4-24-2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Nearly 17,000 Whatcom County jobs are at risk as business-owning baby boomers retire.
California-based nonprofit Project Equity released a report examining the small business landscape in Washington, and their potential transfer or closure when baby boomer owners retire over the next 10-15 years.
The report was prepared in partnership with the Whatcom Community Foundation.
It says that 85% of business owners do not have a succession plan in place and many are finding it hard to find a buyer, forcing them to shut down.
Researchers counted more than 2,000 boomer-owned businesses in Whatcom County that may undergo an ownership transition in the next decade putting thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in jeopardy.
Whatcom Community Foundation President Mauri Ingram encourages businesses to transition to employee ownership, saying, “It’s easier to retain businesses than to start or attract new ones.”