We can’t welcome 2018 without wondering what the boomer
generation will be up to this year. In fact, many boomers are still doing what
they love, and they’re still doing it well! After years of working for others,
they’re making the decisions—and taking the risks—to start their own businesses
in retirement.
Notes writer Wendy Mayhew in the Globe and Mail: “Many people can’t wait to retire. They want to
golf, travel, or just take it easy. Others can’t wait to retire so they can
start the business they have always dreamed about.”
According to the 2017 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship,
individuals between 55 and 64 accounted for 25.5% of all new entrepreneurs in
2016, while the number of 20- to 34-year-old entrepreneurs declined by 34.3%
over a 20-year period to 24.4% in 2016.
Why? It may be that the boomer generation is healthier
and more energetic than previous generations, it may be that boomers (who are notoriously
bad savers) need to supplement their income in retirement, or it may simply be
that older workers have a lot to offer.
In a recent CNBC article, Jody Holtzman, senior vice
president of market innovation for AARP, suggests: “[As a boomer] you know what
works and what doesn’t, you’ve been in small and big companies … You have a
network, possibly savings, or other ways to gain access to capital. All of
those things come together as key success factors for building and sustaining a
business.”
Plus, boomers have always
wanted to change the world. And now’s their chance.
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