10,000 Baby Boomers retire every day. With the youngest of the generation being born in 1964, their collective wave of retirement has been a long time coming. One wrinkle in the process that has gone less discussed is what will happen to all the small businesses currently owned by Boomers. Baby Boomers own 2.3 million small businesses, 3 in 4 of which are profitable. 1 in 3 Americans rely on income from Boomer-owned businesses in some way. 

These businesses may stay in the family, but there’s no guarantee they will. 58% of small business owners have no succession plan, and millennials are less likely to take over the family business than previous generations. The reality is that some of these businesses will be sold to fund their owners’ retirement, as they will more than likely work with a personal retirement planner that will help them ensure a comfortable and financially secure retirement. A plurality of Boomers have no retirement savings at all, and those that do are facing sharply rising health and long term care costs. 

Selling a small business may not be easy. Mergers and acquisitions have fallen recently, and many of these businesses are too small to catch the eye of private equity firms. Still, these businesses are good investments for Millennials ready to become their own boss. 

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