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Retiring boomers eye franchises

A recent TD Canada Trust survey found 54 per cent of baby boomers have or are considering starting a business, everything from consulting firms to buying a franchise.

A recent TD Canada Trust survey found 54 per cent of baby boomers have or are considering starting a business, everything from consulting firms to buying a franchise.

An earlier CIBC survey found a record number of Canadians in general started their own business in the last two years, with those older than 50 comprising about a third of the new enterprises.

"We really made a shift even in terms of the franchises we present to try to prepare for this scenario of these boomers," Ryan March, managing director of franchise recruiting and consulting firm Network Franchising International, told the Financial Post.

However, he said, some people in this demographic lack the entrepreneurial flair to pull it off, given many have worked permanent full-time jobs for 30 years.

"There are some preconceived notions that you're going to line your pockets in 'year one' because it's a franchise, but that's not normally the case," he said.

Lorraine McLachlan, president and chief executive of the Canadian Franchise Association, said people aged 45 or older account for about 40 per cent of the attendees at her organization's Franchise Show.


from Western Investor February 2013