Archive for baby boomer
A New Wrinkle with Dr. Eric Shapira on Living Fully After 40 Radio 6-2-2011
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Eric Shapira practiced Dentistry for over 30 years on the Half Moon Bay Coastside. He received his Masters degree in Clinical Gerontology from Notre Dame de Namur University. He is an educator and has taught courses in “Healthy Aging” and “Successful Aging,” as well as courses in “Geriatric Esthetic Dentistry and Special Patient Care.”
Miriam Goodman is a journalist, author, award-winning radio and television producer, and public relations consultant. She has interviewed more than a thousand people, from celebrities to diplomats, from Margaret Mead to Marilyn Chambers. She created, produced and hosted the first nationally syndicated feminist radio program, which ran for seven years from New York to San Francisco on the RKO radio network and dozens of other stations and earned several radio awards. She has been a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Miriam was a television producer for Newsweek Broadcasting, a documentary producer for the San Francisco NBC TV-affiliate and received two EMMY nominations her television documentaries.
Baby Boomers: How to Make Interviewers See a More Youthful You
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
Getting old should not harm your chances of getting a job and just playing it right can help your employment prospects in a number of ways. An example of this is Edward R. Mills who was 61 at the time of the interview. When asked what he did in his spare time all he said he competed in tennis tournaments and did “a little bit of hiking”, taking out a recent photo of him hiking at 14000 foot, Mount Whitney. He was offered the job immediately by WNET-TV and today still works at the same job that is as demanding as ever. His success story gives motivation to other old job seeker even the baby boomers, who face bias at their work because of their age. ExecuNet, a career-networking organization in Norwalk, Connecticut conducted a survey, which reported that after the age of 50 or at it, age plays a major role in organizations that hire.
In order to get over this hurdle, a few tips are listed that can boost your chances to get a job and help an interviewer see a more youthful you.
• The first way is when preparing your resume; it is best to not include the work done once you graduated from college and the date of graduation as well. A better plan would be to list the work done in the past ten to fifteen years. An instance of such method working was when Mr. Sanders was looking for a job in 1999 at the age of 63. He used this technique of resume writing in order to just sell himself to his potential employers and got the job as well. Even the CEO, David Levitt of OpenOrders said, “He probably would not have gotten in the door” with a full disclosure of his job history. ” A disadvantage of this would also be that people wouldn’t have an idea of your age but would see you as a very good candidate and offer entry level positions. Like when Rodney Struhs went for an interview and was given this line by the interviewers. “We’re not really looking for someone with as much experience as you have.” And they were quite surprised to see a balding and stock person.
• Another change would be in the sense of dressing, try and dress young. It is best to look fresh and not old. So you could buy new shoes, update the wardrobe, dye the gray hair, and get medical attention for the baggy eyes, etc and a lot more other changes in order to look young.
• Though there maybe a bias since the interviewee is old, this bias can be changed and Dave Opton, CEO of ExecuNet has also been witness to this. Mark Rigor, a 49 year old rises at five in the morning and rides his bike around ten to thirty miles a day and his tactic was that he radiated youthful zeal by always asking interviewers: “Is there an opportunity in your area to bike? I’m a serious biker.” He was hired as a sales representative for Sure Alloy Steel.
• The best thing to do during the interview is to show and sound eager in mentoring young employees. Even updating your skills will be witness to your skill of adapting to changing technology. It will show that you are capable of working under a younger boss, a team player, and take multiple roles in the work place.
© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Baby Boomers: Plan Ahead and Build Your Own Business after Retirement
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
Starting a Business after retirement requires you to plan ahead and build a good foundation. You need to face a number of issues and questions such as:
• What is a good business for you to undertake?
• How much time and effort are you willing to devote?
• Does this match with the time and effort demanded by the business you want to start?
• What are the key processes involved in starting a new business?
• What are the skills that are necessary for business success?
• How much should you invest in a new business?
• How do you go about developing an action plan for the business of your choice?
