Hi, I’m Jeff Williams, Boomer entrepreneur and chief coach for Bizstarters, and now the newest blogger for StartupNation.
I’m very pleased to be joining the network of experts who provide advice and thoughtful perspective through the various blogs presented on the StartupNation website.
You may be wondering why we’ve added a blog specifically aimed to the concerns and needs of Boomer entrepreneurs.
There are a number of reasons.
1. The Boomers need help with a unique work-related challenge.
According to a 2004 survey commissioned by AARP, more than 75% of individuals born between 1946 and 1964 (The Baby Boomers) indicated a strong intention to continue working into their sixties, and sometimes beyond.
This means that 75% of 76 million Americans, or more than 57 million individuals, want to keep working for a decade or more into the future.
But 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.
So if there aren’t enough corporate jobs to go around for the older Boomers, what’s their alternative option for continued income-producing work?
More and more Boomers are choosing some form of entrepreneurial activity as their preferred alternative to the corporate world.
In fact, the number of self-employed people over age 50 has increased 29% since 2000 and for the past five years, individuals age 50-62 have been the fastest growing group of new business owners in the U.S.
After a 30-year-plus corporate career, many Boomers are considering an entrepreneurial venture for the first time in their adult lives. The sheer number of prospective Boomer entrepreneurs demands an aggressive effort to provide entrepreneurial assistance to them.
StartupNation is dedicated to assuring that a diverse assortment of knowledge, advice, training and coaching are available to all new Boomer entrepreneurs. Our new Boomer Blog is intended as an important source of two-way communication with prospective and current Boomer entrepreneurs.
2. Boomers express a different entrepreneurial outlook than younger people.
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.
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.
I will offer a regular feature in the Boomer blog where I will report on interesting Boomer entrepreneurs who run businesses that feature a successful blend of work and leisure.
3. Boomers have a lot of experience and talent and want to share them.
By the time an individual has worked for thirty years or more, he has accumulated a diverse set of work and life experiences, many of which can form a solid foundation for starting and running a business.
I welcome the readers of the Boomer blog to share their thoughts and talents with each other.
4. Many Boomers want to do well and do good at the same time.
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.
A regular feature of the Boomer blog will be my interviews with philanthropic Boomer entrepreneurs.
We Boomers are nowhere near ready to stop contributing to the world or enjoying new adventures in life.
For an increasing number of us, running our own business provides the perfect opportunity to combine both.
