Succession Planning

Gallup research from 2024 reveals that among employer-business owners who primarily work for their business, 14% plan to sell, go public, or transfer ownership within the next five years, while 8% plan to close outright and 12% have no plan at all. Older owners (55+) are more likely to plan a sale or transfer (17%) or closure (13%) than younger owners.

A U.S. Bank survey found that 37% of small business owners plan to sell within the next 12 months, and 62% have seen their retirement timelines accelerate in the past five years.

Despite this urgency, only 54% of small business owners have a formal succession plan in place, according to U.S. Bank’s 2025 survey. BizBuySell data reveals that of the more than 200,000 small businesses listed for sale annually, only approximately 6.3% to 6.5% successfully close a sale. For family-owned businesses, nearly two-thirds lack a documented or communicated succession plan, despite 72% of respondents wanting the business to stay in the family.

Industries where succession planning consulting is most urgently needed include manufacturing (aging owners, complex operations, equipment-intensive businesses), professional services (client relationships tied to individual practitioners), agriculture (multi-generational land and operation transfers), healthcare practices (physician retirement, regulatory complexity), construction (skilled trades, project pipeline continuity), and retail and food services (location-dependent, community-oriented businesses).

If you are in need of assistance when crafting a succession plan, we are here to help



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