As a small business marketing intern and student, I’ve recently been contemplating ways to improve my business. It was fascinating to me to realize that over 95% of my attractive clients and prospects were Baby Boomers who had a small business.
With this group identified as my target demographic, it was important to better understand them. Who are these people? What attracted you to me? How can I work with them more effectively? I found the following five common characteristics among this growing group of women and men.
1.) These people often held high positions in the business or corporate world. Many were downsized or laid off after a sale or merger. Some lost their position after a business failure. Others could no longer tolerate dissatisfaction in their lives and careers. Their experiences have created a need to establish comfort and trust before doing business.
2.) In the mid-’80s, Baby Boomers began to desire a deeper awareness of the meaning of life. They found information that “felt right” and embedded spiritual understanding into the fabric of their lives. This understanding drives you today. As a result, people and the companies they deal with need to feel good before they commit to exploring new ideas.
3.) Your prevailing goal and dream is to experience maximum comfort and success without sacrificing personal freedom. Many are discovering the safety in the concept of multiple streams of income and are open to fusion marketing. They want time and money to enjoy leisure, travel and a high quality of life with family and friends. If these goals have not been achieved, baby boomer business owners will continually look for new ideas and ways to achieve them.
4.) They are too vital to retire and are dedicated to their dreams.
Your options are: a). Sell an existing business for a large profit. That profit is reinvested in a unique business based on a dream or personal talent that they can enjoy for a lifetime.
b). Feeling “unemployed,” they realize they have no choice but to build a business based on past experiences and/or a passion or talent they already possess. Many are first-time entrepreneurs with limited small business knowledge or resources.
5.) This enthusiastic group has a sincere desire to help others and make a positive contribution to the world. A sense of purpose, authenticity, and integrity are important factors that drive this group as a whole.
Baby boomer business owners require easy-to-understand systems to be successful. They are looking for universal principles to guide business and personal growth. Helping this fast-growing and dynamic demographic achieve the lifestyle they desire, through entrepreneurial efforts, will create a business future full of possibilities.
“When you stop seeing life as an adventure and a journey, your vision becomes clouded with limitations instead of clearing with limitless possibilities.” -Bill Gluth