Small Business Boomers

If you are a Baby Boomer selling to Baby Boomer consumers, take note. A friend (mid-50s) has been on FaceBook for over a year, but in the last few months she has received several invitations to connect from people she knew in high school  Turns out a lot of Baby Boomers are now on FaceBook.
I receive many invitations to join “networks.”  Some on LinkedIn, which seems to be a big deal with the students and new grads I know.  But many are on FaceBook.   As you might guess, the majority of people on connection sites like these are people in …read more

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I write professionally, and I spend my life online.  Most of my work is done through online websites and blogs.  But for anyone who uses the web for their business, there are some websites you need to know about.  I couldn’t live without them. And the best thing about each of them is that they are free.
#1 – TinyUrl – I do a lot of Tweeting (posting) on Twitter and, like most people on this site, I like to send urls.  Since most are huge, they don’t fit in the constraints of 140 characters.  So I use TinyUrl to get …read more

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There are two schools of thought on pennies:
School 1 – I’ll call it the “old school” – Exemplified by an elderly lady I know who cannot pass by a penny anywhere – on the ground – on a table – in a store — without taking it.  She says that every cent is valuable and that the accumulation of all those 1 cent pieces adds up.  She’s obviously a child of the Great Depression (1929 variety), when people got used to hoarding things and stuffing money in mattresses.
School 2 – I’ll call it the “new school” – Exemplified by Valerie …read more

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The question has been asked, “Is it worth your time to try to reach Baby Boomers on social media?”  The answer is, “Yes.”  and “No.” I write a lot about Baby Boomers as business owners, but not as much about Boomers as consumers.  Today’s post is about both.
Donya Schweizer markets her Beyond Chocolate products using Facebook. 
What is Social Media? First, I need to define “social media.”  It’s one of those “if you don’t know what it is, I can’t explain it” kinds of things.  Social media involve the Internet and mobile technology (iPhones, cell phones, blackberries, that kind of …read more

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Henry Ford published this purpose statement in 1907:
“I will build a motor car for the great multitude.  It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise.  But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one-and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.”
So what happened?  If …read more

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How many times have you moved? I counted 12 different homes in 4 cities since I graduated from undergraduate school. I have lots of experience in moving. If you have moved many times and you are an expert at packing, unpacking, dealing with moving companies, and finding places for all that stuff that doesn’t fit in the new place, maybe you should consider being a moving consultant.

People of all ages need moving consultants:

Young executives and their families
Empty-nesters who are are down-sizing
Seniors moving to condominiums

A moving consultant would help with all aspects of a move, including helping find …read more

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Now is the time for cruising. And you can get great deals.
Baby boomers have been the staple of the cruise industry for many years. But most of us boomers are holding on to our money right now. So the cruise lines are pulling out the incentives. Maybe it’s time to take a cruise.  You’re probably thinking I’m nuts – you just lost 30% of the value of your retirement funds.  But you know you can’t take it with you.  If you need some arguments to persuade your spouse (I’m working on mine) or significant other, here are …read more

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You may have heard that there are some groups, including the National Federation of Independent Business, that are advocating for a 6-month “payroll tax holiday” to jump start the economy. Sounds like a great idea, on the surface that is.
What’s a Payroll Tax Holiday? Well, the idea is that no one has to pay Social Security/Medicare taxes (approximately 15.3 percent of your gross pay) for six months. If you are employed, your employer pays half and you pay half; if you own a business, you pay the full amount, as self-employment tax. The idea is that this money …read more

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One more important invention that needs to be on the list of “most important inventions” that I listed yesterday.  It is … the disposable diaper.
It was a woman, of course, who invented the disposable diaper, back in the 1800s.  I don’t understand why it took so long to catch on, but she should have a place in the Invention Hall of Fame.
Remember Cloth Diapers? I remember when my children were born, at the beginning of the time when cloth diapers were being replaced by “superabsorbent” disposables.  I got a diaper service, and quickly figured out it was a heck of …read more

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Nightly Business Review on PBS, in conjunction with the Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania, have conducted a survey and asked experts which were the best innovations of the last 30 years.  I received a sneak preview of the list, which will be released on NBR tonight.  Here are the top 30 innovations in reverse order:
30. Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS
29. SRAM flash memory
28. Stents
27. ATMs
26. Bar codes and scanners
25. Bio fuels
24. Genetically modified plants
23. RFID and applications (e.g. EZpass)
22. Digital photography/videography
21. Graphic user interface (GUI)
20. Social networking via internet
19. Large scale wind turbines
18. Photovoltaic Solar Energy
17. Microfinance
16. Media …read more

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