Droogs
Not the Sharpest Moderator in the box
I have been doing a bit of research recently with regard to a couple of ideas I have to earn a sustainable & perhaps improving living once I am back in the workshop proper. One idea as some are aware is the production of a tool for those interested in handtool woodworking that involves inlay and mixed media (my take on a #71 with some additional abilities) this will hopefully come about later in the year. This though will be more of a sideline than the main thrust of my endevours. The other is probably far more pertinent as it is the type of product that I will actually make using my tool and who is going to buy it.
After doing a fair bit of research it has dawned on me that the focus of what I make and who I try to sell to has to indeed it must change if i want to have a long term viable business that will support me and the boss into and during the ages of retirement. The bit of research that has prompted this trends to showing over the next decade (in fact in less than that) a truly staggering event will happen. What is this event? Well, every single baby boomer will have reached retirement age. The biggest consumer market grouping in history will have entered that stage that every manufacturer dreads, they will have become part of the least consumptive part of the population while simultaneously making that population the largest selling market in history. On top of this, something that most don't realise is that the replacement "active" consumer market ie those who spend to improve their homes, replace things due to need or fashion as their family grows up are not really there. Well they are but they are a **** of a lot smaller as a percentage of population to the extent that many countries are going to have a massive depopulation of their earning productive population over the next 40 years. This is caused by a lot of factors, education, urbanization, lower fertility and many more. The big important thing for me/us as people making stuff to sell is that the traditional market for our goods are not going going to have the disposable income to splash out on a lot of the stuff we make due to additional burdens caused by maintaining both debt repayments both personal and those inflicted by the state (taxation) to cover the repayment of debt accrued today (such as pandemic costs etc) and social programs that cater for an ever expanding non economically production and increasingly long lived retired population.
Given that the boomer group also appear to be the class that will have the most disposable "income" or cash to spend on things to enjoy their retirement and that they will already have the home, trinkets etc that they want; what thoughts or steps have you taken to make what you do relelvant to their buying urges/needs. Have you given it any thought at all, have you noticed what they appear to want. What particular style of fashion do they want these items to be in? What say you?
After doing a fair bit of research it has dawned on me that the focus of what I make and who I try to sell to has to indeed it must change if i want to have a long term viable business that will support me and the boss into and during the ages of retirement. The bit of research that has prompted this trends to showing over the next decade (in fact in less than that) a truly staggering event will happen. What is this event? Well, every single baby boomer will have reached retirement age. The biggest consumer market grouping in history will have entered that stage that every manufacturer dreads, they will have become part of the least consumptive part of the population while simultaneously making that population the largest selling market in history. On top of this, something that most don't realise is that the replacement "active" consumer market ie those who spend to improve their homes, replace things due to need or fashion as their family grows up are not really there. Well they are but they are a **** of a lot smaller as a percentage of population to the extent that many countries are going to have a massive depopulation of their earning productive population over the next 40 years. This is caused by a lot of factors, education, urbanization, lower fertility and many more. The big important thing for me/us as people making stuff to sell is that the traditional market for our goods are not going going to have the disposable income to splash out on a lot of the stuff we make due to additional burdens caused by maintaining both debt repayments both personal and those inflicted by the state (taxation) to cover the repayment of debt accrued today (such as pandemic costs etc) and social programs that cater for an ever expanding non economically production and increasingly long lived retired population.
Given that the boomer group also appear to be the class that will have the most disposable "income" or cash to spend on things to enjoy their retirement and that they will already have the home, trinkets etc that they want; what thoughts or steps have you taken to make what you do relelvant to their buying urges/needs. Have you given it any thought at all, have you noticed what they appear to want. What particular style of fashion do they want these items to be in? What say you?