What Happens When 2.9 Million Business Owners Retire?
When Rob Fetz faced retirement after 70 years running his Ohio plumbing and HVAC business, he had two options: sell to private equity firms consolidating family contractors across the Midwest, or close the doors forever.
Instead, he chose a third path. He sold his business to his workers, who converted it into a cooperative.
“I wish I’d thought of that years ago,” he told LEAF’s team helping him through the transition.
His timing mattered.
Private equity has been systematically acquiring plumbing and HVAC companies, extracting wealth from communities like Urbana, Ohio, and redirecting profits to distant investors. The cooperative model keeps those profits local, in t
he hands of people who actually turn the wrenches.
This kind of conversion works. At LEAF, we see the evidence. The problem is we’re handling a systemic crisis with scattered individual solutions. More than half of all U.S. businesses have owners over age 55. That’s 2.9 million businesses employing 32.1 million people, generating $1.3 trillion in payroll and contributing $6.5 trillion in revenue.
Most have no succession plan. Eighty perce
nt of businesses that go to market fail to sell. They get liquidated, shuttered, or sold for parts to firms that consolidate operations and lay off employees.
Why Worker Ownership Makes Sense
When workers have a stake in outcomes, they work smarter. They organize production more efficiently. Research confirms what plays out in practice: worker-owned firms consistently outperform conventional companies.
The financial case is straightforward. Worker cooperatives that distribute surplus profits pay each member-owner an average of $8,241 annually in addition to regular wages. During recessions, cooperatives preserve jobs while conventional firms slash payrolls to protect shareholder returns. When you own the business, you think differently about its survival.
Float On, a Portland floating relaxation service, converted to a worker cooperative when the founders sold to their seven long-term employees rather than outside investors. Board President Marshall Hammond explained it simply: “We’ve always operated with democratic principles and transparency. This just made it official.”
The challenge isn’t proving the model works. Individual conversions like Rob Fetz’s company do that. The challenge is awareness. Most retiring owners never learn that worker ownership exists as an option. You can’t choose a path you don’t know exists.
That’s where organizations like LEAF come in, building the infrastructure to make these transitions accessible before the silver tsunami washes away millions of jobs and trillions in local economic activity.
By Talia Nevitt, LEAF Development and Partnerships Manager
