SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack North Country Association and its North Country Center for Businesses in Transition have teamed up with other organizations across the region in an effort to better understand the potential economic impact of the retirement of small business owners across the region. Now the Northeast Transition Initiative is seeking input from business owners about their concerns and experiences with succession planning and ownership transitions.

Those who own and operate businesses in the Northeast, including ANCA’s 14-county service area in northern New York, are being invited to support the research effort by completing a short, five to 10-minute online survey at ownershiptransition.org/survey by Saturday, Aug. 31.

ANCA Small Business Program Director Lauren Richard said survey responses will help service providers, civic leaders and policy makers better understand the scope and scale of the wave of business owners exiting the workforce in the next several years, the challenges it poses for local communities and its potential impact on the region’s economy.

“This study is taking a broader look at how the loss of existing businesses might affect communities and workers across rural areas like the North Country, while helping us support more ownership transitions,” said Richard. “There is no one-size-fits-all model for business ownership. We want to encourage retiring owners to consider different options by providing a variety of tools, resources and professional connections to support them in their business transition journey.”

As a wave of Baby Boomers prepare to give up the reins of their businesses in the next several years, their absence from the business community could result in the loss of jobs and services for the local communities they serve. And while many business support organizations have strong expertise in growing businesses, they are not always equipped to provide assistance for those looking for succession planning support. Employee ownership, for example, is a proven strategy to preserve critical businesses and jobs and provide wealth building opportunities for workers who are often left behind.

ANCA’s CBIT program is guided by organizations and community liaisons across northern New York who provide technical support for businesses navigating ownership transitions. Since 2018, CBIT has provided over 250 business owners with transition support and helped 63 North Country businesses transition to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

NETI is a partnership of organizations and lenders with deep experience in exit-planning and ownership transitions. Partners share a common goal of equipping small businesses with the tools, resources, and knowledge to support successful exit planning and a seamless transition to employee ownership. In doing so, they help preserve jobs and businesses, increase wealth-building opportunities for employees, and ensure a more prosperous economy across the Northeast.

The business transition survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. All individual survey responses will be confidential. Only the aggregated, anonymous data will be made public. Questions about CBIT, NETI or the survey may be directed to ANCA staff at transitions@adirondack.org.