How big is this demographic segment of owners of established privately held businesses?
The best estimates indicate that there are approximately 7.5 million established businesses in the U.S. Factoring in companies with multiple owners, that makes approximately 9.5 million owners. These businesses tend to have from two to 500 or more full-time employees beyond the owner; have been in business for at least three years; and have a work location outside of the owner’s home. These established businesses are in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. Yet they are generally ignored in the media. From both quantitative surveys and through our frequent discussions with small and mid-size business owners, we see the early stages of a transition tidal wave developing. A quantitative study by NFO in 2001 showed that among the affluent established business owners (48% of the 9.5 million owners are considered affluent), the numbers of business owners planning to retire show a sevenfold increase from 50,000 per year in 2001 to 350,000 in 2005 and as high as 750,000 by 2009. WHAT AR
