A barrage of baby boomer retirements is causing a succession crisis. This represents a possible opportunity for associations as their members wrestle with worry about what will happen to their companies after they retire.
Children often don’t want to work in the family business and company owners and senior executives face uncertainty when employees groomed for ownership leave for other companies. Firms without succession plans have few options: close, sell to a competitor or be purchased by a private equity firm.
The Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago surveyed 363 family-owned manufacturing companies and learned that about three-quarters of respondents had owners over the age of 55, and of those, half had no plans for succession. Nearly 62 percent had not designated a specific successor.
Why is this an opportunity? Though associations aren’t in the succession business, they can vet and offer a “preferred provider” (or multiple providers) succession planner to members. Doing so saves members the time and hassle of finding a firm on their own. If vetting isn’t desirable, succession education programs should be considered.
If succession isn’t an issue for your membership today, what is? Identifying what’s keeping members up at night represents an opportunity for your organization.