Small business succession planning gap puts $2 trillion at risk
Retirement is driving most exits – cited by 78 per cent of respondents – but the data reveals that financial and operational pressures are also accelerating departure timelines.
About 21 per cent of owners cited burnout or stress as a reason for leaving, while 20 per cent pointed to high operating costs, including tariffs, labour, and regulatory compliance, as factors pushing them toward the exit. Eleven per cent said their business was simply not profitable enough to continue.
Those dynamics are not evenly distributed. Owners in retail and hospitality are particularly hard hit, with 25 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, citing the high cost of running a business as a reason for exiting.
The CFIB data makes a compelling case for early intervention by financial professionals. Business owners with a formal succession plan – defined as a documented process with a clear timeline, typically developed with the support of accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors – reported far greater confidence in their exit: 86 per cent expressed confidence in achieving a successful transition, compared to just 54 per cent among those with no plan at all.
The data on completed transitions reinforces that finding. Among business owners who had previously acquired an existing business, those whose acquisition involved a formal succession plan were more likely to describe the transition as smooth (81 per cent) than those without one (69 per cent).
