Gen Plus » Surveys

Marketing to Boomers and 50 Plus? I’m JUST Irritated.

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:41:00 +0000

At 78 million plus strong, we are a marketers dream. The Boomer and 50 Plus generation falls into two camps. Those with and those without. Money, that is.

Marketers are falling over each other to find out what we will or won’t spend our money on. Will there be a recession? Won’t there be a recession? Will the media frenzy about the maybe yes/maybe no recession force a recession? What does Ben Bernake think?

I’ll tell you what I think.

If I have a job and a house and can pay my bills…no recession.
If I have lost my job, lost or in the process of losing my house and cannot pay my bills…recession.

Regardless of what happens in the overall economy, it is our personal need and perception that really counts after all. So what I want to know from you is this:

What do you WANT to spend your money on in 2008?

What do you NEED to spend your money on in 2008?

What will you NOT spend your money on in 2008?

Add your comments to this post or email me directly at wspiegel@genplususa.com. I may post a survey and if I do, I’ll also make sure to publish results.

Amy Zuckerman profiled on CNN

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:44:00 +0000

Lots of hullaballoo this past week over the very important survey that Amy and I put together to get some stats on the virtual business trend and careers for Boomers and 50 Plus. We teamed up with EONS, who featured the survey on their home page over the weekend and now have it installed on my Eons group. I encourage you to make yourself heard…your voice counts.

And so does Amy’s…she was profiled on CNN — Living. To learn more about the concepts that are shaping and changing the workforce, read the article!

Amy Zuckerman and Wendy Spiegel join forces: New national survey on Eons

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:19:00 +0000

I’m very pleased to announce that after some serious trendwatching, Amy Zuckerman (of A-Z International) and I have put together a relevant survey on what our demographic is thinking regarding their future careers and the virtual business trend. We teamed up with Eons to get the word out and the survey is picking up interest. It features this weekend and over the next couple of weeks on Eons. Please stop by and make your voice heard. Here is the intro to the survey:

Millions of Americans work out of home or small rental offices utilizing technology to drive their work or business. How many are doing so is unknown as the U.S. Census Bureau has not changed its questions to track the virtual business trend. To do so requires a Congressional mandate, and to date no one in Congress has made public their aim to champion this issue.This may change soon as the New York Times Magazine and NPR recently put a focus on the home-based working population, with Times writer Matt Bai in early November challenging the 2008 presidential candidates to focus on the needs of the growing number of home-based business owners. What he missed was the larger trend – the rise of the virtual work place — of which home-based entrepreneurs are just a percentage.
Working virtually means operating a business in a small-office setting with technology as a key support mechanism.Given that many people working virtually are Boomers, EONS has teamed up with Amy Zuckerman, the EONS Virtual Business manager and Wendy Spiegel, the EONS Careers for Boomers and 50+ manager, to develop a survey to gather data on the virtual work place and shed some light on Boomer career ambitions. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so we can collect missing data, and inform the public. Without data from you on your work styles and retirement plans neither government or service providers — from homebuilders to broadband providers, health insurers to technology vendors — can meet your needs.

Choose 2 Lead Survey and Press Release

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:03:00 +0000

Many of you have already contributed your thoughts to the Choose 2 Lead survey I’m running on the blog (see the top of the main blog page). Shirley Clark, one of the founding members of Choose 2 Lead has passed along their recent press release detailing the goals of the survey. I’ve included a link as well as the body copy below. The survey will only run for two or three more weeks and your experience is vitally important, as survey results are being used as part of a commissioned report on jobs for older workers. If you’ve been meaning to take the survey, but haven’t yet, please click on the link and take the survey. Takes about 3 minutes and the contribution of your information is valuable and needed.

Are tools available to help over-50 job seekers find flexible work?
2007-10-25
By Shirley Clark and Patty Reed

What is being done to help older workers find jobs that meet their needs? Choose 2 Lead is examining the tools available to the over-50 job seekers in a new study sponsored by the Sloan Foundation.

For_Immediate_Release:

Oakton, VA, October 24, 2007 –Workers over aged 50 are staying in the workforce longer than ever, due to desire or economic necessity. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, the proportion of the nation’s 65- to 74-year-olds that remained in the labor force increased from nearly one in five to one in four, according to census figures. While looking for a job can be a challenge at any stage in life, it is difficult particularly when you are over aged 50.

“Finding a position that will utilize my talent and experience and allow some flexibility is my goal. While I don’t want a prospective employer to focus on the fact that I am over 50, I do want to be given the autonomy that I have earned at this point in my life,” said Susan during a recent interview. Susan, an executive in the financial services industry wants a full-time job, but needs flexibility in the position she finds, as both of her parents are ill. Just how realistic is her goal?

