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hat is a generation? And how do a gen- eration's values and behaviors impact business now and in the future? Straightforward as they may seem, these questions often leave small business owners and remodelers scratching their heads. is stands to reason. Big-picture discussions of de- mographics feel far removed from the personal networking and local marketing that tends to drive successful remodeling businesses. For the record, a generation tends to be a 20-plus-year period in which a group of people move from childhood to adulthood. e generation born immediately follow- ing the end of World War II, 1946 to 1964, is known as the Baby Boom. Because of its size, 78 million strong, Boomer preferences have shaped American life for many decades. Leading-edge Boomers today are moving be- yond middle age. It is estimated that 10,000 reach age 65 each day. And because Boomers have jobs and money, they continue to drive most major-project remodeling activity. e trouble is that the oldest Boomers, now 71, and the youngest boomers, now 51, have very little in common. One group is largely retired and the other is working and sending kids to college. is wide range in ages within a single gener- ation makes the job of understanding a cohort's preferences for housing, lifestyle and consumer goods difficult. In their new book, Big Shifts Ahead: Demographic Clarity for Businesses, John Burns and Chris Porter break new ground by studying groups in smaller, decade-long segments. By studying those born only in the '50s, '60s, '70s and so on—one decade at a time— the authors succeed in offering clearer, more actionable insights. Because Burns' day job as CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting involves consulting homebuilders and real estate investors, the book puts a spotlight on lifestyle and homeownership trends that are often directly transferrable to remodelers. "We walked through how different life has been for people born in the 1950s vs. the '70s, vs. the 80s. It just brought a lot of clarity to some ideas," Burns says. "So someone born in the 1950s is turning 65 sometime over the next 10 years. And it is a big group. ere are 40 million of them vs. 24 million people born in the 1940s. ey have $18 trillion in net worth, more net worth than those born in any other decade. ey are the heart of the Baby Boom. ey are workaholics. ey are 7 percent more likely to be working today in their early 60s than those born in the 1940s were. So offering comparisons of 10-year periods, I think, was the biggest clarity that we brought, frankly." What follows is a summary of the book's decade-by-decade analysis of Americans as homeowners and consumers from the 1930s to present. Each decade was given a name by the authors based on their dominant trait and impact on the larger society. 1930-39: SAVERS Twenty-four million Americans were born in the 1930s. About 12 million are alive to- day. at number will shrink to 6.5 million by 2025. ey are aged between 77 and 86. As the moniker suggests, Savers were deeply impacted by the Great Depression into which they were born. Later, as the American economy boomed, they prospered and helped bring about a massive growth in homeownership. From 1940 to 1960, the homeownership rate grew by 18 percent na- tionally. Nearly 80 percent own homes today. Remaining very active and often the bene- ficiaries of strong pension plans and savings, this group is an important driver of new re- modeling and home improvement projects in 2017. Not surprisingly, their No. 1 priority is health, wellness and comfort. 1940-49: ACHIEVERS is group ranges in age from 67 to 76. Twenty-three million of the original 32 million Achievers remain alive today. Immigration ac- counts for an additional 3 million. e Achievers were the first to grow up in the suburbs. A higher percentage of them went to college and experienced the changes of the 1960s while they were in their 20s. ey were the first group to use credit cards, beginning in the late 1960s. And they tended to have a high rate of homeownership. ose born in the 40s had a higher propen- sity for dual-income households. is trend exposed the stark differences in education and pay between women and men at the time. From a housing standpoint, this group saw their pre-retirement incomes grow dramati- cally. is generation is known as Achievers for this reason. ey are working far past the traditional retirement age of 65. Many expect to live longer and be more active doing it. ey like walkability in their neighborhoods Tomorrow's Remodeling Clients, Today A new book, Big Shifts Ahead , analyzes the business impact of demographic changes as Baby Boomers age. Preface and summaries by Patrick L. O'Toole W BUSINESS 32 February 2017 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com