JoAnn R. Forrester, Empress of Biz.
If you
are a baby boomer and
getting ready to retire and think you have more dreams to accomplish, and one
of them is starting your own business, you are not alone!
Contrary to popularly held assumptions, it turns out that
over the past decade or so, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity belongs to the 55-64 age group: reported the Kauffman
Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship. The 20-34 age bracket, meanwhile,
which is usually identified with swashbuckling and risk-taking youth (think
Facebook and Google), has the lowest.
The outlook is great
for us Baby Boomers. We are 78 million
strong and we have money to spend. And we do!
At the rate of 3.5 trillion dollars a year. So as we leap into the next phase of our
lives, especially if it is entrepreneurship, I have some advice to share from
my own experiences.
One of the things you will
need is a completely different attitude
about your new job. If you have been an employee all your life, especially with
major corporations, there are many things you may be unprepared for. You are responsible for everything. You wear multiple hats. One minute you’re the boss, then salesperson,
bookkeeper, production worker and then at the end of the day, janitor. Forty hour week? Nope.. Always a
paycheck? No. Enough said. Always
someone to take your place if you want a break or are sick. NO! Customer’s
to please? Always! Hard decisions to make? Yep. It’s you.
Money? It is yours. Not someone
else’s.
Another big hurdle you have to face is your family.
Your life will change and the
people around you are not always going to understand. They may not be prepared for the sacrifice,
money and time, you will be making. Be prepared for them to be helpful or
resentful.
It is important for you to do a great deal of
planning, thinking and talking to eliminate friction BEFORE you start your
business. Make sure you have that
“financial talk” before you start. Whether you borrow from the bank or use your
own money you are taking a financial risk, which may not be tolerated by all.
I suggest you find a small business to work in,
volunteer your time and experience what life is about in the business fast lane
before you jump. Talk to other business owners and ask the hard
questions that you want answered. The great thing it is yours and this new
venture may be the best of all...just get ready for the ride of your life. Good luck fellow boomer! May your business
dreams be an economic boom for us all.
Published in the Pittsburgh Business Times November 8, 2013
JoAnn R. Forreste, aka Empress of Biz
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