“There is a concern that employers don’t advertise flexible positions as they often equate “flexible” with “part-time” or “partially engaged”, said Shirley Clark, co-founder of the non-profit Choose 2 Lead. “The fact is that older workers, just like many women with children, want to work full-time. They may just need an element of flexibility or control to effectively tend to their personal lives.”

In fall 2007, Choose 2 Lead Women’s Foundation received a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to assess the information and resources available to older workers to help them find flexible employment.

As part of the study, Choose 2 Lead is conducting a survey of workers over the age of 50 who are currently seeking or have recently sought flexible employment. Wendy Spiegel, founder of Gen Plus, a website catering to the needs of the over-50 set, has posted the survey on her site and responses have been rolling in.You can access the survey by going to www.choose2lead.org and clicking on “Take our Survey Now!” or by visiting the Gen Plus blog at http://genplus.blogspot.com

Choose 2 Lead is a women-owned 501(c)3 corporation that advocates for personal leadership and organizational choices that lead to a more integrated approach to work, life and economic prosperity.

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For more information:Keywords: Older Workers,FlexibilityContact us: P.O. Box 176 Vienna, VA 22183 703.395.6337

Town Hall and Survey Update

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:57:00 +0000

The Town Hall concept is coming along nicely. So far, I’ve received emails from a few of you to secure your spots. Please pass the word along to any 50 plussers who would benefit from this type of event. Just to give you an idea of how the afternoon session is going to work, I thought it would be a good idea to outline for you the objective and what the general agenda is.

For those of you who haven’t read past posts announcing the Gen Plus Town Hall, in a nutshell, I’m taking social activism to a whole new level. I’ve found a venue that is going to partner with me and has offered to host an afternoon forum for Gen Plussers – in Encino (a suburb of Los Angeles.) It will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 from 2 – 4:30 pm…at no charge. There will be food and drink available (and encouraged) for purchase — most meals come in at under $10.

There is limited space, so this will work on a first-reserved, first-served basis. The objective of the afternoon is to bring the challenges of job search for 50 plussers out into the open and for you to leave with some tangible action items that you can incorporate into your job search or your start up (or existing) business. There will be a few industry experts (HR, Employer Relations, Marketing) who are planning on joining us. If you need some help with your resume or cover letter, bring a few copies with you and we’ll try to make the time to give you some free advice.

We’ll be starting off with a short panel discussion. Then you’ll be breaking up in groups with specific assignments. Once your assignments are complete, you’ll be sharing your findings with all the groups. Our experts will be joining the different groups and available to facilitate and answer questions along the way! Whatever action items or findings come out of this forum will be collated and then sent to each attendee so that you have a written document of our findings.

There will be some items for sale — all geared to the 50 plus market and available for purchase if you need them, or available online at a later date.

This is a small segment of a one-day program that I would typically charge an arm and a leg for , but I truly believe in our ability to mobilize one community at a time and really positively impact how employers are looking at the 50 plus demographic.

I’ve had requests for Town Halls in Boston, DC, Chicago and Raleigh and I’m holding onto all names for future events. If you are interested, please send me an email at wspiegel@genplususa.com. I’ll be relentlessly promoting this free forum because you need to be there, so you might as well email me now and get it off your plate. (I’m a little cheeky today, I know…but this program will really be helpful and I know there are tons of California subscribers just dying to spend an afternoon in Encino, some East Coasters and mid-Westerners who will need an excuse to get away from the cold, and some golfers who will want to stay on and take advantage of the venue the next day…)

On another note, thank you to all of you who are responding to the survey. This will be very helpful for Choose2Lead, a nonprofit, doing research on the 50 plus work demographic. The survey will only be open for a couple of weeks, so please make your voice count. (Just up at the top of the page.)

Finally, I’m still hearing from some of you who don’t know how to comment on the blog. If you are a Feedblitz or Feedburner subscriber, you can’t comment by replying to the email. You have to click on the title, which will link you to the blog. Once there (here) scroll down to the bottom of the post and you’ll see a link called “Comments”. Just click on the link, enter your comments in the pop up window, and sign in anonymously or otherwise. That’s it.

I always love to hear from you.

Wendy

Blogging Boomers Carnival #41

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:04:00 +0000

So Baby Boomer is host for this week’s BBC #41. From music to driving challenges to looking FAB…enjoy!

And a special thanks to those of you who are already so proactively filling out the survey. We need your input, so please click on the link at the top of the blog page and make your voice heard.

New Survey on Gen Plus — What Kind of Work Are YOU Looking For?

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:18:00 +0000

Choose 2 Lead Women’s Foundation is a non profit organization that is a catalyst for changing the paradigm of the 21st century workplace, bringing together facts, economics, and social needs to support informed choices by women, employers and policymakers.

We are partnering with Choose 2 Lead to gather information on job flexibility preferences in the workplace. We’ll be running the survey — open to both women and men (at the top of the page, or you can click here) and would love to have your input.

Results will be published as soon as we have a large enough demographic base. Thanks for participating.

