From the California Economic Development Journal (pdf):

Engineer and solar pioneer Gary Gerber founded Sun Light and Power in the 1970s, one of the first wave of renewable energy enterprises. By 2015 the Berkeley-based solar installer was thriving and Gary was considering his retirement options. Always mission-driven, he couldn’t envision selling the business he and his team had built over the years to one of the quickly-consolidating solar giants. Looking around at his talented, engaged workforce, he asked an unusual question: could the employees take this thing over?

More and more small business owners will be asking this question in the years to come. Every day, 10,000 baby boomers retire in the United States. Research shows that baby boomer retirements will lead $10 trillion+ in business assets to change hands over the next 5-20 years. As a result, an estimated 70 percent of privately held businesses will be sold or closed. This significant transition of ownership has the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of jobs and thousands of enterprises.

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CALED – Economic Ownership Can Preserve California Businesses and Save Jobs