Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs

Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964 are participating in Baby Boomer entrepreneurship at amazing levels. Though Global Entrepreneurship Week and similar efforts are focusing upon getting young people to explore entrepreneurship, it is the Baby Boomers who are answering the call at unprecedented levels.

In recognition that Americans aged 55 to 64 start small businesses at a higher rate than any other age group, the U.S. Small Business Administration has decided to focus upon making resources available to this sector. A new site, http://www.sba.gov/50plusentrepreneur offers help to explore the benefits of business ownership at this age. The site seeks to offer helpful information to make choices about business ownership.

One of the key factors driving this development is a change in the way people in this age group seem to view retirement. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll says that 63% of non-retired adults in the United States plan to work into retirement. Most interesting is that this poll was before the current economic collapse and that people were making this decision for non-financial reasons. Most were saying they made the choice for the enjoyment they get from work. Most certainly, with the impact of the drop in the financial market, this group will swell due to people having financial concerns.

One smart entrepreneurial idea may be helping Baby Boomers who want to become entrepreneurs. The SBA site includes an Experience Corps comment that the number of Americans age 55 and older will almost double between 2007 and 2030 - from 60 million to 107.6 million. That certainly sounds like a niche market opportunity.

This is not a new trend. Nearly half the country's self employed workers - 7.4 million - are so Baby Boomers according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And a recent AARP study conducted by RAND Corporation discovered that one in three self-employed workers age 51 to 69 made the transition to self-employment at or after age 50. See the SBA site for more facts. Also see our directory on Entrepreneurship for New Entrepreneurs.

Shallie Bey

Books for Entrepreneurs - The Back of the Napkin

When Dan Roam wrote The Back of the Napkin, he probably never thought he was writing a book for entrepreneurs. But that is exactly what he did. The book is about discovering ideas, developing ideas, and selling ideas. That is the entrepreneurship process. That is the way to develop entrepreneurial ideas and the foundation of the entrepreneurial mindset.

When Dan Roam wrote this book, he did have in mind presenting you with a set of visual thinking tools to help you learn how to tackle problems by looking better, seeing sharper, and imagining further. He does a marvelous job of accomplishing this task.

I have developed for my readers a Squidoo lens (Internet Directory) that takes you on a tour of the Internet on the topic of The Back of the Napkin. This site has excerpts from the book, YouTube presentations by the author and practical examples of how entrepreneurs have used this method to implement their entrepreneurial ideas. This is a great place to start if you are a young entrepreneur seeking to participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Here is a quick sample of one of the videos you will find there.

Shallie Bey

Normal rules apply

Building Relationships over time is central to Networking.

I spoke to someone earlier this week who I had met previously at his first networking event. I asked him how it had been and he said he didn't think it was for him as nothing had come of it. I meet many people who seem to think that a single appearance or one off appearances in different groups is enough. The phone will ring continually, your inbox will be full of orders and you can sit back and relax. Yeah, right!

The normal rules of building relationships apply. Think of it like making friends. It takes time. Often being in the same place without even talking for the first few occasions. Good networking groups will shorten the time that it takes to get to know the other members, but it takes commitment to the group & not just one or two visits. The purpose of your first couple of visits should be to assess whether the group is right for you and your business and whether you are right for the group.

Once you find groups that are right for your business commit your time to attend regularly and build those relationships.

- Make contact with other members
- Find things in common
- Get to know people and follow up
- As they get comfortable with you they will be ready to meet 121
- When you meet 121 find out how you can help
- Educate people about you, your business and your needs
- Do things to help
- Make introductions
- Build your reputation & personal brand
- Go out of your way to advocate others

Then guess what? Good stuff happens to you too.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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Why networking can be a waste of time

I presented to a group recently on how to get results from networking. The first part of the session was all about the things to consider first. These first steps are discussed in a recent NRG podcast, why are you networking and are you prepared?.

During the session one person said that he attended at least 3 networking meetings a week, but was struggling to generate any results. In fact, one of the other attendees shared that this person had developed a reputation for himself as someone who never followed up!

We dug a little deeper and he said he had never asked himself why he was networking. That meant he had never identified where he should network and what he was actually networking for. He simply thought it was something he ought to do and so he attended everything he could. Where possible he avoided any commitment to joining and his idea of a good event was one where all the people were new. This meant he was spending all his spare time on attending meetings and no time on following up and building profitable business relationships. He was wasting a lot of time.

Once he worked out why he was networking he worked out where to concentrate his efforts. He now invests his time productively in the groups that are right for him and his business and he is saving himself a lot of time and effort too.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

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Getting to know you

I have written and spoken before about people referring business to people they know, like and trust. Maybe this is in the wrong order and it should be like, know & trust. Many of us make an immediate judgment about liking someone or thinking they like us! The knowing and trusting bit takes longer, but sometimes it is assumed quickly and disappointment follows.

Many people seem to think that attending one meeting with people is enough. You do not generally get results after one networking meeting, but after a series of interactions when you really get to know someone.

You get to know someone by meeting them regularly & by engaging in conversation with them. Regular attendance at a networking group is a great way of building up a good number of relationships where people get to know each other. At the appropriate time it becomes natural to take some of these a little further. Then you can find and agree things that build the trust you need for a long lasting and mutually beneficial business relationship.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

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