MoneyFlex

By Alicia Tyler on July 16, 2025
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

By Alicia Tyler on July 16, 2025
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Young Canadians are building wealth by buying “boring” businesses from Boomers. Here’s why laundromats, trades, and car washes are the new startup play.

When you picture a young, ambitious entrepreneur, someone in a sleek office, coding the next big app, or launching a disruptive startup in tech probably springs to mind. But something interesting is happening in the face of economic uncertainty: young Canadians are buying up “boring” businesses from retiring Baby Boomers.

Think laundromats, dry cleaners, car washes, and trade businesses like plumbing companies. These aren’t the businesses that typically make headlines, but they’re the quiet workhorses of communities, often necessities in day-to-day life, and they’re ripe for a generational handover.

A report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reveals a staggering statistic: 76% of small business owners in Canada plan to exit their businesses by 2033. Yet, fewer than 10% of them have a formal succession plan in place. This opens up unexpected opportunities for the next generation of entrepreneurs willing to roll up their sleeves and embrace the unsexy.

Jason Pereira, a seasoned financial planner, award-winning writer, and speaker, offers insights into this overlooked landscape. “What we’re really talking about is more traditional mainline brick-and-mortar businesses,” he explains. “Things that do not get the big appeal in the media.” For young Canadians looking to build something substantial, these established ventures offer a surprisingly stable and lucrative foundation.

In the business world, “established” often translates to stability and cash flow—precisely what every entrepreneur dreams of.

While some might mistakenly view businesses like laundromats as passive—“you just do something and people show up and give you money,” Pereira quips—the reality is they require maintenance and management like any other venture. But their true appeal lies in their established nature and the market conditions created by the “Boomer exit.”

Many long-standing businesses, from local........

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