Today, three quarters of entrepreneurs are Gen X or older and 70% of soon-to-be retirees say they want to keep working. Boomers and Gen Xers are now more likely to start businesses than their Millennial counterparts according to this recent Forbes article.
One main reason is that there’s no such thing as job security or loyalty today. If Corporate America doesn’t burn you out, it’ll often down-size you in favor of younger, cheaper talent. And with average wages having been fairly stagnate for many years now many of these out of work people aren’t comfortable with early retirement… especially when combined with the fact that we’re living longer.
The true Land of Opportunity
While some of us may feel we’re being forced into self employment, many of us are seizing the chance to chase our dreams and follow our passions that we’ve been squelching for years.
There’s much more sense of freedom today for people over 50. There’s simply more awareness to the possibilities in life today and we’re not as conditioned to be taken care of by that singular employer the way we were in generations gone by.
We’ve become more nomadic in every way. People move from state to state, job to job and career to career more than ever before. Technology enables us to see more of our world and possibilities than ever before. It enables us to learn and adapt to challenges faster than ever before.
It also enables us to easily send our own messages to a world ready to see and hear what we have to offer. Much of the technology needed for this resides in our pockets ever day.
Time to stop talking and to take action
If you spent years mentally laboring over how you could run your employer’s business better than they can — now’s your chance.
Or, perhaps you want to FINALLY turn your wine-making hobby into a viable business. Or you’ve been told you should sell training videos that teach your unique knack for training dogs… or cats.
A lifetime of knowledge and experience is easily translated into a consulting or training gig if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to market it correctly online and through networking. It’s more of a matter of committing than it is a question of whether you CAN do it or not. The trick is finding and sharing the best YOU have to offer. The best, authentic, uniquely YOU.
Selling (or not) depends on getting found and gaining interest
You know how everyone has a website and almost no one gets leads or sells anything on them? That’s basically been my target audience for years as a branding and lead generation consultant.
There are over a billion websites online today. Getting people to find you depends on:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Posting of engaging blog and social media content
- Paid ads such as Facebook ads or Google Adwords
Getting their interest in you depends on:
- Who you are (your personal story)
- How your product or service is uniquely yours
- How it will change your customer’s lives for the better
- Why your product or service is uniquely suited to your customer
You need to find your most unique angle for your particular audience. The more uniquely YOU it is, the less competition you’ll be up against. Finally, make sure that it’s EASY for your prospect to purchase your offerings — that means an easy-to-use e-commerce interface on your website.
Follow those simple guidelines above and you and your product or service will be positioned to sell! Contact me if you’d like to discuss selling your new business online. You can do as much of it yourself as you’re comfortable with.
Over 50 Starting Over is my DIY program for the not-so-technically inclined that want to create their own lead generating online presence. It is powered by my years of experience providing these services with my company EdwardsCom.net. Barry Edwards, author.