The process of starting a business can be a challenging, and an exciting experience. It can also be frightening, exhausting, and frustrating. The key to a minimum stress start-up is to plan ahead and build your own business after retirement, in a planned and rational way. Understanding, and planning out, the entire process of start-up makes a huge difference to the end result. There are, some basic steps that are common in planning and starting any business:
Assess your areas of strength. Are you a person who can easily take risks with money? If the idea is scary, it may be better to think twice before considering a business. No matter how you look at it, and how well you play it, being an entrepreneur involves risk. You must be willing to lose money if it comes to that. You must also have the ability and the will to work hard, be able to handle uncertainty well, and possess self-discipline.
Pick the right business. There are generally has two kinds of people. One kind consists of people who love something to the level of passion and are driven to make a career of it. If you belong in this category, make sure you conduct research to check that a market exists for the business. The other kind of person is one who is fascinated by the idea of being an entrepreneur, rather than a particular idea. In this case, pick a business that has instant demand and potential for future growth.
Come up with a solid business plan. Think of it as a map that tells you the direction you should be heading in and helps you to identify important markers you may see on the way. Before you open your doors to clients, think and plan out exactly what you want your business to be. Figure out what makes your product or service different or special, how you plan to attract customers, how you intend to beat competition, and other such essentials.
A major part of the business plan consists of a financial analysis, including:
• The amount of money needed
• How it should be spent
• Amount of profit expected etc.
Figure out where you will get the funding needed to start. Explore options like
• Your own savings
• Your credit cards
• Your retirement accounts
• Second mortgage
• Advance on inheritance
• Loans from friends or family members.
© Anna D. Banks, GCDF
ANNA D. BANKS, GCDF is an adjunct professor at Essex County College, career development and marketing coach, speaker, and author. Anna helps individuals design a game plan for an extraordinary career or business. Since 1996, Anna has helped hundreds of job-seekers, managers, business owners, and sales professionals achieve career success. For more information send an email to Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Please place a post on www.AnnaBanks.com or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Baby Boomers: Get Prepared to Face These Challenges
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
As Baby Boomers age and are getting ready to retire, there are a number of challenges they face. While about half of them express that the loss of mental capacity is what they fear most as they grow older, most of them also say that they lack any sound planning for their retirement and that they do not perceive achieving the financial goals they require. The average net worth of Baby Boomers is just $78,000, which is inadequate for their long-term financial security and poses a serious dilemma as the expectation is that this generation will live well into their 80s, and most want to carry on living up to their 90s.
In addition to this dilemma, Baby Boomers also worry about the necessity of relying on government programs like Medicare and Social Security, as most of them feel that they have very little control about such programs. Only 7 percent indicate satisfaction with these programs.
According to surveys, it has been found that compared to 20 years ago, the importance today of such government sponsored programs has increased by 33 percent. And yet, just 58 percent of Baby Boomers say that they know about the newly available program, Medicare Part D, with just 21 percent planning on signing up on becoming eligible, while 41 percent say that they are not sure.
Failing health with advancing age is another concern that most Baby Boomers say they fear. And yet, paradoxically, it has been found that there is a vast disconnect about what baby Boomers comprehend as the right things they need to do to stay healthy and what they really do. For instance, while 90 percent feel that they need to exercise in order to maintain their health as they age, yet only 37 percent exercise and that too just about two days in a week, or even less than that, while 27 percent admit that they do not exercise at all. Compounding this, many of them are also confused about what a healthy diet is for healthy aging.
Much of this conundrum in behavior/understanding is due to the fact that most Baby Boomers think that advancements in medical science and health care will be able to cure the diseases they get and feel that these advances will increase their longevity. This means that many of the Baby Boomers will have to rely on medical science and the health care system in order to ameliorate the harm that they are bringing upon themselves by eating wrong foods and not exercising.
