Small Business Boomers

Over the weekend I read a story about woman in North Carolina who has a thriving business as a bookbinder.  For someone who loves books, this would be a great business. And for a baby boomer who is looking for a creative business, it would be lots of fun.  Book binding is also a recession-proof business, because it caters to people who have money, and who aren’t worried about getting laid off.
var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(234,155,266732,”http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css”)}catch(ex){}}()
Of course, I had to  check out places where you can get training in how to do book binding.  I found that the Guild of …read more

No Comments

var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(234,351,243607,”http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css”)}catch(ex){}}()
Sarah Palin confesses she shops at consignment stores.  And many other smart shoppers are doing the same.  With the downturn in the economy, consignment shops are booming.  Lots of people are looking for bargains in clothing, furniture, toys, you-name-it.
What is the difference between a consignment store, a resale store, and a thrift shop?  According to the National Association of Retail and Thrift Shops (NARTS), a retail store buys outright and resells, while a consignment shop takes merchandise and only pays the consignor when the merchandise sells.  A thrift shop is usually a non-profit that accepts donations and re-sells …read more

No Comments

var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(234,156,243664,”http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css”)}catch(ex){}}()
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

2 Comments

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

1 Comment

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.

var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(234,351,205661,”http://pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css”)}catch(ex){}}()
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

No Comments

A big factor in success is asking the right questions. This principle works particularly in business negotiations. If you are a baby boomer buying a business, or if you are buying a boomer business (or both), carefully evaluate the business by asking the right questions.
A young friend of mine told me a story about a business he bought(a professional practice). Before he bought, he had several conversations with the seller, and he said he even asked, “Why are you selling this practice?” But he didn’t ask another important question: “Who knows you are selling the practice?” …read more

No Comments

The Wall Street Journal suggests that Joe the Plumber should get a SEP-IRA to protect his profits from being taxed. So what is a SEP-IRA?
A SEP-IRA is a Simplified Employee Pension IRA (Individual Retirement Account), which allows you to make contributions to your own and employee retirements. SEP-IRAs essentially function as “profit-sharing” plans, because they allow contributions based on owner and employee compensation, including bonuses.
SEP-IRAs work the same way as other types of IRA’s:

Limits on how much you can contribute to them each year,
Penalties and interest for withdrawal before age 59 1/2 (with some exceptions). …read more

2 Comments

The SBA recognizes how many of us Baby Boomers are going into business for ourselves, or starting second, or third, careers, so it has produced a new web page for Baby Boomer small business owners and those who want to own small businesses. They call it the “50-plus Entrepreneur” site.
Many of the resources on the site are available to all small businesses, but it’s nice to see them packaged for Baby Boomer business owners. For example, the section on planning a business includes information on planning, starting, managing and even getting out of your business. And …read more

2 Comments

Well, it looks like the stock market rallied today (up over 500 points as I write this) and gas prices are falling – a friend here in Iowa reported gas prices under $3.
But for Baby Boomers, and particularly those of us in business, times may continue to be “tight” and we remain worried. So what are you doing to cope? Have you changed anything?
My husband and I have made some changes and plan to make others:

We cancelled a planned 10-day trip to do some family history research.
We paid off our high-interest charge card and …read more

No Comments

Baby Boomers in business:  I’m curious.
Has the credit crunch affected your business?  For example:

Have you found that business is slower?
Have you had trouble collecting money from customers?
Has your bank pulled bank your credit line or denied you additional funding?

Comment or use my latest poll to let me know.

1 Comment