As baby boomer business owners retire, their employees are taking ownership of their own futures. “‘Making it’ is when we get to a point in our lives where we can take care of our friends,” says 30-year-old Common Ground barista Jacqueline Du. Some 24 million United States workers could be affected by the coming “silver tsunami,” which refers to business owners of the baby boomer generation retiring without a succession plan for their businesses. Some retiring business owners will sell to their children, but four out of five don’t have a plan for what will happen next. Photo by Brian O’DohertyA Successful TransitionOn Sept. 18, 2023, just 11 weeks after Common Ground closed down, dawn was breaking at the coffee shop.