Helping entrepreneurs of all ages, but especially baby boomer entrepreneurs, get more satisfaction from their businesses by working smarter rather than harder
Are you a baby boomer considering making the switch to an encore career? Are you possibly considering becoming an entrepreneur to build your bridge into your future? Do you have a baby boomer business dream? Then it is time to take the leap...
The leap involves embracing the entrepreneurial mindset. This excellent video gives you a visual sense of what it means to change your way of thinking.
It all begins with freeing your mind to think like an entrepreneur. We call that "having the entrepreneurial mindset".
If you would like more free resources on developing your entrepreneurial mindset, subscribe to the Smarter Small Business Blog. Click this link :My Baby Boomer Business Dream
Brought to you by Shallie Bey, Founder of the Smarter Small Business Blog
~ The Business Dream Weaver
As an aspiring Baby Boomer Entrepreneur, you probably know what you want to be. However, it is interesting that what you want to be may be very different from what I want to be as an entrepreneur. In fact the definition and the implications of "entrepreneurship" have changed radically over the years. We may be on the brink of yet more changes.
Entrepreneur Magazine editor-in-chief Amy Cosper talks with Mondelez International vice president of global media Bonin Bough about what the word "entrepreneur" means today. Once the term conjured images of snake-oil purveyors and out-of-work scamsters. In the popular lexicon, entrepreneurs have become known as people who create businesses in markets where there were none before.
My favorite definition of entrepreneurship comes from the writing of Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson. He wrote it nearly 40 years ago. Forbes has called it "The Best Answer Ever".
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.
Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief of INC. wrote a fascinating article about this definition. He makes several points:
Entrepreneurship is a process.
Entrepreneurs are used to making do without resources.
As we baby boomer entrepreneurs, face new life challenges, we have to find ways to do things without having control of resources. We have to make a way. We have to seize the OPPORTUNITY.
Cearmease Bey, my wife and an entrepreneur for many years, sums up the Entrepreneurial Mindset in a word...GUTS.
What is The Next Step to YOUR Baby Boomer Business Dream?
Join our Smarter Small Business Blog for more insights: My Baby Boomer Business Dream
'via Blog this' You are an aspiring Baby Boomer Entrepreneur. What will you do with the next 5 years?
This video takes you on an inspirational tour of your mind as you explore what you will do differently over the next 5 years. It is based upon the book, 5, by Dan Zadra.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Who would you trust to give you good advice on how to best function as a Baby Boomer Entrepreneur?
The Washington Post was interested in finding the best business wisdom hidden in classic movie quotes.
We asked entrepreneurs which famous lines from the silver screen offer the greatest insight and advice for running a business. The top 15 are below, but we want to hear from you, too. Which other movie quotes do you think offer valuable business lessons?
Of the choices presented, my favorite was from Cynthia Kay:
"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." -- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
"Small business owners today know that doing business can be fraught with a whirlwind of uncertainty. We can end up in places we never intended. This famous line provides small business owners with the inspiration to think beyond their own little worlds, to step out of traditional ways of doing business and explore what is possible. Yes, we are small businesses, but we have big ideas that can take us on an amazing journey." -- Cynthia Kay, president and owner of Cynthia Kay and Company in Grand Rapids, Mich.
WARNER HOME VIDEO
I have actually used this quote many times over my career to point out that times have changed. I think it is particularly relevant to baby boomers establishing themselves as entrepreneurs. Regardless of your prior life situation, you are trailblazing a new frontier as you move toward being a baby boomer business owner.
Most of us have had experience with the technical aspects of our work. Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, gives us the classic examples of cooks opening restaurants, mechanics opening auto repair shops, and carpenters becoming home builders. The problem for us is that we may not have the managerial skills to hire and train people to do that work. Even more rarely do we have the entrepreneurial skills to organize and market such a business.
Whoever you select to provide you with advice must understand what you will need to perform the full range of duties you will have in organizing your business. Plus they must have the understanding of how to teach you the business development skills required to grasp how all the pieces fit and interact with one another in the various stages of getting your business up and running.
