Starting a Business After Retirement

Starting a business after retirement can be very rewarding both financially and personally but making wrong decisions can ruin you financially - and perhaps health and relationship-wise.

How old is too old to start a business? If you are willing and able to do the kind of work you are planning - there is no age limit. Think of Col. Sanders. Wasn't he 70 or something when he finally sold his first chicken recipe?

Before you jump in - ask yourself these questions:

Why do I want to start a business after I retire?
Is it for extra income? Stave off boredom? Get out of the house? Or perhaps you want to turn a hobby into a revenue source. Or maybe you don't care about the money at all, you just want something to do. To contribute.

What kind of business am I thinking about?
Have you thought of what kind of business you want to do? Something in mind? Or you just know you want to "do something"? The possibilities are unlimited.

Do I have loan-free money do start a business?
Is this money you could afford to lose? It is the last thing you want to do to spend your nest egg on some business venture that might fail. Or perhaps you have no or little money. So you are looking for something productive you can start with a low entry price.

Do I have a business plan?
It doesn't have to be elaborate. Just the basics. A rough draft. Does it make sense? Is there a lot of competition? A business plan is absolutely needed if you seek funding, even if you are self-funded it is a good idea to create one. Just to get a birds eye view.

Am I really an entrepreneur?
Does it scare you to launch a business? If you haven't been in any entrepreneur jobs in your career you need to take a close look at what it means to start a business. The key secret here is passion. If you are passionate about the new venture - the rest will fall into place.

Could another 'Real Job" fit me better?
You might want to consider getting another job, full or part time. In your old line of work, or something entirely new. Thus avoiding all the "non-job" stuff you have to face when self-employed.

I know, many of you are ready to jump into this because you are passionate about your idea. My best advice to you is to calm down. Think about it. Run it by someone impartial.

Then think about it some more. Then DO IT. Let's put it this way: when you are 60 you might have 4,000 days left in your life. How do you want to live it? Don't forget - you must enjoy doing whatever you are doing.

Oh, one more thing... be realistic in your expectations. And define your goals. Both financially and achievement-wise. At this stage in your life it is, in my opinion as important to enjoy as it is to make money.