Comments

Creativity is such a rush.

Posted by Gary Potter at July 19, 2005 3:51 PM

I agree with you Tom

Isn't it just great to be a baby boomer? ...53 and proud of it ...just reached 53 feeling 18 ...grandad for the first time .. in love with Annie .... life is good - marketers look me up please :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 20, 2005 5:06 AM

Great market to drive in...I'll put the thinking cap on....here's a brainstorm list:

1. Personal reader for boomers with vision impairment...read and discuss books in private or group settings in the home.

2. Personal tech assistant for boomers that want to upgrade personal and home technology but don't know how to.

3. Home optimization consultant to make living space most practical and convenient for use (reduce bending, lifting, carrying, walking back and forth, etc.)

4. Personal fasion consultant and shopper (especially for boomers who wear black socks with sandals).

Fair play to entrepreneurs who see a niche and take action to fill it. I've had so many ideas over the years, only to eventually see them realized by someone else who had the guts (and more often than not the capital) to take the step.

That said, I detest franchises as much as I do benchmarking and am glad to be moving somewhere that doesn't allow franchises to locate in the town (believe it or not, there are places in the good 'ole USA that don't have McDonalds!)

Posted by Tom O'Leary at July 20, 2005 7:11 AM

While watching a home improvement channel on cable television the other day I caught a segment on homes designed to cater to the needs of elderly people, which included amenities like a wheel chair accessible shower/bathroom, kitchen drawers that had shallow sides for easier access, a mirror above the stove so that a person in a wheelchair could see the contents of the pots cooking on the range, etc. Homes designed to suit the needs of the elderly will proliferate in the years to come. For those looking to capitalize on the boomers, this will definitely be a viable market.

Posted by Dau at July 20, 2005 7:42 AM

As I noted in the tuna can discussion earlier, product design is another major area where failure to cater to the BoomerGeezer market could be harmful to your bottom line. For instance:

1. Those silly little plastic pull rings on juice cartons, which are almost impossible for someone with impaired finger strength to open.
2. Plastic bubble packaging: if you don't have the muscle power to tear it open bodily, you need to use scissors or a knife, which pose other kinds of hazards.
3. CD packaging -- 'nuff said.
4. Phones, calculators, keyboards, etc. with tiny keys, too close together.

I'm 60, and in generally good shape, but I have some repetitive stress problems in my hands from decades of pounding the computer keyboard, and I'm constantly frustrated by products that are painful if not downright impossible for me to use.

Posted by Paula at July 25, 2005 3:55 PM