If you are looking for ideas on starting a business but aren’t quite sure what you should be doing, why not target Millennials? Although they are said to be a bit less free with their spending than Baby Boomers, they have a huge amount of spending power since it is the most populous group within the current workforce.
What does this mean? It means that if you can determine what it is Millennials want and can effectively market to them, you’ll have one successful venture in the end.
Spendthrift but Not Stingy.
One thing that can be said of Millennials is that they are spendthrift but not to the point of being stingy with their cash. It may appear to be so because they are less likely to focus on high ticket items like cars and homes, but when a Millennial truly wants something, there is no stopping him or her. They tend to know just what they want and are willing to pay good money if it’s something that appeals to them. Also, don’t let their thrifty nature fool you into thinking they don’t have much to spend. According to one report on the Forbes website, they have spending power in the United States alone of about £144 billion – that’s about $200 billion in US dollars. That’s a huge amount of spending power and one that you can easily tap into.
Spending Patterns of Millennials.
Oddly, in that article the number one way in which Millennials are willing to part with their money is food on the run and second to that is paying for expedited delivery on items they purchase online. Now wouldn’t it be nice creating an iPhone app that would enable Millennials to order take away from literally any restaurant in town so that all they had to do was show up and pay or have it delivered? Just think of the revenue that could be brought in by contracting with every fast food restaurant in town. In fact, just take a look at their behaviours in order to develop an iPhone app that would appeal to them. Why iPhone? Because everyone has one, of course!
A New Approach to Starting a Business.
So many young entrepreneurs approach starting a business from a totally new perspective. In the past an entrepreneur would take a look at his or her talents and ability and then start a business based on that. However, today’s entrepreneur is approaching starting a business from the goal and working backwards from there. The goal is to look at how consumers (Millennials) are spending their money and then tapping into that ongoing supply of capital, hence the off-hand humour of a fast food delivery service.
All joking aside, money does talk. So if you are going to start a business and aren’t sure which way to turn, the best advice you can be given is to follow the behaviours of Millennials for a few days. They have money to spend and are the largest living generation with that money, so find out what they want and give it to them. Yes, it’s a totally different approach to starting a business, but logically, one that should work! After all, you aren’t working on an assumption that they need what you have to offer but rather providing something they are more than willing to spend money on. Now that’s innovation!
