Boomers Takin' the Entrepreneurial Horns

I just knew it couldn't me. Not only did I get married for the first time after turning 50, I started a brand new venture two years later. I've felt for a while now that the only way to make real change is to do it for yourself. Turns out loads of boomers agree with my mindset. Hanah Cho, reporting for The Baltimore Sun reports that we may be at the beginning of a startup business boom time fueled by you know who.

For years after the dot-com boom, the 20-something upstart has been held up as a model of entrepreneurial spirit - take Google and Facebook, for instance. But contrary to such popular belief, it is the baby boomer generation - those 55- to 64-year-olds - that has the highest rate of entrepreneurship activity, according to a recent study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit group that encourages entrepreneurship.

In fact, the study predicts the United States may be on the verge of an entrepreneurial boom because of a growing aging population. For the past decade, the 55-64 age group has been the most entrepreneurial. The youngest age bracket - 20 to 34 years old - has been the least active in creating new ventures, according to the study.

"I really can't wait for things to get better," says Felton Barner, who started ReIMAGE gallery in Savage Mill in retirement. "I need to do it on my timetable. I'll take the risk. At least I know I tried it."(Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron / July 22, 2009)


Post-World War II generation takes the lead in starting new businesses, study says.