Why Consider a Business Venture in “Retirement”?

• Staying Engaged With Life
  Hitting a milestone like retirement does not mean you are ready to shut off your brain and coast to a stop in your life. Staying mentally and physically engaged can help your mind continue to grow, even if your pace needs to slow down in some areas. Maintaining an enthusiasm for life by having a sense of purpose outside your home.
   
• Repurposing Your Storehouse of Experience
  At your age, you have more experience with life, business, technology, people, and your career field than you’ve ever had. Putting it to work for yourself is the best way to reap the benefits for yourself that you have likely been selling to others for decades.
   
• This Is a Perfect Time in Life for Taking a Risk on Yourself
  Hopefully, if you have made it this far in life, your house is paid off, or maybe you have downsized to a smaller place. Also, you may have a retirement income (or two), so your basic living expenses are covered, which will be a huge advantage while you’re figuring out how to build a business.
   
• You Have Honed a hobby or Special Skill for Many Years
  While working a day job, you may have found a hobby or pastime, built a collection, or become something of an expert within a niche that you can now exploit. Anything from favorite sports, to crafts, to collecting interesting antique or vintage items may finally give you a chance to chase a passion and turn an avocation into a vocation. Or you may truly enjoy your vocation and would like to turn to your favorite aspect of it into your own business or consultancy.
   
• You Have the Chance to Create a Legacy for Yourself Or Your Family
  Decades working for others may have built a reputation for you in your field or company, but retiring can feel like you’re dropping all that you have built and leaving it to strangers to build on it. Transitioning to a business of your own can allow you to capture a part of what you have built and make it truly yours. Your name on the shingle, and perhaps something to pass on to family or mentees who will carry on in your style, and perhaps even with your name.

What Are The Steps To Success?

• Do Your Research
  Optimally, you will have a year or two before you leave your regular career to do some research and planning. Giving yourself time to plan is a gift that will pay dividends by reducing risk and paving your way to a smooth transition. If you have already retired, it’s still okay to move slowly. Use the skills and patience you’ve developed over a lifetime to plan the work and work the plan.
   
• Align Your Finances to Protect Yourself From Risk
  Your experience and patience and reputation can reduce the risks when starting a business, but there will always be risks. Before starting up, consult with your best sources for financial and legal advice on how to protect your retirement accounts, home, or other assets from liability incurred by your business ventures.
   
• Secure Financing Before Leaving Employment
  If you would like to apply for a business loan or help through the SBA, remember that lenders are happiest loaning money to people who don’t need it. While that sentiment is often said tongue-in-cheek, there is some truth in it. If you need to purchase business assets or even a going business, having a solid income from other sources will make lenders feel safe about being repaid. Why put your house or your 401k up for collateral when you can demonstrate the ability to repay with income.
   
• Get Started Before You Are “Ready”
  Procrastination is not your friend at this stage of life. Perfectionism is a dream killer at any stage, but the time for dithering has passed and declining years can start sooner than you think. Don’t be afraid to try out ideas before you feel ready. The truth is, the time is never perfect, and the best time to get started is yesterday. The second-best time is right now. Do a test run and put your work out there. Are people excited about it? Great, maybe you should hone this craft, part-time. Is the response ho-hum? Perfect, here’s your first chance to revise your plan and find out where the market is, or “switch & niche” to find your unique proposition.
   
• Ease Into Your Retirement Business
  You can make your transition more like shifting gears and less like changing vehicles by having your plans in place or even having the business at least partially operational before putting in those retirement papers. With the business already operational, you’ll have much better knowledge of risk, expenses, expected cash flow, profit potential, a million little things you can’t know ahead of time. The biggest win in this scenario is peace of mind. The unknown is scary, so any mystery you can solve before the switch is a great investment of time and energy.

Now that we have looked at Why we might want to go into business for ourselves when so many around us are expecting us to be like so many others and just stop being productive. We have also considered What steps we can take to prepare and launch a new endeavor as we near the completion of a long career selling our productivity to someone else. So, if the space between our ears is ready to deeply consider the question of How this can be achieved, firstly without breaking the bank, but also with a high likelihood of many successfully productive years ahead, while not tying ourselves down to a new daily grind…

Then let’s delve into “The How-To Guide to Starting a Successful Business At Retirement” when others are just waiting for retirement to happen to them.

Click ADD TO CART and Download the eBook, The How-To Guide to Starting a Successful Business at Retirement, and let’s find the best way to put our vision, experience, and bountiful wisdom to work for ourselves.