The Adirondack North Country Center for Businesses in Transition has announced a slate of community liaisons, a monthly workshop series and other ways the group will share insights, skills and resources to assist local businesses in transition.

The Center for Businesses in Transition is a collaboration of regional organizations and leaders whose goal is to support existing business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing successful business transition strategies.

The partnership covers the 14-county North Country region. Eight designated “community liaisons” will play a role in supporting successful transitions including the following options: selling on the open market, intergenerational family transitions, and conversions to a worker ownership model.

The Center for Businesses in Transition is planning a monthly workshop series that covers topics relevant for transitioning businesses including “Preparing to Sell Your Business,” “Transitioning to Employee Ownership,” “Intergenerational Family Transitions, Creative Solutions and Alternative Structures,” and “Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Taking Over an Existing Business.”

Five morning workshops, hosted by partner organizations throughout the region, are scheduled for April through August 2019. For those who are unable to attend workshops in person, community liaisons will offer online viewing opportunities at other locations. Workshops will also be recorded so that interested business owners can view them at their convenience and as needed in the future.

In the year ahead, the Center is expecting to sponsor additional programming developed by regional partners, including half-day workshops on business valuation, farm transitions and other topics related to business transitions and succession planning.

All materials developed by the partnership are expected to be available for other organizations to use to assist local businesses in transition. Economic development staff who would like access to these tools are invited to contact the Center. The partnership is also seeking co-working spaces and event partners to assist with workshops and other events.

The Center’s community liaisons include the following regional representatives: Mike Besaw of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce; Matthew Courtright and Molly Bechard of the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce; Brittany Davis of Lewis County Economic Development and IDA, Russ Kinyon of the Franklin County Local Development Corporation and County of Franklin IDA; Kelsey O’Shea of Cornell Cooperative Extension and the North Country Regional Ag Team; and Christy Wilt and RaChelle Martz of Hamilton County Economic Development and Tourism and Hamilton County IDA.

Angela Smith of the SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Clinton Community College is a lead partner for the Center and will leverage the SBDC’s research tools and expertise in order to strengthen the initiative’s efforts across the region.

North Country business owners looking to transition their operations to new owners or a new ownership model, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs looking to take over an existing business, are invited to contact the Center at transitions@adirondack.org or (518) 891-6200 for more information or to be connected with a community liaison.

Information about the Center and its programs can be found here.

Photo of Center for Businesses in Transition community liaisons and other community leaders gathered at the ANCA office in Saranac Lake. Left to right: Danielle Delaini, RaChelle Martz, Christy Wilt, Matthew Courtright, Molly Bechard, Angela Smith, Mike Besaw, Brittany Davis, Kelsey O’Shea, Dan Kelleher and Russ Kinyon. Provided.