Skip to content
Microfocus

Microfocus

Mad about business

Primary Menu Microfocus

Microfocus

  • Business Owner
  • Business Ideas
  • Business News
  • Business Law‎
  • Business
  • Real estate
  • About Us
    • Sitemap
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise Here
  • Business Owner

Small biz experts, owners stress smooth transition efforts with ownership changes

Malik Runswick April 29, 2022

After sharply declining at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of small business deals is nearing 2019 levels again as owners find reasons to exit and sellers see companies that have weathered a two-year storm.

Small business buying and selling activity has been increasing almost every quarter since the initial pandemic shock, according to national data from BizBuySell. As well, sale transactions for U.S. small businesses — often defined as fewer than 500 employees — in the first quarter of 2022 rose 24 percent from the same period last year, nearing 2019 levels.

From left: Max Friar, Brooks Kindel, Ryan Roff

However, disruptions like inflation, the tight labor market, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are leaving some small business owners hesitant, said Max Friar, managing partner at Calder Capital LLC, a Grand Rapids-based small business M&A advisory firm. 

Friar predicts even more activity as people and businesses adapt to these disruptions, similar to how many adjusted to the pandemic.

“I don’t think we’ve made up for the businesses that would have otherwise sold (in 2020),” Friar said. “I think there is some pent-up supply in terms of sellers.”

The pandemic also caused major shifts as many people started rethinking their work roles and reevaluated potential new jobs, said Brooks Kindel, a business growth consultant for the Michigan Small Business Development Center at Grand Valley State University. 

“From a buyer’s standpoint, if you’re looking at a business that was well-run and had a story that it survived the pandemic and found new revenues and ways to conduct business, that tells you a lot about it,” Kindel said. “If your business can survive the pandemic, you’re a step ahead of the ones that floundered and perhaps closed.” 

Smooth transition

West Michigan small business owners going through an ownership transition stress the importance of spending time training new owners and retaining good employees to help the new leadership team.

Family-owned specialty food and beverage store Siciliano’s Market Inc. is undergoing a change in ownership after emerging from the pandemic essentially unscathed because it was deemed “essential” and able to stay open through state-ordered restrictions. 

Owners of the west side Grand Rapids staple, Steve and Barb Siciliano, are set to retire this summer and will sell the business to longtime family friend Jeff Boorsma, as MiBiz recently reported. Boorsma’s daughter, Tiffany Sipka, and her husband Dan Sipka, will run the business. 

The Sicilianos, who opened the market’s present location in 1993, had been considering retirement for the past five years. They started actively planning to sell their business last summer and were approached soon after with an offer from Boorsma. Steve Siciliano stressed the importance of working with the new owners to ensure a smooth transition.

“I’m working very closely with the new owners, training and basically being a mentor to them,” Siciliano said. 

Steve Siciliano since January has been working closely with Dan Sipka, who has been working full time in the market for the past two months.

“He’s basically running the store with the assistant manager I have,” Siciliano said. “Now that we’re fully staffed and the new owners pretty much know what’s going on, I could take off whenever I want. We’re tying up the loose ends on a daily basis, basically.”

Most owners should prepare for some period of time when they have to stay at the company, which can vary from about three to six months but may take as long as a year, Friar said.

Ryan Roff — the founder of boldSOCKS who sold his company to Grand Rapids-based OCI Ventures Inc. in March — is choosing to contract with the new owners for a period of time to help them with training and any other questions that arise, he explained.

“Being there has helped them get up and running quickly and they were able to start shipping product the next week (after the ownership change),” Roff said. “I want to see them be successful, and our business has a social enterprise piece to it, too, so I want to see those charities successful and what we worked hard to establish be carried on.”

boldSOCKS staffers who are staying at the company through the transition also are a huge part of navigating the transition process successfully, Roff said. 

One Bourbon restaurant founders George and Meg Chittenden, who recently sold their ownership shares to their business partners, echoed this sentiment.

