Buying + selling small businesses with Exit Factor founder Jessica Fialkovich
12 million baby boomer businesses will change hands in the next 10 - 15 years
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We are currently in an era called the “silver tsunami”, where 12 million baby boomer owned businesses with either sell, close or transfer in the next 15 years. Jessica Fialkovich is the founder and president of Exit Factor, a consulting firm that helps small to mid-size business owners prepare to sell their businesses for maximum value. Jessica’s companies help facilitate over 200 transactions annually.
Buying a small business, also known as “entrepreneurship through acquisition” is something that has been on the rise in recent years, especially as an option for business school students - it’s become a hot topic on Twitter too (link to tweet shown below).
Top Takeaways:
The primary buyers of these businesses are investment firms, established companies in the industry or individuals - individuals make up 70 - 80% of buyers.
For individuals, buying small businesses is an attractive way to become an entrepreneur, often safer and easy than starting a new company.
Less than 20% of companies will successfully exit their business. The majority of companies close their doors. The largest reason for this is because the owners were not proactive about positioning the business and preparing for a sale or unwilling to accept the market value for their company.
Generational differences are at play in these transactions. Generally speaking, this is an emotional experience for the baby boomer seller and a rational business transaction for a millennial or gen-z buyer.
Resources:
Full List of Topics Covered:
The 12 million businesses that will sell, transfer or close over the next 15 years
The rise in popularity in small business acquisitions
Generational differences between buyers and sellers
Reasons why transactions fail
Advice for sellers
Advice for buyers
Trends to watch in the space
Hope you enjoy the conversation, feel free to share and let me know if anything resonates with you in the comments.
-Adam
interesting