Alberta Business MarketingJul
3
2009
Jul
3
2009
According to The National Post, when the long slow grind to economic health begins, it will likely be spearheaded by baby boomers and midlifers, who are set to bring their considerable knowledge, skills and energy to a pursuit that could change the small business landscape for years.
Unlike retirees of the past, many of the soon-to-retire boomers plan to take up careers in entrepreneurship. Several studies show more than 70 per cent of Canadian boomers plan to work beyond their corporate careers. About half of these aim to set up small businesses, mainly in the knowledge-based businesses such as consulting, contracting, or another service-related business. They also tend to focus on areas governed by their interests, knowledge and passions rather than forecasted economic boom areas. Experts have long said the most critical success factor for an entrepreneur is a combination of passion and knowledge.
In the U.S. where boomers number about 80 million, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which studies entrepreneurship, just released a study titled Coming Entrepreneurship Boom that indicates boomer entrepreneurs likely will power the economic recovery, running contrary to existing worries about retirement funding and other age-related issues. Surprisingly, there have been few studies in Canada on this, even though, proportionally, this country has one of the largest cohorts of boomers in the world with 10 million people who are within 10 to 15 years of traditional retirement age. Let’s hope that similar to the U.S., the largest age group of our population is also the most entrepreneurial which will bode well for our economic future.
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