Why 44,000 Businesses Closed in One Year

About this episode

The episode discusses the closure of 44,000 businesses in a year and the implications for the trades workforce and leadership training.

The number is 44,000: businesses that closed in a single year, most of them not sold, just shuttered. Manja Horner, leadership strategist and founder of Boost Learning Design, joins Wendy and Kelsey to unpack why so many trades owners are walking away with no successor and no plan for the knowledge they spent decades building. The conversation looks at the hidden costs of skipping training, the brain drain hitting the trades, and what it takes to build a business that actually holds its value. In This Episode Why "figure it out as you go" can quietly cost owners up to 8 percent on every project What goes wrong when a strong tradesperson is promoted into management without training How to think about training and HR as core business functions rather than overhead Why a quarter of the trades workforce is heading for retirement, and what that means for owners What a knowledge capture system looks like, and why it matters before key people leave How leadership and skills training tie directly to business value and exit readiness Featured Quote "Yes, we have the bodies leaving. We haven't talked about the brain drain that's happening." — Manja Horner About the Hosts Wendy Brookhouse…

People in this episode

Hosts: Wendy Brookhouse, Kelsey MacAulay

Guest: Manja Horner

Topics covered

• business closures
• trades workforce
• leadership training
• knowledge capture
• business value
• retirement impact

Keywords

• business closures
• trades
• leadership
• training
• knowledge capture
• retirement
• business value

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boost Learning Design, Black Star Wealth

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