Joe Walsh is the CEO of Thryv.
In just six short years, Baby Boomers will be at or beyond retirement age—all 76.4 million of them, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The potential for this mass retirement, or Silver Tsunami, feels quite consequential when you consider that Baby Boomers own 2.34 million small businesses in the United States, employing more than 25 million people.
It’s interesting to consider how small-business owners view their potential to retire at the traditional age of 67. Wanting to better understand this dynamic, this summer my company asked 500 owners in the U.S. if they feel confident their business has set them up well for retirement. More than half (51%) said they would be able to retire either before or by age 67.
What Happens Next
While some believe not enough small business owners have a viable succession plan in place, according to my company’s Small Business Index, 41% say they have children waiting to take over the business.
For example, I know of an owner of a property management company who hopes to retire from the business within the next five years. Two of her sons are interested in getting into the business. While one is still in high school and eyeing vocational training, the other is a working professional in marketing and IT and is already helping her with the business.
Whether it’s passing the business down to the next generation, or selling it outright, the reality is that the new owner/operator is likely to be younger. And with that comes heightened energy and fresh ideas.
From Gen X to Gen Z, and the Millennials in between, these generations rely on technology in their personal and professional lives. They also have distinct ideas about the culture they want to foster and how they want to manage employees.
Fresh Ideas And Innovation
With every generation comes new perspectives, and that can be invaluable to small businesses in transition. What new small-business owners might lack in leadership and experience, they can make up for in other areas:
Technology Adoption
As digital natives, younger business owners tend to embrace technology and all that it can do for their business. Automation is playing a key role in the scaling of tech-savvy small businesses, from marketing emails to appointment bookings to invoice management and more. Much of this can also be handled directly from mobile phone. This streamlining of marketing and operations gives owners the opportunity to focus on expanding their offerings and their customer base.
With AI’s rapid emergence, increasing numbers of business owners are taking advantage of its ability to take on the tasks they prefer to offload. That can include drafting website copy, social posts and promotional emails to more strategic endeavors like analyzing data to help understand where new sales opportunities exist and how to efficiently staff.
Free from corporate mandates that complicate the testing of new technologies like AI, independent business owners can move more quickly to test and adopt the technologies that best suit their needs. A survey from my company found more than half of small businesses will be using some form of AI in 2025. Jumping on the bandwagon of AI, in some form, is a smart idea for small businesses to level up.
Workplace Culture
Many younger business owners greatly appreciated the pandemic-era benefits of a work-from-anywhere culture and a reliance on skills versus college degrees.
On the corporate front, some of these benefits are being phased out. But I find younger independent business owners are more willing and able to mix it up when it comes to when and where their employees work.
Young entrepreneurs are more likely to adopt skills-based hiring, recognizing that a person’s professional experience can offer more value to an organization than a traditional four-year college degree, which often comes with burdensome student loan debt.
Change Management
Adaptability is a necessary trait of a successful business owner, a trait that is inherent in today’s youth. They have experienced a global pandemic, climate change, social protests, a turbulent economy and more. They already know what happens when plans get derailed.
I believe this resilience will benefit them as they adjust to the changing needs of the businesses they are growing. Unlike the generations before them, they are tapped into an always-on news cycle and are comfortable relying on data that can help predict industry trends and changing customer needs.
Knowledge Transfer Is Critical
When inheriting or purchasing a small business, seeking the advice and insights of the former owners is essential to a smooth transfer. Passion and ambition cannot replace the knowledge they possess about the competitive market, industry dynamics, customer preferences, what has worked in the past, as well as what hasn’t and why.
The Classic American Model
When it comes to small businesses, I don’t think the Silver Tsunami is a cause for concern. The ability to skillfully leverage technology while fostering innovation will help the next generation of business owners compete and win. I believe America’s entrepreneurial spirit will endure, and Main Street will remain the backbone of the U.S. economy.
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