Vendors will have to be ready to respond to older, savvier business owners, many of whom will have worked for companies very much like those trying to sell to them. These new small business owners will be more sophisticated and knowledgeable than earlier, younger first-time entrepreneurs.

Expect them to have well-honed negotiating skills and acumen out of proportion to the size of their businesses. Don't be surprised if they are better versed in procurement procedures and marketing tactics than the people selling to them.

This will be a new breed of entrepreneur. They won't be the young, high flyers of the 1990s dreaming of IPOs and constantly recurring triple-digit growth. Many will be going into business with an expectation of establishing moderate but steady revenue streams.

They will have established strong reputations. Many will be acknowledged experts in their fields, and they are likely to have contacts at high levels within some of the world's largest corporations.

In short, the graying of entrepreneurs will change the way organizations large and small do business with smaller enterprises. Small business is trending older. The way in which individuals and companies respond to that trend will play a large role in determining their success or failure in the small business marketplace.