The Chamber is partnering with the Southeast Minnesota SCORE to offer a series of Business Transition Seminars in Rushford this spring and summer. As we heard from UMN-Extension at the 2018 annual meeting, 70 percent of Greater Minnesota small businesses owners are age 52-70. We were also presented with an overview of what businesses can do to be prepared for a transition. The upcoming SCORE seminars will provide more detailed steps for businesses thinking about transition in the next few years or prospective buyers interested in business ownership.

Attend one or all of these offerings on the following Wednesdays: April 24, May 15, June 19. Each seminar will be 60-75 minutes, likely scheduled over the lunch hour but times may change depending on participant feedback.

The first session will be an overview of exiting a business or farm: Business Transition/Estate Planning, as small business ownership is closely tied to household estate planning. Additional seminars will be based on interest of participants and may include:

• Goal Setting for Transition Success - Business & Personal, Blended by Generation, Prioritized by All
• Business Organization and Transition - Proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, Corporation
• Transition Transfer Strategies - Gift, Sell, Inherit
• Transition Transfer Succession Matrix - Test, Commit, Establish, Withdraw

Presented By: Stephen Troutman, a SCORE Mentor, frequent speaker, community volunteer, and futurist.

Drawing on 33 years at IBM, Steve gained management experience and extensive cross industry knowledge while working in sales and business transformation consulting. With 23 years as a Naval Reservist, he was Commanding Officer of four units, and gained practical experience in leadership and administration. Steve has been a SCORE Mentor since 2012 and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California specialized in Entrepreneurship and Venture Management.