Category: Business Ideas

We see and hear about a large number of franchises and Multi-level Marketing (MLM) businesses and I am often asked if these are good for the retired person. So let us take a look at them one at a time.
Franchises are frequently larger companies having numerous employees, a fixed retail location with the high overhead associated with this, require high up front fees, normally require a full marketing plan and budget as part of the commitment and most are year around full time businesses. That is in direct opposition to everything I have tried to warn seniors of in my book “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income”. While franchises may make good sense as a business, it is not normally a good idea for a part-time or seasonal business for a retiree. But I spend time each week looking over the business models of any new franchise that I can find on the Internet.
Franchises are mostly very successful business and new franchises are in sectors that are growing. These companies do their screening well. Looking at their information, will provide you with typical startup costs of the business and will help you budget your business if you decide to enter the business sector even if you make a number of changes to the business plan. The franchises sometimes provide you the demographic information to locate the business but this is information that you will need to help identify your customers. You can use much of their information to analyze and plan your business.
MLM businesses have gotten a bad name since many of these businesses use high-pressure tactics to make their “members” buy and sell more products. These businesses get their name since a member will get a large commission from product they sell, a smaller commission from products sold by newer members that they have brought into the organization under them and an even smaller commission from sales the people the newer members they have brought in under them and so on. Many even have minimum monthly purchases even when the members are not selling that much in product. So dangerous inventory buildups leave unsuccessful member with a basement full of product. I have seen statistics that suggest that well over 90% of the participants do not make significant money from these ventures. But they do work for the aggressive sales people. The large earners in these systems are ones that bring in people in the organization under them. The large commissions are made by developing a large network organization below you and not by selling the product yourself.
When talking with someone from a MLM organization you will normally hear 2 phrases. The first is that they will deny that they are a MLM organization. They may have some slight change in their organization, such as having customers buy product on-line and they just get a referral fee and fees from their network organization, so they deny they are a MLM organization. Many times they do not provide clear information about the total costs of their products and try to get you to accept that they are “competitive” or below the store price.
So MLM organizations are not all bad but most are bad. So do your research carefully before becoming involved.

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.

Most seniors are worried about being an entrepreneur and want to avoid making a big mistake that might deplete their retirement savings. The businesses mentioned in my book are just to that point. You can’t make a tragic financial mistake if you have only invested a few thousand dollars. Look for businesses that are service oriented, which frequently require a lot of your time as the main investment but not a lot of your money. You may lose 1000 hours of your time but only a little of your money.
Many businesses go astray when the market for their product and the price they feel they need to sell it for doesn’t materialize. If you have already signed a multi-year, store lease for your sales, you could be stuck with thousands of dollars in rent, utility bills and other fixed costs. If you have a product you want to sell, find a temporary venue such as a public market or a summer festival that you can try selling it at. You may have to pay $200 to $300 for a day or weekend space but you can set up a table to sell your product. If your sales are not overwhelming, you should reconsider making that product into a business. When you sell at the booth, you will get a lot of honest feedback on what customers think of the product and the price. Listen to them; it may save you from a big mistake.
Can you rent some of the equipment needed to operate your business with no long-term commitment. You may have to pay too much to rent the equipment to make much profit, but it will help you gauge your market size and will allow you to determine if you really want to do this for a significant portion of your retirement time.
Go work with someone who is already in the business you want to start. You may have to go a distance away from the location you envision for your business but you can learn a lot from a little on-the-job experience.
Start a hobby business. I’m a rock hound and I envision collecting valuable minerals (gold, rubies, sapphires, emeralds) and fossils and selling them for my retirement business. If my business is not successful, I will probably continue spending my time collecting valuable minerals and fossils and keeping them in my private collection. So in trying a hobby business, I will be doing what I would otherwise do for fun. I might even get some tax breaks for trying it as a business.

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.

