FutureDecisions has been officially in business for a year this month. The research indicates many Baby Boomers want to do what we have accomplished- start their own business. We thought you might be interested in what we have learned this year.• “You do not know who your customers are yet.” A colleague that has started several businesses said that to us and it has become something we repeat to each other as we move down unexpected paths. Be open to business opportunities that you don’t expect. We started with our Reinvent Yourself Workshop which led us to our Succession Planning Program. We were not sure if this was a good fit until we developed it and saw the connections. The mix of individuals using our services, as opposed to attending workshops, is very different than what we had initially expected.• 80% of businesses dissolve in the first year. We understand how that could happen because starting your own business can be scary. Believe in your business and yourself and develop an effective business plan. If you plan for the long haul, you will not be as easily discouraged.• Figure out how you are going to pay your bills until your business becomes self sufficient. This may seem like a no brainer, but it something that many businesses fail to consider. We have a friend that tended bar at nights for three years until his business showed a profit. We have taken on a variety of different “opportunities” to help pay the bills as our core products and services get traction in the marketplace. We have steered away from business loans, but they might be right for some businesses. If you want your own business bad enough, figure out a way to stay afloat until it becomes profitable.• If you think your life will be slower, think again, we work long hours including many weekends. We love what we are doing so it is not a problem for us, but it is still a lot of hours.• Be ready for a steep learning curve. We both were used to the support offered by large organizations. We have learned how to set up a wireless computer system, how to fix those mysterious glitches that computers have, how to market, how to develop all of our own materials and so on. We continue to learn new things every day. Sometimes we still reminisce about the “good old days” when we had administrative assistants.• Be clear about what is important to you in a partnership, if that is the type of business into which you enter. Partners should have complementary skills and it is really important to trust each other and work together well. The three of us spend a lot of time together, it would be awful if we didn’t like to work together. We have also clarified what roles each of us will perform. This was a major breakthrough in productivity and moving our business forward.• Lastly, enjoy the ride! We look forward to the new year with great anticipation, knowing that the ride will continue to have its ups and downs, but at the end of each day we will be happy we are in business for ourselves offering services we believe in and doing what we love.For us, starting our own business has been a wonderful adventure. If you are thinking about starting your own business, here are a few links that might be helpful.http://www.sba.gov/http://www.businesstown.com/www.score.orgwww.frannet.comhttp://www.calchamber.com

As we close out the year a couple of things of note regarding we Baby Boomers. Number one, the first wave of Baby Boomers turned 60 this year. By the end of 2007 40% of Baby Boomers will be 60 years old! This is amazing to us here at FutureDecisions because neither one of us ever thought about being 60, it was sooo old, but yet one of us will be there soon.Second, we are constantly amazed at how much the Baby Boomer population has to offer society. When we were younger we protested and wrote letters and dodged the draft in defiance of the status quo. Then, we became the status quo and judging by many of the problems facing the United States as we close out 2006 we have not done a terrific job. We have a war which that seems to go on forever, corporate corruption at unprecedented levels; political corruption seems to continue unabated and so on. Yet, we when we work with Baby Boomers now we find that there is this realization that although things may have not gone as well as we might have wanted when we were imagining the future in our younger days the fact of the matter is we have new opportunities to positively alter the landscape.While many of the ideals we had in our younger days went by the wayside there is an awakening in many of us that we have a second chance. If we make the most of it we can bring a new level of peace, prosperity and integrity to our world and leave a legacy of which we can all be proud.