Millions of Small Businesses May Vanish as Owners Retire

## A Quiet Crisis Facing Millions of American Workers

Across the United States, a huge wave of retirements is coming — but this time it's not just workers stepping away. It's the owners of small businesses who built companies over decades and now want to move on.

Here's why this matters to everyone:

• Small businesses employ about 62.3 million people in the U.S.
• That's roughly 45.9% of all private-sector workers (people who work for companies, not the government).
• Half of small-business owners hope to sell and retire in the next decade.

The big problem? Many of these owners have no one to take over. When a founder retires without a buyer or a family member to inherit the business, the company can simply shut its doors — meaning lost jobs and decades of hard-earned know-how disappearing overnight.

One expert called this "an American tragedy" in the making, warning: "It's a loss to the economy, to jobs, to decades of institutional knowledge when a business simply turns off the lights."

## One Owner's Solution

The article shares the story of Weld Ransom, who owned an architectural-design firm called PlanForce in Minnesota. At age 66, he realized his three sons had chosen other careers and wouldn't take over the family business.

So instead of closing down, he sold the company to Teamshares Inc. in February 2020. This gave him:

• A payout (a lump sum of money for selling his business).
• The chance to keep the business running under new ownership — protecting his employees' jobs.

This is one hopeful path forward: selling to companies that specialize in buying and continuing small businesses, rather than letting them close.

## Why You Should Care

Even if you don't own a business, this trend affects the whole economy. Fewer small businesses means fewer jobs, less local shopping, and lost community expertise. How America handles this retirement wave could shape millions of workers' futures.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/half-of-small-business-owners-hope-to-sell-their-companies-and-retire-in-the-next-decade-what-happens-to-their-workers-a03ae979?mod=mw_rss_topstories