Starting A Business Instead Of Retiring
Ric Cox retired at 55, but he didn’t stop working. Instead, he launched ChicagoCondosOnline.com, a database that sells condo information to realtors and listings services. A first-time entrepreneur, he hoped to channel the same creative energy he brought to his 32-year publishing career into his new venture.
About 20% of the entire over-50 workforce in the U.S. is self-employed, and one-third of those workers made the transition to self-employment after turning 50, according to a 2007 RAND Corp. study commissioned by AARP. Switching to entrepreneurship is one way retirees stay active, says Deborah Russell, the AARP’s director of workforce issues. But she says people must know what they’re getting into: “For those who have not done this before, they may have a false expectation that working for yourself also means less stress and less demand, and it may be in fact the exact opposite.”
While starting a business is a challenge at any age, a first-timer starting a business later in life will encounter different obstacles than younger entrepreneurs, particularly when it comes to funding the business, securing health insurance, managing personal finance, and succession planning. Younger people can spend years trying to make a company profitable and can return to salary jobs if they don’t succeed, but people over 50 may not have the flexibility to deal with such a loss, says Julie Zissimopoulos, an economist at RAND and co-author of the study. Experts say older entrepreneurs need to plan carefully to align their ventures with their life goals.
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Photo by MSDesigns.
John on March 29th, 2008 4:02 pm
I’d point out one other thing I’ve observed in folks starting out in the entrepreneurial world at a late age, when they’ve always worked for someone before.
The unknown can be not only overwhelming, but a little scary as well. It’s a whole different mindset that takes some learning and getting used to. All of a sudden nothing happens unless you you get it started. Pay is irregular, supporting skillsets may not be at hand, and the list goes on.
If possible, I recommend people in this situation start with something on the side before they retire, or at least recognize the issues and be prepared to deal with them.
Having said that, I wholeheartedly encourage taking the plunge – you might just end up wondering what took you so long.
Steve on March 30th, 2008 8:07 am
We have several partners to our core business at Planet Berry who have recently decided that retirement means re-thinking. What does a retired person have that the working do not? They have tenure in their passion and thus knowledge in their field.
Not to say that working folks (like me) don’t have passion for the job but a retired individual typically just spent 30 years plus working in a field or fields of jobs.
They have incredible knowledge and with the right hosting tools they can start their new line of business by telling us all about the ins and outs of their travles through the business world.
Passion is what gets a good web site going and thus picked up by the Search Engines. Its hard work if you lack passion. It’s committment if you have it and can write about it.
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