Global financial crisis causes 4 in 10 small business owners to delay their retirement
New research shows many business owners can no longer afford to retire
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - A new SellabilityScore.com global study* of business owners reveals four in ten owners over fifty have delayed their retirement due to the economic conditions since 2008. Now three-quarters of business owners surveyed say they expect to exit their company in the next ten years, yet nine in ten business owners have yet to write a formal exit plan.
The study's lead author, John Warrillow, founder of The Sellability Score and author of Built To Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, explains, "The recession has had a profound impact on small business owners across the U.S. Older business owners are delaying their retirement, desperately hoping for better market conditions ahead."
Other key findings from the study include:
- 1 in 3 business owners expect to fund at least half of their retirement through the sale of their business.
- 4 in 10 business owners would walk away from their business tomorrow for less than one million dollars.
- Passing a business down from one generation to the next is becoming less popular with just 1 in 10 surveyed expecting to pass their business to their kids (60% expect to sell externally).
*The survey, which was conducted between September 6 and October 8, 2012, included 1,245 respondents from around the world. Ninety nine percent of respondents run companies with less than $20 million in annual revenue and one third of respondents were based in the U.S. The margin of error for this research is; +/- 3% 19 times out of 20.
The Sellability Score is a cloud-based software application that allows business owners to evaluate the "sellability" of their company. The Sellability Score is made available to business owners through a certified group of some 1,500 Sellability Score Advisors from around the world. The Sellability Score was created by a team of research professionals led by John Warrillow, the bestselling author of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You.
SOURCE: www.sellability.com
For further information, abstracts from the research, or to arrange an interview with John Warrillow, please contact Maita Cerney; e-mail [email protected]
Share this article