The New Economy, the Frontier of the New Online Home Based Entrepreneur

I’ve been ready quite a few articles lately on the impossibility of Baby Boomers continuing to work til they drop, the losses suffered by all in the stock market crash.  Don’t quote me on exact statistics, but the picture isn’t pretty.  One shocking tidbit said that the losses suffered by the generation left the younger portion of the Boom with a total net worth (including their house) of $100,000 and the older half with a total net worth of $170,000.  It doesn’t take an accountant to figure out that no one can retire on that amount of money – not when life span projections say that we’re going to live longer and healthier than generations past.

So, what to do?  This will not affect just the Boomers, but will trickle down to the generations following us.  With Boomers hanging on to jobs well past retirement years, where will the jobs come from for the younger generation – the kids and grandkids we raised?  To add to the mess, technology and outsourcing to other countries has reduced the number of jobs that even exist.   The economy is morphing such that the number of people needed to run it, is and will only continue to grow into an economy that doesn’t need the number of people to run it that it used to.  Bottom line – the jobs will not exist.  And, we are already at a 10% plus unemployment rate in the United States.

There are changes afoot the put the lie to the old sacred plan:  get a good education, find a great job and save for retirement.  We did that.  I’m a lawyer, got the great education, took the bar exams in most states I moved too (not fun, but necessary), put in the 16 hour days – and at 54, there is no way I can retire to Florida and watch the sunsets.  I imagine that resonates with many Boomers, many of whom I know who are in their late sixties – after heart surgeries, diabetes and other devastating medical problems – must continue to earn money simply to live.  We’ve watched giant corporate icons disappear overnight and wall street six figure owners frantically looking for something else to do.

In areas hit hardest with job loss, a previously viable solution no longer works.  Often, when the economy started a downturn in an area – people moved elsewhere, where jobs were more plentiful.  Now, not only are the jobs not so plentiful, the individual’s financial situation absolutely precludes their move.  They cannot afford to sell their house, it is worth far less than they bought it for and they can’t take the hit – they are stuck where they are and must figure out survival from their current location.

With loss of savings, elimination of corporate icons, lessening of the need for human beings to perform a job (or companies finding these humans in another country), a need to work far beyond previously-considered retirement age, the trickle down of the job scarcity to younger generations, the inability to move and the morphing of our economy – people must find another solution.  And where are they going?  What is the next frontier?

Before I go into that, as an aside, at 54 I’ve faced what other Boomers needing to work in their 60′s and 70′s will face at an earlier age if health problems affect their ability to hold down a job.  It is why I’ve become so passionate about my proposition as a solution.  And it’s not a government bailout.  After an injury and a later diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, I met the health impediment at a much earlier age.  I suddenly found myself no longer able to practice law or even hold a regular job, at regular times of business primarily because of the fatigue monster that comes with MS.  I had to find a Plan B earlier, so that I could work when my physical condition would allow it – not when an employer would expect my presence.  Always an entrepreneur, I had run my own law practices in the past, but I knew even that would not provide the solution because I could not totally control my own schedule with clients and court appearances.

I did what I do best – research.  I discovered the home business models I’d dabbled in for years were surging, and that over 700 million home businesses were anticipated to start this year, with most of them by people ages 54 to 65.  That’s not an accident.  And where are they going?

The Internet.  Period.  For those that cannot physically move, cannot find a typical job sufficient to support them, or cannot for any other reason find or maintain a classic corporate job, the Internet is the new frontier in this morphing economy.  People are flooding to the web, looking for the solution.  And millions of them are Boomers, who didn’t grow up with cell phones and computers, but who have learned just enough to get around and who are learning more about Internet Marketing daily.  These will be the survivors, because business is booming online – for those who can figure out it’s mystery.  The phenomenal growth of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites is going through the roof, opening opportunities that did not exist before.  And, they are free.  Video marketing (You Tube) is booming – attention spans are lessening and video is virtually expected to avoid the overwhelm of in-depth reading.  Boomers, who are afraid of the Internet must get over it if they are to survive.  In my own experience, the same applies to the disabled who cannot work outside the home – it’s a way out of the poverty that disability often brings.  Many Boomers and disabled folk don’t “get it” yet, but they will, if they want to survive.

The new entrepreneur is the path of the future.  The direct sales industry on the Internet is thriving and growing.  But it is a dangerous neighborhood if you do not know what you are doing.  Fortunately, there are many ways to learn for free and I’ve used them to their max.

Two absolutely critical elements that mean the difference between success or failure online cannot be ignored.  First, you have to find an industry that is close to recession proof and join the right company.  Second, and perhaps more crucial to success online is the choice of the team and sponsor within the company one joins.  Having experienced the failure rate of ignoring these rock solid principles, I cherry picked both my companies and my sponsor within the team that could lead me to success.  What a difference this will make to your bottom line – it’s the difference between extinction and success.

The overwhelm of the web and the hype, pomp and circumstance of some companies is fatal to your success.  You have to do the research on the areas above or it’s over.  By aligning yourself with the right people, you meet more “right” people and your presence on the Internet grows exponentially – and so does your bottom line.

Even if you are not suffering economic problems now, you likely will in the future.  Learn the Web now and keep growing in your knowledge to protect yourself and family in the future.