I am 53 years “OLD.”

I am 53 years “OLD.”

by Jeff Weiss

That’s how I would have described my 53 year-old self 30 years ago.  Old and over the hill….

Truth is that I am more energized and excited about my future than ever before.  So as I now look at my life and my age, I consider myself to be 53 years YOUNG.

For many months we have been thinking about and planning for the launch of our new consultancy called Age of Majority.  As you can imagine, with the start of any new business, our initial plan has changed considerably as we dug deeper and deeper into this opportunity.  Some doors closed but new ones always opened.  It has been an intense and invigorating process and I am excited to see our group’s efforts coming to fruition.

During this process, I thought back to the spring of 1991 when I was completing my MBA.  I was tasked with writing a paper on the topic of my choice and believe it or not, I chose to focus on “Marketing to Seniors”.  Who knew that 26 years later I would start a business based on an opportunity that has been in the back of my mind for many years.

Times have changed for sure and we still struggle with what to call this growing, older age group.  The word “senior” definitely doesn’t refer to me, my friends or even parents of my friends who are in their 70s and 80s.  They’ll tell you that seniors referred to their parents and their grandparents.  They certainly don’t feel “senior”.  They are still active and vibrant and feel 15 to 20 years younger than what their birth certificate says.

With all of this talk and action around diversity and inclusion, the one and I would argue largest and most important group that has been forgotten, is the active aging consumer who wants to live life to the fullest.  They have the time, the desires and the money to live their dreams, yet our society’s fascination on millennials and younger generations has left the 55+ largely ignored.

Backed by some very insightful research that we just conducted with both consumers (of all ages) and marketers (of all ages), we confirmed that perceptions amongst younger age groups is based on many stereotypes that are quite dated and outright not true anymore.  Our mission is to help crush the myths, stereotypes and stigmas associated with aging.  We believe for those businesses who seize the opportunity and help us on our journey, a pot of gold is definitely at the end of the rainbow.