About six million American small and medium-sized company owners will retire between now and 2035, a wave the business consulting firm McKinsey has called “a once-in-a-generation wave of ownership transitions”. And a small but growing number are choosing to sell their ventures to their employees rather than to an outside buyer.
Tricia Salcido, 56, is one of them. In January, she sold Softstar Shoes, the Oregon-based shoemaker she founded, to its 30-strong workforce. Salcido, who is staying on as chief financial officer for a few years, says colleagues have become more engaged since the change. “I'm getting personal emails from employees saying, ‘Well, have you thought about this idea?’” she said. “These are business insights that weren't forthcoming before!”
“About six million US small-business owners will retire by 2035, prompting a rise in employee buyouts as owners seek to preserve their legacies.”
For Salcido, selling to employees was a way to preserve local jobs and prevent the firm’s artisan shoemaking from being taken abroad – something she was convinced would happen under a cost-cutting corporate buyer. “It's something you put your life's work into… most small business owners really care,” she said.
Her decision reflects a broader trend. A 2025 study found that up to 600 US firms are now being sold to their workers each year. Investment funds available to help finance such deals have risen 78% to $865m last year from $500m in 2024, an indication of more businesses making the transfer.
Research shows that employee-owned companies can be more productive, less likely to make staff redundant, and pay higher wages. For owners approaching retirement, selling to employees can also be a way to keep the business alive when there is no family successor.
Ethan Rouen, associate professor at Harvard Business School, said: “I don't think a week goes by where I don't talk to an owner who is looking to sell their business.” He noted that grown-up children often aren't interested in taking over the family venture, and that a switch to employee ownership often appeals to owners who care deeply about their employees and worry about what would happen following a sale to a larger company or private equity firm.