Small Business Boomers

I found an amazing video about a juggler and comedian named Chris Bliss that made me think about two things: Passion and Practice. If you want to succeed at your business (or anything else) in 2009, you will need only two things:
1. Passion – something that gets you up in the morning, every morning, excited to do what it is you are doing (note the smile on the guy’s face while he’s doing his amazing juggling act).
And
2. Practice – keep doing it every day, every day, every day. You don’t think this guy got this …read more

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Oprah confesses she’s back up to 200 pounds again. Somehow, it’s comforting for the rest of us to know that one of the richest women in the world struggles with her weight, just like us.

How about you – what’s your New Year’s Resolution?
Image source: PicApp

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And probably the most important thing we learned all year:
There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

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To continue our discussion of what we learned in 2008…
In July,
We learned of the death of Randy Pausch of “The Last Lecture” fame. The book of his lecture went on to become a best-seller. And of the death of George Carlin, who also had much to teach us.
We learned how to estimate Social Security benefits online and how to use a financial planner ……
And how to invest in a business without getting a bank loan, and the single biggest retirement planning mistake baby boomers make.
How to deal with tough financial times (which we didn’t know were going to get tougher)…and …read more

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We Baby Boomers are probably the most over-educated, over-informed, and entertained generation ever.  And with the advent of the blogosphere a few years ago, we have found new ways to be informed and educated and entertained.  From the annals of Small Business Boomers over this year, here are some things we learned:
In January we learned
How Baby Boomers who are veterans can get help starting businesses
About Creative Capitalism (Bill Gates version)
About Muni Bond Insurance and its effect on small business taxes
Jim Norton started issuing “storm warnings about the coming recession.  Too bad I didn’t take his advice and start moving my …read more

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The contest is over and two “winners” have been announced. Of course, the winners are the organizations who received the publicity from your comments.
Thanks to all who participated!
The first two numbers generated by my random number generator were: 10 and 3.  If you count back, you can see that

Susan suggested Habitat for Humanity of the Greater New Orleans area
and Teresa suggested breast cancer research. I will make donations to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Images souce: PicApp

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Over the next few days, I will be talking about what we Baby Boomers learned in 2008.  Today’s End-of-Year blog is about some business ideas to consider.  Maybe 2009 will be your year:
Some business ideas:
Home Typing Service
Leading Non-profits
A Beer-related Business
Wine Businesses, Wine Making,  and Wine Franchises
Senior Care Franchises

in several articles
Bed and Breakfasts, Part 1,  Part 2, an Interview with a B&B owner, and Do You Have What it Takes?
And a B&B Sitter or Caretaker
Chocolate Businesses
Coaching (the business and professional kind)
Classic Car Businesses
Fixing Things
Mobile Businesses
Pet Sitting and Dog Walking and more on Pet Sitting
Let me know if any …read more

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Baby Boomers are generous folks.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who have taken time to comment on my “Help Me Decide” Where to Donate contest. I have received quite a nice list of excellent charities, including:

Cystic Fibrosis
Kidney Disease Foundation
American Heart Association
Breast Cancer Research (it was not specified, but I’d probably donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, unless the submitter has another specific organization)
United Cerebral Palsy
UNICEF
ASPCA
St. Jude Children’s Hospital
Salvation Army (several people)
LaLeche League
Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Orleans (they are working on rebuilding after the floods)

One organization that was suggested I had not …read more

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Some business owners need a sharp kick in the pants before they start paying attention to their business. Case in point: I recently saw an article in a local newspaper (online) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about an employee in a dental office who embezzled over $200,000 from the doctor.

The two biggest losses any small business faces are customers shoplifting and employee theft. And employee theft is by far the largest. It often goes undetected until too late, as with the case above. Why too late? Well, if the dentist had caught the employee when …read more

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My favorite new Christmas song is sung by Faith Hill on her new Holiday album. Have a Joyous Christmas!

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