Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

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Who will run small town businesses when the owners retire? One unusual option you may not have considered

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Don stands in front of colorful paint samples.

How many white-haired business owners are there in your small town? Does that worry you? 

 

It’s already happening. Older business owners are retiring and closing businesses because they can’t find buyers. Universities and business support agencies are scrambling to set up succession planning courses and workshops. Chambers of commerce are making desperate efforts to find buyers. But there’s an unusual option most people overlook: employee ownership.

If the business is big enough to have employees, it’s a candidate for employee ownership. There are other benefits besides continuity. There’s increased employee involvement, spreading of economic opportunity, and a future that doesn’t depend on one owner.

Learn all the basics and many options for how to get there at this introduction to employee ownership from the National Center for Employee Ownership.

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

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