Feature
Story
The Boomers
You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet!
By Carol
Cortright
Baby Boomers are poised to turn the traditional notion
of retirement upside down, while at the same time
presenting a consumer force to be reckoned with, a
demographic worth over $1 trillion in buying power.
As the first wave of boomers turned 60 in 2006, it
became apparent that this generation would not be going
quietly into nursing homes to while away the hours with
bingo and shuffleboard. They’re taking advantage of
health and fitness trends to help them stay active
longer. They’re buying cosmetic products and procedures
to chase out the gray and shake out the wrinkles.
They’re traveling, going back to school, taking care of
parents, taking care of children, volunteering in their
communities. Today’s retirement-age Americans are a far
cry from their counterparts of yesteryear.
The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964,
came of age in a time of great political and social
change, when America was experiencing post-war
abundance, creating a wealth of new opportunities.
“So much was available to us, and our parents wanted us
to have more than they had,” said Linda Burhans, 54, a
Seminole-based entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
“Maybe we got a little too much, because then we killed
ourselves working hard to keep it up. We all want the
same thing, a nice house, a nice car, security, but the
Baby Boomers got a little crazy for awhile and wanted
everything.”
She believes her generation’s drive to succeed at all
costs finally bottomed out and led to an epiphany of
sorts: the best things in life are the simple things,
spending time with your family, making connections with
others, being healthy, being grateful.
Baby Boomers are picking up where they left off—losing
faith in corporate America and looking for more
fulfilling ways to spend their later years. Since
they’re healthier and more active, they’re ready to take
on new adventures that go beyond the RV trip across
America or settling into the quiet life. For some,
retirement isn’t even an option due to financial
reasons. They don’t know how they’d make ends meet if
they clocked out of the work force at age 62.
Now it’s the dawning of the Age of the Boomer
Entrepreneur. Boomers are setting off an explosion of
self-employment in an attempt to drop out of what have
become meaningless careers working for someone else.
The Baby Boomer generation currently makes up the
largest single demographic by age in the United States
at 78.2-million strong, as estimated by the U.S. Census
Bureau. Here’s a group that, by the time thoughts of
retirement would normally start creeping into the
collective conscious, finds itself better educated,
healthier and more in tune with technology than any
other generation before.
Are they going to slow down and fade away? Not likely.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics points to an
almost 30% surge in self-employed Boomers between the
years 2000 and 2005. In fact, just over half of all
self-employed workers are either Boomer-age or 60-plus.
They might start businesses that draw upon their years
of experience in the workplace, either as consultants or
by offering outsourcing directed at former employers and
similar companies. They might take a hobby to a new
level, affording the opportunity to earn a living
through their creativity. A large number of Boomers are
turning to online businesses—according to an article on
Entrepreneur.com, 72% of Boomers ages 51-59 are
internet-savvy and find this medium provides more
flexibility and fewer headaches than starting a
bricks-and-mortar business (Nov. 10, 2006).
“The climate of the 60’s and 70’s instilled the need to
be of service. Work needs to be fulfilling. Profit was a
dirty word,” said Jean Rogalsky, 57, a Pinellas County
4-H Agent. “I see many of my colleagues retiring and
then taking the job that appeals to them the most.”
Linda Burhans sums it up like this: “We went from
hippies to business people then back to hippies. I’m
just much more comfortable with that than the corporate
(mentality).”
Burhans, a former Long Islander now living in Seminole,
worked her way up through business accounting and
finance positions. She started as a “figure clerk” out
of high school, and ended as CFO of a Swiss watch
company before making the leap into working for herself.
“It was just my time,” she explained. “I wanted to make
money for myself instead of for someone else.” Today,
she oversees a collection of networking and event
service endeavors that allow her to be “a messenger
spreading happiness, good news and hope.”
Another Boomer entrepreneur, Linda Bullerman, 58, thinks
of herself as “an adventurer.” Like many people her age,
she acknowledges that “Life is too short…I want to slow
down and enjoy it.”
