WE RUN THIS

Company lets Santa Fe employees carpe the means of production, has plans for more

Buddy Roybal stands in the showroom of award-winning Coronado Paint and Decorating on Cerrillos Road.

BY ANNABELLA FARMER ahfarmer@sfreporter.com

Buddy Roybal spent 36 years building a loyal customer base and a team of devoted employees at Coronado Paint and Decorating on Cerrillos Road. So when he finally decided it was time to retire at 76, he wanted to ensure a good future.

“We had an opportunity to sell Coronado several times, but it just didn’t seem like a good fit,” Roybal says. He wanted to make sure his employees were taken care of and keep his business’ impeccable reputation.

Enter Teamshares, a three-year-old company that buys small businesses from retiring owners and converts their ownership to employees. By selling to Teamshares, Roybal hoped everything would remain essentially the same for his 22 employees—their salaries, 401(k)s and other benefits would remain intact—and they’d get a share in the business.

The Teamshares model grants employees stock in the business they work for, and aims to preserve its legacy and work culture. The ultimate goal, says Jaimen Sfteko, a spokeswoman for Teamshares, is to narrow the wealth inequality gap in America.

“If you look at the people who have money and the people who don’t, the difference is that they don’t own things— they might not own their house, their car, or stock or have a 401(k),” she says. Teamshares wants to change that.

Roybal’s sale to Teamshares closed on June 1. So far, he’s happy with his decision—as are his employees.

“We’ve always worked well as a team, and now we’re all part owners,” says Steven Snell, who’s been at Coronado for 15 years. “That gives you extra oomph to get up and come in. It’s really a blessing and a great testimony to Buddy that he would take care of his employees like he has.”

Upon purchasing the business, Teamshares granted 10% ownership across the store’s employees. As time goes on the company will continue to grant employees a greater share, and they could own up to 80% over the next 15 to 20 years.

Teamshares’ mission, Sfetko says, is to make employee ownership the future

A lot of times when big companies come in, they change everything and we don’t wanna change anything.

-Buddy Roybal, founder

of small business. While small businesses employ nearly 50% of Americans, 70-80% of the businesses don’t sell when their owners retire, a 2017 study by the Exit Planning Institute shows. This leaves workers jobless, and the money they earned is no longer spent in the community.

“We have a massive issue with succession in America,” Sfetko says. “Millennials aren’t wanting to inherit their parents’ businesses and take them over anymore. If they do manage to sell, who’s to say they’ll sell successfully to a great owner. And even if they do, 10, 20, 30 years down the line, they’ll have another issue with succession.”

Teamshares hopes to transition 10,000 small businesses to employee ownership and create $10 billion in new wealth for employees. So far, the company has purchased 47 small businesses across 22 states. Coronado is its first in New Mexico.

Once the company acquires a business, its involvement in employees’ day-to-day dealings is minimal. Instead, Teamshares helps with accounting, pricing, legal assistance and more. For Roybal, that’s a big plus.

“A lot of times when big companies come in, they change everything,” he says. “And we don’t wanna change anything.”

Most of Roybal’s employees have been at Coronado for well over a decade—some, for two or three. Roybal says everyone’s planning to stay on through the transition.

“It’s kind of cliché-sounding, but it’s a family environment here,” says Snell.

Now that he and the other employees have stock in the company, there’s an extra incentive to work hard:

“We’re in competition for who makes the most sales, to be the best that month and be able to say, boy, I’m really contributing to the bottom line of this company,” Snell says.

Right now, Coronado brings in roughly $9 million in annual revenues.

The only major change from the sale is that when Roybal officially retires, Teamshares will bring in a new president to take over operations and finances. Roybal will help recruit and train that person, and even when he steps away he’ll still be around the store helping customers.

Sfetko expects Coronado will be a model for other small businesses in Santa Fe.

“The hope really is that everyone sees this as a real option to continue the legacy of all of these businesses,” she says. “What Buddy has built in Santa Fe is absolutely amazing, so to be able to ensure that everyone gets to keep their job and continue this legacy is pretty cool.”

It’s a boon for consumers, too. “There’s so much emphasis on shopping local, but it doesn’t matter if you shop local all day long if in 10 years, when the founder goes to retire, the business no longer exists,” Sfetko says. “The real power is not just shopping local, but staying local. It’s being forever employee-owned and operated.”

As for Roybal?

“Between my wife and my cars, I think I’ll probably stay busy.”