“We’re very lucky with the core group of staff that stuck with us through the pandemic,” George Chittenden said. 

Meagan and Brett Freriks, the couple who bought the Chittendens’ shares, had a hand in starting the Bridge Street restaurant when it opened in 2017 on Grand Rapids’ west side.

“They’re going to do great things,” George Chittenden said. “They’ve been there from the beginning as well, so it’s in great hands.”

Changing course during COVID

While Roff was running boldSOCKS in 2020, burnout took its toll as two of the sock company’s biggest markets — office workers and socks purchased for wedding attire — were both severely affected by pandemic shutdowns. 

“Navigation during the pandemic was much more of a stabilizer role, and I could sense it in myself that it wasn’t something I desired to do much longer,” Roff said. 

The pandemic also made the Chittendens reevaluate their working life, leading them to transition away from owning and running their restaurant. They plan to ensure operations are squared away at One Bourbon before focusing on spending more time at home with their young child, George Chittenden said.

“A silver lining to the lockdown restrictions in 2020 was that it gave us a taste of life outside of the nine-to-five,” Meg Chittenden said. “We were all able to get a different view of how we could live life.”

Tags: Amazon Business Login, Amazon Business Prime, Bank Of America Business Account, Best Business Schools, Business Attorney Near Me, Business Bank Account, Business Card Holder, Business Card Maker, Business Card Template, Business Cards Near Me, Business Casual Attire, Business Casual Shoes, Business Casual Woman, Business Plan Examples, Ca Business Search, Ca Sos Business Search, Capital One Business Credit Card, Chase Business Checking, Chase Business Credit Cards, Chase Business Customer Service, Chase Business Login, Chase Business Phone Number, Cheap Business Cards, Citizens Business Bank, Cox Business Login, Digital Business Card, Facebook Business Suite, Finance In Business, Free Business Cards, Google Business Login, Harvard Business School, Lands End Business, Massage Parlor Business Near Me, Michigan Business Entity Search, Mind Your Business, Mind Your Own Business, Ohio Business Search, Risky Business Costume, Skype For Business, Small Business Loan, Small Business Saturday 2021, Starting A Business, Texas Business Entity Search, Triumph Business Capital, Vending Machine Business, Verizon Business Customer Service, Vonage Business Login, Wells Fargo Business Account, Yahoo Small Business, Yahoo Small Business Login

Continue Reading

Previous MARKET LIVE: Sensex gains 500pts, Nifty above 17,150; broader indices tepid
Next The Innovation Without Tears Manifesto • Derek Cheshire

More Stories

  • Business Owner

Future of Digital Marketing

Malik Runswick June 4, 2023 0
  • Business Owner

Highly Effective Digital Marketing Strategies

Malik Runswick June 2, 2023 0
  • Business Owner

Things to Think About When Purchasing a Direct Mailing List

Malik Runswick May 31, 2023 0
June 2023
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
« May    

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017

Recent Posts

  • Future of Digital Marketing
  • How is HR in Small Businesses Different from Large Companies?
  • The Advantages of Coaching for Organizations, Teams and Individuals
  • Highly Effective Digital Marketing Strategies
  • Does a Pharmacist Career Offer Flexibility?

BL

You may have missed

  • Business Owner

Future of Digital Marketing

Malik Runswick June 4, 2023 0
  • Real estate

How is HR in Small Businesses Different from Large Companies?

Rehan June 3, 2023 0
  • Real estate

The Advantages of Coaching for Organizations, Teams and Individuals

Malik Runswick June 3, 2023 0
  • Business Owner

Highly Effective Digital Marketing Strategies

Malik Runswick June 2, 2023 0
  • Business Ideas

Does a Pharmacist Career Offer Flexibility?

Malik Runswick June 1, 2023 0
microfocus-x-ray.com | CoverNews by AF themes.

WhatsApp us