However, Bullerman, an insurance financial advisor,
admits she’s not exactly a typical Boomer when it comes
to retirement. She’s been self-employed most of her life
and remembers the 1960’s and 70’s as “a fun time.” “I’m
independent,” she said. “I like making my own goals and
planning my life.”
Planning. That’s something Boomers are beginning to take
seriously, many having dealt with aging parents and kids
coming back home to the nest. They learn from what
they’ve gone through with their family members and
realize no one’s going to be there to support them
except themselves.
“Boomers are young forever, so why think about
retirement?” said Jean Rogalsky. “I never even thought
about retirement until my parents died and I realized I
was the older generation now.”
Planning for the future is a difficult concept for Steve
Baal, 58, who remembers the air raid drills, shopping
for bomb shelter supplies and living with the fear of
nuclear war. “Growing up with a sense of impending doom
made it hard to imagine why I should have to plan for
the future when something was probably going to fall out
of the sky.” Baal is among those who don’t see
retirement as a viable option, economically speaking. A
401(k) from a previous job is pretty much the extent of
his retirement savings. “I’d be bored with retirement
anyway, so I’ll work till the day I die.”
Carla Kerns, 55, worries about financing the
post-employment years too. “The way the economy is going
now, we don’t have a guaranteed retirement or pension
anymore. I’d like to be able to scale back my work hours
gradually by the time I reach 62, but health care
coverage is a big concern. ‘Will work for health care’
is what a lot of us are having to do.”
She thought a comfortable retirement like her parents’
would be in her future but believes now that it’s
unrealistic. Kerns, currently a full-time library
reference assistant, looks forward to the day when she’s
able to indulge an entrepreneurial urge to become an
antiques dealer. But until then, she’s thinking about
more immediate and practical needs. Again, she mentioned
her parents, who stayed self-sufficient in their own
home until their late 80’s. “But they waited so long to
move into an assisted living facility, they didn’t have
the time or the capacity to make the best decision on
their own, so it fell to my sister and me.” Kerns now
accepts that this is an important issue she will have to
address for herself.
Linda Bullerman, the insurance financial advisor, works
primarily with clients over the age of forty and can
tell countless stories about families who would have
saved their loved ones a lot of grief had they invested
in long term care planning. “It’s hard! It has
personally affected me too, so I try to use my
experience to educate others,” she said.
Ask Boomer entrepreneurs why they want to do their own
thing and “freedom” resonates as a typical answer,
followed by “Is this all there is?” and “What’s next?”
Just as monumental transformations sent shockwaves
throughout the last half of the twentieth century, so
Baby Boomers accept change as a part of the ride.
“‘Change’ has been a theme throughout my life,” said
Steve Baal, currently enjoying his third career, this
time around as a Realtor®. “I need to change or I’m not
happy.”
At first, he followed his family’s tradition and went
into police work. “There was all this talk about
‘working for the man’ and that sort of rubbed on me,” he
said of this time in his life. “I had difficulty dealing
with authority and I wanted to do things my own way.”
Eventually, he segued into his next career, writing, and
now he finds himself “intrigued” by the “element of
danger” that the real estate market brings. “It’s like
playing poker every day,” he explained, “You have to
work with the cards you’re dealt and do the best you can
for the people you’re working with.”
One thing that motivates the Boomer entrepreneur is the
fact that the responsibility falls on them and only
them, whether in success or failure.
“There’s no one else to blame if you goof it up,” said
Linda Bullerman.
“It’s about challenging yourself every day to get the
work done,” said Steve Baal. Internal drive is necessary
if you want to work for yourself.”
Today, like many of her fellow Baby Boomer
entrepreneurs, Linda Burhans finds joy in her work by
combining the things she learned in the corporate world
with the ideals her generation reveled in as they came
of age. Flip over the purple card for her
“Heart-Centered Networking” project and it says, “Expand
your business AND your consciousness!”
The bottom line is that the “golden years” are being
reinvented by the most active generation to hit 60 in
our nation’s history. They have no intention of slowing
down. Their lives will be filled with meaningful
pursuits as long as possible.
“When I retire, I will be able to save the world full
time,” said Jean Rogalsky.
back to top |
