ROCHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Many of the businesses in our area are considered small, not exactly the type to get bought out by private equity firms for millions of dollars.
So when small business owners want to move on, what do they do? We checked in with Constance “Connie” Mendell, owner of the Linen Shop in Rochester, about what comes next for her and her business.
“That’s manufactured, but if it has a real hem those are ones we made, so I made those and I made those green ones, and I made those napkins,” said Mendell.
Mendell catered weddings for years. One day, she noticed the only linens brides could get were ivory, green, and burgundy, not exactly her favorite colors.
“I got excited and I said, there’s no reason I can’t do that, I mean making table cloths, it’s not rocket science,” said Mendell.
At the time, women weren’t allowed to take out a loan without a co-signer, but that didn’t stop Mendell. She pored her life into making and renting out linens for weddings.
She made enough to support her family and buy a country inn and wedding venue, but now, she wants to spend more time with her grandkids.
“I’ve done well with my businesses, and I’m looking for an opportunity to maybe set somebody up,” said Mendell.
There are over 16,000 small businesses owned by people over 55 in Vermont, according to the New England Transition Institute, which means there are a lot of legacies up for grabs. It’s a trend Rob Brown from the institute is noticing.
“The baby boomer generation was very large and they started a lot of businesses,” said Brown.
There are only three ways to exit a business. You can sell it to a third party, you can liquidate and close it, or you can find successors, which is what Matt Cropp of Vermont Employee Ownership Center does.
In rural communities across the region, where his collaborator Gwen Hart says she’s seeing this trend appear the most, they say it’s a real risk to a town’s vibrancy and sustainability.
But with this silver tsunami posing a region-wide threat, also comes an open door for future small business owners.
If you own a business in New Hampshire, New York or Vermont, the New England Transition Initiative wants you to fill out a survey about what you’re doing next.