As a person in business, how do you define yourself and your workspace? Are you a lifer, a boomerang or a sticker? Do you have four walls and a roof or four wheels and a Bluetooth?

If you understand these questions, you just might be ready for Fuse Duluth an arm of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce bringing together hundreds of young business people. While aimed at youth, one doesn't have to be young to join just be young at heart and committed to the concept of keeping young talent in the Duluth/Superior area.

Retaining young workers is vital to the region¹s future, according to the U.S Census Bureau's regional work force forecast. During the period 2005-2025, it predicts the ages 15-59 population in Northeastern Minnesota will decline 5.5 percent just as the over age 60 segment will increase 60.4 percent. Combine those demographics with the expectation of many businesses and industries that one-third or more of their employees will retire within the next five years and the work force crunch becomes even more pressing.

The chamber launched Fuse Duluth in 2005 as Duluth Young Professionals. Organizers and staff felt the name was limiting and changed it to Fuse Duluth last year, said Breanne DeFoe, director. Its start up was tied directly to the region's demographics. "The 2000 census revealed that we were below average for the 20-35 population when compared to other cities our size," she said.

While anyone can join, reaching out and making connections for future generations is at the heart of the organizational mission. And doing that means embracing changing workforce dynamics. Today's young workers don't do business like their parents or grandparents did.

"The big difference between Generation X (born early 1960s through late 1970s) and Generation Y (born early 1980s through 2000) workers and boomers or traditionalists is that (younger generations) want work/life balance," DeFoe said. "Flexibility in the workplace may be a deal maker or breaker."

Nate Stewart, 33, is sales and marketing director of 3Five Designs, Inc. and has been a Fuse member for just under one year. He said younger workers are different: They transition from one job to another more often, and may want to work from home or set their own hours.

In short, today's youth in business (as in the 2008 presidential election where they voted two to one for Obama) want change. "Fuse is geared toward my demographic. There's more energy here than at the standard Chamber event," Stewart said. "The younger generation is tired of the way things have been and the way things are going."

Tony Rubin, a Fuse member in sales and marketing with Arrow Lift, agrees the business model for young workers is changing. "The idea of having one office and that's where you get things done is obliterated," he said. "We have total connectivity (through technology) today."

While youth may do business differently, they still want to "tap into the wisdom of those who have leadership roles today," said Rubin, adding that's a main objective of the organization - to fuse younger workers with more experienced ones.

The initiative has been successful. Fuse has 412 members. While their ages range from college sophomores to business people in their early 70s, DeFoe describes the "average Fuser" as 30 years of age. Members also generally have a four-year college degree, are an average eight years into their professional career and own their own homes. Older members often are looking for mentoring opportunities, she said. Get-togethers for the organization include information sessions, underground happy hours, "Topics on Tap," a look at local policy issues and lunch panel discussions.

David Ross, Duluth Area Chamber president and chief executive, said connectivity for young workers is a major focus. "Fuse has been around for three years. We initiated it knowing it would be an asset to the community. We heard from within our membership that we needed to connect with younger people. We also heard from college seniors, who told us how hard it was to connect," he said.

Making connections at the beginning of their professional careers will increase the likelihood of this younger generation sticking around. "Hopefully, these many hundreds we are connecting with in their 20s will stay with us for a number of years," Ross said.

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