Business succession continues to be a challenge for communities across the state and nation. We’re talking about the transfer of ownership of a business when current owner(s) choose to retire or otherwise not to continue the operation of the business.

Well intentioned programs developed over the years have been about technical aspects of transferring a business, but little has been done about finding buyers. My previous writing about this topic has focused on what the existing business owner can do to get the business ready to sell, before bringing in the accountants, lawyers, and consultants to help with the sale. It occurred to me recently that the community has role to play in successful business succession. Like so many other things I write about, it has to do with entrepreneurial mindset. 

The Community’s Role

Here are some top tips that we as a community can do to help create an environment more conducive to business succession.

• Quit telling our youth to leave. If you pay attention, you’ll note that our messaging to our youth continues to be, as it has been for 60 years, that life’s opportunities lie somewhere else. We promote the idea of going off to college and that the great careers are always somewhere else besides home. There are opportunities everywhere and we need to teach our youth how to find them. Besides, as we’ve seen the last couple of years, living in the big cities is not all it’s cracked up to be.

• Quit telling youth to get a job… without also telling them they can be business owners, calling the shots in how to satisfy customers and having total control of their schedules. This messaging continues to be, as it has been for 60 years, that the ultimate goal of college education and even technical schools is to get a job working for someone else. The message almost never suggests the idea of business ownership.

• Learn to observe the marketplace.  When we speak to or counsel our youth on careers, we always look at a list of 50 or 60 careers; all are jobs, by the way, when there’s a whole iceberg of careers, including business ownership under the surface.(Search for “Tip of the Iceberg” at www.fablabicc.org) We need to show youth how to observe the marketplace and the world around them and recognize the problems they see as opportunities.

• Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Anyone can learn almost anything they need to know to run just about any kind of business. Want to own a plumbing, electrical or heating/air business? You can enroll in a technical program, learn the trade, and then start your own business instead of going to work for someone else. Many business owners nearing retirement would gladly hire someone and train them to take over the business. Alicia Yates, a serial entrepreneur, bought Twigs Floral even though she didn’t know about flowers. Admittedly, Alicia already knew how to run a business, but she knew she could learn the flower business. Twigs flourishes today.

• Don’t like your job? Save up some money and go out on your own. Include the possibility of taking over an existing business. Admittedly, this is tough, depending on your debt and personal situation. I know people who worked hard at a job and missed the first part of their kids growing up. They quit or were laid off, took over an existing business, and now have full control of their schedules. They still work hard and sometimes long hours, but they’ve figured out how to attend school and athletic functions so they can participate in the remainder of their kids growing up.

• Realize that many of today’s youth want something different. Many of today’s youth don’t want a 9 to 5 job doing what some boss asks them to do. They want to make a difference and they want to do it in their own way. Therefore the “gig” economy of individual contractors is growing. This is especially true of the students who don’t do well in the traditional academic environment. There are many potentially great entrepreneurs and small business owners among the student populations that don’t quite fit in with the crowd of traditional college bound students.

As community members, if we want to increase the chances of our good small businesses transferring to new ownership, we need to change our thinking and our messaging and realize that there are people, young and old, among us who have the potential to take over these businesses as they become available. We must learn to recognize both the opportunities and people that can make this happen.

The Business Owner’s Role

This is an excerpt of my previous article about business secession planning. (Search for “Business Succession” at www.fablabicc.org to see the entire article and Top 10 list referenced below.)

The topic of business succession always comes up in discussions about helping rural American small towns prosper. It came up recently in an entrepreneur’s lunch where one attendee mentioned two well established businesses in our county with aging owners. “What’s going to happen to these businesses when the owners can no longer operate them?” No one likes to see established businesses simply close instead of transitioning to new owners. Here’s a top 10 list of things business owners should do to set up a smooth transition to a new owner. Notice the expensive consultants come at the end. You should work out your strategy to accomplish the first seven before initiating the last three.