You’re in the prime of your life, just a handful of years from retirement. So what do you do if wake up one day not too far from retirement age and realize you want to be your own boss instead of working for a boss!
It happened to me, about a year and a half ago. I thought, I am not ready in any way to retire, and I feel too young to work a few more years for someone else, I started looking for something else. And it became apparent pretty quickly that starting a business wasn’t aimed at my age bracket but rather to the 20 and 30 something’s!
Starting a new job or your own business for that matter when you are nearly 60 can be daunting. I believe that, your age and experience gives you the edge over entrepreneurs in their 20s or 30s.
What to do?
Access your financial situation. Before you dive into the “business opportunity adverts” you need to assess where you are financially. How long can you go without a paycheck before you’re broke? And what kind of income do you need from your new business? You may find that you no longer need to earn what you did at your last job or that you weren’t earning your worth in your last job.
Do some serious soul searching. Leaving your job could be just what you need to think hard about the type of work you want to do at this stage of your life. You may decide that you don’t want to work in your previous field any longer and that you want to start something new and different. When I ask some of my friends ‘What would you ideally be doing?’ they almost always tell me about something that is completely different to their current career! My first thought is then why don’t you do it, why don’t you follow your passion and dreams, why don’t you do something that will give you some personal satisfaction it’s not out of the question to consider a position in a whole new field that would give you personal satisfaction.”
Consider setting up shop. At your age, with your experience and expertise, you might be in the perfect position to start a business or become a consultant in your field. If so, start by creating a business plan. Then look for experts who can act as a sounding board, you might also find community classes that can teach you how to start your own business. A lot of adult education classes are specifically geared toward this. You could take a part-time job while you’re building a business on the side.
Rethink your retirement age. Maybe you’ve been set on retiring at age 65. If you just started your own business then this goal may no longer be realistic. The idea of almost being 60 and preparing to retire is an illusion. There are many people who work past 70 or never retire
The opportunities are out there! Network like mad. Check out every online possibility. Enlist family, friends, and neighbours and online communities. An advantage of being older when you start a business is that you work a lot smarter, you know you don’t have time or money to waste, so you buckle down and do whatever it takes to make your dreams come true!
It happened to me, about a year and a half ago. I thought, I am not ready in any way to retire, and I feel too young to work a few more years for someone else, I started looking for something else. And it became apparent pretty quickly that starting a business wasn’t aimed at my age bracket but rather to the 20 and 30 something’s!
Starting a new job or your own business for that matter when you are nearly 60 can be daunting. I believe that, your age and experience gives you the edge over entrepreneurs in their 20s or 30s.
What to do?
Access your financial situation. Before you dive into the “business opportunity adverts” you need to assess where you are financially. How long can you go without a paycheck before you’re broke? And what kind of income do you need from your new business? You may find that you no longer need to earn what you did at your last job or that you weren’t earning your worth in your last job.
Do some serious soul searching. Leaving your job could be just what you need to think hard about the type of work you want to do at this stage of your life. You may decide that you don’t want to work in your previous field any longer and that you want to start something new and different. When I ask some of my friends ‘What would you ideally be doing?’ they almost always tell me about something that is completely different to their current career! My first thought is then why don’t you do it, why don’t you follow your passion and dreams, why don’t you do something that will give you some personal satisfaction it’s not out of the question to consider a position in a whole new field that would give you personal satisfaction.”
Consider setting up shop. At your age, with your experience and expertise, you might be in the perfect position to start a business or become a consultant in your field. If so, start by creating a business plan. Then look for experts who can act as a sounding board, you might also find community classes that can teach you how to start your own business. A lot of adult education classes are specifically geared toward this. You could take a part-time job while you’re building a business on the side.
Rethink your retirement age. Maybe you’ve been set on retiring at age 65. If you just started your own business then this goal may no longer be realistic. The idea of almost being 60 and preparing to retire is an illusion. There are many people who work past 70 or never retire
The opportunities are out there! Network like mad. Check out every online possibility. Enlist family, friends, and neighbours and online communities. An advantage of being older when you start a business is that you work a lot smarter, you know you don’t have time or money to waste, so you buckle down and do whatever it takes to make your dreams come true!