Preparing for the Silver Tsunami: Entrepreneurship through Acquisition

Your Legacy. Their Opportunity. Our Community’s Future.

Join Southwest Michigan First for a community conversation on business succession, ownership transitions, and the next generation of local entrepreneurs.

If you are a business owner approaching retirement, you have built something valuable. Not just a company, but a cornerstone of our local economy. Your business represents years of sacrifice, leadership, and service to this community.

And if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, operator, or professional looking to acquire and lead a business, you are part of the next wave of ownership that will shape Kalamazoo’s future.

Across Michigan, more than 2 million people are nearing retirement. In Kalamazoo County alone, nearly 39,000 residents are part of this transition. Many are small business owners without a formal succession plan or a clear buyer. At the same time, many capable local leaders are eager to step into ownership but lack access, preparation, and pathways.

Without thoughtful transitions, we risk losing legacy businesses, local jobs, and community wealth.

But there is another path.

Through initiatives like Tsunami Lab, we are preparing local entrepreneurs to become responsible, values-driven owners. These emerging leaders are learning how to acquire, operate, and grow existing businesses while honoring the legacy of those who built them.

At the same time, we are helping business owners explore options for succession, continuity, and transition that keep their companies rooted in the community.

If we do this well, over the next decade we can transition 50+ businesses to local ownership, retain more than $15 million in economic value locally, stabilize jobs, and build generational wealth.

This event brings together:

• Business owners planning for retirement• Entrepreneurs and professionals interested in business ownership• Community partners supporting succession and acquisition• Leaders committed to keeping businesses local

Join us for a meaningful conversation about how experience meets opportunity, and how legacy meets leadership.

Your business has a story.Your future has potential.Let’s write the next chapter together.

Register today and join us on March 12 at 2:00 PM at The Catalyst Center.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Southwest Michigan First and The Chamber