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  • Boomers and Social Media to Drive Top Franchises in 2010

    Over at Small Business Trends , Joel Libava of The Franchise King Blog shares his thoughts on the franchising opportunities to watch in 2010. The big opportunities are tied to demographics. And Libava expects growth in businesses that cater to Boomers' retirement needs: Millions of baby boomers are retiring every year, and medical advances will allow these folks to live longer, more productive lives. The franchise industry has been starting to capitalize on this trend, with franchise concepts being launched to allow these retired folks to enjoy themselves, longer. That means franchises like cruise lines, and health clubs that cater to the Boomers. Libava is also bullish on the health care sector, the "Green" sector, home-based franchises, supplemental education franchises, and some food franchises like Five Guys and several Mexican food franchises. And across all these sectors, he's looking at businesses that have recognized the power of social media to connect effectively with customers. Read The Top Franchise Trends for 2010 here .
  • Gen Y and Boomer Employees After More than Money

    It's not that Gen Y and Boomer employees don't care about how much they are paid, it's just that they want "a whole bunch of other stuff," and sometimes that "stuff" is even more important than the money. That is what Sylvia Ann Hewlett , Laura Sherbin , and Karen Sumberg found in researching the particular needs and desires of the two dominant generations (at least in terms of numbers) in the workforce. And as Hewlett, Sherbin, and Sumberg point out in the most recent Harvard Business Review , managers need to understand those needs and desires because they are driving workplace culture today: The combination of Generation Y eagerly advancing up the professional ranks and Baby Boomers often refusing to retire has, over the course of a few short years, dramatically shifted the composition of the workforce; each of these generations is roughly twice the size of Generation X, which lies between them. More important, Boomers and Gen Ys are together redefining what constitutes a great place to work. As we will show, they tend to share many attitudes and behaviors that set them apart from other generations. These shared preferences constitute a new center of gravity for human resources management. Here is Hewlett, founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, discussing the findings in a Harvard Business Review interview: Read an abstract of How Gen Y and Boomers Will Reshape Your Agenda from the Harvard Business Review here .