America is facing a small-business succession crisis as millions of ageing owners approach retirement without a clear plan for transferring or selling the companies they built, JPMorganChase has warned.
A report from Chase found that 70% of 1,000 business owners surveyed were only in the early stages of succession planning, while just 8% said they had reached an advanced stage.
The bank estimates that about 12 million businesses, representing almost 10 trillion dollars (£7.4 trillion) in assets, are expected to change hands over the next decade. In industries it considers critical to national security, more than half of businesses have an owner aged 55 or over.
The findings add detail to concerns raised by JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, who said in March: “The American Dream is alive, but it’s slipping out of reach for too many people—and for future generations.”
Succession plans lag behind the retirement wave
Research cited in the report suggests that a significant number of businesses could close not because they are failing, but because their owners run out of time to find a buyer or successor.
McKinsey’s Institute for Economic Mobility estimated in February that better planning could prevent between 6% and 13% of small-business closures over the next decade. A 2025 Gallup survey found that 27% of employer firms whose owners were aged 55 or older were either unsure of their long-term plans or intended to close rather than sell or transfer the business.
A separate 2025 survey by US Bank found that most owners had started their businesses hoping to build something they could pass on, but that a majority did not have a formal succession plan. Many described working out the process as overwhelming.
The issue extends beyond smaller firms. An analysis of S&P 500 companies found that at more than a third of those examined, the chief executive and chief financial officer were both within the typical retirement window, with no clear succession plan disclosed.
Estimates of the number of businesses affected vary. Project Equity puts the number of baby boomer-owned businesses expected to transition at 2.3 million, accounting for one in six US jobs. Other estimates range as high as three million businesses, or six million transitions by 2035.
A planned transition in San Francisco
One example highlighted by JPMorganChase is the Cowrie Collective, a shared retail space inside San Francisco’s Palace Hotel created by six Black women entrepreneurs.
Nicole Williams, founder of the boutique Belle Noire, said she had grown up hearing stories about the city’s Fillmore district when it was known as the “Harlem of the West” – a centre of Black-owned businesses, music and community before redevelopment led to widespread closures.
Williams joined forces with Vickie Brown of Ice Body Skincare, Layshaunese Fuqua of Beauty and Brains Tees, Rashida Taylor of Stash Candle Co, Tshara Ball of LB House of Beauty and Melissa Robinson of MellRose to establish the collective.
“We didn’t open Cowrie Collective to sell more products,” Williams said. “We opened it to make downtown feel connected again—six businesses, one vision, and a place where every purchase carries meaning.”
The group received support through SF New Deal’s Vacant to Vibrant programme, a public-private partnership backed by JPMorgan and the City of San Francisco. The scheme helped convert an empty shop into the collective’s first premises, including support with permits, accessibility requirements and the move from a temporary pop-up to a longer-term lease.
JPMorganChase said coaching and banking support were helping the businesses strengthen their financial foundations. It described the collective as an example of a transition that had been deliberately planned and carried out, rather than ending in closure.
Bank calls for succession support
JPMorganChase is using the report to support the American Ownership and Resilience Act, the Small Business Succession Planning Act and the Retire Through Ownership Act. It is also calling on the Small Business Administration to create a national succession toolkit.
The proposals form part of the bank’s American Dream Initiative, which includes a pledge of 80 billion dollars in small-business lending over 10 years. JPMorganChase has also announced 11.5 million dollars in philanthropic funding for ownership transitions, alongside transition advice for business owners.
The bank’s research suggests that many owners remain stuck at the earliest stage of planning, leaving the future of their businesses uncertain as the retirement wave gathers pace.
