Now that the ‘retirement honeymoon’ is over, perhaps you’re thinking about getting busy again. A recent survey of retirees revealed 70 per cent of Canadians plan to work after retirement. Most retirees are planning to turn their golden years into productive enterprising years
Whatever your reason for wanting to roll up your sleeves again, have you considered doing it your way this time around? Ever thought of starting your own business? Did you know you have a better chance at entrepreneurial success than your younger colleagues? Your higher success rates are due to two major factors:
- While you might have a little less energy than a twenty-something year old (though I know grandmothers who can walk their kids and grandkids into the ground), you have a lifetime of experience and perspective to more accurately judge the potential of a business and the resources you will need to build it.
- You likely have more money than most younger people. A business start-up almost always requires more capital than anyone originally estimated. When you need to hold on through the fledgling years or periods of economic downturn, deeper pockets win the day.
Are you wondering if entrepreneurship is for you? Here are four questions to ask yourself before you start down the entrepreneurial road:
- Do you believe in your idea or your business model enough to hold on when times are tough?
If you want a challenge, entrepreneurship will certainly give you one. You will need to push beyond your comfort zone to persevere when the tasks become challenging.
Those who start out thinking about how much money they will make right out of the gate may want to reconsider.
Overnight sensations are almost never ‘overnight’. You just don’t hear about the sweat and tears that went into the business before they were discovered!
Don’t be scared off by this, because the upside is you create and maintain much more strength of will, better social connections and mental agility compared to “taking it easy” in retirement.
- Do you know your market?
To be successful, careful planning and execution are vital. You need to have or develop some expertise with the product or service in your market.
Take some time to talk to potential customers. Ask them if they would buy your product or service, how much they would pay and what or how they would want it delivered to them.
Scout out your competitors and find out how they are doing it well (or badly). Consider taking on a job in the industry for awhile so you can learn the ropes on someone else’s dollar.
- Do you have a safety net? Lack of time and lack of money kill eighty percent of start-ups in the first five years.
Don’t underestimate the resources you will need. Even after your very best guess, you could be surprised that it requires more.
It’s a good idea to have enough money saved or set aside to cover a minimum of six months of costs.
You don’t want to wake up in a cold sweat one night when you realize you’re eating your way through your retirement savings!
- Do you have a social support network? Encouragement from trusted family and friends will help build your confidence. And the people closest to us can often see our strengths and weaknesses, so it’s not a bad idea to listen to them – but only to a point.
While they might be very instructive about your nature and attributes, they may not be as helpful about your ideas, especially if they’ve never applied themselves to entrepreneurship.
Build a network of fellow entrepreneurs that you can share stories and ideas with. There are many entrepreneurial support groups in your community easily found online.
Plenty of older adults are translating skills gained from years of hard work into creating a business and a lifestyle that meets their requirements. They are doing it their way the second time around.
If you choose to start a business and set your entrepreneurial sales, may the wind always be at your back and may you have following seas.
Mathieu Powell I President
Coastline Marketing Inc.
Main Office: 778-425-4644 Sales: 250-516-6287
mathieu@coastline.marketing www.coastline.marketing