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Passing the Torch Succession is the real crisis facing the trades
By William Fry Owners aren’t just selecting a buyer. They’re choosing who will be responsible for their employees, their customers, and the reputation they’ve spent a lifetime building after they’re gone. In today’s market, ownership is increasingly determined by who can pay the most, not who is best equipped to lead. That disconnect defines the real crisis facing the trades.
Why Local Ownership Has Historically Worked in the Trades
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or most business owners in the construction and trades, the hardest decision isn’t starting the company. It’s building a company that outlasts your
time as the owner-operator. Founders spend decades building crews, earning customer trust, and putting their name on the line with every job. When retirement comes into view, the decision rarely feels clean or simple. Instead, it creates tension. Owners often find themselves weighing two competing paths: The buyer with money in the bank versus the best-suited leader for the business. Price matters, but most founders understand that what happens after the sale—to employees, customers and their own reputation—matters just as much. For Erik Hansen, the former owner of Greenway Painting, he was considering shutting the doors prior to finding the right operator. In his words, “We were most concerned about the owner or who could continue it on. The boots on the ground mattered. I wasn’t going to risk it. Our reputation means that much to us.”
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COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — ISSUE 4, 2026
Contracting businesses have always depended on local trust. In smaller towns, especially, these companies are built through face-to-face relationships formed over years, not quarters. That trust compounds slowly, earned job by job and referral by referral. Word of mouth doesn’t scale quickly, but it lasts. Owners play an active role in shaping culture, standards, and expectations in ways that directly influence results. Those dynamics matter in an economy where small businesses make up 99% of all firms and employ nearly half of the workforce. Employee retention in the trades is closely tied to leadership continuity and credibility. Crews don’t work for a brand alone. They work for a leader they trust to make fair decisions under pressure. Customer loyalty follows a similar logic. Clients value knowing who is accountable when something goes wrong and who stands behind the work when it does. Local ownership isn’t a sentimental preference. It functions as an operational advantage. These businesses act as economic anchors that sustain employment, spending, and stability in the communities where people live and work.
How Private Equity Became the Default Buyer
Many owners are nearing retirement age without formal succession plans in place.