What usually comes to mind when you hear the word entrepreneur?
Young, just out-of-business-school Gen Y’er? Well surprise again – the Baby Boomers are actually starting companies at a faster pace than ever before! In 2011, the Kaufman Foundation did a major research study on entrepreneurs. They found that 21% of all start up businesses in the US were done by people from the age of 55-64, which was up 14% since 2007. They also found that an additional 28% of those start ups were done by those age 45-54. (So do the math on that- 49%!) Another study done in 2013 by Monster found that 41% of Boomers consider themselves entrepreneurs.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THIS TREND
There are a number of reasons why those numbers are on the rise such as increase in age longevity, health, shrinking retirement money, people losing jobs or being forced into retirement. Self employment gives Boomers once again the opportunity to define their lives on their terms! An interesting article in the Washington Post talks about Boomers embracing social media, and focusing on healthcare as a possible focus for business startups.
ARE YOU READY TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Marci Alboher, in her “Encore Career Handbook” devotes an entire chapter to the Encore Entrepreneur. www.encore.org She talks about the idea of “Social Entrepreneurship”, where entrepreneurial techniques are used to achieve social change. This can include starting a business with a social mission or one that addresses a social or community problem. She includes a great list of questions for self reflection; Do you have what it takes? She also talks about the traits of an Encore Entrepreneur such as a sense of urgency, a desire to improve the work, or simply bringing together your various skills, talents and experience in a meaningful way.
How do you decide if this is the avenue to take?
From my own personal experience, I started by focusing on what was important to me, what were some burning issues that I saw were not being addressed or services provided. What were the trends? Where were potential collaborators or even where were the competitors?
I truly believe that boomers can achieve even greater levels of happiness as entrepreneurs.
They are redefining the marketplace and bringing a wealth of experience, talent and passion towards this effort. There are no guarantees with business start ups, but with a little financial planning , coaching and training in social media and entrepreneurial basics, along with embracing intergenerational thinking there is a good chance that THIS is truly a recipe for success- for the boomers and our economy!
I would love to hear some of your Encore entrepreneurial start up stories! I will be starting some Q and A interviews with Boomer entrepreneurs!
Bevan Rogel
Encore Tampa Bay
As an entrepreneurial Boomer, I would like to suggest that those considering this path be sure to know about finances and cash flow. The Small Business Administration offers some valuable material but you can also learn about accounting, chart of accounts and other financial matters on You Tube.
Great point Mary. There are a lot of great articles and resources for boomers to read and consider as they are pondering what is next. If you have other specific resources – keep them coming!
Bevan
I love this post. I totally agree. I personally witness and read about this new reality of boomers leading the way in new business startup, entrepreneurship. For myself, while in a life-long career in organizational and leadership development, I am now in the throes of writing a book and actively publicizing a friend’s book. It’s amazing the new insights and information I am receiving. I find the more I re-juvenate myself, the more re-juventation comes my way from others. (e.g., what you give is what you get, for sure!). Bravo, Bevan!
Kitty – great insights. Thank you for sharing your experience as a boomer entrepreneur. It can be exciting but also overwhelming at the same time. There is truly a lot to learn – along with applying the great tools and experience you have acquired on the way!
Bevan