In 2011:

Those of us over age 50 will respresent 25% of the population.
In that same year it is estimated that the US population will be
12.5% Non-Hispanic Black and
14.8% Hispanic origin

Marketing Implications:

If you’re starting a business, you should consider products and services that appeal to the over 50 population.
And if you’re already in business, we’re still a worthwhile target market.

Check out

A Profile Of The Baby Boomers Market And Their Potential As Buyers

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

But now I learn that 62% of baby boomers are
sure they look younger than they are.

With so much company, perhaps there needs
to be a new standard for what a given age
looks like.

Viva La Over 50 Folks!

Check out http://www.boomer-insight.com/

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Even when people are highly motivated, change can be stressful and scary. As we age and move into the over 50, senior citizen ranks, it is more difficult to change. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak or inflexible. People issues have crippled project of all kinds project – whether technology or process, or organizational structure or management. Stress and post implementation distress must be expected and accommodated.

Bottom line: To make an organizational change successful, it has to be well planned, with simple steps that are well communicated.

See the July Newsletter for details about Michael Nearman of AGSI who addressed the June 2008 Atlanta SPIN (Software & Systems Process Improvement Network) meeting.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

It doesn’t help to hear that Europeans and citizens of many other countries have long been faced with high gas prices. Or that, people in many countries are accustomed to spending much higher percentages of their incomes on necessities like food and clothing. Any decrease in standard of living is traumatic. The post World War II American dream was that the standard of living would be higher for our children. But that expectation is changing. All change requires adjustments. And the fear and stress associated with financial downturns can have profound effects on health and emotional well being.

As in software or technology implementations, satisfaction and success comes when the impacted people / users / employees embrace the changes. This is not automatic, especially in large scale implementations and projects. The consultants at Noble & Associates Consulting, Inc have found that change is rarely embraced unless change management programs have been put in place.

Americans who manage to still have adequate disposal incomes, are still vacationing. US travelers to Europe are shocked and disheartened by the lack of buying power of the US dollar. Other Americans are just bemoaning the fact that they either have less spending money or that the money they do have does not go as far.

So how can Europe be of benefit to the United States and it’s de facto recession economy? I saw a Managing Automation blog post about increased interest in procuring good, services and workers from the US. Due to close quarters and limited land mass, small cars have been in vogue in Europe. Our automakers are fighting for survival. As US automakers finally get on the fuel efficient bandwagon, perhaps they can sell more cars domestically and internationally. And, as suggested by the “Manufacturers Set to Take Advantage of the Downturn” article, perhaps the laid off engineer or executive should be floating their resumes overseas.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Two or three years ago, I heard John Di Lemme speak. He’s a powerful speaker, motivator and success coach. He made his millions in multi-level marketing. At that point I was neutral about MLMs and even respected some of the people I knew in them. Then there was the onslaught of the YTBs – a travel MLM. But since I rarely take luxury vacations anymore, that had no appeal. But recently an old friend has a very upscale professional approach to YTB. Much more palatable, but still didn’t move me.

I think I’ve found an MLM that is different. No ordering, no inventory, no deliveries, no collections, no customer contracts, no customer risk. Sounds good to me. So, I’ve decided to let down my defenses and my disdain about network marketing income opportunities.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

I didn’t write them off altogether, since the benefit part was intriguing. Stories of writing off vacations and travel appealed to me. Not to mention the possibility of a big boost in my finances and financial situation. I even did a light weight query of some of my friends. All the ones who I thought would be good at it had already heard about it and or tried it.

At that time, MLMs were structure as the infamous “pyramid” structure. What that meant was that new people coming in could never make more than those above. Organizations with that structure were deemed illegal. And thus, they went away or were restructured.

One problem with MLMs is that the product costs are inflated to fuel the payouts to the independent marketers. And then there were the personal disasters I heard about. There was the scenario of people with garages full of product inventory that they could not sell. For couples (meaning married people) in the business, when the business failed, the marriages generally failed also.

But, there are people who swear by MLMs or network marketing. Not sure I have the personality for it.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

Following is the post from www.squidoo.com/NobleFinances:

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US Fourth Quarter 2007
Financial industry profits fell $104.6 billion annualized. Nonfinancial industries’ profits fell $30.7 billion annualized. Corporate after-tax profits fell $37.9 billion at a quarterly rate of 3.3%. But despite the quarterly decline, corporate profits after taxes are up 3.3% compared with a year ago. And the U.S. economy, as measured by GDP, grew at a 0.6% annual rate, the slowest pace since late 2002.

