Baby boomers boost to business

Friday, 09 December 2011

In the world of commerce the so-called baby boomer generation is increasingly looking out for tempting opportunities to buy a business.

Of those using the website BusinessesForSale.com to look for businesses to acquire, more than one in four (27 per cent) in a recent survey are aged 55 and over, while the average age of a business buyer is 44. With the economy the way it is, these people increasingly see buying a business with a proven track record as a more prudent investment than pension funds, shares or building society deposits.

Purchasing an existing business is also a safer investment than starting one yourself: 80 per cent of start-ups fail to last five years. And the over- fifties are facing a real struggle to get back into regular employment: 44 per cent of those unemployed at that age have been out of work for more than twelve months.

The Direct Selling Association, the trade body which represents the interests of the UK’s major direct selling companies has observed a 29 per cent increase in recruits aged over 50 in the past year. Baby boomers are also cash and asset rich; the wealth gap between the young and older generations remains as wide as it has ever been.

The survey notes that the average budget of prospective business buyers below 45 years of age is just over half that of those aged over 45: £144,000 against £260,000.

Research from Friends Provident suggests that the over- 50s hold some 80% of the nation’s wealth.

However, there’s another more prosaic explanation for the prominence of over 55s in the business-for-sale market: there is simply a greater need owing to lack of employment opportunities.

From my own experience as a business and life coach, I have noticed that this older generation frequently possesses certain characteristics – such as optimism, quiet confidence, patience and commercial experience– which makes them ideal business owners.

If sellers of businesses or their agents appreciated these qualities they would come to realise that baby boomers represent their ideal target market. In the words of Mark Twain, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter. “

Chris Kenber is a writer and business coach.

For more details visit www.chriskenber.com