Would you like to go from resume to revenue?
Are you a corporate refugee looking for a new path to financial freedom? I’ve got the answer. The Next ACT CEO Summit is for you. It’s a three-day virtual conference taking place January 22–24, 2026, that will guide senior women leaders age 45+ to become entrepreneurs through acquisition. We are going to teach you how to buy an existing business or franchise. This conference focuses on the practical know-how required to step into ownership with confidence on day one: financing, legal, technology, training, and essential services that make a business run.
“Women with decades of leadership experience are decisive and creditworthy. They don’t need another job in corporate America; they need a clear path to wealth creation through entrepreneurship,” said Melinda F. Emerson, host of the summit and founder of SmallBizLadyUniversity.com. “This event will demystify what it really takes to buy a business, including how to pay for it and the tools, lending partners, experts, and community to make ownership a reality.”
We are targeting 500 qualified attendees across the U.S. and Canada. The programming is designed specifically for women who want to move from leadership to ownership and do it with systems, teams, and revenue in place from day one.
Why Now: From Experience to Ownership
There is a growing cohort of women in their late 40s, 50s, and early 60s who have managed budgets, built teams, and delivered results for large organizations. They are values-driven, financially savvy, and ready for a next act that rewards their hard-won expertise. The obstacle isn’t ability; it’s clarity and access: which businesses are worth pursuing? How do you evaluate a franchise versus an independent acquisition? What does lender-ready financing look like? How do you handle diligence, legal, insurance, tech, and the HR challenges of inheriting a team?
The Next ACT CEO Summit will answer those questions head-on. Instead of telling attendees to start from scratch, the summit will show you step-by-step how to acquire an existing operation with customers and cash flow and how to structure the transition so the business can help pay for itself.
Who This Summit Is For
- S
enior professional women (45+) in transition; laid off, underemployed, consulting, or planning a strategic exit from corporate. - Operators who want assets, not another job, and women who value systems, measurable outcomes, and clear timelines.
- Leaders who want a faster route to business results.
- Women open to franchise ownership or independent acquisitions across service firms, trades, home services, studios, professional practices, and more.
enior professional women (45+) in transition; laid off, underemployed, consulting, or planning a strategic exit from corporate.What You’ll Learn
Across three days (10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET daily), attendees will learn how to:
- Compare independent acquisitions versus franchise ownership and choose the right lane based on budget, time, and skills
- Source and evaluate real listings from brokers, resales, franchise consultants, and marketplaces using red-flag checklists
- Navigate the financing matrix—SBA, franchise lenders, CDFIs, ROBS, and seller financing—and assemble lender-ready packages
- Conduct due diligence on operations, people, and financials so you don’t buy a problem
- Build an ownership-ready tech stack for CRM, e-signature, invoicing, and payroll, and understand legal and insurance basics
In short, the summit turns experience into a clear ownership plan you can start executing immediately.
Inside the Three-Day Conference: From Vision to Deal to Day One
Day 1: Choose Your Lane and Build Deal Flow
The opening day sets strategy and creates momentum. Attendees map personal constraints such as time, cash, and skills against opportunity types like independent acquisitions, franchise concepts, and franchise resales. Sessions will explain the difference between owner-operator and manager-with-ops-lead models and the week-by-week time commitment each requires. Programming moves into deal sourcing, how to work with brokers and consultants, how to read a listing in minutes, and which questions expose reality fast. Expect an attendee-only digital resource center with deal-flow checklists, etc.
Day 2: Money and Risk—Financing and Due Diligence
Financing is where many would-be buyers stall. Day 2 provides a practical roadmap for funding your deal, seller financing, SBA loans, franchise lenders, CDFIs, rollovers for business startups, Attendees will learn how to become a qualified buyer that sellers want: The day then shifts to due diligence—operations (what actually happens daily), people (retention, payroll, contracts), and numbers (quality of earnings, add-backs, customer concentration, seasonality). More tools will be added to the attendee-only digital resource center, including a diligence worksheet and a quick-hit vendor list for targeted professional support, including suggested tech stack, legal, tax, and insurance.
