To some, having a business while you’re retired sounds like an oxymoron. Not only does it sound like more work, but some that might practically become a full-time job in itself. With the right approach, you’ll not only be following something you’ve always wanted but also be doing so in a way that can bring in passive income for years to come. Here’s how:
Revisit Your Passions
Retirement is the perfect time to revisit the things you love, which can include starting a business you’ve always wanted but never knew how to make your full-time job. According to Small Business Trends, 23 percent of entrepreneurs started a business because they wanted to follow their passion, which is why retirement can be the perfect place to get going on your entrepreneurial career. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort in getting your foundation up and running, the rest can be a cinch; however, it all starts with what you’re passionate about.
Make a list of the different things you love to do, as well as if there’s room to do them for others. For example, if custom bookmaking has always been a hobby of yours, then the first question you should ask yourself is “who needs a custom book made?” From there, it’s all about finding verticals, so in the case of our bookmaker might mean an advertising agency or a couple that wants a book for their wedding. The goal is to find a service you can fulfill, with your market coming from the brand you’ll eventually develop based on your offerings.
Establish Your Foundation
Every business has a foundation, which is essentially the basic item or service you produce, who buys it, and what it takes for your company to keep selling it to them. The biggest hurdle in this cycle is finding your market need, which is why 42 percent of small businesses eventually end up failing. While you can often have a business that functions with a loss at first, it’s imperative you find and establish your market as soon as possible to be the base of your foundation.
When looking at who could potentially be a consistent market for you, first think of what initial customers you anticipate, as well as how you’re going to reach them. For example, if you produce an item that is primarily sold to other retirees, then first reaching out to your peers and stemming from there is always a wise first move, helping you gain insights quickly from what feedback you might be receiving in-person. From there, it’s all about going back and forth between different iterations of what people want out of your product or service versus how you can deliver. Eventually, the end-goal is to come up with something you feel confident will scale to being sustainable, which will be incredibly rewarding to find when the time is right.
Bring Out The Right Tools
While you might not be the savviest digital marketer or accountant, that’s not to say these modern necessities aren’t crucial aspects for your business to have as well. Even for retirees, becoming savvy with an arsenal of tools that help bolster your sales is a must. Granted, that’s not to say this is a complicated process, but rather one when done right, actually helps make keeping your home-based business afloat pretty simple.
The first you should assess is what tools you might need, as well as where you might be lacking. An excellent example of this is with social media, a place where nearly 69 percent of US adults currently spend time. While it’s obvious you should have social media profiles, you should also look at the auxiliary tools that make managing those accounts easier, such as a photo editor for Instagram or URL shorteners for affiliate marketers on Twitter. The goal is to find the items that help make your job easier, as well as provide insights or shortcuts to making a long-term profit from your efforts. Once you’ve established that, it can become much easier to scale profits quickly.
Produce The Things You Enjoy
Finally, one of the most practical pieces of advice for starting your retirement business is to simply make things you enjoy. Although we mentioned above how important it is to do the things you’re good at, it’s even more important to do the things that you enjoy. Don’t be embarrassed if you’re doing this from home either, because according to Fit Small Business, 50 percent of all US businesses are home-based, meaning that you’re the norm. You don’t need fancy offices, materials, or warehouses to achieve your dreams. Instead, just focus on making what you enjoy where you want to enjoy it, and the rest will follow.
In the end, starting a retirement business is all about taking the leap from having a passion for turning that into an actual source of secondary income. Although it can be a challenge at first, embrace this as an opportunity to learn and grow from something you’ve never done before. After all, you’re never too old to grow, which is the goal for following any dream we might have, right?