Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"
Boomer Consumers
Pamela E. Walk
Savannah Morning News
April 29, 2007
Overview: Walk is writing a series that will look at “way baby boomers are revolutionizing how the Coastal Empire looks at life, from retirement and family planning to aging and faith. This and subsequent pieces will attempt to capture stories about how local people in this age bracket have both individually and collectively challenged our society - and still do.” In this first article of the series she shares, “‘It bothers me that companies specifically target boomers,’ says George Bowen, a retired officer in the U.S. Air Force and former Savannah school administrator. ‘There are products I won't even touch because I resent the way they market it.’”
http://new.savannahnow.com/node/274825
Gen Xers embrace being own boss
Karen Blotnicky
Chronicle Herald
April 30, 2007
Overview: Blotnicky discusses survey results from the Open Ages Survey of more than 600 business owners of the baby boomer generation and generation X. She reports, “Results revealed that, despite many changes in the life experiences between the two groups, there were some notable commonalities between the two groups of entrepreneurs. First, both groups sought out self-employment for reasons of personal happiness. Money was not a key motivator. Both groups agreed that being self-employed was the best career decision they could have made. Both groups have tremendous passion for their business. They love being their own boss and they believe strongly in their business focus and mission. They both worked long hours, often up to 70 hours weekly, to make their dreams become reality.” She goes on to share the differences between the generations including, “About one-fourth of baby boomers were somewhat reluctant entrepreneurs, coming to business later in life because they could not afford to retire. Generation Xers were more likely to have embraced entrepreneurship earlier on, with many starting their businesses right out of school.”
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/832224.html
Boomers to tread well-worn path
James Pettican
St. Petersburg Times
April 29, 2007
Overview: Retired journalist, James Pettican, shares his advice to boomers on retirement. He writes, “The boomers, because of their numbers, will do all the things we've already done, but they will do them on a bigger scale. They will spoil more grandchildren and they will travel more. Some of them will become serious travelers while others, often forced aboard cruise ships by the wishes of a spouse, will come back from voyages and forget the name of the ship they were on. Boomers, like the rest of us, will learn that time appears to speed up as they slow down.”
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/29/Neighborhoodtimes/Boomers_to_tread_well.shtml