To see more of the cute suggestions offered by the Washington Post, please check out this link: The best business wisdom hidden in classic movie quotes - The Washington Post: The article has quotes that you can build upon...if you can use them in the right context. You have to know if you are still in Kansas.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Can Owning A Business Help You Prepare For A Good End Of Life? (Encore Career)
Do you have a plan for how you would like to live to the end of your life?
Baby boomers have many concerns about their future as they approach retirement age. Most of those concerns can be summed up in three questions:
Will I run out of money?
Can I maintain my quality of living?
Can I maintain good health?
The challenge is that one unasked question must be answered to know the answers to the other three questions: How long will I live?
So the reality is that we can do things that increase the probability that our answer will be "yes" or "no" to the first three questions, but it is not a certainty.
Some people try to resolve the money and lifestyle questions by saving a lot of their earnings. Sometimes that works...if you have good capital markets and wise investment choices.
Some people delay their retirement by continuing to work as long as they can. Sometimes that works...if your employer is prosperous and does not force you to retire.
Some people take on new jobs...commonly called encore careers, to reduce the amount of time they have to depend upon savings to fund their retirements. Unfortunately, health seems to force many to retire sooner than they expected.
So, is there anything we can do to increase our odds of success? Yes, the indications are that a special form of encore career may well be the answer. You can become a business owner as an encore career.
How can becoming a business owner help you solve your retirement fears?
The answer is that owning a business gives you two things that are not always present in having a job.
First, thebusiness gives you an asset that can earn and grow that does not have to depend upon you doing the work.
Secondly,the business gives you leverage. It can give you a bigger return than what you can accomplish by just working alone. The leverage can come from having employees, business systems, or a combination of those.
In our featured video Judy MacDonald Johnston gives us a case study. She helped ranchers, Jim and Shirley Modini plan for the end years of their lives. She manage assets for them as their caregiver and health advocate. She managed the people needed to provide daily care and to run the business of the Modinis.
Granted, the Modinis had a good head start. But the principle is still true at any age. The challenge is to begin building the asset, your business.
What is your next step?
Building your business requires having a vision, just as the Modinis had a vision for their lives and for their wildlife preserve beyond their lives. You can build that vision by understanding the basics of business development. Business development is the process ofconsciously starting and intentionally growing a business.
Business development is more about developing an entrepreneurial mindset than about being an expert in the details of business. It is about being able to pay attention in a way to spot business opportunities. Next, after spotting the opportunity, it is about learning how to take action to make the opportunity a reality.
By understanding the process of developing an entrepreneurial mindset and acting through that mindset, you greatly reduce the risk of failure that is the experience of so many people who start businesses without a plan.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Aspiring Baby Boomer Entrepreneur Here Is The Key To Retirement Success (This Is Water)
As baby boomers, we face a new stage of life as we approach retirement. For years you and I dreamed of this moment as the great time of our life. As it becomes closer to reality, we face fear that it may not be a dream, but a nightmare filled with boredom, routine, and petty frustration. Embracing that fear may be our salvation. Embracing that fear may be the foundation for our dreams to be realized.
You do still want to live your dream, don't you? I know I do!
The key is AWARENESS...being able to see what is going on around us. Successful entrepreneurship is based upon awareness.Our competitive advantage as baby boomers just may be that we can see the things going on around us in a unique perspective that allows us to invest in ourselves, meaning our lives, and the lives of those around us.
In the past week, an eight year old commencement speech dealing with boredom, routine, and petty frustration has suddenly gone viral. It is called This Is Water. In the speech, David Foster Wallace points out that we are like the fish who live in water and never realize it is there. We live in a world where we are surrounded by boredom, routine, and petty frustration. We sense it but are not truly aware of it. But the opportunity is in becoming aware.
The opportunity to solve a problem for a market at a profit is the holy grail of entrepreneurship. That is made possible by being aware of the problem and the solution that no one else sees. This is water. Dealing with boredom, routine, and petty frustration is the essence of life. Helping people overcome these is the key to entrepreneurial success.
