Entrepreneurship and Retirement; Contradictions?

Fact; each year, thousands if not millions of people retire some by mandate of some laws and in most cases, because the retiree wants to stop continuing with the grind. Yes, to many people, work, no matter how much smile or effort or days invested into it, is still a grind and no one likes the term grind. It is an evil but a necessary one for most people. It is a way of doing things that bosses’, customers and others count on.

Thus, after 30 [or more?] years of doing stuff with your employer, most people are glad to get paid [x % of what they were getting paid by going to work and keeping the grind activities operating smoothly] even though they no longer are legally/socially/morally obligated to go to work.

Initially, most people are very glad to be away from the grind. They relish their freedom their paid freedom. However some people do NOT relish this part of their work time-work life and retired life. In fact, many people find their aches and pains and previous habits were very tolerable and even acceptable and that when they do not have to get up to go to work they feel insecure, selfish, guilty. Perhaps as many as 2% commit bad stuff and stop enjoying life and require headstones before their natural time.

There are many books on retirement. What few of them suggest is what this article focuses on a way to do what you have always wanted to do and NOT go back to your previous employer in order to feel valued.

This article focuses on part time self-employment. Ordinarily, as a business adviser, I suggest people be careful about being only partly invested in self-employment but this is one of the times when it is advised.

There are two ways to easily and gently enter part time self-employment a; partnering with someone who already has a vision and who has experience and who needs a few $ and is like an educated energizer bunny! He or she wants to [or is already] live and eat and sleep their new business while YOU as a partner, on purpose do not get involved in this business more than part-time! While you might like the idea of switching from donating part time TIME involvement to full time involvement it is essential that it is voluntary otherwise, I assure you that you will feel cheated BIG TIME. Retirement means getting money and being in control of most of your time.

The other choice is to dig into your one day I would like to bag, and pull out this list of some day.....stuff. If the ideas you find seem even remotely desirable, go to the library and start researching them. Get on your computer and start researching them. At a minimum, write an executive summary of your desired ideas. If they quickly lose their luster, put them back in the box and re-focus on only those things that excite you. If none do, revert to choice A; find someone else who needs your $ and part of your time. OF course, never give up more than 1/4 of your [can afford to throw away] money. If, however, you are excited about starting up a biz that is timeless [being a tour conductor] and you have experience in this field [as a paid person or as a volunteer] and see if you can offer this service without coming out of pocket!

As you plan for this new business where you will invest only 1/4 max of your fun money and ½ of your fun time, you will begin to both feel excitement, fear and fun. It would help to finish your executive summary’s father, the rest of the business plan [that the summary holds]. Allocate a few hours of time and go to one or all of the following: a small biz development center at a college [should be free], SCORE [part of the federal government’s SBA office], and maybe your city’s small biz development office.

A few caveats;

never give anyone more than 49% of your business for working for you or investing with you;

never feel you must go to work. Any time going becomes a chore, your purpose for being self-employed is disappearing. [if the business is growing, hire ethical people who will go to work every day or as applicable. And ethical people are more important than energetic or pushy employees.