market research

Chelsea is a market researcher and a happily married mom of 27 who is fed up with job hunting and wants to start her own internet based business.


"My first job coincided with the economic downturn that started with the dotcom demise in 2000 and was pushed to the edge by the tragic events of 9/11 and everybody was saying that the Internet was dead," says Chelsea, "but I predicted that it was going to pick up and expand further than ever and I was right!"

"There are now tons of jobs for all industries connected with e-commerce," says Chelsea, "and all my friends who were predicting doom and gloom are now enjoying the fruits of an incredible rise in e-commerce."

"Right now, nobody seems to be investing too heavily in Internet based businesses,” says Chelsea. "but small businesses are thriving on e-Bay. I guess it is going to take a while longer for the dotcom crash to recede into history and when the investors come back it's going to be like a second golden age, but much better!"

"With so many PC savvy and superannuation-rich Baby Boomers retiring in droves I believe that online buying is going to increase exponentially in the coming years," says Chelsea, "and I'm thinking of going it alone, starting up my own internet based business."

”My husband is bringing in a good income so I can afford to take time off to plan my new career," says Chelsea, "and with his technical experience and my market research experience I believe we would do well starting up an Internet based business - but I haven't yet decided the specific area to concentrate on."

"Now is the time for me to think and plan and research," explains Chelsea, " and that's what a lot of people like me are doing."

"I predict we can look forward to seeing 'e' preceding a lot of existing and New Age job titles in years to come," says Chelsea. "There will be e-doctors for online cam-consultations with our aging Baby Boomers; e-real estate agents for selling the old family home and buying the ideal retirement villa in a totally virtual environment; e-investment advisers for managing the Baby Boomer's retirement funds; e-lawyers for settling their disputes; and a host of new 'e' enterprises springing up to meet their needs."

"I know that a lot of IT jobs are going offshore and nobody is advising their kids to get into IT," says Chelsea, "but IT skills are going to become as important - if not more so - as reading, writing and arithmetic in the years to come."

"For someone considering a career change who possesses not only the aptitude for this type of work, but also the patience to wait until an e-business picks up, I believe you can't go wrong with IT and e-commerce skills."

"I'm drawn towards the travel and hospitality industries because I believes that the ageing Baby Boomers are going to have a huge impact in these areas."

"The first thing they will want to do when they retire from work," muses Chelsea, "is to take that long-awaited world trip, and many will just take to the road or the seas as a way of life. The travel and hospitality industries are going to boom!"

"The early baby-boom generation covers the period 1946 to 1955. So, from 2011 to 2020 when these guys reach 65 the world is going to witness a movement akin to the swinging 1960s and 1970s."

"Our hip geriatric Boomers are going to impact on the same areas they once changed during their youth," laughs Chelsea, "Everything New Age is going to come back into vogue, and that includes the fashion industry."

"Look forward," predicts Chelsea, "to flares and psychedelic gear coming back into style and being worn with a vengeance by a generation that aims to grow old (young?) disgracefully."

"Actually fashion would be my second choice for a business," says Chelsea, "but I don't believe there would be as much money in it as the travel and hospitality industries - and that's what it's all about - money, money, money!"