Hence, it is anticipated by most policy-makers that one of the biggest challenges will be funding the long-term health care requirements and other interrelated services for aging Baby Boomers. According to projections, beginning from 2011, a vast section of the workforce will retire, resulting in the decline in their incomes and a reduction of the tax contributions to the state. Simultaneously, an increased pressure will be exerted on the states to pay vast numbers of claims for government programs like Medicaid. On top of that, a health care system that is understaffed already will have to find enough trained personnel to take care of these large numbers of aging patients.
Another challenge faced by aging Baby Boomers is inadequate transportation. With an increase in elderly drivers, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in the rates of accidents. States then will be pressurized to tighten renewals of driving licenses in order to curtail elderly people from driving. This means that seniors will have to be largely dependent on better and more public transportation systems, which are not adequate enough at present.
Crime is another factor that senior citizens are concerned about. It is expected that with an increase in the population of aging people, there will be a corresponding rise in crime against them, such as burglary and fraud. Senior citizens will therefore require adequate protective services from the state.
Conflicts between generations for state funds are also set to intensify. The younger voting population is expected to protest more to get funds for issues like education as states allocate more funds to improve the lives of the elderly. Other generational issues are also set to arise as voters squabble over various state funds.
© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Baby Boomers – Tapping Into That Entrepreneurial Spirit
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
After 30 odd years of catering to the marketing needs of fast-food giants, Franny Martin withdrew from the corporate world in 2002, to begin her own business. Cookies on Call, is now a thriving online business, with one storefront, and 61 kinds of handmade cookies.
Older corporate workers are realizing that they would rather be doing something other than what they do right now. They also realize that time on earth is getting shorter, and this kind of existential reflection strikes home for most baby boomers, now that they get nearer 60. Many of them, still toiling as wage slaves, are beginning to ask themselves what comes next, and whether there is something more in life. A growing number, choose to leave their current job, to start a new chapter, where they can be the boss.
Studies of older job seekers found that 13 percent chose to start their own businesses in the second quarter of life, and 86.6 percent of them were over 40. The next big wave of entrepreneurship is going to be from seasoned workers with more and more access to self-employment options, and people deciding to put off retirement and work later and later.
Government data also shows that the group of people, 55 to 64 years old or older, now represent one of the fastest-growing self-employed worker pools in the US. The group of do-it-yourselfers aged 65 and older has grown 18%, and baby boomers aged 45 to 54 years are practically a quarter of the 9.6 million self-employed. As a whole, baby boomers and older entrepreneurs account for a grand 54 percent of all the self-employed workers in the US today.
A combination of middle-age angst with personal fulfillment issues is turning out to be a big driver for boomer entrepreneurs. In addition, recent lay-offs and cutbacks, resulting in a loss of employment acts as a shake-up in many cases, providing boomers with the need to find another job, and the means for start-ups as well, in the form of a severance package. The financial windfall from severance packages or pension buyouts gives older entrepreneurs an edge, giving them capital that they can spend toward new business costs or use to get a larger borrowing power at the bank. Older, more mature individuals of this generation are also seen by lenders as good credit risks, especially when they have collateral to back up a small-business loan.
Buying an already established business is easier and provides you instant goodwill and a customer base. There is a well-organized market for small businesses and brokerage networks where businesses are listed for sale.
Many workers find themselves stepping into their 60′s without the financial ability to retire. They can choose to dip into savings to maintain their lifestyle not leaving much for when disaster strikes, or continue to work. The huge costs of illness and healthcare are the biggest cause for concern. Their ability to pay for healthcare has diminished with rising costs, leading to a fear of winding up in a nursing home. Many also feel obligated to help their adult children, financially. All these factors combine to give baby boomers a good reason to keep working.
