Peter Drucker once remarked that “Demographics is the history that has already happened.” This is obviously true for society at large, but there are particular implications for the aging Baby Boomers who own businesses and are starting to look for the exits. Factor in a smaller cohort of Millennials coming of age and growing income inequality and the result may be a shortage of buyers willing to pay a good price for the Boomers’ businesses, especially the smaller ones.
A new bill sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand attempts to address this issue by making it possible to use a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to finance an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). This article from the Washington Post provides some insights regarding this proposal and offers new options for the ‘silver tsunami’ of retiring Baby Boomer business owners.
