Sometimes, all content is not created equal. Content Curation is an excellent way to use an article from another source and make it new by including your own opinion and examples. I accomplished this for a new membership organization, IBU, about Main Street business owners who are retiring at an alarming rate.
Say What You Will About Boomers…
This article scared the heck out of me.
It hits too close to home. I know a lot of boomers who own businesses. Just the right size – somewhere between 2 and 25 employees. These are the real heroes for me. The ones that unlock the door every morning. Who put on their dusty shoes and start making the dough. They turn on the lights and get down to business.
They supply livelihoods to their own family and the families of others; from a couple to maybe dozens. They conduct business in their communities and raise the tide for dry cleaners, printers, accountants and grocery stores. They pay taxes, serve on boards of nonprofits, are hard-working and taxed. Physically and financially.
Thoughts of transition have likely kept them up a night or two. Preparing for the transformation of ownership, either planned or unplanned, affects all small & independent business owners. We want them to look at it during the day with fresh eyes.
WHO in their right mind would want to take on their business after they retire?
WILL they ever retire or is the plan to just “ride the wheels off.”
VENTURE a guess at the very real impact this will have on the economy of your community, state, country?
I wish I knew the answer, but the math is right there in the article.
- Boomers are currently between 54 and 72 years old. In the next 10 years, a lot of them are going to want to play more golf and go fishing. Or, salsa dancing. Or, whatever.
- They own 2.34 million small businesses in the U.S. Now assuming that a high percentage, say 75% are successful and transferable, (They’re Boomers – of course, they’re successful!) that’s 1.75 MILLION small businesses.
- Staying with 75%, those businesses employ more than 19 MILLION people. That’s a very important resource to protect.
- If 58% are without a plan, that puts the future of those businesses in question, at best. Over 1 MILLION businesses are in jeopardy!
I did say it scared the heck out of me.
We want to help.
It’s why IBU was conceived. We saw a “gap” in the support fabric for small and independent businesses. We felt that in addition to connection, support and information we could provide, we thought having a voice and a listening ear would also fill a need.
We want to help encourage and elevate our members. We want them to be more sustainable, shareable and supportive. We want to raise awareness and help ensure that those million businesses make the transition.
The question becomes, “Who will venture?” Who will collaborate, advise, invest and mentor? These businesses will need new leadership. Those leaders need to be equipped and not just entitled. There is real family livelihood on the line. We’ll do our best to provide stories, illustrations and opportunities to consume.
And, we’ll need your help.
We want to tell stories and provide illumination on topics of importance to small and independent businesses. Multiple perspectives on Mergers & Acquisition- Transition, Tax, Legal, FinTech, Accounting, Financial Planning, and specialty services like appraisers, forensic accounting, etc.
Our goal is to empower small and medium-sized businesses with the same clout that larger businesses and franchisees enjoy. We provide access to information, best practices and a buying group to give them knowledge, time and money savings and make their businesses more efficient and profitable.
How can you help?
Link to the article, As baby boomers retire, Main Street could face a tsunami of change