Methods and definitions

By Daniel L. Bishop · Business Master Mechanic

Web summary: October 25, 2026. Underlying research periods vary; county research edition: October 23, 2026.

Definitions, twelve transition paths, market-study boundaries and projection assumptions used in the SI Now county study.

Employer locations, firms, owners, farms and nonemployers are different populations. The numerical scenarios illustrate explicit assumptions; they do not establish county transaction or healthy-transfer probabilities.

Detailed explanation and source context follow below.

What these terms mean

Owners exit; businesses transfer—or die. An owner can exit a role, an investment, or both. Those decisions can happen separately, and include where the owner and capital go next.

Role succession carries specified responsibilities, authority, relationships, judgment, and mastery forward. Ownership continuity addresses who holds ownership rights and what happens after agreed events. Operating continuity keeps decisions, payroll, customers, and work moving during disruption.

Transferability is the business’s ability to carry its value-producing capabilities through a specified change in people, roles, leadership, or ownership. It makes the business easier to own, not just easier to sell. A signed ownership transfer does not by itself transfer operating mastery.

Owner intent, ownership pathways, transfer tools, legal completion, acceptable owner outcomes, and later operating continuity are different observations. The research keeps them separate. Read the full explanations and written-plan questions.