More than half of Detroit’s small business owners plan to retire within the next decade - a rate far outpacing the national average - and banking giant Chase is urging them to stop thinking about their exits and start planning them.
New Chase for Business research finds that 58% of Detroit business owners expect to retire in the next 10 years, compared to 40% nationally. Yet 70% of owners nearing retirement across the country are still in the earliest stages of succession readiness.
Bre Mills, Executive Director at Chase Business Banking, says Detroit’s numbers reflect something deeper than a simple desire to step away.
“Business owners are thinking about how can they go from survival mode to thriving mode and passing that business down to the next generation,” Mills said.
Mills, a native Detroiter, points to another striking figure: 48% of Detroit business owners have already begun identifying their next owner - a sign, she says, of a city that thinks generationally.
“As a native Detroiter, I’m incredibly proud that we are 18% ahead of the national average as it relates to thinking about succession planning early,” she said.
The gap between intention and action, however, remains the central challenge. Mills says the answer starts inside a business owner’s own team.
“Making succession a way of life as a part of their business operations is incredibly important,” she said. “The future business owner might be a person that’s currently reporting to them at that moment.”
Chase’s answer is its newly announced American Dream Initiative, which Mills described as the firm’s most significant 2026 commitment. “We plan to help over 10 million business owners take their business to the next level,” she said, citing resources and industry knowledge as key tools for owners at every stage - from startup to succession.
The initiative gets a local showcase on May 19 with the Experience Detroit event at the Department at Hudson’s, where small business owners can network with peers, meet subject matter experts, and connect with Chase clients. Mills called it “a truly exciting time and a synergistic time for business owners to reignite the spirit of their entrepreneurship.”
For owners ready to start, Chase is directing them to chase.com/nationaltreasures or their local branch.