At the COSBOA National Small Business Summit this month, NSW Small Business Commissioner Kalina Koloff said the sector is going through "significant transformation" with an ageing business owner population and fewer natural successors. The numbers back it up. One in three Australian small business owners plans to retire within five years, but just 16% have a documented succession plan. 48% of Baby Boomer business owners plan to exit within one to five years, with 87% citing retirement as the driver.
For most of these owners, the business is the retirement plan. For many Australian SME owners, the business is their retirement plan. Thirty-four per cent of Baby Boomer business owners plan to use the proceeds of a business sale as their primary retirement nest egg. But here’s the problem. If the business only runs because you’re in it every day, you don’t have something to sell. You have a job.
The fix is not financial planning. It’s marketing. It’s systems. It’s making the business work without you in the room.
The personal reputation trap
71% of respondents said their business relies more on personal reputation and word-of-mouth than on formal branding or marketing. That figure rises to 78% among owners aged 50 and over.
That works great until you want to leave. Then it’s a liability.
A plumber I worked with last year said it clearly. "I’ve got a good reputation. People know me. My phone rings." Then he tried to work out what the business was worth if he wanted to sell it in two years. The answer was: not much. Because the reputation was his, not the business’s. The phone number was his mobile. The reviews were under his name. The Google Business Profile was half filled out.
A buyer doesn’t want to pay for goodwill that walks out the door.
A buyer doesn’t want to pay for goodwill that walks out the door.
What you actually need to do
You need the business to have a name, a presence, and a process that works whether you’re there or not.
What this looks like in practice
A Brisbane HVAC business I photographed and built a site for in 2024 is a good example. The two owners were 50 and 53. They had no plan to retire soon, but they knew it was coming. We put the business name front and centre. Built a site that explained services, not personalities. Got the branding on the vans, uniforms, and invoices consistent. Shifted the main contact to a business number that rang through to whoever was on call.
Two years later, one of the owners had a health issue and decided to step back. They had an offer within three months. The business had value because it wasn’t just him.
If you’re over 50 and running a trade, service, or local business, this is not about succession planning seminars or tax advice. It’s about whether someone would pay you for what you’ve built. And that comes down to whether it can run without you.
Start now. Name it. Brand it. Document it. Make it an asset.
Prompted by Mirage News.