Retirement, whether it's in your golden years or earlier, can be well worth the wait. However, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to still make money while you’re retired. The world that we live in nowadays allows for greater opportunities in retirement than what existed a few decades ago. With more people using the internet and a wider distribution of large companies throughout the world, you have many of the resources you need to continue making money as a retiree. So, if you’re stumped for ideas on what you can do, here are seven business ideas for retirees.
Consulting Service
If there’s any skill or knowledge you have that you can effectively teach to others, then you already have the main product you need to start a consulting service. You can do this through teleconferencing chats, phone calls, or emails. Many freelance sites will allow you to post your consulting service offer as a gig. From there, you can build up a client base that you can connect with outside of these sites.
Craft Selling
If you’re even slightly artistic or good with your hands, or simply have a knack for buying and selling products, you can always sell handmade crafts and other items on e-commerce websites such as eBay and Etsy. You can advertise outside of these websites to pull customers to your listings by using YouTube videos, pay per click ads, and social media networking.
Pet Sitting
Watching over other people's pets while they're away from home can be ideal for retirees because it doesn't require you to expend a lot of energy, which is the whole idea of retiring. Of course, finding clients constitutes most of the work in this job, but savvy entrepreneur retirees can use the internet to their advantage. You can join pet sitting groups on Facebook and other social networks to reach out to prospective clients.
Franchises
Starting a franchise can be one of the best decisions you make in your retirement. Once you find a profitable company that has a franchise program, you can almost immediately start a new business right out of the box. Many potential customers recognize franchise brands already, so you don’t always have to advertise as heavily as you would with your own brand. Also, once you’re running one successful franchise business, you can simply recreate the steps you took with the first one to create other branches and have employees manage those for you.
Data Entry
If you’re a fast typist, there are many different types of freelance gigs that you can do from home involving data entry. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many large companies required their employees to work from home. Once the infrastructure was set up, many of these companies then realized that it was cheaper for them to do business this way. You can start your own data entry service and then offer your company’s services to other companies. You can find which companies need this type of service by checking online job boards.
Blogging
While blogging wasn’t considered a viable business model for retirees 30 years ago, many bloggers have proven that blogging can pay off as long as you’re consistently writing. Blogging is essentially just writing about topics that people might be interested in reading while earning money from ads, affiliate products, or by any other means. Finding a niche is important, and if you’re unable to think of one, you can always write about being retired and provide tips for those who are looking to retire early.
Comfort Aid Service
There are many hospices and nursing home facilities that are in need of a friendly personality to act as an unconventional nursing aid, known as a comfort aid. You don’t need any type of experience or education for some positions. It’s quite common to find small elderly care companies and end of care hospices looking for someone who can come by and spend time with their residents or patients. You can start a company to offer these types of services and negotiate contracts with different facilities in your area.
If you’re looking to fund your business venture, Leading Retirement Solutions offers nontraditional business financing strategies like the Rollovers as Business Startups (ROBS) strategy. Speak with one of our experts to learn more!
For more tips and information regarding retirement plans, contact us.
