First of all, WHAT'S an Indie Boomer and why this site?

Indie Boomers was founded with independent creative business owners "of a certain age" (*cough*) in mind, although indie entrepreneurs of all stripes are invited to join. (The "official" age bracket for a baby boomer is someone born between 1946-1964.)

There are loads of boards and communities on the net that focus on the "indie" business sector, especially the creative -- people who make jewelry, bath and body, clothing, bags, etc. One of the things I found so impressive is the huge body of mutual help and sites for WAHMs (work at home moms) most of whom are younger. And it's not just resources, it's a camaraderie and an understanding of that stage of life that I found inspiring.

But I also found myself thinking "but what about ME?" (Yeah, that's right, I'm from that first "Me Generation" as they called us.)

So I got to thinking ... What if I created a board for indie entrepreneurs that focused on boomers and near-boomers. After all, the boomer generation --counter-culture and all that -- pretty much paved the way for non-traditional lifestyles, yeah? We ARE the original Indies. We can be 40s/50s/60s and still cool. Isn't Yoko Ono still cool? And she's like 100, right?

Having our own businesses does mean we have concerns about things we might not have had to worry about had we gone (or stayed stuck in) the corporate route. Being independent is a whole new ball game, and how it impacts on our own lives at this stage of life brings up issues that are very particular to us, especially as "creatives," who may never have had corporate benefits to tide us over at this stage in our lives.

Right now Indie Boomers consists of 2 areas to connect, share info and shmooze:

• Member Community: Talk, network, make a page and submit your portfolios and profiles, create a group, *utilize this space* and connect to other social networks. Get seen, swap resources and info, even use each others' services. Make friends :) The community is based on the Ning social networking model -- it allows you to post comments to one another and create your own sub-group, like jewelry makers, writers, graphic designers, bath & body formulators, ceramicists, textiles -- you name it, you build it !

The Community membership is moderated, but once you are a member you can choose to make your page and your work visible to others (and use it as a portfolio) or private.

• Forum - An in-depth discussion board, a place to discuss stuff like: teens, empty nests, new career moves after doing the corporate thing or SAHM thing (almost everyone I know has made a change after age 40), looking at retirement, health insurance, staying wired, death/divorce issues, even "how do I fit into this indie movement?" " "Can I schlep heavy stuff for markets and shows?" "Can I make this work at this age?" and so on.

Membership to the forum is also by approval to protect members and we will never share your email with anyone.

So there you have it, Boomers. Lets go create our community.

And don't bogart the Centrum Silver.