A friend of mine has spent her whole life doing the right things. While I was out partying, she was doing homework. She went to University, got married in a church, held down on job for about 40 years and all along salted here money away in a personal RRSP and with the company pension plan. And so when the company was taken over and she became redundant, it looked like a slightly scaled back, early retirement was in the offing. And then she watched almost half of the value of her investments go up in smoke when the market imploded. So, what's a girl to do?
There are probably a few better ideas than working til you drop dead, but they don't seem to be presenting themselves right now. In fact, I can't recall anytime in my life when the prospects - overall- have looked quite so bleak for the fifty plus generation- a.k.a. Baby Boomers. But there is one option that I think is workable and ironically, it wouldn't have been here if this mess had happened ten years ago. But I think the internet presents an opportunity for those who are close to retirement to make the ends meet. I think the number of online home businesses are about to explode.
Perhaps it seems unrealistic to assume that people in their 50's or 60's can be starting up businesses- many of them in their spare time- and that the businesses will be successful. But that depends on how you measure success and for many, a successful business won't need to support a growing family, or buy a first house. A successful business will only need to contribute enough income to help make the ends meet - and so again I say that the internet is a perfect medium on which to build a wave of new businesses.
Here are the four reasons why I believe that home online business is what many will choose:
1. There are lots of different business models to choose from and they can all work. A small, very niche focused retail site or one that offers more products, still within a tightly defined market is a viable internet business. So too is the sale of "information products" or the creation of clubs catering to specific interests. This could be the time when your ecentric hobby is about to pay for itself. Even if you can't write anything yourself, you can get involved in affiliate marketing - sending leads to other stores. Sell collectables on Amazon or eBay. There is an endless variety of business models.
2. Because the internet (which by the way is still growing in leaps and bounds) is so big it means first of all that you aren't restricted to selling something that would necessarily be successful where you live. The limitations of geography - to some extent- won't matter. And because you can sell to an individual, regardless of who or where they are, the fact that maybe only one in a thousand people has even heard of what you want to sell, won't matter, because you have a marketplace that can still deliver thousands of potential buyers to you store - once you know how to be found.
3. Compared to other types of business start up- the barriers to entry that an online start up needs to deal with can be relatively minor. You can start a business without paying for rent, or fixtures or decorating. You don't need to hire any staff, you don't even need to carry any inventory or package and ship the products yourself. There is of course and investment, and a learning curve, but at least you don't need to ante up fifty grand to buy a franchise.
4. Software to create and manage websites is easier now than it has ever been. It's also very affordable, so the technology barriers that existed only a few years ago, have largely fallen down. There will be many new skills that the next generation of online business owners will need to master, but many will also find that it's not such a bad thing to stretch the old noggin again.
I'm not here to convince you to start an online business. I'm just expressing an opinion that it's a route that necessity is forcing a lot of people into and more than that- it is a viable route. Just watch and see what happens over the next year or so because the world is in something of a mess right now. The baby boomers are in danger of losing their retirement. But they're not done for yet. You have a ringside seat to view a Phoenix Phenomenon- watching the baby boom generation rescue their retirement from the ashes of Wall Street. - 16928
There are probably a few better ideas than working til you drop dead, but they don't seem to be presenting themselves right now. In fact, I can't recall anytime in my life when the prospects - overall- have looked quite so bleak for the fifty plus generation- a.k.a. Baby Boomers. But there is one option that I think is workable and ironically, it wouldn't have been here if this mess had happened ten years ago. But I think the internet presents an opportunity for those who are close to retirement to make the ends meet. I think the number of online home businesses are about to explode.
Perhaps it seems unrealistic to assume that people in their 50's or 60's can be starting up businesses- many of them in their spare time- and that the businesses will be successful. But that depends on how you measure success and for many, a successful business won't need to support a growing family, or buy a first house. A successful business will only need to contribute enough income to help make the ends meet - and so again I say that the internet is a perfect medium on which to build a wave of new businesses.
Here are the four reasons why I believe that home online business is what many will choose:
1. There are lots of different business models to choose from and they can all work. A small, very niche focused retail site or one that offers more products, still within a tightly defined market is a viable internet business. So too is the sale of "information products" or the creation of clubs catering to specific interests. This could be the time when your ecentric hobby is about to pay for itself. Even if you can't write anything yourself, you can get involved in affiliate marketing - sending leads to other stores. Sell collectables on Amazon or eBay. There is an endless variety of business models.
2. Because the internet (which by the way is still growing in leaps and bounds) is so big it means first of all that you aren't restricted to selling something that would necessarily be successful where you live. The limitations of geography - to some extent- won't matter. And because you can sell to an individual, regardless of who or where they are, the fact that maybe only one in a thousand people has even heard of what you want to sell, won't matter, because you have a marketplace that can still deliver thousands of potential buyers to you store - once you know how to be found.
3. Compared to other types of business start up- the barriers to entry that an online start up needs to deal with can be relatively minor. You can start a business without paying for rent, or fixtures or decorating. You don't need to hire any staff, you don't even need to carry any inventory or package and ship the products yourself. There is of course and investment, and a learning curve, but at least you don't need to ante up fifty grand to buy a franchise.
4. Software to create and manage websites is easier now than it has ever been. It's also very affordable, so the technology barriers that existed only a few years ago, have largely fallen down. There will be many new skills that the next generation of online business owners will need to master, but many will also find that it's not such a bad thing to stretch the old noggin again.
I'm not here to convince you to start an online business. I'm just expressing an opinion that it's a route that necessity is forcing a lot of people into and more than that- it is a viable route. Just watch and see what happens over the next year or so because the world is in something of a mess right now. The baby boomers are in danger of losing their retirement. But they're not done for yet. You have a ringside seat to view a Phoenix Phenomenon- watching the baby boom generation rescue their retirement from the ashes of Wall Street. - 16928
About the Author:
By Louise Collins, author of Start Up Mistakes. Bad business decision making cost her $20,000. Learn what she did wrong.
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