By Lisë Stewart ( September 28, 2018, 5:30 PM EDT) -- The Main Street Employee Ownership Act, or MSEOA, of 2018, which was recently signed into law as part of the 2019 defense authorization bill, has been heralded as a breakthrough in extending the benefits of employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, to more small business owners and employees. It is certainly true that the MSEOA would expand the capital and technical assistance dedicated to ESOPs by the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is important to recognize, however, that a successful transition to employee ownership entails more than a loan facility and some legal or tax advice. In my experience, converting a business to an ESOP structure requires a well-developed process — including training for the new owners in areas they may never have dealt with before, such as financial planning, operational management, leadership and governance....