Passing a life's work on to new owners isn't simple. It takes time, luck and planning for a business owner to realize a return on the time and money they've invested. Those who want to sell only to a buyer who will retain the character of the business face additional hurdles in finding the right match.

Vermont has one of the oldest populations in the country and, in turn, plenty of business owners who are reaching — or have reached — retirement age. Some of those older owners have children with the interest — and skills needed — to take over; others have exit plans that would involve passing ownership to employees.

But many put off planning. Succession can be a tricky topic for owners to broach with their staff, because they don't want the workers to worry that their jobs are not secure, said Lynne Silva of the Silva Group, a business brokerage in Burlington.

Silva thinks that fear is misplaced. In her experience, employees are relieved, not alarmed, to hear that there's a plan for the change that's coming ."The staff are fully aware of how everyone is aging," she said.

A 2021 study from Pricewaterhouse-Coopers found that only about one-third of family businesses in the U.S. had a "robust, documented and communicated" succession plan in place. Failure to prepare, the accounting firm said in the report, raises the risk of family conflict and the hasty appointment of a successor who might not be up to the job.

Some owners don't make a plan because doing so can mean hiring consultants to get their books in order for banks and would-be purchasers. And it can be difficult to put an accurate value on a small family business when trying to account for family labor and property, especially if record keeping has been informal.

Some simply don't want to give up their role in the company they built.

There are, of course, people on the other end of the spectrum. John Beal, who owns Vermont Business Brokers, sees many owners in their fifties who decide to exit because they could make more money, in fewer hours, by working for someone else.

If you are interested in the idea of selling your business, let's talk.
Steve Niehaus, MBA, CM&AP, CBI, M&AMI
[email protected]
239.565.3171