Day 3: Own the Transition
Buying the asset is step one; growing the business is the win. Day 3 focuses on the takeover plan: customer communication, supplier relationships, team alignment, cash and accounts receivable discipline, and a simple weekly dashboard. You’ll learn how to design an operating cadence that your new team can follow. The day concludes with reviews of real listings, identifying red flags, and forming the right questions. More will be added to the attendee-only digital resource center, including templates, an announcement email, a supplier check-in script, etc.
What Makes the Summit Different
- Our Experts and panelists will turn jargon into practical steps
- Live deal practice so you learn to read listings quickly and accurately
- Action deliverables so you leave with scripts, checklists, and a calendar, not vague inspiration
- Join the Next ACT CEO FB Page, to build community and accountability so peers can compare notes, and share introductions
- Curated partners who are relevant to financing, legal, technology, payroll and HR, insurance, and more
Our Experts and panelists will turn jargon into practical stepsWhat Attendees Can Expect:
By Saturday afternoon, attendees should be able to articulate a short list of sectors that fit their budget, schedule, and leadership style; maintain a deal pipeline with prioritized outreach and follow-ups; Assemble a lender-ready packet and prepare to schedule first conversations with potential sellers, brokers, and funding partners, and create a plan to begin your research and approach a seller, team, or lender with confidence.
The promise is simple: replace guesswork with a plan and move forward and build a team.
Opportunities for Sponsors
The Next ACT CEO Summit is also a tailored environment for sponsors whose products and services power small business ownership. This audience is ready to purchase—from financing and legal to technology, payroll, insurance, and training.
Select sponsor benefits include speaking and thought-leadership placements, brand recognition, social media promotion, opt-in leads from sessions and resource downloads, inclusion in the attendee-only Content Vault, and reporting on registrations.
“Sponsors have a rare opportunity to connect at the ground floor with high-intent future owners—women who are ready to invest in financing, legal, technology, training, and operations from day one,” added Emerson.
A Practical Pathway for Senior Women Leaders
Many seasoned women leaders don’t need to be convinced they can run a business; they need a de-risked pathway that respects their time and capital. Entrepreneurship through acquisition provides exactly that: a chance to purchase a proven operation, often with the seller’s help during a transition, and to scale it with hard-won leadership skills. For some, a franchise is the better fit: brand, training, and marketing support from day one, with guardrails that lower uncertainty. For others, buying an independent business with high growth potential could be the best fit.
The summit doesn’t aim to romanticize ownership; it aims to operationalize it. Attendees learn the real weekly hours required, the difference between operator and oversight roles, and how to structure deals so the economics work in real life, not just in spreadsheets. They walk away with a sharper sense of where their strengths generate the most value and where to bring in outside help.
How to Get the Most from the Summit
Attendees are encouraged to come with a target budget range and honest weekly time availability; a shortlist of sectors that spark interest, such as home services, healthcare, pet care, professional services, education, fitness, specialty retail, or light manufacturing; and an open mind to learning, plus one accountability partner to compare action plans after each day.
Participants should plan to implement one step after each session as small actions compound into forward motion.
Event Logistics and Registration
Dates: January 22–24, 2026 (Wednesday–Friday)
Time: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET daily, with breaks
Format: Virtual; sessions will be recorded for registered attendees
Details: Event details and registration
Sponsors: Sponsorship information
About SmallBizLadyUniversity.com
SmallBizLady University, founded by Melinda F. Emerson, delivers practical education and training to help professionals start, grow, or buy small businesses. Programs cover marketing and sales, finance, operations, and entrepreneurship through acquisition. Training blends live events, online courses, webinars, and blogs and eBooks with step-by-step templates, worksheets, and a community—especially for women leaders ready to own their next act. Learn more at SmallBizLadyUniversity.com.
The Next ACT CEO Summit is a timely, focused answer for senior women ready to move from résumés to revenue, from leadership to ownership, and from uncertainty to a practical plan. With clear instruction, vetted partners, and a community committed to action, attendees will finish the week with sharper criteria, credible financing pathways, and a plan to make their next act real.
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