Baby Boomers & Startups

New startups by baby boomers, Interior of a modern office

At Central Comm we get inquiries from all different types of startup companies to handle overflow calls. What they end up learning, once they talk to us, is that we can help with so much more.

What we have learned  from these inquiries is that startup companies aren’t just for the young any longer. The general trend for startups these days seems to be people in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Some of these men and women were displaced during the economic downturn of the mid 2000’s. Some of them are just people who have a vision and for them, the only way to fulfill that dream is to start their own companies.

We thought it was just us noticing this new trend, but the other day I saw a story on the news about baby boomers who are taking on a third or fourth career by starting their own businesses. From Entreupreneur.com:

“According to the Kaufmann Foundation, baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are twice as likely to launch a new business in 2015 compared to millennials. This staggering statistic, revealed in the State of Entrepreneurship Study, is great news for everyone. It may not seem like it, but successful entrepreneurial ventures haven’t recovered from the Great Recession. Shows like Shark Tank and everyone on your social media talking about their small business may suggest otherwise, but a failed startup doesn’t really count as living the American Dream.

The boomer edge.

Baby boomers may not have the same energy as millennials, but that isn’t a deal breaker. Having “what it takes” to survive as a startup or as an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley as a 20-something is so demanding that nobody could survive it for long. There are stories of some millennials not even having a place to live because they work such long hours that it just makes sense to sleep at work. That was never what entrepreneurship was supposed to be. Baby boomers have a better handle on work/life balance but also have the drive and ambition to chase success.

Plus, boomers have oodles of work experience that can’t be faked or gained in a hurry. Many of them have a relatively decent amount of wealth and/or equity, too, along with better financial sense compared to the typical millennial. There’s no getting around the fact that you need money to make money, and getting a business going requires cash flow. For boomers, that’s a major obstacle that may be easy to overcome. “

Being of the baby boomer generation myself, I can say for certain that I don’t have the same desire to work 20 hours a day that I did when I was younger, but I now know some things that I didn’t when I was younger, and my ego is less demanding. I get that I might make a little less money if I hire others to do certain tasks, but I also get that quality of life is something which cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

I like the flexibility of being my own boss and setting the tone for my staff. I also like that I can grow my business without sacrificing a personal life by hiring good people to help.

Have you tried the retirement thing and discovered it’s not for you? Think about starting your own business and using all those skills you have honed over the years. WE can help!

Central Comm

Nationwide Answering Service