Is Now a Really Good Time for Boomers to Start a Business?

Is Now a Really Good Time for Boomers to Start a Business?

by Mary Beth Izard

Is now the right time to get started? Well, it depends... on what type of business you want to start. But in general, for the types of businesses Baby Boomers start, the answer is "yes." Here are some reasons why:

· Many Boomers are looking to start businesses that have low start-up costs. At 50-plus years old, they want to minimize their start-up investment and the financial risks associated with starting a business. Many self-finance their businesses. As such, tight credit in the current economy will not have the same impact on them as it will on business start-ups that require a lot of capital.

· Businesses that identify a need and efficiently fill it are successful in any economy. In a downturned economy, needs change. Opportunities are created by these changes in the marketplace, which is definitely something we've seen the last several years. Disruptions in the status quo create opportunities for the alert entrepreneur. One only has to look to history to see examples of companies that have started and flourished in down economies, including General Electric, McDonald's and Microsoft. According to the recent study published by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation, "The Economic Future Just Happened," more than half of the companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear market, along with nearly half of the firms on the 2008 Inc. list of America's fastest-growing companies.

· Starting a business takes time. If you've just retired or lost your job, time might be the resource you have in great abundance. By using your time to plan, research, develop and test the market, you will be poised to take advantage of economic growth as it occurs. Starting a business in a slower economy provides time for you to learn valuable lessons, gather information and establish a track record that will prepare your business for future growth.

· Many business costs will be lower than in a thriving economy. This can be anything from employee costs (talented employees may find themselves out of work and willing to work for less), rent, office equipment and furniture, advertising and the like.

· Customers are different. Loyalty to current vendors often loosens in changing markets as buyers look for better value and less expensive product and service alternatives.

· Your opportunity cost may be low. The opportunity cost of a decision is what is given up when you choose one alternative over your next-best alternative. For those who are retired or displaced from their job, the opportunity cost, what they give up by starting their own business, may be their golf hobby or watching Oprah.

These are a few of the many factors that will influence your decision as to whether or not to start your own business. Only you can decide if the time is right for you personally. Consider this quote from Mark Twain, in which he comments on how others struggled with similar decisions over 100 years ago.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

More information on starting your own business in today's economy can be found in BoomerPreneurs: How Baby Boomers Can Start Their Own Business, Make Money and Enjoy Life, by Mary Beth Izard, $25.95 paperback, consultach.com/boomerpreneurs.

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