Over the past 60 years, we have a most amazing scenario take place. One generation has changed the way people shop, think, work and most importantly, live. These are a sizable group of people referred to as Baby Boomers. Over 74 million people make up this number in the United States alone.
Economic indicators are interesting to follow and taking a closer look at the impact the Boomers have had and still have, sizes up the state of the economy. Some say that this group just followed trends, but in reality, this massive crew not only influenced trends, they created and controlled them. The Boomers impacted industry and challenged every company that they came in contact with to just keep up, with this massive growth. Others say that the economic slow down is a case of the Baby Boomers reassessing their lives and making many changes. We will let you decide.
Although they had been successful for years, in the early 1940′s Gerber Baby Foods, was a company selling few flavors of food to a few hundred thousand babies. By 1948, they were selling more than 2 million jars of baby food, every day. That means a boon in newborns or one really big baby! Thanks to healthy foods, once this group learned how to walk, they learned how to run and they did that to Kinney Shoes and Thom Mcan Shoe Stores. They sprouted up everywhere. Then, with their new sneakers, they headed for the toy stores and created markets that these companies had never experienced.
Products like the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, all of the Mattel toys and the Slinky, the dumbest toy in history, especially if you live in a house with no stairs! All of these industries flourished, because of the ongoing demand of the Baby Boomers. And it just got crazier after that. After several bankruptcies, Walt Disney finally figured it out and created Disneyland, millions and millions came and came again, he finally made it. Why? This group determined very early on, that they wanted to do, to see and to have everything. And they did.
As the Boomers grew up, they literally created the need for fast food. McDonalds, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken stores were all over the place. There was so much to do, that these kids wanted things and they wanted them quickly. These places were also great gathering locations and you would hundreds and sometimes thousands of kids just quietly, yes quietly, hanging out, sharing stories of their daily activities. This was huge. But they needed and wanted more.
College became the next hurdle and once completed, this generation had different ideas than their parents. They wanted to be rich and were willing to do whatever it took to achieve it. Work load increased and this aggressive group found that they could not get everything they wanted done by the end of the day. So, the next multi billion dollar industry was the pager. Now people could work and be contacted outside of the office. But, that was not quite good enough. They still had to stop to make a phone call once contacted on their pager.
After college, and lots of protesting, it was time to hit the job market. These future entrepreneurs, most did not know it yet, found that they did not have enough ways to stay in touch with the world. So, along comes the pager! Now you could stay in contact with anyone at anytime, day or night. You still had to stop to make a phone call, so you can only guess what would come next. And it did! The Cell phone industry was the perfect solution for this crew. They could work on their way to work, work at work and then work some more on their way home. It was perfect. Well, almost. How could they get information to their customers, quickly? Oh yes, the fax machine. Now, they could even work at home, after a full day of work.
A long time ago, while remembering that someone 30 years old, appeared to be ancient, these masses decided that they would not grow old, or if they actually had to, not gracefully. So, hair transplants, Weight loss companies, Skin care companies are all on the rise. So, even today, this generation is having both good and bad influence of the economy. Some researchers are making the claim that because the Boomers are getting at least slightly nervous about aging, that they are not spending as they did in the late 1990′s. Maybe, but others claim that because this group has the most interest in new technology and anything else that seems cool, that they will still spend but they are bored.
So, as the Baby Boomers approach the latter part of their lives, they want to work less, hence the increase in home based businesses, make more money, as they are tired of working for the MAN, want to spend more time with family, as they were neglected while they were voraciously climbing the corporate ladder and to maybe, just maybe, slow down a little.
So, if you grew up during this time, it has been a life of wonderment. You have seen more advances than any other time in history. You have also seen some of the worst times as well. Assassinations of key figures, controversial governing of the country and more. In the end, as Jimmy Stewart says in the famous movie, It’s a Wonderful Life! There is much to do and plenty of time to do it, so have fun. Who will be the first 100 year old CEO? Likely, it will be someone born between 1946 – 1964.
Following business trends and how they are affected, one consider Baby Boomers, so where are they now and what are they getting up to? For one thing buying super sassy Callaway Golf Bag .