Successful “Retirement” for Type A People

If the most fun you ever had was work-related, you’ve probably been dreading retirement. I sure did.

While a lot of blog posts to this site were my outrage and fury at the way legal and medical professionals run roughshod over seniors — an equal number of posts showed my terror at what the hell I would do with my time that was half as much fun as I had at work.

So… I thought you might like an update from the frontlines — from someone who’s now been retired for almost two years. What I’m doing turns out to be what I was doing before — working. In fact, I’m working longer hours than I did before. I just don’t have a boss, I work when I want to (which is a lot), and — thus far — I’m not getting paid(!)

We make choices about what we will do when we’re earning a living. We choose to do this over that — because we know we likely can’t earn enough to live on if we choose “that.” I’ve made those choices. You probably have to.

Examples for me include choosing not to pursue: fiction writing, acting, dancing, languages, jewelry design, and graphic design. I knew my chances of earning a good living were slim in all of them. You may have turned away from some of these too — and perhaps others.

Continue reading “Successful “Retirement” for Type A People”

Discover if your new biz idea will succeed — BEFORE you launch!

In support of the 10% of seniors who have just launched a new biz
and the 25% who intend to

Screwed up dollar notes in a pile on fireNobody wants to spend a ton of money launching a new business — only to discover they might as well have set it on fire. It’s doubly true if you’re a senior — as you won’t have as many years to recover financially.

CB Insights (a venture capitalist database) examined what contributes to the failure of new businesses. “After analyzing 101 startup post-mortems, they found that 42% suffered from a lack of demand for the product or service being offered. They used a harsh phrase to describe this cause of failure: ‘no market need.’” (Source Harvard Business Review)

Fortunately, you can determine this market need (or lack thereof) BEFORE you spend the big bucks!  Continue reading “Discover if your new biz idea will succeed — BEFORE you launch!”

Start Your Own Biz: WEBSITES

In support of the 10% of seniors who have just launched a new biz
and the 25% who intend to

website_shutterstock_450545578You can’t have a business today without a website — no matter how local and how small you are.  But you can save yourself a LOT of time, angst, and money by picking the right hosting company and formats.

There are certain “must haves” that will make your business life much, much easier. They are:  Continue reading “Start Your Own Biz: WEBSITES”

Start Your Own Biz: TRADEMARKS

In support of the 10% of seniors who have just launched a new biz
and the 25% who intend to

Trademark_shutterstock_778737679So you have an idea for your new business, but you’re worried someone else will steal it. Or you worry someone else may have already taken the name you want.

A simple trademark search is your first step. And lucky for you, it’s both easy and free to see what anyone in the U.S. has trademarked.  Continue reading “Start Your Own Biz: TRADEMARKS”

Volunteer with SCORE — Use your business skills to help America grow jobs

Seven out of 10 new jobs in the United States are created by small business, according to the SBA (Small Business Administration). However, 50% of those businesses will die within the first five years. Anything that can improve either number helps America and helps our economy.

Local SCORE
Some of the 32 volunteers at the Central PA SCORE chapter based in State College.

This is the mission of SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives), a mission you could join in your retirement. SCORE has more than 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters nationwide. In 2016, SCORE mentors helped start 54,072 new businesses and create 78,691 new jobs. And their help is absolutely free.  Continue reading “Volunteer with SCORE — Use your business skills to help America grow jobs”