But the operative word is “grew”. Believe it or not, we have yet to have one quarterly decline in GDP. Companies and institutions are losing money but the overall US economy is healthy and growing.

State Economics
So, let’s move down to the state level. I lived in Cleveland, OH for many years. Ohio has been hit hard by the non-recession. Ohio and other similar high take, high labor union states are losing jobs and population. These states tended to not have had the housing bubble that other states have enjoyed. The high unemployment rates have caused the increase in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. So the mortgage crisis in the country has a greater negative impact in states like Ohio. Housing prices have gone from steady-state to a decline. Hence my friends in the Ohio would find it more difficult to be bullish on the economy.

Personal Finances
Then on a personal level, many are convinced that there is a recession. There has been a significant reduction in the amount of disposable money. Consumer spending is down, at least for me and most people I know. Tears came to my eyes the first time I saw $3.25 per gallon at the gas pump. I have since seen even higher prices. So those of us struggling to make ends meet are at the lower levels of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. Our focus is on putting food on the table, keeping a roof over our heads, and having gas in the car so we can get to work and earn a living.

Relativity
According to quantum physics, nothing is real unless it is observed and outcomes are influenced by the observer. This conforms to conventional thinking about what relativity is. It all depends on how you look at it. Two people can look at the same situation and draw different conclusions.

One of the tenets of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is that outcomes are the same for all observers. However, the theory also indicates that two simultaneous realities exist at the same time.

Reality
So yes, the US economy is still growing, however slowly it may seem. But the other reality is that many people are seeing and feeling a recession in their personal financial situations. And the forecast for many business industry sectors is bleak.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

I attended the Atlanta AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) February 2008 meeting. The speaker, Mr. Joe Capps talked about the subject of moving to enterprise level systems and procurement processes. Instead of haphazardly developing technology in an “after the fact” manner, he advocated a more proactive approach – as in developing a strategy to move toward enterprise infrastructure, enterprise business applications and enterprise technology in general.

Additionally, a key imperative of the Department of Defense (DoD) is to change and accelerate the requirement to solution process. What’s known as Moore’s Law (based on Gordon Moore’s predictions about semiconductors), says that technology is rapidly changing. Probably about every 18 months. Where there is a need for the latest technology, Moore’s Law has financial, logistical and feasibility implications. The government and the DoD are known for red tape and cumbersome processes. But our country’s ability to respond to immediate threats requires current, accurate information delivered to those needing it in a timely fashion. He suggested the criticality of providing our war fighters with decision making data on how to even respond to five guys running down a street in Iraq. Wow!

Moore’s Law has implications in the private sector as well. Large scale technology projects often take 18 months or more to implement. That time is in addition to the time required to budget for, select and procure the software, hardware, and implementation partners. While ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) and the like, may not be obsolete, there are sure to be upgrades, patches (corrections and fixes to software problems) and new feature by the time the system is finally rolled out.

So, what can be done? Knowledgeable consultants with system expertise can help companies and public sector entities develop a strategy and select the right software in the first place. Then, the right implementation partners can accelerate and provide Independent Verification and Validations (IV&V), project management and governance throughout the implementation process. If none of these things were in place or addressed during the course of the technology project, then you’ll probably need the cure for the “Post Implementation Distress” that is sure to occur.

You’re spending millions of dollars for enterprise initiatives. Wouldn’t it be worth spending a small percentage on ensuring that you get what you paid for? Perhaps you need a technical advocate to help you navigate through the planning and implementation process.

Sandra Noble
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC

I recently had another birthday. Thus I’ve even further distanced myself from the working people pack. When you consider that most people work for about 40 years, those over 50 are in the last quarter of their working lives. And, with all the early retirements, there are not many people older than me still working. Or some, as one lady I know, are focused on counting the months and days until retirement.

But let’s consider those who retired 10 or more years ago. Most of them are impacted by technology because their children and grandchildren are “keeping up with technology”. The teens of today have never been without computers and cell phone technology and satellite TV and the list goes on. They are totally comfortable with technology.

One pet peeve of many people, irrespective of age, is dealing with telephone voice prompts. It’s difficult to get through to a person. When I’m calling for help, I never seem to fit into any of the options numbers. There are still people with rotary phones, as in my uncle. I admit I sometimes cheat and follow the rotary phone option. But many times I just tough it out. After all, my career has been in and my company, Noble & Associates Consulting is focused on Information Technology. Technology does not scare me. So, I can do this.

Nevertheless, I was delighted to know there is a website that has the secret to getting to a living, breathing person – without punching 50 buttons. Check out http://www.gethuman.com/.

Sandra Noble
President/CEO
NOBLE FINANCES
NOBLE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC