10/29/2009
Baby Boomers Lead Way in Business Start-Ups
by Larry Brian, Center Director, UAF ASBTDC
The Kaufman Foundation is a non-profit group that is the nation's leader in educating entrepreneurs. Kaufman researchers have determined that the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America now belongs to the 55-64 age group. The AARP formed a program designed to help older business owners gain access to a wide range of business resources when it learned that more than half of all small business owners were over 50. There are four main reasons for baby boomers to be the prime candidates to start and run a small business:
1. Baby boomers are at a high risk of becoming unemployed and then having difficulty finding a new job in the same industry. Employers are looking to hire younger workers who can be paid less.
2. Many baby boomers start small businesses because they are tired of their career jobs or employers. Boomers want to do something more enjoyable and exciting in the final years of their working lives. With what has happened to so many retirement accounts, working longer is one strategy for recovery. Owning and operating a small business is an excellent way to meet that financial need.
3. There is no substitute for knowledge and experience. Boomers have the critical life and work skills to make a new business successful. Even with 25-35 years of work experience, today's boomers have plenty of energy to apply to a new endeavor.
4. Boomers often have the resources to capitalize a new business. During these economic times, it is challenging for a start-up to obtain financing from a lending institution. If a boomer does need to borrow money, a lender will value work experience and personal financial resources that a boomer can bring to the table when analyzing a business plan.
Tips from AARP for boomers wanting to start a business:
http://www.aarp.org/money/work/articles/thinking_about_starting_a_business.html?CMP=KNC-360I-MSN-MON&HBX_OU=52&HBX_PK=small_business
