3 Tips for Starting an Online Business During Retirement
You thought you’d kick back, relax, and enjoy the good life. After decades of working hard, you earned the break. You’ve got the rest of your life to make the most of every day, doing what you love and pursuing your passions. But what if you’re not quite ready to spend your retirement idling poolside?
Maybe you want to start a business to keep your mind sharp. Maybe you miss having something to dedicate your day to. Or perhaps you need added income, but you don’t want to reenter the traditional workforce. The good news is starting your own business, even as a senior citizen, is not as hard as you might think. While there is a lot of competition online, the e-commerce industry is thriving this year. If you’re looking to start an online business post-retirement, here are some tips to help you get started.
Decide on a Business Model
There are lots of ways to sell products online. As well as different strategies to make your business more valuable in the current times. You could do print-on-demand apparel, which means you submit a design to a platform, and they fulfill orders for customers on your behalf. You handle all the marketing and advertising efforts by running a website and posting listings to your store. There’s also dropshipping, where you order an inventory of products, market and ship them out on your own. Some business owners send their products to a local warehouse, which then fulfills orders on their behalf.
You could also be an independent seller. If you make your own goods, then this is the number one platform to market your products. Combined with online or social media marketing, you could build a business that earns you money for making things you love. There are also options that don’t involve e-commerce. You could go into consulting, using your previous professional experience to help mentor a new generation.
Think About How Much Money You’ll Need
Most online businesses require little capital, but you still need funding to scale your company. While setting up an online store is little to no cost, you will need to pay for high-quality branding assets, like a logo and good website. It pays you back generously to invest in professional marketing for your brand. You can hire independent marketers and branding consultants on freelance platforms.
Depending on your own level of knowledge and experience, you could need several hundred to $1,000 to get started. If you don’t have this to spend out of your own pocket, think of where you could acquire the money. Some people take out home equity loans while other seniors sell their life insurance to fund post-retirement plans. You can learn all about cashing in on your insurance with a free guide. It walks you through the process step-by-step.
Take Online Courses Before You Launch
Many seniors will face a learning curve as they prepare to become entrepreneurs in. Your business will be up against brands launched by 20-somethings who grew up online. That’s okay, though. There are plenty of free resources and courses you can take to catch up to speed. There are articles online that feature great classes for beginners. They’ll help you learn to build a website, how to optimize it for search engines and how to start using the internet to promote your business.
