Small businesses are.

The beating heart of our economy.

So what happens when the moms and pops of these shops need to retire?

Our June Lefler has this report on the crisis and opportunity of Kentucky's aging business owners.

There's not a lot you can do to modernize a business like this, because it's so hands on and so traditional.

Balconies, staircases and gates.

Functional and ornamental pole ironworks is embedded in the literal fabric of Louisville.

The centerpiece still left to go.

Not all pieces stay put.

This one is being refurbished so it can go back to the island of Bermuda.

They started bringing them to us originally in the 70s, I think.

I guess it's because it's in a saltwater environment, that they they deteriorate pretty quickly.

Yeah, they're just really ornamental.

Handmade.

All this stuff is handmade.

You know, it's kind of a catch phrase I have on the back of our cards.

It says we do make them like they used to, because you hear that a lot that they just don't make them like they used to.

But we do.

Built to last.

Indeed.

The company's been in Louisville for 150 years.

You know, we talk about wars, toughed out, I maybe the flood toughed out the depression.

Nancy Pols has been was the fourth generation in his family to own the business.

Their son Travis could have been the fifth, but he didn't want that.

So I said, no, you're okay.

You can do what you want.

What happened next?

A talented metalworker at the shop stepped in and bought the business.

I can keep it going and keep the name alive and still provide for myself and my family.

A welcome deal for everyone.

What I've done, what?

I sold it to just anybody.

No.

I would rather the business go down with a good name, then sell it to somebody and the business's reputation would no longer be what it is today.

Businesses across the nation have a succession dilemma in Kentucky.

150,000 business owners planning to retire in the next ten years do not know who will take over their company.

And that's troublesome for all of us.

Not only do they employ a incredible amount of the jobs in our society, but go look at the high school football field and baseball field.

Look at the advertisements on those walls.

Those are the businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.

And we can't afford to have those disappear.

But the silver tsunami of aging business owners poses an opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurs, says Dave Knox.

He runs a business innovation hub in Northern Kentucky.

We have probably one of the most entrepreneurial generations coming up that we've ever had.

There are great people that want to be entrepreneurs, but maybe don't have that original idea that they want to go launch from scratch.

But they know that they can take something not from 0 to 1, but maybe 1 to 10.

This model is called entrepreneurship through acquisition or ETA economic development.

Groups in Kentucky are promoting this model to aspiring entrepreneurs at meetups and conferences.

I wish I had known about ETA before now, but now you know about it.

And sprocket, Western Kentucky is here to spread the word.

Whether the company stays steady or becomes something bigger is up to the proprietor.

You know, think about Howard Schultz, for instance.

You know, when he bought Starbucks, it was three stores in Seattle, Washington.

He didn't create the concept of Starbucks.

He had this idea of what it could be and what could grow.

Work is steady at Iron Works, but 51 year old Robert Baker is thinking of his future.

Absolutely.

My son works here.

He's been here for a couple of years, and hopefully one day he feels like doing the same thing that I did.

But absolutely, I want to see the place continue after I'm gone.

You know, that's kind of the whole point of me taking over was just not to just let it die.

And go away.

As a new family operates the shop for perhaps another century, Baker says the Paul name will remain as a testament to the company's enduring craftsmanship.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm just left with.