As a small business marketing intern and student, I have recently been contemplating ways to improve my business. I found it fascinating to realize that over 95% of my attractive customers and prospects were Baby Boomers running 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 business world. Many were downsized or laid off after a sale or merger. Some lost their position after a trading failure. Others could no longer tolerate dissatisfaction in their lives and careers. Their experiences have created the need to establish comfort and trust before doing business.
2.) In the mid-1980s, 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 her life. This understanding drives you today. As a result, the people and companies they deal with must feel good before they commit to exploring new ideas.
3.) Your goal and prevailing dream is to experience maximum comfort and success without sacrificing personal freedom. Many are finding 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 seek new ideas and ways to achieve them.
4.) They are too vital to retire and are dedicated to their dreams.
Your options are: a). Selling an existing business for a large profit. That profit is reinvested in a unique venture 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 that guide business and personal growth. Helping this fast-growing and dynamic demographic achieve the lifestyle they desire, through entrepreneurial endeavors, will create a business future filled with possibilities.
“When you stop viewing life as an adventure and journey, your vision becomes cloudy with limitations instead of clearing with limitless possibilities.” -Bill Gluth