Sometimes ideas collide in your head. This post is the result of such a collision in my head. Seth Godin wrote two posts to his blog that I happened to read one after the other. For some reason, my mind blended them together, inspiring this post to you on Smarter Small Business Blog.

Here are the links to Seth's two posts. You can read them for yourself. Now let me share what they produced for me.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/09/scuff-proof-shoes.html

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/09/qa-tribes-and-the-reality-of-worldview.html

Early Adopter Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs Have the Scuffed Shoe Worldview 

In writing about his book Tribes, Seth says:

It is easy to gloss over the key points of the book, because for some, it's frightening to realize that each of us has the ability to find and lead like minded people to make real and powerful change that matters. Lead, not manage. Like-minded, as opposed to converting those who have no connection to us, to each other or to our goals.

One of Seth's favorite passages from Tribes, he tells us is:

• People don't believe what you tell them.
• They rarely believe what you show them.
• They often believe what their friends tell them.
• They always believe what they tell themselves.

He concludes that it is important to find the best way to join the conversation that is already taking place in the minds and hearts of your tribe. It is my hope that you will join the discussion here on Smarter Small Business Blog to share what is in your mind and in your heart.

Where does the Scuffed Shoe Part Come In?

Seth says...There are two ways to make your shoes scuff proof:

1. You can invest in a chemical process that involves an impermeable shine and be of high alert to avoid anything that might be damaging to that shine
or

2. You can wear well-worn, authentic shoes that are already scuffed.  When we know and understand you and your brand, warts and all, it's really unlikely that a new scuff is going to change our opinion of who you are and what you do.

So, my take is that it is time for us early adopters to talk, accepting our scuffs and all. We must accept that not all baby boomers want the same encore career that we have selected. We must also accept that some baby boomers want to retire.  But we must go beyond talking. My favorite quote of the week is:

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.  -Vance Havner b.1901

If you are ready to share your entrepreneurial mindset and to learn from the mindset of others, join our list.
My Baby Boomer Business Dream.

Brought to you by Shallie Bey, Founder - Smarter Small Business Blog
 ~ The Business Dream Weaver

Baby Boomers - Especially Entrepreneurs - Seth Godin's New Book Linchpin Is For You

How can I make such a statement to you baby boomers? After all. Seth says:
- I didn't set out to get you to quit your job
- or to persuade you to become an entrepreneur
- or merely to change the world.

Yet, he also says: ...fearful employees are in pain. They're in pain because they're overlooked, underpaid, laid off, and stressed out.”

“You weren't born to be a cog in the great industrial machine. You were trained to be a cog.”
“ You were promised: Follow these instructions and you don't have to think”

Now I ask, who can he be speaking to other than baby boomers. Who has lived under this training longer than any other generations? All of our lives, we baby boomers have been “pushed to produce, to conform, and to consume”. That is why 77+ million of us are looking to end our work careers. That is why many of us are seeking an alternative to traditional retirement and searching for advice on how to start your baby boomer business. We don't want anymore “attendance based compensation”.

We want the choice to be indispensable and to make a difference. As consumers, employees, and business owners - we do not want to participate in the old model “of racing to make average stuff for average people in huge quantities”.

As baby boomer entrepreneurs, we are starting baby boomer businesses at an amazing clip. We are already half of all the self employed business owners in America. Baby boomer women are leading the way at business formation at about twice the rate of men.

Seth doesn't promise you a map. What he does provide is a compass to point you in the right direction. He does advise you to focus on the audience you choose. He advises you to listen to them to the exclusion of all others. He advises making these customers happy. “Let the other guys pound sand”.

Baby boomers, especially entrepreneurs...this one is for you!

Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs, What Is The Right Size For Your Business?

If your goal for being an entrepreneur is to enjoy the life style you want without having to fully retire, how big should your business be? What are some of the things you should think about?

Seth Godin recently commented that he had been doing a lot of thinking about issues of scale and units of measure. He concluded: “Many businesses that are in trouble are in trouble for a simple reason: they’re the wrong size”.

If you are the typical Baby Boomer Entrepreneur, looking for a business as an alternative to full retirement, what size fits your life goals? What are the units of measure you should consider? Here are a few to start:

• How much of your time should your business consume?
• How much of your financial resources should be invested in the business?
• How much personal cash flow should your business produce for you?
• When do you need that cash flow?
• How big a geographic scope should you serve?
• How many employees do you need to deliver on the promises you are going to make to your marketplace?
• Are you delivering a full scale system solution to your customer’s problem or a piece of the entire system?
• If you are successful, can you scale the business up and still enjoy the quality of life that is your goal?
  

The folks at Small Business Labs continued the discussion by commenting in their blog and sharing some of their research.

They observed that most industries are moving towards a barbell shaped industrial structure with a few global giants on one end and lots of small businesses on the other. Mid sized firms are being acquired by the larger firms or squeezed out.

Their second major observation was that variable cost business models allow small firms to be competitive with large firms in an increasing number of market spaces. New technologies have reduced the cost of starting and operating a business.

So, baby boomer entrepreneur, what is the answer for you? What combination of size and agility will allow you to compete in your market while still allowing you to live your desired lifestyle?

Shallie Bey

Back track URL to Seth’s post:

http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b31569e2011279821f8d28a4

Back track URL to SmallBusiness Labs:

http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345675df69e201156f52f46c970b

Seth Godin on the Number One Secret of the Great Blogs

Seth Godin wrote a very interesting blog post this morning. He says that the number one secret of the great blogs is that every one of them leads a tribe. The function of the blog, he says, is to be the standard bearer, the north star that tribe members can point to as a place to meet or for ideas to circle around. The blog isn’t about the writer, it’s about the readers.

Since reading Seth’s new book, Tribes, I have been trying to define in my mind the specific tribe for which the Smarter Small Business Blog is written. Of course, it is written for owners of businesses or people who want to become owners of businesses. Yet, it is not written for just any owner, but those who are or want to be true entrepreneurs. Even among true entrepreneurs, there are people who want to do things the hard way and those who want to be smart about what they are doing so that they can have a better work – life balance. I believe that is the tribe to which this blog is directed. It is written for the Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs who are forming new businesses at a rate that exceeds every other age group. It is also written for the young people who are responding to the challenge of Global Entrepreneurship Week to explore entrepreneurship as their way of making a mark on the future.

I guess that to lead this Tribe of Entrepreneurs, this blog must be about helping entrepreneurs find the Tribe that they will lead in the marketplace. We shall focus upon this in upcoming posts.

For now, if you would like to know more about this concept of Tribes, please see the Squidoo lens I have prepared for you. And if you want to see Seth’s direct comments on The Number one secret of great blogs, go see him at
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/11/the-number-one.html

Good luck at finding your Tribe. And if you are a member of that tribe of smart entrepreneurs who especially want a proper work – life balance, I hope you have found a home.

Shallie Bey

Track Back: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2123/35710502