Rob McMaster poured his heart and soul into his father's business for 38 years, but at 54 was concerned that he lacked a successor. Intent on early succession planning, Rob established a formal Employee Share Ownership Plan to transfer ownership of his company to his employees. Then the unthinkable happened: Rob was struck with severe and debilitating health challenges just as the economy faltered and manufacturing industries were struggling. When his fledgling employee ownership plan failed, Rob had no option but to liquidate the business. To his horror, he found that his company, turning over $5 million pa with $2.5 million in assets and 43 highly skilled staff, was valued by the open market atNOTHING! Refusing to give up, Rob undertook a nine-year journey that changed the lives of all involved in the business. The resulting employee-owned cooperative business structure has been hailed as a "proof of concept" and offers others a business succession model that could make a significant difference in the lives of company owners and their employees. Rob's ground-breaking experience has the potential to change the future direction of succession planning for individuals and businesses in Western Sydney and across Australia.