Three trends that Latinos need to pay attention to

By Andres Ramirez
LatinoYurbano

Here are some trends that Latinos need to pay attention to, and start to prepare for, in order to take advantage and capitalize when the time arrives. As a consistent central theme we will need time and education to be ready for these opportunities. Those that are ready and enter first will have the greatest return on investment and therefore will benefit from their foresight.

Those are starting to prepare now are about -3-4 years away. Now lets get into the details.

The first opportunity is the entry of the baby-boomers into the senior and retirement years.This American generation, 80 million strong, has always moved markets in their lifetime. Every time they enter a new stage there is great opportunity for those ready to sell them products and services.

When they were babies it was Walt-Disney, Gerber, and Johnson and Johnson that benefited; when they hit their teenage years it was the music industry, the car industry, and higher education that were there to help them reach their goals. Now they are entering the retirement years. This is a great opportunity to get into finance, retirement planning, and wealth transfer.

In addition, there is also healthcare with its many different branches in nursing, pharmaceutical products, joint replacement and similar categories, homecare and assisted living, and overall healthy living.

This generation is also the wealthiest and has huge purchasing power. Start to prepare now and you will be able to take advantage of this great opportunity now and 10-15 years into the future.

The second opportunity is the rise of the middle class in the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It is estimated that these economies can become the most influential economies by 2050.

The countries that form BRIC account for 2,844 million people on the planet, that is roughly about 42% of the entire world population. What’s interesting about this figure is the fact that these countries are growing their middle class rapidly and they are becoming consumer nations like us in the United States.

This signals a huge opportunity for those ready when the time arrives. Degrees in Business Administration and International Business will be in great demand. In addition, you will need to pick up an additional language. The good news is that we are ahead of many in this regard as we already speak two language and our brains know how to move in and out of different languages.

I recommend picking up Mandarin Chinese, as China will become a dominant economy in the next 10-20 years.

The third opportunity is high technology. You need to understand what is going on in the fringe of our universities’ research departments and laboratories throughout our country.

The United States has the best research universities around the world and we lead all other economies in patents and inventions. You need to understand what is going on with the mergence of technology and pharmaceutical companies. Currently they are working on developing computer chips made out of plant matter that will allow a person to swallow a chip and start to send pictures and chemical samples to the doctors’ office via your cell phone.

You also need to understand that we are working on developing nano-machines which will be able to repair a human without any need to cut them open.

I can go on and on about these technologies but we have to get involved and start to contribute in these fields. Start reading about the acceleration of the future and become part of the equation. Start to work on your science degrees and you will become part of the solution.

These are just a few examples of how you can take advantage of the future if you start to prepare now. It does not matter how old you are, how much money you have, what background you have; education is the great equalizer and the key to your future.

Take advantage and start now!