Hey Geoff, Thanks. We should switch to regular G-Mail from here on out. Ciao, Jonathan On Feb 11, 2008 12:07 PM, Geoff Sallee <geoff.sallee@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Excellent ideas, fellas. Meeting on Thursday works for me. > > -Geoff > > > On Feb 10, 2008 9:47 AM, Kevin Lee <colmustang@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > That's actually a really good observation. The generation of baby > > boomers definitely wants to keep working in one way or another and we may be > > able to help this group of people, as well. > > > > > > > > I've started reading two books: > > > > > > > > 1) "Start Your Own Business-4th Edition" – Rieva Lesonsky, Entrepreneur > > Magazine > > > > 2) "The Search-How Google an Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business > > and Transformed Our Culture"—John Battelle > > > > > > > > I'll try to sum up a few of the things I've gained from my readings so > > far. (1) has already shed some insight into what we need to consider in > > order to start this thing off right—the most important of which revolves > > around time allocation and management issues. We are definitely going with > > the part-time approach for our startup, but we need to think of it as a > > business, nothing less. This means probably spending at least a few hours > > per week (to start) "working" on the task at hand and promoting our ideas to > > the early stages of development. *Entrepreneur* also believes in > > thorough market research (something that Sam has repeatedly emphasized). We > > need to know who we can market to, why our services are needed, what's > > already out there, if there's truly a future for our service. A few more > > interesting notes here: *Entrepreneur* states that economic lulls may be > > opportune times to launch a business—mainly because people will be less > > inclined to start up businesses and it may be easier to "get noticed"…also, > > kind of coinciding with what Jon just posted, "Even Though many baby boomers > > are now over 50, don't make the mistake of marketing to them the same way > > you would to seniors. Boomers don't think of themselves as "old" or > > "seniors." The moral? The same marketing approaches that appealed to > > boomers when they were 30 will appeal to them when they're 50, 60 and > > 70"…just something to keep in mind if we decide to venture down that path at > > some point. > > > > > > > > As I continue with my readings, I'll keep you guys posted. This book is > > fantastic and I'm even more excited knowing that we've already tackled some > > very important problems by ourselves—mainly gathering creative business > > ideas, beginning preliminary market research work, and assessing potential > > problems. > > > > > > > > A few things to think about for the next meeting: > > > > > > > > 1) We need quality market research work. We've already seen an > > article pertaining to younger students being more career-oriented, potential > > competition in *whereismyboss.com*, and a few more…If we could spend a > > few hours each this week scourging the net for related topics (thoroughly, > > of course) we could knock this out in no time. Volunteers are welcome, as > > always, but I plan I drafting a document that reflects our findings in a > > complete and thorough manner. This document should show the current state > > of the job-search/job-finding "industry". > > > > 2) What do you specifically want to focus on in the project? If > > you're more interested in implementation as opposed to the business side of > > things, that's perfectly fine. If you want to work on the > > business/marketing side of things that's ok too. But we need to lay it out > > there because, individually, we can start researching ahead of time in the > > areas that peak our interest. We definitely have a lot of knowledge between > > the four of us, but it's unrealistic to think that we'll get this done w/o > > needing to learn more or consult with professionals. I fear the > > "auto-mechanic syndrome" where mindless zombies (possibly us) place all our > > trust in "seasoned professionals" (those to help us) without knowing > > anything that's actually going on. We should feel like we're fairly in > > control of matters (no matter how diverse the entrepreneurship process > > actually is), even if it means that each of us will kind of lead the way at > > different parts of the process. I envision that we will all work together > > throughout the whole process, but it's always a good idea to broaden each of > > our expertise and continue to learn to make JobTransit.com a success. > > > > > > > > > > > > Let's plan to meet again this Thursday, Feb 14 to talk briefly of the > > topics above (as well as any other concerns/comments). > > > > > > > > Kev > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > *From:* jobtransit-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto: > > jobtransit-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Jonathan Laird > > *Sent:* Friday, February 08, 2008 6:22 PM > > *To:* jobtransit@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > *Subject:* [jobtransit] Extreme Idea > > > > > > > > Currently, we've only been focusing on helping the younger generation > > find a job, one that (according to Kevin's information) will grow for the > > next 5 years. > > > > > > > > However, I was at the finance.yahoo.com webpage, and an article > > title/synopsis struck me in the eye (thankfully not literally). > > > > > > > > If possible, why not help Baby Boomers find a job? I know this is a far > > fetch, but think/look at the trend...the number of elderly will climb like > > crazy in the near future if not already. The information below might be > > biased, but I think the overall sentiments are true. Bottom line - > > Sentiments are that elderly people need more money in the future since > > Social Security won't be there or they have no retirement funds, or they are > > bored at home. > > > > > > > > So maybe we can be planning for this long-term or so after the 5 years > > of youngsters is over with, we can transition into marketing for the baby > > boomers... or the people who are just retiring or getting kicked out of > > their middle management/engineering jobs at the age of 50-65 years. > > > > > > > > It said (@ > > http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/104388/Boomers:-How-to-Age-Gracefully?mod=retirement-lifestyle): > > > > > > > > > > "[image: For Boomers, Aging Gracefully Isn't Coming Easily]*Boomers: > > Can't Get No > > Satisfaction?*<http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/104388/Boomers:-How-to-Age-Gracefully?mod=retirement-lifestyle> > > > > A survey found baby boomers are less satisfied at this time in life than > > previous generations -- with their finances, careers, and more. If you're > > among the disenchanted, it's time to take action..." > > > > > > > > Well, this mixed with something like this : > > http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Retirement/5-09-16SeniorsKeepWorking.htm > > > > "What is notable in the total number employed is the increase in seniors. > > There were 37.7 percent more seniors working in 2003 than in 1990. On > > the other hand, the total workforce over age 16 increased by only > > 15.9percent. > > > > If you compare the number employed with the total population figures, > > the percentage of seniors employed in 2003 was only 12.8 percent, for > > less than all people over 16, with was 61 percent. But, the gain in the > > percentage > > employed for seniors actually increased by almost 20 percent, while this > > percentage for all over 16 dropped slightly. > > > > Nearly seven in ten American workers report that they plan to continue > > to work full or part-time for pay following retirement from their main > > job, according to a new national survey of American workers released last > > month. Only 13 percent of employees expect to stop working entirely. > > > > Moreover, four in ten American workers disagree that Social Security and > > Medicare will still be available when they retire - only 20 percent strongly > > believe that both programs will be a source of support when needed. " > > > > Alrite well just wanted to shoot this off before I forgot about it.. > > back to work-work :( > > > > > > > >