I can't tell you why that speech suddenly became a runaway success.I can tell you that it points to the path of success.Watch the video. Become aware of the water around us.
Choose to begin using the water to your advantage. This is Water...the key to your retirement success.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Almost everyone believes that being a successful business owner will cause you to live a good life. In reality, that is a myth. Financial success, often the selected measure for business success, does not guarantee living a good life.
Not so many people believe that living a good life may CAUSE you to be a better business owner. Yet, there is increasing evidence to suggest this is the truth...living a good life frequently leads to business success.
You do want to live a good lifeANDbe a successful business owner, don't you?
Your Primary Aim - Defining What Living A Good Life Means To You:
Almost every great business coach will start by asking you why you want to be in business. Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited, is famous for asking you to begin planning your business by discovering your Primary Aim in life. Though each coach has their own way of asking you what you value, it basically comes down to three questions.
1. Why are you here in life and why do you think owning a business will help?
2. What is important to you, your values, strengths, skills, experiences, and interests that define what living a good life means to you?
3. What must this business do for you so that it will support what you have defined as a good life for yourself?
Understanding The Placebo Effect -In Life and Business:
In the featured video, Jonathan Fields, of the Good Life Project, interviews a doctor who first felt that she had let her career ruin her life. Then, when she found her "good life", she discovered how to experience a more rewarding career.
Along the way, Dr. Lissa Rankin made some amazing discoveries that she shares in her book, Mind Over Medicine. One of the central discoveries was a new understanding of the Placebo Effect...when stress is removed from the body, the mind may be just as effective as medication in making things better.
Her story supports the theory of the great business coaches...remove the stress. Let your business be dedicated to supporting your life by working for you. Do not give up your life to work for the business. The secret is once again, work smarter - not harder.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Do great businesses start with a plan? The answer is "no" according to Anthony Tjan.
Tjan says that 70% of businesses with a successful exit (that is, an IPO or sale to another firm) did NOT start with a business plan. Tjan, CEO and Managing Partner of the venture capital firm Cue Ball, discovered this information while researching the forthcoming book that he is co-authoring --Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck. He and his colleagues interviewed and surveyed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs around the world to see what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and build a really successful business.
...their business journeys originated in a different place, a place we call the Heart. They were conceived not with a document but with a feeling and doing for an authentic vision. Clarity of purpose and passion ruled the day with less time spent writing an idea and more time just doing it."
Though I believe in business plans, I believe that the dream must come first. It is the vision that leads to the development of the business plan. The well written plan, with well defined systems, leads to successful implementation...which results in a successful business. This pathway avoids the 80%+ failure rate of the typical entrepreneurs.
Though this sounds radical, you will hear much the same thoughts from Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited. In the above video, Gerber describes how the entrepreneur goes through a four step process that starts with a dream and ends with implementation.
What do you think? Please share your comments below.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
Early this morning, I awoke to an e-mail from a friend, Ed. Ed wanted to know what I thought about the Mint stopping production of coin dollars. Of course, my friend was aware that as Superintendent of the United States Mint (Philadelphia), I was involved in the first production of the Susan B. Anthony coin dollar in 1979.
As I watched the coverage, I was transported back to the early discussion of smaller coin dollars in the late 70s.
I recalled going into my office many mornings and finding mail bags with drawings from elementary school children from across the country. Many teachers inspired their students to participate in government by sending their suggestions for who should appear on the front of the new coin. As always, the students were quite creative. Their suggestions ranged from historic individuals to pop culture icons, perhaps even their mother, father, teacher, themselves, or their new puppy. I recall that Elvis Presley was particularly popular. As there is essentially only one law limiting who can be on a coin...the person cannot be currently living...many of their suggestions were possible.
Of course the real decision required hearings in Washington where people appeared to present their opinions. There was a big battle about whether it should be the Statue of Liberty or Susan B Anthony. Then the battle shifted to what image of Susan B Anthony. Should it be her in her early life as in the case of most coins? Or should it be in her later life after the victories for which she is noted?
