Leading Question
How can you cash in on the boomer market?

Life transitions create business opportunities, and the transition of baby boomers to seniordom is creating all sorts of ways to make money, according to Mary Furlong, a boomer expert and author who spoke in Sarasota last fall as part of Ringling College of Art and Design’s International Design Summit. Even better, the region is brimming with intellectual capital, she says, which should attract even more boomers and those who serve them.

“Everyone’s so bright in your area,” she says. “You have colleges, access to graphic talent, access to foreign markets in Latin America. Your 57-year-olds are ready to reinvent themselves. It’s a renaissance place. It’s got an infusion of energy like Berkeley in the ’60s, the idea that ‘we’re going to be different as a generation.’” (In fact, Furlong likes the region so much she may soon buy a home here. “I’m seriously considering it,” she says.)

So how can you (whether you’re a boomer, GenXer or Millennial) take advantage of this energy? Here are Furlong’s top 10 picks for tapping into the boomer market:

1. In-home care. It’s the No. 1 franchise in the country. “Most people want to age in place. It’s a giant opportunity. Caregiving is a topic at every meeting I’ve been to. We want to feel proud of how we take care of our parents,” says Furlong.

2. Transportation. A great example of this is the SilverRide in San Francisco, which uses PT Cruisers to help the elderly remain mobile.

3. Businesses that service other businesses. Organizing consultancies and moving and relocation businesses tap into retired boomers’ needs for independent home offices and small businesses. Moving businesses also help them—and their aging parents—downsize.

4. Travel agencies. Affluent boomers like adventures, and grandparents want to leave a memory for their grandchildren. New Zealand’s No. 1 tourist attraction in 2007 was grandparents and grandchildren visiting the settings of Lord of the Rings.

5. Pets. Per capita spending on our pets has skyrocketed, and dog-walking and pet-sitting businesses—just about anything that pampers our pets—are a hot ticket.

6. Hobby stores. Any business—knitting, photography, painting and gardening— that serves these recreational passions of boomers.

7. Sysops (systems operators) for seniors. One in two boomers has a home business and they need IT help (think Geek Squad). “We want to know how to text message our grandchildren, and we need someone to help us set up our printers and wireless modems,” Furlong explains. Cautionary note: Anyone who goes into this business had better be very patient and friendly.

8. Fitness. Personal trainers, coaches and all the clothes that go with physical fitness will be needed by older Americans determined to remain youthful and fit.

9. Ergonomically appropriate furniture and settings. Think Herman Miller Aeron chairs. A dark hotel with soft lighting and black and brown décor might look sexy and romantic, but if a friend falls and breaks a hip on the marble floor, it might prompt you to look for a light and airy alternative.

10. Green sells. “Al Gore was not the only boomer who studied ecology back in the ’60s and ’70s. These were our values,” Furlong says. “Boomers are going to be highly involved in civic revolutions.” —Susan Burns

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Weekender

Paris, je t’aime
Aglow in the City of Lights.

It’s February, and what better way to celebrate romance than in the city that practically invented it? Cozy cafés, grand restaurants, beaucoup museums and fashion trends on every corner make a long weekend de riguer. Bienvenue! (www.parisinfo.com)

SEE: Well, it’s Paris! Walk your tootsies off, and explore one neighborhood at a time—the Marais’ chic Left Bank bookstores and cafes and the high-fashion couture Avenue Montaigne will give you an insider’s view. Catch the Impressionists at the Musee d’Orsay and the classics at the Louvre, but don’t forget the small museums that make Paris the world’s culture capital (Musee Rodin, Musee Picasso, Jeu de Paume and L’Orangerie) and the astounding new Musee du Quai Branly, with its collection of African, Asian and Oceanic art. A Bateaux Mouches cruise on the Seine remains one of the most romantic things one can do, night or day.

STAY: Did you come to Paris to save money by staying at a small outlying hotel? You did not. This is a romantic splurge, and only a grand Paris hotel will do. You’ll be happy with the contemporary chic of the Park Hyatt Vendome (across from The Ritz but not as stuffy), the Art Deco landmark Lutetia, smack in the middle of the glam Left Bank, or the historic Le Meurice opposite the Tuilieries gardens, newly redecorated by Philippe Starck. And surprise—all have weekend-reduced tariff packages stressing romance that include room, breakfast and a bottle of champagne to get you in the mood.