There are various definitions of a small business owner; therefore, there is no

universal definition. Buculescu (2013) searched and could not find a one size fits all
description of SME. The meaning of a small business differs depending on the size of the
organization, the number of staff employed, the amount of financial assets and annual
sales (Mahmood & Hanafi, 2013). Buculescu (2013) indicated that someone could
categorize an enterprise by either sector, size, number of employees, location, and
technology. A business that employs less than 180 employees could identify as a small
business (Okpara, Ezirim, & Mohammed, 2017). For the purposes of this study, I defined
a small business owner as an individual that owns an organization that employs fewer
than 25 employees.

Small businesses are beneficial for a country but have a higher chance of failure.
At inception, small businesses are less likely to survive (Marcelino-Sadaba, Perez-
Ezcurdia, Lazcano, & Villanueva, 2014). Small businesses strengthen and contribute to
the local economy (Gamage, 2014; Kozan, & Akdeniz, 2014; Oyeku, Oduyoye, Asikhia,
& Elemo, 2014). Individuals may start a small business in the same field they have
experience in (Alasadi & Al Sabbagh, 2015). The elements that small businesses bring to
the local economy are employment opportunities, growth, and innovation (Shukla &
Shukla, 2014). Innovation is key to the success of an organization especially a small
business (Bello & Ivanov, 2014). Anderson and Ullah (2014) stated that a small business
owner could connect and know their customers on a personal level. In a domestic
economy where productivity comes to a halt or slows down retention issues can become
an immediate concern (Milman & Dickson, 2014). There is an elevated risk of emotional
and financial costs for small businesses (Filho, Albuquerque, Nagano, Junior, & de
Oliveira, 2017). Longevity in small businesses depends on the availability of resources
and the talent and skills retained (McDowell, Harris, & Geho, 2016). A dedicated small
business owner that recruits and retains talented employees can become profitable and
successful (Gandy, 2015). Talented employees are knowledgeable and skilled employees
that maintain a high level of performance for the organization (Latukha & Tsukanova,
2015). Small business owners need to implement strategic, operational business plans to
survive in this competitive market. Selecting the proper business strategy is critical to the
success of the organization
small to medium enterprise succession planning: Research questions

Prior studies have shown millennial employees are voluntarily leaving

employers within 2 years. What are your organization’s succession planning
strategies to develop millennial employees (EEs)?
2. How has the increased occupational mobility of millennial employees affected
your ability to make succession planning decisions?
3. What specific strategies have you/your organizational leadership implemented
to ensure long term development of millennial EEs?
4. How do you evaluate the strategies’ success?
5. What challenges have you and your organizational leadership team
experienced when trying to implement millennial employee development
strategies?
6. How have you/your organizational leadership addressed these challenges?
7. What, if any, other benefits have accrued from developing millennial EEs?
8. What additional information or insights can you provide to enable me to.

Small to Medium Enterprises

The configuration of a SME is an ideal organization of interest. SMEs are not
miniature versions of corporations but their own body with specific characteristics (De
Oliveira, Escrivao, Nagano, Ferraudo, & Rosim, 2015). Entrepreneurial businesses and
sole proprietorships lack staff. SMEs typically have diminished resources when
compared to larger enterprises (Masi & Cagno, 2015). An assumption is that corporate
entities have such significant pools of staff that the lack of ability to retain millennial
employees is not a paramount strategic initiative. Thus, SMEs are ideal with limited staff
and greater exposure to the risks associated with the inability to retain millennial
employees.
Definition. A lack of uniformity in the definition of SMEs requires clarification.
Definitions of SMEs have included size, capital assets, skill, and rate of sale turnover
(Ene & Ene, 2014). In the United States, the Small Business Administration (SBA)