Why not?  We’ve gotten lots of mileage out of Sunshine, but many other states can certainly claim their fair share of sunny days and warm temperatures. Sunshine delights those of us who make this state our home, lures tourists from across the globe, and makes us a top destination for retirees.  Our economy has traditionally relied on tourism, agriculture, and service businesses of all kinds.  In years past, our state had considerable success in luring companies that required minimally skilled, lower wage workers who, despite the lower than national average pay and benefits, could still afford homes here in paradise.  Middle income retirees from the Midwest came down in droves to enjoy their golden years in modestly priced 55+ communities.   

Fast forward to 2009.  It’s no longer as cheap to live in Florida.  Housing prices and property taxes have risen exponentially, even when you factor in the housing bust’s effects on home values.  Efforts in the past decade to attract more high tech, high wage industries and the highly skilled, well educated people needed to grow them have started to pay off.  Here in St. Petersburg, world-renowned organizations such as SRI, the International Ocean Institute, and Draper Laboratories have elevated the USF St. Petersburg campus’ prestige and thrust our community into the global spotlight.  Tampa Bay in general has benefited from the emergence of a strong technology community, and vibrant arts and culture scene, and the arrival of many more affluent, professional baby boomers who are coming to the region to reinvent their lives and careers.   

People like Katee Tully, the recently named Executive Director of the Morean Arts Center; Bob Devin Jones, co-founder and artistic director of the Studio @ 620, and John Barkett, owner of Property Valuation Specialists, are just three examples of recently arrived boomers who have come to our community and transformed it with their talent.  When you take a few moments to think about the impact that these mid career professionals – baby boomers are classified as those born between 1946 and 1964 – have had here, you begin to understand the enormous opportunity that lies before us in attracting more of them to help chart the state’s economic future.

Hence, my declaration that Florida should rename itself The Baby Boomer State. 

Florida has the perfect environment for the lifestyle, career, and family needs of baby boomers. And we stand to gain enormously if we develop more businesses that cater to the needs of this demographic segment.  Consider this:

• The country’s 78 million boomers constitute the largest, most affluent, and best educated consumer segment.  They are in their peak earning years and spend $2.3 trillion annually on consumer goods and services, a whopping $400 billion more than any demographic group, according to the 2006 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Study. 

• Florida is likely to see a large influx of boomers over the next two decades.  Whether the motivation is to be closer to elderly parents, play more golf, or move someplace easier to live or do business in than their current state, Florida’s appeal is fantastic.  Boomers can raise their kids and grandkids here and be close enough to take care of Mother.

• Boomers are not likely to retire anytime soon – and the recent economic meltdown is only partly to blame. In fact, retirement and anything else that conjures up images of old age is either anathema or simply not relevant to most boomers’ lives. Reinvention, on the other hand – whether that means an encore career, a chance look and feel better than they have in years, or discover opportunities to make a difference by devoting themselves to a cause – is where it’s at for boomers.  They’ll reinvent themselves until they shuffle off this mortal coil, spelling the end of old as we know it.

• Florida could be – and should be - the nation’s epicenter for the design, development, manufacture, testing, and marketing of products and services specifically aimed at baby boomers.  When you string our native assets together, we have everything we need to achieve this goal:  A significant boomer population with more on the way; a burgeoning biotech and healthcare industry that includes everything from university and institutional research organizations to hospitals, wellness centers, and medical device manufacturers; travel and leisure options for every generation, and an increasing number of entrepreneurs who come to Florida to launch encore careers or relocate their companies to suit their changing lifestyle needs. 

Florida is a great place to move to be closer to Mom, reinvent your life and career, start exciting new entrepreneurial ventures, and enjoy an active lifestyle with kids or grandkids. It’s something those of us who live here already know.  So why aren’t we out there recruiting those boomers and the businesses that stand to gain the most from marketing to them to join us here in Florida? 

It’s certainly something worth thinking about.

Michelle Bauer

Founder and Chief Strategist, Common Language

michelle@common-language.com

727-510-2524