Gen Plus will also be hosting a “Town Hall” forum, in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 from 2 – 4:30 pm. This is a no charge event with limited seating. To reserve your spot, email me. Your confirmation will be sent via email.

A big, big statistic

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:31:00 +0000

In a very insightful article yesterday, in the LA Times, writer Jonathan Peterson opens the window a bit wider on the employment picture for Boomers. Back in the mid-1980′s the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 18% of those in their late 6o’s still had jobs. Fast forward to today and that number is up to 29%. One in four boomers intends to want to work for a few reasons.

1) The biggest issue…money. Pensions are virtually a thing of the past and 401K savings plus social security provide too lean pickings for many.

2) Usefulness — we’re no longer dying at 40, or at 60 and often not even at 80. What to do over half a lifetime with no work? Work.

But many who want to work will not be able to find work. We’re seeing that now through Gen Plus. Recruiters are often willing to put a 50 plusser in front of an employer, but the employer still prefers to hire younger, more technologically skilled (or at least perceived to be more skilled) workers. And this is even when they cannot find staff to fill positions. Of course there are those that will not be able to work due to illness or injury, but I’m talking about 50 plussers who want to stay gainfully employed.

Some of the advantages of keeping this demographic employed? Well, Boomers have typically been one of the biggest consumer demographics in the US — if they have money, they are willing to spend it. If they earn, they contribute — into taxes, into the economy, into their own retirement funds.

Am I passing along information that is new? To many of you…no. I’ve been posting on these issues for several years. But there are a couple of important markers. The first, is that the statistic has increased from 18% to 29% — an increase of 62% over a 20-year time frame. The second is that this is front page news on the LA Times. The times…they are a’changin’. Slowly, but they are changing.

Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing Month? Can you repeat that?

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Sun, 06 May 2007 05:32:00 +0000

Back in 1994 (oh, so long ago) I suffered from an acute bout of viral labrynthisis, basically a virus of the ear canal. I was bedbound for about 2 weeks, dizzy for months, and suffered some permanent hearing loss in my left ear after about a year’s recovery. To this day, when the weather gets heavy, I find myself getting dizzy, I have to walk on the left side of someone if I’m going for a long walk, and I often can’t tell where sounds are coming from.

So, imagine my excitement (and, I must admit trepidation) when I was contacted by Sherri Weiss on behalf for Phonak, a leading hearing aid manufacturer regarding their activities throughout “Better Speech and Hearing Month”. They have a quick test on their Web site to help determine if you have a hearing loss and helps refer folks to hearing professionals in their local areas (http://www.hear-the-world.com/hoeren_und_hoerverlust/hoerverlust_erkennen.htm). I took it and discovered (though not to my surprise) that I should really go get my hearing checked again.

So, in celebration of Better Speech and Hearing Month (May), why not get YOUR hearing tested?

It’s no surprise that 50 plussers lead active (and noisy) lifestyles. I certainly remember blasting my eardrums out at the unending stream of concerts and nightclubs in the 70′s and 80′s.

According to Weiss, it should also be no surprise that Baby Boomers suffer from a significantly higher degree of hearing loss than their parents.

She also passed along the following stats: From 1971 to 1990, hearing problems among those between the ages 45 and 64 jumped 26 percent, according to a National Health Interview Survey. There was also a 17 percent increase in the 18 to 44 age group. In California, where researchers surveyed 5,000 people, the rate of impairment jumped 150 percent between 1965 and 1994 among those in their 50s.

And how does that affect you in your job? Weiss mentions a study from the National Academy on an Aging Society (1999) found that labor force participation rates are lower for people with hearing loss than for others. Some 67% of the working age population with hearing loss is employed, compared to 75 percent of the working age population without such a loss. In addition, close to 13% of workers age 51 to 61 with hearing loss report that hearing loss limits the type or amount of paid work they can do.

Phonak also sponsors a worldwide hearing initiative, Hear the World (http://www.hear-the-world.com/ueber_hear_the_world.htm) to educate the public about the importance of hearing, the social and emotional implications of hearing loss, and the available solutions for those with hearing impairment. Program ambassadors include: Plácido Domingo, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bryan Adams and Joss Stone.

Phonak US headquarters are in Warrenville, IL and Phonak will get back to me regarding how they promote 50 plus employment opportunities in their own company.

The most recent HEAR THE WORLD event occured in New York on May 1st, with two mobile audiology units (with audiologists on site to perform hearing tests) stationed in Manhattan.

Survey says…

Janet Wendy Spiegel — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:27:00 +0000

This is your last chance to get your vote in. I’ve been running a survey on how long 50 plussers have been looking for work. Very unscientific, but the results are interesting nonetheless and I’m going to release the stats in the next couple of weeks. So if you want your voice to be heard, click on the survey link and let the world know what it really is like for a 50 plusser looking for a job.