Are your services maturing with your clients?

Anita Campbell, editor of the Small Business Trends Blog has been posting a lot recently about trends for 2005.  Here are snippets of a recent post that may hint at a profitable niche for attorneys and other professionals:

In 2005 and beyond, an aging Baby Boomer population will be the catalyst for major changes in the workforce. It will spawn the entirely new field of retirement consulting, to help two-income couples discover what to do in their retirements.

With seniors aged 65 and older the fastest growing segment of the American population, expect to see daycare centers for the elderly crop up on Corporate campuses. Instead of dropping off their children during the workday, employees will bring their aged parents.

The growing population of senior citizens will also mean new business opportunities. Think errand-running businesses to serve elders.

Anita cites a report, titled "Challenger Future Workplace Trends: 2005 and Beyond" by Challenger Christmas & Gray.  I’ve read it and it has some great stuff.  Check it out.  While you are at it, check out all of Anita’s trends for 2005:

Anti-Trending and Other Trends for 2005
Entrepreneur's Top Trends for 2005
Small Business is Itself a Trend
Top Technology Trends for 2005
Top Global Consumer Trends
Inc.'s Trends for Entrepreneurs in 2005
Top Travel Trends for 2005
More Top Trends for 2005
The Small Business Advocate's 2005 Predictions
Top 2005 eBusiness Trends
Entrepreneurship Trends for 2005
Health and Family Trends for 2005
Powersports Industry Trends for 2005

Comments

[Baby Gifts]

I’m already dealing with many of these issues with my mother, who is past her retirement age and is becoming more and more dependent on me and my sister. My sister is a surgical nurse and rarely seems to be able to get the time off to really handle caring for my mother, so most of the responsibility falls to me. Because she’s beginning to suffer from dementia, I’m beginning to be afraid of her safety while I’m at work. There really is a market out there for aging adults, especially the idea of a daycare for the elderly. I’ve witnessed my mother be unable to fix herself lunch, for example, because she can’t read the instructions on the label or doesn’t remember how to work her microwave. I’ve come up with my own solution, but I really don’t think my niece and her husband appreciate me dumping my mom off on them all the time. An adult daycare is definitely something that’s going to be a necessity!

[Baby Gifts]

I hadn’t really given the idea of Baby Boomers and the workforce too much thought, but upon seeing your blog I realized how much potential there actually could be for people who began gearing their practices and home businesses toward the growing trend of the aging American population. I have personally come to see the potential in having to deal with my parents getting older and yet still being able to live and function on their own. I know that there are some businesses that could help me with a few of these dilemmas. One thing that I hadn’t thought of though that you mention in your blog was adult daycare in the workplace. This seems like it may especially be a good idea for those people whose parents have symptoms of serious diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and yet don’t want to merely put them away in some home.