Small Business Boomers

Wither you believe in the science of global warming or not it is already having an impact on your business.  It has become part of the environment in which businesses large and small function.  You can’t change that.  You don’t have to agree with the science, but you must account for it in the way you do business.
Insurance
People in the property insurance industry have worked the probability that global warming is occurring into the actuarial formulas they use to insurance rates.  Maybe most importantly the people they go to for re-insurance all around the world have made similar calculations.  As …read more

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Health care is a huge question for small businesses in the United States.  Everyone who is a sole proprietor knows how expensive it is to buy insurance for themselves and their families.  Catastrophic coverage is usually the only thing small business owners can afford.  When you are the driving force behind your business you cannot afford to go bare.  A broken hip can bankrupt you.  The guy who runs a take-a-way pizza joint in the local strip mall works a second job for the health insurance coverage.
It is rare to find a small business, especially a start-up, who offers health …read more

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This applies to all boomers in a small business regardless if it is a going concern, franchise or start-up.
Lately I see a number of business sites with articles on the market potential catering to the aging boomer market.  Adult diaper manufacturing could be really big.  Seriously, the boomer market has always been the pig in the python and our needs are changing.  A business that addresses any of the changing needs of our generation is certainly off on the right foot.
Who knows the needs of the baby boomers better than we do?  Nobody.  We live our needs everyday with our …read more

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I was in sales for 25 years.  I became very, very customer oriented and it flows over into everything I do, but the definition of customer orientation is important.  Many people like to quote the old saw “the customer is always right”.  Most of the time, I believe that.
The customer is always right when they believe they are right.  They may be dead wrong.   But if by their understanding of the situation they believe they are right, then you need to acknowledge their belief.  Only after you have honored that belief and acknowledged that it can you begin to present …read more

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I was a salesman and manager for General Electric for eight years.  Yearly plans were always a big part of our activity in December and January.  Goals and objectives defined the plans.  I don’t remember which was the objective and which the goal.  In the dictionary they are definitions for each other.
The distinguishing factor in GE’s lexicon was that one had specific dates and was highly measurable such as “I will sell $10 million dollars in computer services in calendar year 1982.”  The other was fuzzier such as “I will improve my financial skills by taking classes offered by the …read more

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There was just one whale of an interesting article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal.  That’s January 9th.  The article was “Do Start-Ups Really Need Formal Business Plans?” by Kelly Spors.
There is an entire industry out there urging people who what to start a business to become involved in formal business planning.  The article mentions that a search on Amazon for “business plan” got over 19,000 hits.   The article continues that academic institutions have a vested interest in teaching planning to entrepreneurs.  “It’s much easier to teach than intuition.”
I’ve done the big plans when I was searching for big money from …read more

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There has been some buzz out there about boomers starting internet based businesses.  It’s a variation on that working from home thing.  Personally I think it can be an excellent idea.  I’ve been in this technology since 1975 and I’ve applied it to 4 of my 6 startups.
The combination of personal computing, the Internet and high speed communications in the home brings a level of efficiency and leverage to an individual that is unprecedented.  The big thing to remember is that the Internet, your PC and all the rest of the technology are just tools to do a job or …read more

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Let’s talk a bit about a franchise.  You can read a great deal more about the details of franchising at www.franchisepick.com, the b5media site dedicated to franchising.  The following are general and more personal thoughts.
Basically a franchisor, the person selling the franchise, has a time tested business plan which they sell to the franchisee, the person buying the franchise.  As always the devil is in the details, the financial details and the operational details.
The big benefit of a franchise for boomers is that it gets you off to a faster start as opposed to starting a business from the ground …read more

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This may be the greatest single innovation of 2006.  It is not invention, but it is adaptation.  It is smart, cool, thoughtful and very profitable.  According to one story this innovation was implemented by Burger King franchisees in Indiana.    What they did was merge the drive-up-window and the remote call center.
Here’s how it works.  You drive up to the ordering station at your local Burger King and yell your order.  Someone at a remote call center takes your order, asks if you want fries with that, and oh, they have a special on strawberry shakes.  The order taker types you …read more

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