You’ve been working now for 25 or 30 years. Suddenly, you wake up one morning and a question starts to form in your mind. Maybe you start to feel bored, wondering if you really can do this for another 15 years day in and day out. Maybe you’re starting to feel scared. You see these young kids coming in and they don’t care about having a career at one company for their whole lives and suddenly you wonder if your company cares if you have a career for another 15 years. Are you looking at your retirement, kids college, and other expenses and you are starting to get worried about your future (financial or otherwise?) Well I have great news for you, according to Seth Godin 50 is the new 30!
“Baby boomers continue to redefine our culture, because there’s just so many of us, we’re used to being the center of attention.
Add into that the fact that we’re living much longer and careers are becoming more flexible and it’s pretty clear that in just about every cultural respect, fifty year olds are living, acting and looking more like thirty year olds every day.”
One way to increase your satisfaction with life (and your income) is to have a business that you love to work on. While working full time it can be tough to start a business. With today’s technology there are many things you can do that make it much easier because you can do something for just a few hours a week until things start to pick up. A website is a great way to dip your toes into the wealth of the internet and see if you have what it takes to be a business owner. If you are older you have great wisdom, tips, and tricks that you can pass off the the next generation. You can teach or coach one-on-one, write a blog, create a product to sell, or create videos about your knowledge. It is no longer difficult to create a website and if you can write an email, you can learn to build a website with today’s technology. Here are some things to think about before taking the plunge.
It will take time
You won’t be able to create your online business in a week and start rolling in the money. It does take time to create content and get all of that information out of your head. One thing you need to realize is that you can do it one article or video at a time. The slow growth of the content happens with determination and persistence and suddenly people start to find out about you and what you are doing. It’s not just a case of “If you build it, they will come”, but if you put in the work and start to learn what it takes, you can realize that although it takes work, it isn’t hard work, it is just the little things done consistently that will make a difference.
If you don’t want to sell an idea or knowledge but you (or your spouse) have skills making a physical product (sweaters, quilts, or other handmade items) you might try selling a few on ebay or etsy. Just create a single product and post it and see how things go. If you don’t know where to start there are lots of youtube videos and how to articles on google that can help. The big thing is to give something a try and see how easy it really can be. You might find that you aren’t cut out for sales. I worked with one lady who loved the idea of making aprons, blankets, and other items but when it came down to it she hated actually selling the items. The act of sitting at a table selling them was not how she wanted to spend her time. It ruined the experience for her but she knows now what aspects of her business she likes and what isn’t worth it to her to work on.
Relatively inexpensive
It used to be that starting a business required a ton of capital (tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.) Today you can have your own beautiful website up and running for less than $150. You can sell things using PayPal and other processors for just a small fee of the item’s selling price. Because of the way the internet works you can test a market without pre-ordering thousands of items. If you have an idea you think might be worth marketing, then give it a shot. Put up a simple web page for your product and see how people react to it.
Building a business is so much fun. I personally love the challenge and absolutely enjoy helping people to take what they are truly passionate about (hint, it’s not usually sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day) and turning that into a way to make some money. When you start to feel the freedom and the possibilities of making your own living and not being tied down it really opens up your eyes about life and your future.
Recommended Reading
If any of the ideas in this article stuck out to you and you think you might want to know more about this I recommend you pick up a copy of The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. It is an OUTSTANDING book that talks about ways to live your life the way you want and learn to not waste your time sitting and working for others. In a lot of cases you can make small changes to your daily routine and in just a few months have a completely different life. You don’t have to just get through the next 15 years of work. Take some time and think about what you want in your life. Live your life, don’t just save it for retirement. You’re never to old to start a business, especially online.
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