When the decision was made, we sighed as we came to the end of the debate. Then, the next morning, we awakened to remember that a coin has two sides...the debate was just half done.
Of course there were many decisions to be made before the official First Strike Ceremony in 1979. The next day after the first striking , the process of getting them to the Federal Reserve Banks began. Then there was another "next day" involving getting the coins into local banks.That was followed by getting them into stores, followed by getting them into the hands of people. This was followed by the first person spending one thinking it was a quarter...followed by the first reporter warning people not to spend the coin dollar thinking it is a quarter.
That battle has raged for 32 years and the discussion is still the same. This leads to what the Mint taught me about marketing:
1. People make decisions on how they feel. The decision are about emotions. Then we select the facts that support our emotions.
2. Everyone has an opinion. For the most part, individual opinions don't matter. It is the collection of opinions that determines if there is a problem that needs to be solved.
3. The fact that there is a problem to be solved does not mean that everyone wants the same solution. Many people awaken in the morning wanting corn flakes. Some of them want Post Toasties and some of them want Kelloggs Corn Flakes.That is not duplication of effort or wasting resources. We call that free market.
4. Marketing is about finding a solution to a problem that enough people want and are willing to pay for, to make it profitable for the person providing the solution. We call that a niche.
5. Business is about serving the niche over and over. Success is in finding your niche.
6. Government has niches too. We call them special interest groups. Government has no way of making every niche or interest group happy by giving them what they want. Government tends to hold it's nose and select one solution that "fits all".
7. Aren't you glad that as an entrepreneur, all you have to do is find the right niche and serve the people in it well?
8. There is always a "next day" unless you fail.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
As an aspiring baby boomer entrepreneur, you want to convert your business idea into a reality. There is approximately an 80% failure rate of people trying to accomplish your same goal. Yet, renowned business adviser Michael E. Gerber says that no small business owner has to fail.
In this video, Gerber talks with small business coaches. He shares what coaches must understand to help small business owners bring the dream back to America...in fact to small business owners around the world. Here, you can get that advice straight from his mouth.
Gerber explains that small business owners fail for reasons other than what they think is the cause of that failure. As a baby boomer making a transition to an encore career, this is valuable information for you.
He begins with what it means to have a dream. He explains the process for converting your dream to reality and how to get clarity from the onset. If you want to understand what needs to be done...and then what needs to be done next, you want to watch this 29 minute video.
You will learn there is a road map to your journey. You will learn that there are people prepared to help you with the task of designing your baby boomer retirement business. You can increase your chances of success by looking for the people who can help you. You do not have to do it blindly or alone.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
A number of my closest friends have received this video recently with the caption "My New Exercise Routine". And though my stomach could benefit from some sit ups, that is not what I am really talking about.
Much of what it takes to become a successful baby boomer entrepreneur involves behavior modification. You have to learn how to go from being an employee to being an owner. We often call that obtaining the entrepreneurial mindset. This is a new mental exercise routine.
Learning to make that change is a radical shift in your thinking and behavior. But if an old walrus can have his behavior shaped to accomplish new things, so can you.
Your task is to learn what behavior is required for success in the business of your choice. Then you must begin shaping that behavior a step at a time. That is the exact process the trainer used to teach an old Walrus to do sit ups. You can do it. You are smarter than an old walrus, aren't you?
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
If you have a secret dream of quitting your job and becoming an entrepreneur, you are not alone. UPI reports that "Three-quarters of U.S. full-time and part-time employed adults say they want to leave their job and become an independent entrepreneur..."
Aspiring Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs seem to have an edge in the effort to have a balance in life. This balance is often described as having the ability to set one's hours, spend more time with friends and family, not have to deal with office politics and/or not have to endure a daily commute. You can take this advantage by retiring from your current job and starting a semi-retired life as a business owner. This is sometimes referred to as an "encore career".
