Center for Businesses in Transition
Center For Businesses in Transition
Moving Lewis County Forward Blog Post By Jenna Kraeger, Economic Development Specialist
In the North Country alone, more than 10,000 businesses are owned by baby boomers looking to retire over the next few years, also known as the “silver tsunami.” It is more than likely, that most of these business owners do not have a transition plan or succession plan in place. Nationally, while half of the small business owners expect to retire in the next 10 years, fewer than 15% have an exit plan in place – despite the fact that 78% of small business owners intend to sell their businesses to fund retirement.
This is where Naturally Lewis can help.
Lewis County Economic Development is a liaison for the Center for Businesses in Transition Program, a regional partnership working to address the loss of area businesses by providing matchmaking services with potential buyers, to access to planning tools and connections to existing services.
Our goal is to help Lewis County business owners by connecting them with the resources to sell their businesses on the open market, complete intergenerational family transitions, or convert to employee-owned and cooperative models. We can assist with finding suitable successors, accessing capital, and navigating available resources.
The Center for Businesses in Transition also creates opportunities for individuals seeking business ownership without starting from scratch. The program connects entrepreneurs to available business opportunities in the community by providing matchmaking services with business owners looking to transition, providing connections with local free and low-cost business planning services, and assisting with support for navigating the availability of local capital.
As a regional partnership, we work collaboratively with other North Country counties, and the Adirondack North Country Association, to make this program a success. Although the Center is not a specific location, the center is staffed with a full-time coordinator, and part-time liaisons throughout the 14-county region. Lewis County Economic Development is your local liaison for accessing information and resources on how to effectively transition your business.
For additional Center for Businesses in Transition program information check out the regional website, ownanorthcountrybusines.com. If you are looking to sell or transition your Lewis County business, or you are interested in taking over an existing business, please call the Naturally Lewis office at 315-376-3014, or visit our website, naturallylewis.com.
Naturally Lewis – Moving Lewis County Forward is a monthly column published in the Lowville Journal & Republican centering on providing education and updates on economic development initiatives in Lewis County. This month’s column was provided by Jenna Kraeger, Economic Development Specialist at Lewis County Economic Development.