ANNA D. BANKS, GCDF is an adjunct professor at Essex County College, career development and marketing coach, speaker, and author. Anna helps individuals design a game plan for an extraordinary career or business. Since 1996, Anna has helped hundreds of job-seekers, managers, business owners, and sales professionals achieve career success. For more information send an email to Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
© Anna D. Banks, GCDF
Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Please place a post on my website www.AnnaBanks.com or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Baby Boomers: Know the Basics before Starting Your Own Business in the Golden Years
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
So, here at last are your golden years! After enjoying the honeymoon period of holidaying and chilling out, you could be wondering what to do next. Maybe you are toying with the idea of starting your own business, not only to keep yourself occupied, but also to bring in some extra income. If that is so, then here are some basics you need to take into consideration in order to make it a success.
All successful businesses are based on a single factor – a good business idea. A good idea is the best launching pad for any kind of business. Once you have that idea, and you are eager to get started, you will have to channel that energy in order to get started with the business. Getting a business started is not complicated if you know the basics.
One of the first considerations you will have to take into account is the marketability of your business idea. Will people buy the product or service you want to sell? Examine the market closely and find out what kind of competition there is. If you think there is too much competition out there, then you could think about narrowing your idea to fit a particular niche. Determine which area requires your product or service the most, and make it your target to promote and sell your idea.
The next thing you need to do is find out about your state’s laws. You will need to ensure that you have the correct certification and licenses to sell your product or service. For example, if it is a day care center you are opening in your house, it may need to be inspected by the state. Special papers may need to be filled out. Obtaining a license to start your business will be required in many areas. Find out from your municipality about what you will require. Business licenses are generally not expensive.
Creating a business plan is another thing that is advisable to do. It lets you set values and goals for your business. Concepts that may be useful later can also be written down on paper. It lets you see how your business will be run and what you will do for it to grow. A business plan doesn’t take a lot of time to write, and yet it is one of the best tools to bring your business into fruition.
Assessing your financial requirements is the next thing you need to do. You need to find out what the costs of operating your business will be, and whether you will need to get a business loan to get it started. If you need investors or require loans, you will certainly require a business plan.
Another important aspect of getting your business running is advertising. This is about the only way your customers will get to know that you exist. Creating a website is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of advertising your business. The Internet these days has become the primary source for people to get information about products and services, hence having a website has become essential and is not an option any longer. You can create a rudimentary website that does not cost much if you are on a budget. But if it is a high quality website that you want for your business, it is best to hire a website designer.
By advertising, you also put yourself out in the market, promoting your business constantly. Become a member of networking groups and mail out flyers. If you can afford it, place ads in magazines and newspapers. Although it is not required to do everything all at once, however, always look for chances to promote and expand your business.
Take enough time for building your business in the right way. It is most probable that you are excited about your business scheme; however, you need to turn this excitement into productivity in order to get your business up and running.
© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Please email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Hot Real Estate Destinations Baby Boomers Are Crazy About
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
The baby boomers of today are retiring much earlier than the past generations ever have, and many of them are considering unconventional destinations to retire in. More than 500,000 amongst those that have retired already move from their own states every year, seeking the perfect spot to retire in, be it by the sea, in mountain resorts, or near arid deserts.
Experts are of the opinion that relaxation and rest are the primary things baby boomers look for when shopping for a real estate destination for retirement. They hunt for places where they can sit back, kick their shoes off, and settle down. Apart from rest, baby boomers also want to have fun and enjoy their retirement to the hilt. So they look for destinations where there is great shopping, golf, theater, sight-seeing, antiquing, tennis, boating, and more. So, where are these intrepid baby boomers heading? While California, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina continue topping the list as most popular destinations for retirement, baby boomers are choosing other places as well.
Baby boomers are redefining the trends in real estate destinations. With their better purchasing power, they have begun to expand the real estate destination market. In other words, they are beginning to focus their attention increasingly seriously to international locales.
This shift toward real estate destinations abroad comes as no great surprise to analysts who have been tracking baby boomers for several decades. The advent of the Internet and globalization has been the primary factors for this venturesome generation to seek recreation and investment outside the borders of their country. The baby boomer generation is being wooed by hot spots at international locations, and they are responding by investing in the attractive real estate destinations worldwide. While the main foreign real estate destinations continue to be the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico, baby boomers are also expanding out to Western Europe.
