The Age Curve – How to profit from “Generational Demographics”

Yesterday I talked about The Age Curve by Baby Boomer Kenneth Gronbach.  The book’s subtitle is “How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm.”  The “storm” he’s talking about, I think, is the influx of baby boomers as an aging generation and its effect on many areas of economics.

Yesterday, I said Gronbach’s central premise is that you need to know two things about a group your business is marketing to:  (1) How big is it?  (2) What are the group’s buying patterns?  If you know these two things, you can use them to profit in your business,  investing, and retirement planning.  For example, Gronbach talks about many of the problems and issues of today, so you can learn how to overcome them:

• He says Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.”  Great analogy!  So how will you plan for the possibility that you won’t receive any?
• He explains the sub-prime lending crisis.  How will you plan for the possibility that your big home might not be saleable to a shrinking market?
• He says Boomers will force the U.S. into socialized medicine.  Can we live with that?
• He details why Wal-Mart’s days are numbered (they have targeted the wrong demographic) – so you might want to review your portfolio.
• He explains why assisted living facilities will fail in increasing rates (too soon for Boomers, not enough GI Generation and Silent Generation elderly), so you might want to wait to invest in one.
• He shows why the aging of Boomers to retirement will create a profound labor shortage.  One good example he discusses is the trucking industry.  There aren’t enough qualified truckers.  His description of the problem makes me nervous now when I get on the interstate.

While I didn’t agree with everything he said, Gronbach has many good points.  He also has an interesting writing style and he peppers his writing with “zingers,” like:

• Boomers will refuse to grow old.  They will not buy “old people” services.  (He specifically mentions AARP, and I have to agree. I refuse to be associated with a group that is for “retired persons” and which sent me my first offer just after I turned 50.  How dare they!
• “2% do the work; 2% cause the trouble; the rest eat the food.”
• He says most Americans are “math deprived.”  Gotta agree there.
• A perfect match of product and market — Baby Boomers and Erectile Dysfunction drugs!  (See what I mean?)

A final point and a chance to win a copy of The Age Curve, tomorrow.