Worker-owned businesses taking over for retiring baby boomers, says Fast Company

A recent article in Fast Company will be of interest to baby-boomer business owners who are looking to pass on their operations. In the past year, we’ve had high-visibility photo retailers like University Camera and Chris’ Camera Center announced they will shut down their operations after efforts to turn up buyers were naught.

In the article, “Can The Wave Of Boomer Entrepreneur Retirements Create A Surge Of Worker-Owned Businesses?”, writer Adele Peters describes how North Carolina businesses are coping with a wave of retiring baby boomers. Nationally, baby boomers own 2.34 million businesses, which will be heading for a shut-down unless a buyer is found. More often than not, that buyer may be the employees or even a group of employees.

“Nearly half of the privately held businesses in the area are owned by baby boomers who are getting ready to retire. In many cases, an owner’s children may not want to take over, and with a glut of businesses on the market, a buyer might not be found. Moving to worker ownership is a way to keep a business from shutting down,” says Peters.