Boomers – the not so young entrepreneurs.

This is a great post by Jeff Williams on a blog I have just discovered – StartupNation – you should read it.

He talks about another group of entrepreneurs, I shall call them the Boomerpreneurs. This is one of the more interesting entrepreneur groups we are seeing at the moment. For many the reason to get into business is as mentioned in the post:

“….many 50+ Boomers in particular are being pushed into early retirement, being downsized or being told by their corporate employers that there really isn’t room for them after age 60. …”

Many Boomers have a different entrepreneurial outlook:

“Although entrepreneurs of all ages tend to share some common traits, such as unbounded optimism, many Boomer entrepreneurs differ from their younger counterparts in the their willingness to balance income-producing potential with the freedom to enjoy their desired lifestyle.”

Jeff goes on:

“For example, some Boomer business owners specifically create business operations that can be run from more than one physical location, or run part of the year.”

But for me this is the real highlight:

“Many of the most generous donors to worthy causes in the U.S. and around the world are Boomer entrepreneurs who share their time and financial support with a wide variety of deserving organizations, ranging from Big Brothers and Sisters to Unicef.”

I love this, to say it with Bob Dylan: The Times They are A-Changin’. Big corporations have played with peoples lives, now these lives are setting up in business, great. This way small business will get more experienced entrepreneurs with a social aspect – it will also help to bring small business mortality down.

There are times when I love what I do, reading stories like this certainly makes me feel good and gives me hope for the future.

Tags: Boomerpreneurs, Business Start Up, Business Success, Contractors, DIYPreneurs, Entrepreneur, Free Agents, Freelancers, Home Business, Lifestyle Business, Micro Business, MumPreneurs, On-demand Small Business Infrastructure, Personal Business, SaaS, Selfemployed, smb, sme, SocialPreneurs, SOHO, Very Small Business, WinWeb

4 Responses to “ Boomers – the not so young entrepreneurs. ”

1. Bill Dueease
   
   Said on June 30th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

   Amen to big corporations have been playing with peoples lives. Boomer entrepreneurs and now many of their younger corporate mates have figured out that they can take control of their lives and get out of the political rat race called corporate life by starting their own businesses. They are also discovering that they will have a greater chance of creating a successful business if they do so on their own terms.

   I personally stared my present 6 year old business when I was only 55.

2. Teresa Morrow
   
   Said on July 1st, 2007 at 3:29 am

   This is something I don’t normally do,(post for someone else), however, in this situation, I do firmly believe that I would like to recommend a website of baby boomer (aka boomerpreneur)…Beverly Mahone, the Baby Boomer Diva (www.thebabyboomerdiva.com). She is a spectacular person and in fact she is best selling author a fabulous book about being a boomer called, “Whatever, A Baby Boomer’s Journey into Middle Age”. I have read the book and it is fascinating insight of menopause sprinkled with humor and filled with faith.

3. Stefan Töpfer
   
   Said on July 1st, 2007 at 8:43 am

   Bill,

   I’m intrigued about your “… greater chance of creating a successful business if they do so on their terms.” I hear that a lot, what do YOU mean by that?

   Also how long are you planning to be in business for?

   ST

4. Jim Norton
   
   Said on July 18th, 2007 at 2:36 pm

   Individual health has a major impact on the ability of a Boomer to have a successful small business experience. For Boomers who have not been in a start-up situation or run a small operation the physical demands can be daunting. It sure isn’t like wourking for a big company with divisions of labor. Many small businesses require long hours of daily attention. Part-time jobs often morph into something far larger.

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