By Rudy Simondi, founder of FLIPS and a proud Baby Boomer
Retirement is hypothetically just around the corner for the Baby Boomer generation. And yet, many are debating if they want to actually settle down after retirement or continue working.
A number of Baby Boomers are choosing a more entrepreneurial path, choosing to launch small businesses. Why?
Boomers are living longer than previous retired generations and many aren’t going to be able to rely solely on 401k money, pensions or social security checks to live the life they’d like to in their “golden years”. This is one reason why Boomers are planning to work through their “retirement” years, some electing to start their own business.
But there’s more to it than prosperity. As a Baby Boomer myself, I can say that becoming an entrepreneur has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.
I didn’t enter into business ownership blindly. Prior to launching FLIPS, a fashion and comfort-focused flip flop retail franchise in 2009, I coordinated more than 200 store openings across 30 states. I’ve had the opportunity to work with large retail brands, including Michaels, PetSmart and Select Comfort. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for the remainder of my professional life and decided that creating my own business was it.
Becoming an entrepreneur helps people strategize their own success at the time and rate they envision for themselves. In short, entrepreneurs control their own destiny. Many Boomers becoming their own boss are fulfilling a lifelong dream, and many are enjoying both financial and emotional rewards for it.
As a startup founder, I’d like to propose a few reasons why Boomers are, in fact, top candidates to launch startup companies.
We have experience – and years of work to prove it.
Many seasoned professionals fail to realize their largest asset: the wisdom they’ve gained with years of on-the-job experience. Most do not realize that they have the skill, experience and ability to start new businesses. The years of career experience Baby Boomers have invested in building their professional networks can allow them to easily transition to self-regulating work.
We have large professional networks.
Another advantage we have is the expansive network of people we’ve worked with before. Whether it’s the people we managed 20 years ago or a client from last year, we tend to know more people in our respective industries. The time and effort we’ve dedicated to our professions has resulted in many relationships that make us, in many ways, indispensable.
What we bring to the table when starting a new business is the experience and knowledge that comes from vast networks. We’ve learned from countless others’ experiences, as well as our own, and are able to download that knowledge into our new business ventures.
We grew up in a generation that didn’t constantly work in front of a computer.
For fear of sounding like an “older person,” I sincerely think this is an advantage for Baby Boomers. Believe me, I rely heavily on my smartphone to get me through the day. But, I also know what it was like to have to pick up the phone or meet in person. Innovation doesn’t happen when people are staring at computer screens all day. It’s a process, one that’s typically collaborative in nature.
We are willing to take more risks.
The best entrepreneurs know that failure comes with the territory. Things are going to happen and you’re going to make decisions as a business owner that won’t always pay off. Those who excel understand this and move on after a bad decision. That is, they don’t lament mistakes. Instead, they move forward and learn from what didn’t work.
I’m someone who yearns for constructive criticism. Seriously. I love feedback from customers, sales associates, my wife – anyone who is willing to provide it. I’ve learned, after decades of experience in the retail world, that the best way to improve is to seek advice from others. The only way to do that is to make yourself vulnerable to a degree and accept that your ideas may not always be the best. With that, you accept the fact you have failed – or at least fallen short – before. That doesn’t scare us Baby Boomers. We’re not intimidated by failure, which makes us, in my honest opinion, ripe to launch startups.
If you’re a Baby Boomer and want to become an entrepreneur, don’t procrastinate. You have many more advantages to starting a new business than you think, making you an ideal entrepreneur.
Rudy Simondi is an experienced retail executive and the founder and CEO of FLIPS, a comfort and fashion-focused flip flop retail franchise with a flagship located at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. For more information on FLIPS and to learn about its franchising opportunity, visit FlipsFranchise.com.
