Saving Main Street from the Silver Tsunami
More than 3 million small business owners will retire in the next decade, potentially taking $10 trillion in business revenue with them.
Without coordinated support, viable Main Street businesses will close, erasing jobs and local wealth. We’re taking action to ensure that every business in the U.S. is given the opportunity to transition successfully.
What prevents profitable businesses from successful transitions?
The overwhelming majority of small businesses aren’t ready to transition to new ownership successfully. Fewer than 20% have a succession plan, and the same barriers preventing access to working capital and commercial loans will prevent successful ownership transitions. Existing resources weren’t built to solve this problem.
The majority of businesses are too small for existing systems
Roughly 80% of small businesses are solo or micro-employer firms valued under $2 million. They’re invisible to traditional brokers, outside the scope of search funds and ETA programs, and too small for most employee ownership programs.
Business records don’t meet lending standards
Informal recordkeeping and incomplete documentation block acquisition financing. Buyers can’t get loans, even for profitable businesses with strong cash flow.
Listing platforms prioritize exposure, not successful sales
Online platforms list 50,000-60,000 businesses, but 90% never sell due to missing diligence, unprepared sellers, unqualified buyers, and/or a lack of coordinated advisory and capital support.
We’re building the infrastructure the market is missing
Individual organizations can help a handful of businesses transition successfully. Collectively, we can save Main Street at scale.
The next chapter: Keeping local small businesses thriving
With seller readiness infrastructure and coordinated collaboration at scale, Main Street businesses transition to new ownership instead of closing, preserving billions of dollars of economic activity.
Businesses remain open
Profitable enterprises continue serving their communities instead of closing when owners retire. Neighborhood mainstays and essential services stay intact, preventing the erosion of local commerce.
Workers keep their livelihoods
Employees don’t lose jobs because a business closed unnecessarily. Families maintain income stability. Communities avoid the cascading economic damage that follows when viable employers shut down.
Wealth stays in the community
Retiring owners receive fair value for decades of work and income that supports retirement. Community-rooted buyers build wealth through ownership. Capital circulates locally rather than evaporating, strengthening regional economies.
Resources
Learn more about how the Silver Tsunami will impact Main Street and what small business owners and the lenders and organizations that support them can do to prepare.
For lenders and organizations:
What Is an Equity Injection—and Why It Can Make or Break an SBA 7(a) Loan
To help your clients avoid delays, it’s important to explain what an equity injection is, why the SBA requires it, and how recent rule changes may affect their loan.
All about ESOPs: What small business lenders need to know
An ESOP is a way for a business owner to sell a company to its employees. In an ESOP transaction, the business owner sells shares of the company to a trust, which holds them on behalf of employees.
Partners in Action: How Grow America and the City of Long Beach Helped TLC Interpreting and Translation Services Expand On-Demand Services
For Johanna and Margarita, working with Grow America felt like a partnership. Johanna shares that “Grow America was hands-on with helping us find a way to get the funding.
For small business owners:
Leveraging a Loan to Achieve Your 2024 Business Goals
You followed your dream and launched your business with the goal of achieving success – but without enough capital, did you know that your business will likely be stuck in the same place? However, with funds in-hand, you can invest in your business in ways that your business’s earnings alone likely can’t support.
Understanding Your Loan Options
A great small business loan can help you start strong and grow with confidence, but finding the right one can take time, which is in short supply for many business owners.
Small Business Owners’ Guide to SBA 7(a) Loans
As a small business owner, access to financing can make or break your ability to start, run, and grow your company. Whether you need a loan for payroll, equipment, inventory, expansion, or other needs, the right business loan can be a game changer.
Join the collaboration
No single organization can solve this crisis at scale. We’re seeking early collaborators—CDFIs, lenders, funders, and community partners—to support the buildout of the infrastructure Main Street needs.
Small business lenders and CDFIs
Sign up for updates on the our work in this area.
Philanthropic organizations
Invest in the infrastructure that enables the collaboration at scale that’s needed to move the needle. For more information on how to get involved, contact Bryan Doxford, President and Managing Director of Lending, Grow America Fund, at bdoxford@growamerica.org.