Small Business Boomers

As I sorted through some of my mother’s collection of memorabilia, I came across lists and letters and account summaries of her years operating a small country general store on the edge of our farm property.
My dad and a friend built it and the friend managed the business.  When he had a heart attack, Mother (a former school teacher, who had no storekeeping experience) decided she would operate it.  So during my last year of high school and my college years, I spend weekends and vacations working at the store and on the farm my father owned.
Mother didn’t make a fortune.  …read more

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What happens to the rest the family in your business if you decide to sell? I just talked to a Baby Boomer who is selling his business. His son and daughter-in-law both work in the business, and he’s wondering how he’s going to tell his family that he’s selling, and how they will deal with the sale. He has a buyer already, and the buyer doesn’t want the family members to stay.

What a mess! Family businesses are difficult in the best of times. The man’s story brought back some memories. I can tell you …read more

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Over the past few days I have done two posts interviewing John Leonetti about his book Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth.  I have been talking with several young professionals who are looking for businesses to buy or who are buying businesses from Baby Boomers, so today I wanted to give you some insight into these young people.  I figure the more information you have the better.

Who Wants to Buy Your Business? Your prospective buyer might be anyone, but I would guess they have several characteristics:
They are young – probably under 35
They are male, although more and more I talk …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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There are Baby Boomers… and there is Everyone Else. Or, “I’m Chevy Chase, and You’re Not.” Being a Baby Boomer, I get a little upset when people (those who are not Baby Boomers) try to tell us how to think, feel, and particularly what to do.  And I especially get upset when those Not-Boomers try to lump us all into one kind of vanilla person.
OK, we all lost a sizable sum of money in the market “crash,” but it’s only relative. If we decide to “retire,” whatever that means, we aren’t forced to do so. …read more

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Baby boomer business owners, Gen Y business owners, and everyone in between needs help with their businesses.  And a new business reality show on A&E is here to help.  The show:  “We Mean Business” (sponsored by Dell).  The episode I watched was about a Baby Boomer named Doug of Outback Catering.  Doug needs to get his 20-year-old catering business back on track.
The format:  kind of a “make-over” show for businesses.  You know the kind.  Like “trading spaces” and “extreme home makeover.” Only for businesses.
The people:  Business owners with attitude and 3 experts with more attitude.  Bil Rancic, the original “Apprentice” …read more

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Hiring your children is a good way to help your Baby Boomer business:

You can get some needed part-time jobs done that it would be difficult to hire someone else to do
You can save on taxes
Your child can spend the money or build up money in a college fund.

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If you have children between 7 and 18, you can hire them to do necessary and useful work in your business and you can save money on business and personal taxes.  Notice I highlighted “necessary and useful.”  The work they do has to be of benefit to your …read more

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Today is Theme Day on B5media’s Business Channel and the the is “Experience – Does it matter?”  Well, of course it does, and Baby Boomers are the most experienced people in the business world today.  In my post earlier today, I suggested you get out there and find ne, interesting, challenging ways to  use your experience.  Here are some suggestions:
1.  Write about it.  Many boomers are writing books describing their experiences in business.  Or write an e-book and sell it online.  Or write that “Great American Novel” like Stephen King.
2.  Volunteer.  Use your experience to help others.  Join the Peace …read more

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John Dane III has overcome a lot, including Hurricane Katrina, to get to the Beijing Olympics.
Dane, who is 58, has a PhD from Tulane and owns a yacht company that was in the path of Hurricane Katrina. He lost both his home and his business in that devastating event. He rebuilt his company, which is bigger and better than ever.
In the meantime, Dane has been trying to get the Olympics for 40 years! Finally, racing with his son-in-law Austin Sperry, he managed to get a berth (couldn’t resist the pun) on the U.S. Sailing …read more

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I counsel people going into professional practices, and I tell them this often: If you are buying property, purchase the property as a separate entity. Having a separate entity (an LLC or a Subchapter S Corporation) for the property keeps the property out of any issues with the debt of the business itself. You can also move the business and keep the property, renting out the space to some other business.
The separate entity for property idea might also be good if you are asked to invest in a business by a relative, child, or friend. You could …read more

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