Editor's note: The Free Press plans to feature a local business each week that has used the services of Grand Junction's Business Incubator Center. During the recession, the Incubator has seen an increase in people seeking to start their own b

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Baby boomer business owners and Generation Y employees don't always understand one another.

Tinker Barnett of Youth Enterprises, LLC, seeks to change that.

Some generational differences have to do with time and technology, Barnett said.

Members of Generation Y, who've been in the workforce only five years often aren't willing to work the overtime hours of their older counterparts. And they have different modes of self-expression baby boomers often don't understand, she said.

Barnett gives free presentations to business owners who are frustrated, but open to change and to learning about the younger generation. More in-depth training and coaching is available in person or online for a fee.

“I can help to resolve the frustration of baby boomer bosses,” Barnett said. “There are opportunities for (both generations) to become good partners at work.”

Businesses need the younger generation and it's important to understand them if businesses want to reduce the high cost of frequent employee turnover, Barnett said.

“Another big issue is replacement,” she said. “Who's going to take (baby boomers) place? Who are they preparing?

Barnett, 60, has worked in business and with young people in different capacities “forever,” she said. She registered Youth Enterprises as a business in December as a way to blend those two interests.

“I have wanted to work with young people to make them work-ready,” Barnett said. “I've found this to be my perfect niche.”

Barnett teaches entrepreneurship to young people as a response to the recession and a high unemployment rate for people 16-29. She's currently teaching a class for employees at the Western Colorado Conservation Corps, a nonprofit organization for youth ages 14-25.

Barnett has used the services of Grand Junction's Business Incubator Center to get her business off the ground.

“The thing I've enjoyed the most is the Business over Breakfast where speakers in the community come share their experiences, and their motivation,” Barnett said.

She's also attended Incubator lunch-hour classes where she's learned about social media and budgeting.

“Their volunteers — who are retired professionals — are fantastic,” Barnett said.

Two of the volunteer counselors asked Barnett for her presentation for themselves. The Incubator helps new entrepreneurs of all ages and some volunteers are “surprised by the differences (regarding style) they observe in people starting a business today,” she said.

Also, “the young are very comfortable with technology and they get frustrated when its not up to date, or there are restrictions around it,” Barnett said.

“The bottom line to all this, the changes business will make for the younger generation will benefit everybody,” Barnett said. “All of business is changing. The whole world is changing.”

To learn more about Youth Enterprises, LLC visit www.genysuccesszone.com. Barnett can be reached at 245-5707.