Small Business Boomers

Today, I am continuing my interview with John Leonetti, author of Exiting your Business, Protecting Your Wealth.
By way of background, yesterday, I mentioned that John has created a picture of four different types of business owners, depending on their financial and mental readiness.  Some owners are mentally ready, but not financially; some are financially ready but not mentally.  Some are neither mentally nor financially ready (these people probably shouldn’t be doing anything!), and some are both mentally and financially ready. I talk to lots of baby boomers who are considering getting out of their businesses and I see all four …read more

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If tough financial times have made you sick and tired of the  grind  of having your own business, maybe you’re ready to sell.  But selling may not be the best option; you should consider the whole picture.
I recently read a book titled Exiting Your Business Protecting Your Wealth by John Leonetti and I talked with Mr. Leonetti about how Baby Boomer business owners can exit their businesses gracefully while getting the maximum value for all their hard work. I’ll be sharing some of his thoughts today and tomorrow.
How do Baby Boomer business owners assure that they get the highest value …read more

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In 1943, Tom Watson, legendary founder of IBM, was quoted as saying, “I think there is a world market for about five computers.”
Bill Gates also quoted as saying “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
And in 1899 the Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office suggested that the patent office be closed, because, he said, “”Everything that can be invented – has already been invented”
So are you limiting your thinking by deciding that:
(1)You are too old to start a business?
(2) You are trapped in a job you hate but you figure you can’t retire?
(3) The market is down so …read more

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A Nebraska boat show is seeing a big crowd of potential buyers. And sales of premium chocolate are continuing to rise.
I knew we couldn’t hold off – the habits of a lifetime are impossible to break. And our psychic makeup is such that we can’t stay down in Maslow’s lower level needs for very long.
We Boomers still crave our luxuries. And we’re convinced we are doing ourselves good eating chocolate, so why not indulge. Right? I did say a few months ago that chocolate is a “recession-proof” industry.
While the news about out 401(k)s isn’t good, many Baby …read more

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This week, I’m sharing with you my thoughts on achieving financial independence. I believe that is is absolutely possible to attain the goal of financial independence, whatever that means to you as a Baby Boomer. And it’s never too late to start working on that goal.
Yesterday, I talked about Step One: Don’t Spend all the Money (DSATM). The first step is necessary, so you can have enough money to move on to Step 2: Starting a Business.
What Kind of Business? First, let me explain what I mean about a “business.” The business can be anything …read more

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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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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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I remember when many companies did not shut down over the holidays; these days lots of larger companies do. But what about small businesses? Shutting down is not an option for many small businesses, particularly in the current economic slowdown.
The Wall Street Journal reports that many “solo-preneurs” are not planning to slow down or shut down over the holidays. I’m certainly not going to sit around and drink egg nog and watch old movies. This is a slow time, when many of your customers may not be working, but it is also a perfect …read more

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