At the end of each month, I present a round-up of five posts that have been popular or have generated interest at Small Business Boomers. 
Here are 5 for December:
Develop a Business of Remembering Those Who Will Be Forgotten
Boomers, Take Care of Your Appearance
Christmas Cookie Journal – A Business Idea?
Preserving Family Memories as a Business
Online Shopping Appeals to Boomers & Those With Health Issues
Did you have a favorite post for December?

 
May you have a joyous Christmas Day and much success, health and happiness in 2010.
 
From Small Business Boomers!

In my family writing workshops (an offshoot of one of my small businesses), I often mention the importance of writing about the people in our lives who will be forgotten if we don’t do something about it. 
 I consider my aunt, who was divorced and had no children,  my uncle who was a bachelor, my brother who died young, and two other aunts and uncles who had no children.
Who in our family will remember them if I don’t write their stories, collect their memorabilia, and pass this along to my family? 
I thought of this again when I read the following in The …read more

It’s never too late to dream or set goals…and go for it!  As Boomers begin to reach retirement and Social Security age, they often give up on their dreams and feel there’s nothing to reach for in life.
However, they still can accomplish a great deal, operate a small business, influence grandchildren, travel, make new friends, develop careers and hobbies they only thought about fleetingly.  It’s time to explore the impossible!
So…make yourself a list of 100 dreams or goals you’d like to accomplish.  Some may be mundane while others are fleets of fancy.  Never mind.  Write them all down.  Then read …read more

In this age, when consumers are sensitive to going “green,” many look at the packaging of products, as well as the products themselves.  So you may need to consider the statement you’re making with your packaging. 
This doesn’t mean you have to be “green to the extreme,” so it’s totally illogical, as some people do.  However, it’s especially important, if you’re promoting the fact that your items are environmentally friendly, that you take a look at how you’re packaging.
You may find it interesting and informative to read my post, Organizing Your Packaging for “Green” Products, at My Organized Biz.  Here you’ll learn …read more

Often when we reach a “certain age,” we’re considered old and incapable, rather than mature and wise.  Part of this can be dispelled by taking care of our appearance so we appear professional and capable.
Even when we operate an online business, we’ll feel better and sound better if we crawl out of our jammies, do our hair, shave (if a man) and put on make-up (if a lady).  We don’t need to dress like a teen to give the impression of being younger, but dress as though we care about ourselves, our business and our appearance.  Thus we don’t give …read more

Online businesses are ideal for boomers who live in areas of extremes in weather.  When you may not want to go outside into heat, cold and storms, being able to conduct your business inside your home fits in nicely.

Snow rages outside, but I can still write and post.
I can communicate with business colleagues and customers.
I can receive orders.
I can conduct online workshops.
I can conduct Skype or ooVooo workshops and consultations.

What other advantages of businesses conducted entirely or partially online for boomers?

Many Boomers are stirring up cookies during these days before Christmas.  They may be making them with grandchildren, by themselves, or for cookie exchanges.
Cookie making usually brings back memories of these sessions in our childhood, with our children, with community groups, or with the entire family.  We may pull out recipes used throughout the generations.  We may try new recipes.
All of these activities create memories, especially if you take photos to accompany the cookie making sessions.  One of my favorite photos shows my then 2-year old daughter and me making cookies at the kitchen table.
So…why not start a Christmas Cookie Journal with …read more

Social networking, blogging, and a knowledge of the “new” technology is imperative to advancing one’s small business, especially if it’s Internet based. More and more Boomers are uilizing computers, shopping on the Internet, using them for communication and to promote their businesses. 
 If they do have a business, they’re discovering it’s becoming difficult to operate efficiently and effectively without being involved with social media. 
Even so, there are some Boomers who seem proud that they’re social media ignorant.  That may be fine for some people, but generally even communication with family will be more frequent if one does explore e-mail, instant messaging, and features like …read more

 
Many Boomers are at a stage where family memories have great meaning. 
They also are into scrapbooking and journaling.  They often are caregivers for parents or relatives and find themselves saving those persons’ memories for children, grandchildren and future generations.
They realize, as Mma Ramotswe did, in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, about her father:  His life was unrecorded; who is there to write down the lives of ordinary people?
There are members of my family, who have died without children or spouse or anyone to record their lives.  If I don’t do it, who will?  Will they be simply a statistic …read more