Small Business Boomers

As a member of the Boomer generation, are you using Facebook and similar social media tools to promote your small business or for your personal enjoyment?  When I first started using Facebook it was for my writing business and to keep in touch with writing colleagues. Then I discovered it a great way to keep in touch with my grandchildren and my younger non-Boomer friends and relatives.
It was interesting that a year ago I couldn’t find anyone in my high school class on Facebook.  Now three of us are corresponding.  Gradually friends my age, in business and church, are becoming …read more

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A bill in Congress (S.773) proposes to give President Obama control of the Internet and our service providers.  Supposedly this is for emergency situations only, as a way to protect our national security against hackers and others wanting to shut down government and military institutions and interfere with the nation’s affairs.
Yes, this is a concern.  However, there are far reaching implications that could greatly affect your business and life.  Is this simply a ruse for Obama and those surrounding him, including key Democrats, to gain control of our lives, our businesses, our communications and our freedom? 
Some considerations:

What happens to purely …read more

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I firmly believe in the power of testimonials.  You know, those “I lost weight and so can you” things you see on ads for weight loss programs.
What is your first though on seeing this “before and after” photo?

Was it “Wow! How did she do that?”  or was it “They must have altered that photo” ?  But even if your response was skeptical, didn’t you wonder how she did it?  Before-and-After photos may not be believable to us, on one level, but deep down we think, “Gee, it worked for her/him, maybe it will work for me.”  Testimonials are probably the …read more

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A few days ago I talked about Baby Boomers getting back into the job market and some possible networking resources, if you decide to start a new business or to go back into the work world full-time or part-time.   So how do you make contact with people at networking events and expand your network of possibilities?  Here are some tips for networking:

 Attend local networking events.  It’s been said that 90% of success is just showing up.  That’s true with networking.  Showing up gets you talking to the right people.  Some possible networking events/meetings: Local chamber of …read more

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I have been talking about networking this past week.  One of the best pieces of networking advice I have received is to collect email addresses.  Then keep in touch with these people.  One way to keep in touch is to send them invitations; a new way to send online invitations is with one of the new online invitation sites, like Evite or Socializr.
That’s E-Vite (like in-vite).  Evite is an online service that allows you to send free invitations to events.  You select the invitation template and the words and you create the email list. Most of the sample invitations are …read more

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This week, consider joining a board of directors to make a difference in your community.  Board members are individuals who (1) have the time and interest in a non-profit organization to attend meetings and (2) have experience they can offer to the non-profit. Sounds like we baby boomers meet both of those qualifications.
I was on the school foundation in my children’s school district for a number of years, and it was a great way for me to help the school system (we did fund-raising and used the money to benefit the schools and to provide scholarships …read more

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As a blogger on b5media, I’m very aware of social media.  And I’m wondering if other baby boomers are too.  I recently read a blog post about boomer women using social media to promote their businesses.  And I’m wondering, do a lot of baby boomers use social media?
It’s pretty overwhelming, even for someone like me who has been around the Internet since the days of Mosaic and Pine Mail (pre-GUI – really!).  Apparently, many baby boomers are going to social media sites like FaceBook and LinkedIn (41 percent of us) and streaming video sites like YouTube (61 percent of us).
So, …read more

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Remember your first car? If you can remember the first car you drove/owned, you’re probably a guy. (I think it’s a genetic thing.) My husband can remember every car he’s ever owned, and he loves going to look at “classic cars” (those old cars from the 20s on up through the 70s). We have a friend who has a whole garage (not just a car space, but an entire garage) devoted to his classic car stuff.
The Detroit Free Press (of course) reports that many Baby Boomers are getting into the Classic Car business. …read more

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Baby Boomers are good volunteers. Some have already retired, while others have no children at home and a little free time.
We boomers know how good it feels to do things for others. We remember Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and school volunteer projects. Many of us have lived in our communities for a long time and we feel connected to them. When something like the recent flooding and storms in Iowa happens, we immediately jump in to help.
My husband just retired, and although he’s taking a part-time job, he wants to go back to volunteering at …read more

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Like other baby boomers in business, I talk to people in the same profession.  A doctor told me about this dilemma and asked for my advice:
A  patient who is a travel agent had been coming to this doctor’s office for several months.  When  he asked how she was doing, she occasionally bemoaned the fact that her travel agency was not doing well.
The other day, he casually mentioned he was taking a cruise with his family and th at he had booked it online to save money.  The patient was very upset and asked, “Why didn’t you book it with me?!”  …read more

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