Boomers May Create ‘Entrepreneurship Boom’

Great news for Boomers who are just not ready to stop working. With ageism rampant in the work world, many older adults face discrimination searching for jobs--something that is more common now in this economic recession. Why depend on others to hire you to earn income? Start your own business. With increasing rates of unemployment and job loss, many are using their own means to get buy and starting their own businesses. Difficult times resulting in entrepreneurial ventures is good for the economy and the proprietor. Starting a business, no matter what age the individual is can be a risky project no doubt....but it can also be the pathway to self fulfillment, immense personal satisfaction and living out one's dream.

MCauch
SageHealth Network
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Wichita Business Journal
July 2, 2009

Aging baby boomers aren’t headed out to pasture — they’re starting new businesses, according to a Kauffman Foundation study that predicts the United States may be “on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom.”

Over the past decade, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity of any age group. The 20-34 age bracket had the lowest rate, despite the attention lavished on youthful founders of companies such as Facebook and Google.

Job trends may increase entrepreneurial activity among older Americans.

“While people under age 30 have historically jumped from job to job, the most striking development today has been the deep drop in the incidence of ‘lifetime’ jobs among men over age 50,” writes Dane Stangler, senior analyst at the foundation and author of the study.

The past year’s economic upheavals also may produce more entrepreneurs among all age groups.

“The very idea of ‘too-big-to-fail’ institutions has been permanently damaged,” Stangler writes. “Recent economic trends – away from lifetime jobs and toward more new companies – will thus gain even greater cultural traction. New and stronger regulations aiming to prevent the rise of such giant organizations also may help create a more market-oriented society.”


Original source: http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/2009/entrepreneurship.htm