For other aspiring baby boomer entrepreneurs, the solution may be in developing a part time business. In this case, you begin developing the business on the side until it can sustain your needs.
In either case, you must take action. You must take steps to make your version of the "American Dream" your American Reality. Smarter Small Business Blog is here to help you.
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
My father was a born in 1899. He lived in that rare time where he was barely old enough to serve in World War I and barely young enough to serve in World War II. He did both.
Full of curiosity and adventure, he decided to visit every one of the fortyeight states that then made up the USA. He rode the rails to realize his dream, passenger cars when he had money and freight trains when he didn't. He realized his dream between the wars. In 1949 he had his first born son and began a new journey, teaching me to dream.
Having inherited his taste for adventure, I wanted to do life at a bigger scale. I wanted to visit every continent of the world. I visited some continents, but was behind the pace I had hoped.
But three years ago today (July 31, 2008) a magic moment happened in my life. I had already decided that I wanted to begin sharing my business coaching skills with aspiring baby boomer entrepreneurs. These are the people born between 1946 and 1964, about 78 million in the United States alone. Many of these people have a taste for adventure and do not want to retire in the traditional manner. Many have a passion for something that they want to share with the world in the form of a business. Many also need help in developing the skills to convert their dreams into reality.My dream is to help them them reach their dreams.
Three years ago today, that magic moment happened while listening to Ed Dale...I learned about Twitter.
Ed is the face of a free training that happens each year called The Challenge (formerly the 30 Day Challenge). He teaches aspiring entrepreneurs to use the Internet at a tool to research business opportunities, a tool to market those opportunities, and a networking process to find others with a similar passion. I couldn't travel to every continent by rail, but I had something better, Ed helped me discover a magic carpet ride.
Twitter has taken me to every continent, except Anarctica...that will happen in time. I 've learned about people's passions and shared mine. I've made genuine friends during this three year journey. Thanks Dad, Ed Dale, and Twitter. To everyone else I extend this invitation:
RIDE WITH ME
If you would like more information on developing that entrepreneurial mindset, please sign up to be on our Smarter Small Business Blog mailing list. We will share with you more information on the resources that will help you build your entrepreneurial mindset in a smarter way. Just click this link: http://mybabyboomerbusinessdream.weebly.com/
Then give us your name and e-mail. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Brought to you by Shallie Bey -- The Business Dream Weaver
All businesses have certain things in common. Business coach Ron Finklestein suggests that you greatly increase your odds of success as an aspiring baby boomer entrepreneur if you master the three issues every business leader faces:
Making more money
Having more time
Having productive employees
He also suggests that YOU must have certain things to achieve mastery of these issues:
Attitude
Strategy
Discipline
Check out his video for more insights.
Make sure to sign up for our list to get information that is not shared anywhere else. Just give your contact information in the form in the upper right hand corner.
Should being a baby boomer entrepreneur be your encore career goal? Are you a natural born entrepreneur? Should owning your own business be the next step for you?
Many people feel that they have what it takes to be a baby boomer entrepreneur. YOU might be convinced that it is the logical next step because YOUR goals might be:
To have more freedom in general in semi-retirement,
To have better financial control over your life,
To have greater control over how you use your time,
To have more control over your intellectual or creative life.
All of these are great goals. But they don't require becoming a baby boomer entrepreneur. Plus becoming an entrepreneur has around a 90% failure rate. You are probably not a natural born baby boomer entrepreneur. You might want to explore your alternatives to accomplishing such goals.
My first suggestion to you is visiting the creators of the above video, encore.org They will show you how to think about "combining purpose, passion, and a paycheck". However, they will show you alternatives, including the possibility of becoming a baby boomer entrepreneur.
If you determine becoming an entrepreneur is still your goal,
If you decide that you are committed to developing a business that aligns with your needs, values, and beliefs,
If you decide owning a business is what you want, not what someone else wants for you,
COME BACK AND SEE ME!
You can accomplish what you want. But be sure what you are trying to accomplish IS what you want.
Shallie
Sign up for my list to get special access to helpful information. It is in the upper right hand corner.