One of the best predictors of sales of real estate is the trend in tourism. This is especially true wherein both investors of real estate and tourists travel some way from their home country, and stay in a foreign locale for a considerable amount of time. Naturally, purchasing a piece of real estate involves a bigger discretionary expense compared to a vacation, with additional factors having to be considered. However, generally there is a significant overlap of the characteristics real estate investors and tourists look for. 
People go on a holiday abroad. They chance upon a quaint little seaside haven and end up spending two or three heavenly weeks just chilling and having fun. When it gets time to return home, they look up the realtors and end up buying a house, or at the least, begin looking for one. This is how tourism and real estate are linked inexorably.
This trend can be seen all across Central America, which of late has become an increasingly popular area for U.S. baby boomers to retire in. The best tourism destinations are also the ones that are generating the most real estate purchasing activity. Some of the most popular ones are: Ambergis Caye, Belize; the Bay Islands, Honduras; San Juan del Sur and Granada, Nicaragua; Antigua, Guatemala; and Panama City, Bocas del Toro and Boquete, Panama.
© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
Career Planning for Baby Boomers — Re-Entering the Workforce
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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF
Studies have shown that a large segment of mature people now want to stay employed or re-enter the workforce at the middle aged stage. There are several reasons as to why more mature people choose to start working again and many of these can be inter-connected.
The reasons why mature workers remain motivated for staying in, or re-entering the workforce, can be diverse and include:
• A necessity based approach that if focused on wages and pay.
• Satisfaction based, from contribution to economy and social contacts in the workplace (important especially for women or people living alone)
• Continuing usage of skills and abilities, expertise and capacities that are relevant to the workplace but with limited visibility and relevance outside.
• A good set of principles and work ethics, or a good set of values they have about work
• Complete pleasure and satisfaction in working, or comfort and familiarity with regular routines
However, most senior citizens don’t necessarily have to work where they worked before, or they don’t need to work in the same style as before. In fact, a considerably large number don’t want just any ordinary job, they want a kind of occupation or vocation that will allow them to fully express their interests and beliefs, values and morals and even changing objectives. While most mature adults can be looking for changes as to where and how they would like to work, for others, work might actually be something akin to a financial necessity. Today, in the United States, people aged over 45 are increasingly getting back into work, largely because they need good health care coverage, for example.
Financial independence is also and important factor in the work force re-entry of mature women. In the group of ethnically and economically diverse mature women in America, freedom from men seems to be a major motivation for work. Part of this emphasis on freedom from men – be it financial or any other sort of ties (whether spouses or children) comes from past negative experiences, some from the perceived risks of divorce, separation, abandonment, and ill treatment, faced by dependant women.
A number of reasons, in addition to the financial ones drive older, more mature people to get back to working. These may range from the fitness to the social issues. The reasons why mature adults re-enter the workforce are:
• To remain physically as well as mentally active.
• Due to family and relationship changes
• Job satisfaction
• Because they need a routine
• Want more to do
• Crave for more social contacts that can only be provided by work
The ones who do retire may not permanently leave the workforce, finding retirement less enjoyable than expected and may soon re-enter the workforce.
As increasing number of mature workers enter the workforce, there is an increasing number of 50+-year-old job seekers. Barriers, real or perceived, and the expectation of rejection undermine morale, and hurt self-confidence. Despite legislation making age discrimination illegal, it can be quite problematic, particularly for the unemployed seeking work out of necessity.
Some of the negative aspects that are attributed to older workers are:
• Lack of creativity and flexibility
• Outdated and archaic skills and abilities
• Tend to be accident prone
• Less capable of physical labor
• Poor health
In fact, research shows that older workers are:
• Faithful
• Trustworthy
• Diligent workers
• Productive
• Sophisticated
• Enthusiastic
• More experienced
• Dedicated
© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Please place a post on www.AnnaBanks.com or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