We’ve all heard people saying this but do you realize this is an opportunity for a business? Serving a busy customer could be just the thing needed to make your business a success.
Most two-earner families, after taking the children to soccer practice and music lessons just don’t have the time or energy to do many of the things that they think would be nice to do. But many times the do have the disposable income to have the services done by someone they know and trust.
Whether it’s making fruit cakes with their personal label on it, doing their landscaping, cooking specialty dinners for some family member with special dietary restrictions, or cleaning up on the inside or outside of their houses, they may let a trusted neighbor perform a service for them even if they wouldn’t feel right about letting a professional company do this work for them. A friend or neighbor makes the decision to hire someone easier. These people are the easiest groups to market to because they are your family, friends and neighbors. They already know you or will recognize your picture from the neighborhood. Distribute those magnetic business cards with your picture on it listing all of your services to your potential clients to hang on the refrigerator.
But don’t forget about that busy small business owner. He is in the same rut wishing he had a department to do all of those business services that are not essential to day-to-day operations but are robbing him of some of his profits. These entrepreneurs all wish they had the time to bid out some of the services and products that they buy or use but they really don’t have the time to do it. Send out a letter opener, stapler or other desk item with your business card on it calling out what types of services you provide so it will be right in front of them each day. It may be putting together a marketing campaign for them, searching for the lowest cost utility or phone suppliers for their need or checking around to alternative wholesalers for the goods that they sell. All these could make a good part-time business for you and after you develop some specialized knowledge in your areas, you will find ways of saving them more money and doing it quicker for them.

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.

Mass produced services are only economical at a fixed location where installed equipment can be used to save time in the service. The other end of the spectrum is customized service at a location where the customer wants it to be performed.
Simple services like automotive repairs are almost always done at a garage or repair center since some of the services require lifts and special equipment. But providing some of the basic car repair services can be done with equipment in your truck and this service can be performed at a health club or a large company’s parking lot while you customer is exercising, working or at their home. Most customers will only hire this type of service if the price is about the same as what they will pay at a fixed location or slightly more. It is easy to meet this condition with certain services since your business will have no rent or utilities to pay. The market for this service may not be huge but it may be large enough to support a loan practitioner.
Computer services become difficult for the customer at a fixed location and certain system problems must be solved in place. So we are seeing a rise in the number of single person computer repair businesses.
As you go through your days and months, look for of what kind of service people or businesses hate going to a fixed location to get the service and then try to start a business around providing that service at the customer’s location. This concept is not new. I remember when I was a child, there was a person who had an old school bus and drove around neighborhoods selling groceries for people who didn’t want to run out. This may no longer be a good business but back then families only had one car and the home keeper needed this since they couldn’t run up to the neighborhood store to prepare dinner. I still have that response mechanism going for the daily ringing of the ice cream man’s bell when he drives through our neighborhood during the summer.
Oil changes and lubrication for cars, computer repair, dry cleaning and laundry delivery services to health clubs or office buildings, personal training at home, lawn mower and snow blower repair in your garage and computer printer inks refills in a truck outside large office buildings on a fixed weekly schedule are all lucrative areas to explore. But don’t let this small list limit your ideas. Think of other ideas. There are hundreds. If you think of a good one, go to the forum on my web site and let me know your ideas so I can spread the word around.

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.

You can’t read any magazine without seeing some reference to the effects of the coming retirement of the baby boom generation. That is just the type of opportunity that entrepreneurs are looking for to create a new business around.
Think of all of the services these people will need. Some of them will need to have more of the work around the house or apartment done for them and they will pay a fair price if you make it convenient for them. This group of clients will also be loyal to businesses that provide good service to them and can be trusted for being on time and sending reliable people to do the work. They also favor the same person coming each time to help them and do not care much for services that have a high turnover in personnel. This is ideal for the sole practitioner. This group will also refer you to their friends if they like your service.
Routine services such as laundry, house cleaning, shopping and driving these people to their medial appointments, are all highly desired. Non-routine services are also needed for when these seniors move to a new location requiring sorting, packing, furniture layouts, running garage sales to sell off the excess materials. But servicing this client base requires additional care to receive their satisfaction. Even the Real Estate industry has training courses devoted to teaching agents how to work with the senior population and achieve high customer satisfaction.
This group is also easy to reach with your advertisement. There are a number of publications in each city for this group of people. There are also community events directed to this group where advertising can be directed. Bulletin boards can be used for your business card with a message at many of the living situations where these people live.
But before entering any of these businesses check into licensing requirements in your city and state to determine if licensing, bonding or special insurance is required for the service you are going to provide.

This new weekly column, 101 New Business Ideas for Retirees, is compiled specially for GetEntrepreneurial.com readers by Stan Spector. View all articles in this column by Stan Spector.

Stan Spector is the author of “Baby Boomers’ Official Guide to Retirement Income – Over 100 Part-time or Seasonal Businesses for the New Retiree”. The book’s website can be found at StanSpector.com.