September 17 , 2008

  Business Is Booming for Seniors... Transform the Things You
Hate into Goals You'll Love to Achieve... In the Business of
Fun... What Does Your "Name" Say About You?...

** Business Is Booming for Seniors
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

The population is aging, and senior citizens still want and need to work. Whether it's simply to keep busy or because their finances aren't what they could be, seniors have as many options for starting a business as the rest of the population does.

In fact, one of the most famous entrepreneurial success stories involved a 65-year-old, a secret family recipe for frying chicken, and a $100 social security check. "Colonel" Harland Sanders turned that small check into a multi-million-dollar business that is still very successful today.

According to studies, the number of self-employed individuals who are 55 and older has increased by 18% from 2.5 million in 1994 to 3.0 million in 2003. These senior entrepreneurs now represent 28.5% of all self-employed workers.

So if you want to become a "seniorpreneur," you're not alone. Here are some interesting facts that I got from a web site called Folksonline.com:

— More than half of this country's discretionary income is controlled by over 43% of households, which are headed by adults over 50 years of age.

— A federal government study shows that 30% of people in their 50s and 16% of people in their 60s have a computer.

— More than 50% of consumers over the age of 50 are interested in trying new technologies and products.

— Households headed by members who are over 55 have twice as many assets as those headed by 35- to 55-year-olds do.

— In 1989, 21% of Americans were over 55 and, by the year 2020, they will represent one third of the total U.S. population.

That last figure is the most important to keep in mind because, as a senior, you'll have one third of the population to contend with who are around the same age as you are.

This is a key advantage when marketing a new business, because human nature dictates that we feel more comfortable dealing with other people whom we have a lot in common with.

If you, as a senior, market a product aimed at seniors, you are probably more likely to make a sale than if you were a younger person marketing a product to seniors.

Here's a list of web sites that you can visit for ideas and opportunities for becoming a senior in business or for starting a business aimed at seniors:

http://www.seniorjournal.com/
http://www.seniornet.org/
http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml
http://www.thirdage.com/
http://workingsenior.com/

** Transform the Things You Hate into Goals You'll Love to
Achieve
By Doug D'Anna, the "Hundred-Million-Dollar Man"

When you were a kid, you probably only pursued the things you loved — and, at the same time, the things you hated never stopped you.

You didn't stop playing little league baseball because you hated sitting on the bench every now and then. You cheered on the other players and loved the celebration after the team won — and you practiced hard and went back the next week because you were excited to get your chance to shine at bat.

As you got older, however, somewhere along the way, you started avoiding the things in your life that you hated, rather than meeting them head on.

Instead of getting excited about next week's big game, you couldn't get last week's strikeout out of your head and stopped swinging every time you came to the plate.

You forgot that you just loved the game — and your fear of striking out overshadowed the potential of hitting a grand-slam home run. So, instead of swinging at the strikes that were coming in right over the plate, you stood there, immobilized.

The bottom line is: You'll never hit a home run if you don't swing for the fences.

In the past, my own fears of "striking out" prevented me from taking the big swing at projects outside of my expertise.

In time, I was able to transform my hate of missing out on the bigger and better contracts into a personal drive that made me step up to the plate and swing my bat at every opportunity — and, you know what? Once that fear was removed from the equation, I started hitting more home runs in my business career than I ever had before.

If you've been watching the ball pass you by for too long, now is the time for you to step up to the plate and take the big swing without fear of the results.

But, please don't make this common mistake: Looking for the perfect pitch before you swing. By the time you see it, you'll get called out and the game will be over — and your dreams will have ended with the last man out. You just keep swinging — the perfect pitch will come your way.

** In the Business of Fun
By John Hurd, Chief Wealth Researcher

When it comes to making money, I'm always surprised by just how many new and inventive ways can be found out there today. I've met hundreds of different people, each one with their own unique way of raising cash. And many of these cash methods are simply surprising.

Let me share with you an example...

For as long as people have been throwing parties and celebrations, there have been other people making money as party and event planners.

One such person is a colleague of mine. For the past 15 years, he has been organizing special events for birthdays, anniversaries, bachelor parties, bachelorettes, and all sorts of other occasions.

His business model is fairly simple and works time and time again. You see, each event is hosted as a "mystery tour," where the entire group is taken to a couple of nightclubs using limo buses throughout the night.

It sounds very simple; however, in a big city where there are also several other party services just like this one, competition can be fierce. Yet, without ever paying for a print ad or spending big bucks to lure customers his way, this individual has set himself apart as the number one party service in town.

How has he done this?

Well, he does have a few carefully guarded secrets that he won't give away at any cost. However, there are a few things that you can do with any business that have helped him achieve his current success.

One of his secrets to success is developing a solid network of contacts. He has a phone book with hundreds of names, numbers and other details of club owners, doormen, limo bus drivers as well as party suppliers and hundreds of past clients.

Some of these people have used his service in the past; some of them are looking to use it in the future. Each time he meets someone new, whether he instantly recognizes it as a networking opportunity or not, he gets his or her contact information and adds a little note about what the person does.

Since every group wants something a little different for their evening, the party planner knows he simply can't do everything on his own. That's why he is sure to have contacts that are able to help him out when he needs that little something extra for his events.

And he maintains these contacts with polite e-mails and short telephone calls to keep the lines of communication open for as long as possible.

As you can see, finding your own niche in the self-employed world can be fun and exciting. Your next step is simply finding out what you want to do.

** What Does Your "Name" Say About You?
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire

When you create a business, one of the most important things is the label you attach to it. Of course, it will be your product and service that really define your company, but it's essential to avoid overlooking the importance of the name you decide to give your business.

After all, the name is what gives your product a clear identity to distinguish it from the competitors, and it is how customers come to recognize your brand. When choosing a name, there are also a number of things to consider, such as marketability, pertinence, meaning and flexibility.

For starters, you'll want a name that is neat, appealing and relevant to your business. However, that being said, you don't want to explain your business in the name. Let's say you start a business to take advantage of a trend like herbal tea. You don't want to call your business the Herbal Tea Emporium, because by doing, so you are painting yourself into a corner.

For instance, let's say that the herbal tea trend dies down and is replaced by a new method of making tea. Well, since you're the Herbal Tea emporium, you may have quite a difficult time making the transition and convincing customers you've got the pulse on the new stuff. An example is the company Apple, Inc. Apple used to be called Apple Computer, Inc., but they dropped the "Computer" from their name because they wanted to branch out into other areas. Some of those areas are telecommunications, music distribution, and devices that play music.

Also, if you can apply some kind of story or identifiable image to the name of your business, it should also be beneficial. Therefore, if you can apply a geographical element to your title to explain how your business works, then it might be something to consider. By coming up with a thought-provoking and interesting name, you can capture the imaginations of your customers, while providing them with a simple frame of reference for your business.

As you can see, there is more to coming up with your business' name than simply smacking a label on it. Take some time and come up with a suitable name that outlines your company, without typecasting it.