala wrote:I have bought some land in a retirement acct., I "lease" it to a guy that farms it.  What I earn from him goes directly into my IRA as property income (just like a dividend), no immediate taxation.  I don't know if may consider this option.  

Hi Marianna, if you see this: I think a logistical challenge of doing this is choosing a self-directed IRA custodian, and those custodians charge fees.  What custodian(s) have you used, and what was your experience like with them?  Thanks.