I recently came across a bit of information that staggered me. According to Business Week magazine (July 14 and 21, Page 8), baby boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 every 24 hours.

What staggered me was not the number; it was the sheer quantity of entrepreneurial opportunities that the number represented. The short article zeroed in on financial advisers and the anticipated exchange of $17 trillion dollars from pension and 401(k) plans into the hands of retirees and their potential risk exposure with shysters.

But I could not help thinking about the connection of an uncovered need with the ability to pay and how all this translates into a huge entrepreneurial opportunity.

In drawing up a map of these opportunities, it became quite clear that this marketplace will be driven much more by niche requirements and, by definition, these niches are fertile ground for any number of start-up companies.

From location/destination to lifestyle to health to safety and security, every one of these markets has a tremendous amount of room for new players. The challenge will be to stake out a proprietary position quickly and do so in a way that can be sustainable and defensible.

The key to this positioning will revolve around some type of intellectual property. Contrary to popular opinion, however, this does not mean that you have to come up with a revolutionary, first of its kind, greatest thing since sliced bread, invention with its subsequent patent. While this may certainly occur, a recent column in the Wall Street Journal on Innovation (July 7, Page R6), made a good point that there are two categories for creative thinkers.

There are those who see the forest and there are those that see the trees. Forest people see change and opportunity in macro chunks, perhaps to the point of entirely new. Tree people, on the other hand, see change and opportunity in increments, small improvements on already existing solutions. Given that the world has never seen anything close to this record transfer of $17 trillion, you just have to believe that there is plenty of opportunity for both groups of arborists.

At the same time this wealth also represents not just a target for consumption, but also a very real catalyst for investment and expertise for start-up businesses. Who better to know the needs and nuance of a market than the folks who make up the market?

Paralleling this is the very real demographic trend that sees retirement not as an end, but the opportunity for a new beginning, a new avenue for contribution. From a very real source of start-up and angel funding along with industry specific expertise to advisory boards to talent for hire, these are all opportunities within this demographic.

We’ve all probably heard the old saying that good luck is when preparation meets opportunity. For entrepreneurial-minded individuals, there is no doubt that an opportunity is unfolding. The successful ones are preparing to take advantage of it.

John F. Riddell Jr., director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth-Hamilton County, writes each Tuesday about entrepreneurs and their impact on companies and the marketplace. Submit comments to his attention by writing to Business Editor John Vass Jr., Chattanooga Times Free Press, P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401-1447, or by e-mailing him at business@timesfreepress.com

Comments