Take a look out the window. Chances are if your offices are in amajor American city, a group of Occupy Wall Street protestors areconverging near the financial district. In Chicago, the protests taking place on LaSalle and Grant Park can range from30 or so to the hundreds, with protestors ranging in age from highschool and college kids to the elderly.

When the revolt began on September 17, most major media outletsignored it. The initial take was that it was just a handful ofprofessional protestors looking for a cause. Since then, themovement—although still without a leader or a message beyondprotesting economic imbalance—has spread to more than two dozencities and grown to include more than a dozen trade unions,celebrities and everyday people who aren't disenfranchised collegekids. The movement has so far raised more than $300,000 and is expected to become a serious topic for discussion in the 2012 presidentialelection.

And although the protestors' demographic currently may skewtoward Millennials, recent polls indicate Occupy Wall Street hasthe support of many fed-up Americans. A recent poll conducted byQuinnipiac University shows that two-thirds of New York City voters said they support theprotests—81 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Republicans.And if those results seem high because of New Yorkers' liberalbent, consider a Time magazine national poll, which indicates the Occupymovement has a 54 percent favorable rating compared with 27 percentfor the Tea Party.

Aside from the fact that the protestors may include yourfriends, family or customers, there are definitely implications foryour business involved in the movement:

1. The affluent demographic is shrinking.High-net-worth customers are a profitable niche for many agents andbrokers, but according to the latest U.S. Census figures, there are5 percent fewer affluent Americans than before the recession—andless mobility by lower income groups into that category.
2. You wanna know about Millennials? With thejobless rate for college graduates under age 25 averaging 9.6 overthe past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it'slittle wonder that most of the faces on OWS's front lines are young(the median age is estimated to be 26). Demographically,Millennials are described as being team players who are highlyskilled in social media, engaged with social issues and want tomake a positive change in the world–which could describe both anOWS protester and the insurance industry's dream job candidate. Ourgraying industry's lust for young blood has spawned dozens ofinitiatives attempting to discover how to attract and retainMillennials. Maybe a trip to an OWS protest site wouldprovide some answers.
3. If the protestors aren't your customers, theirsympathizers are. According to the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics, middle-income jobs have fallen from 52 percent in 1980to 42 percent in 2010. Only 81.2 percent of men aged 25 to 54 areworking, compared with 95 percent in 1969. These ugly statisticsmean that at least some of your customers or prospects have beenimpacted by the current economic malaise—and might be angry enoughto get involved with an organized protest.
4. Doing good can do you good. AA&Bhas run plenty of articles showing how getting your agency orbrokerage involved in charitable works can help build a positivereputation in your community and bring in business. At a time whenconsumers of all stripes are lashing out against perceivedcorporate abuses (such as banks levying charges for debit card usage), it's nice to beable to point to the positives your business provides to thecommunity.
5. Those who fail to learn from history… Thecivil rights and anti-war protest movements of the 1960s wereinitially seen as being coordinated by a disruptive minority, butultimately their supporters and participants came to includeAmericans from all walks of life—and they became the catalyst formassive, much-needed change. The OWS protests may not have the sameimpact as the civil rights or anti-war movements of the 1960s, butthen again, they might. Dismissing this grassroots movement, withits unprecedented use of social media to engage supporters, meansignoring history–never a smart thing to do.