Can aspiring baby boomer entrepreneurs learn from veterans? In a study released yesterday, May 6, 2011, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration published new information about veterans who become entrepreneurs following completion of military service. The study reveals that veterans are 45 % more likely than those with no active duty military experience to be self employed.
I am wondering if there is a correlation between veterans moving into civilian life and former employees moving into semi-retired life. SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy Winslow Sargeant said, "Knowing more about the factors behind veteran's self -employment offers the opportunity to lay the groundwork for future success."
At this point, we know from the study that it does not appear that military training is the factor that drives entrepreneurship. Those with four years or less of service are more likely to choose entrepreneurship. However, there seems to be a high correlation of military retirees becoming entrepreneurs. It is believed that this may be the result of higher degrees of wealth and life stability. The research shows that with each additional year of age, the probability of becoming an entrepreneur increases by 7.5%.
Retiring baby boomers share many of the same characteristics of retiring veterans. Can we learn more about promoting successful transition to entrepreneurship by studying these veterans who transition from the military to civilian entrepreneurship? Take a look at the study and the research summary for yourself: Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship Among Veterans.
For years, the lemonade stand has been the symbol of entrepreneurship. With that thought in mind, Houston-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Holthouse inspired the creation of National Lemonade Day. It happens on May 1 for the purpose of teaching youth about business.
As aspiring baby boomer entrepreneurs, we can think back to our experiences with lemonade stands from our youth. We can reconnect to what we believed before we became workers. We might have been trying to buy streamers for our bikes or a new pet. We knew we could solve our problem by solving the thirst problem of those around us.
If you need to reconnect with that time in your life, click the link and re-experience the moment through the eyes of today's youth.
Just how coachable are you? Are you prepared to learn and expand to make the transition to being a baby boomer entrepreneur? Or, are you stuck on the situations that developed in your former career from which you are seeking semi-retirement?
Recently I became familiar with the work of Ingrid Elfver. She is a coach who works with other coaches to help them expand their abilities to serve their clients. She asked this same question, "How Coachable Are You?", in one of her recent blog posts. It stimulated me to think about how coachable I am personally and how coachable I expect my clients to be. You fan find my assessment of myself by reading my comments on her web page. Just click the title to this post and it will take you there.
Now, it is your turn. As you make the transition from being an employee to a baby boomer entrepreneurs, how coachable are you? Here is a video, Baby Boomer Entrepreneur- You Need A Guide, that may help you evaluate yourself.
Almost daily I find myself thinking about the meaning of "The Entrepreneurial Mindset". As I think about trying to help a baby boomer make the transition to from employee to baby boomer entrepreneur, the definition of the entrepreneurial mindset is always an issue.
Seth Godin, one of my favorite writers recently helped me bring this concept into a tighter focus. If you follow the link to his blog, you will learn how we get conditioned to please teachers and bosses. In the process we forget how to take initiative.
Grasping this simple concept shared by Seth will help you, just as it helped me. It brought me to a new level of clarity. It can do the same for you as you make the transition to becoming a baby boomer entrepreneur.
Shallie Bey
TrackBack URL for Seth's entry: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b31569e20147e1e99563970b
As an aspiring baby boomer entrepreneur you look forward to the exciting and new opportunity before you. But are you taking time to look around you to see what is crumbling and how it may impact your plans?
This Wall Street Journal Article shares information about the top 10 dying industries around us. Does you business idea sell to, use products of, or depend upon people who work in these industries? If so, you need to know what the future of these industries will be.
In the big picture sense, the point of this article is that everything is changing around us. A few weeks ago, I drove through a community where I had once owned a small restaurant It has been 25 years since the business closed. I was amazed to see how the community had changed. I wondered what that change would have done to the restaurant if it had continued to operate. I saw corners with vacant lots where thriving businesses had once operated. I wondered ...
So as you make your plans for your business, what assumptions are you making. Do you expect the world to stand still except for the improvements your business will bring to the market? Think and think again!
