Tag: Encore entrepreneur

When I Finally Grow Up, I Will Be a Consultant!

If you are an over 50 “industry-expert” who is downsized or forced into “retirement” you may be able to turn your knowledge into dollars. Consultants make money from selling what they know. Oh yes, there are plenty of jokes about the increase in the number of consultants when the economy is poor, and yes almost anyone can claim to be a consultant. A good consultant, however, not only knows his or her subject but also has passion and a drive for excellence. Other characteristics a good consultant will possess are:

Business Acumen – understanding how a business operates, what drives decisions, and what make the industry unique.

Pragmatism – looking at solutions from all angles before designing, recommending, or implementing a solution.

Professionalism – committing to the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and confidentiality.

One can consult in almost any subject but the areas in current demand are: Accounting, Advertising, Auditing, Business, Business Writing, Career Counseling, Communications, Computer Consulting, Editorial Services, Executive Search, Gardening, Grant Writing, Human Resources, Insurance, Marketing, Payroll Management, Public Relations, Publishing, Taxes, Writing Services.

If you are indeed qualified by your experience and expertise to be a consultant, some other things to consider before getting out your Rolodex and hanging your sign include asking yourself…..

Are there any certifications or special licensing I will need? In some states professional fund raisers must be registered with the state before beginning your business. The National Society of Fund Raising Executives offers a certification, however it is not required for consultants to have this certification. If you thinking about becoming a computer consultant, regardless of your skills, some potential clients may want to see a collection of Microsoft certifications.

Do I like to network ? Networking is essential to the success of any type of consultant business. Begin building your network of contacts immediately.

Am I organized enough to be a consultant? Not only must you organize the data you collect or are given, you must have excellent time management skills, and an ability to organize your day.

If being the expert and solving a client’s problems is appealing, here are some steps to help you get started.

1. Renew old acquaintances and refresh your recent contacts in your chosen industry. This might even include contacting the company that downsized or “retired” you to see if they use former employees as consultants.

2. Write out your mission statement of what you intend to help your customers achieve with your consulting help. Keep it under 25 words!

3. Go through your files and look for letters of commendation, awards, etc. Contact friendly outsiders who have expressed a willingness to write testimonials in your behalf.

4. Examine any special insurance, bonding, etc. you will need in your chosen field, such as errors and omissions insurance. Find vendors and get cost quotes.

5. Decide on a business name and get a professionally-designed logo. If you are on a tight budget, you can get matching business cards, letterhead, and envelopes through online sites. Consider: Zazzle.com, vistaprint, US.moo.com.

6. Create a website that is simple in construction and professional in appearance. You can customize a template offered by a web hosting company, use software such as Dreamweaver or MS FrontPage, or find a local developer to work with.

7. Decide if you will need a one-page Letter of Agreement or will need an extensive contract to conduct your business. If you will need a formal contract, find a local business attorney to work with.

Share Your Knowledge and Expertise.

February 4, 2014
A Few Tips for Those Who Are Reluctantly Considering Becoming Entrepreneurs

Are you a Reluctant Halfpreneur? You’ve never wanted to start your own business. You like working for someone else. There are benefits, a stable paycheck, and people who you enjoy working with. Start your own business! No way!

Then …… Management changed and your position changed too, and not for the better. Perhaps you are a parent and you have lost the flexibility to come in early so you can leave early for your children’s sporting events. Or, the handwriting is on the wall – your job or your whole company is at risk and local opportunities for someone with your skill set are nil. Or you thought that your career was secure for the next 5, 10, 15 years, but now you are over 55 and out of work. The odds of finding another comparable position in your field are slim. Not impossible, but all the government and business statistics warn that it will take you much longer to find a job than it will for a 40 year old. Part-time at fast food service or retail sales is not what you have in mind when your unemployment compensation runs out.

If your experience does not immediately translate into something you can start your own business in and it is important to you that you work at something professional, with a potential for good pay, and offers the opportunity to interact with interesting people, where do you look for ideas. There are some career and life coaches that specialize in working with individuals in the position that you find yourself and be able to help you find your passion. Before going the coaching route, here are two more reasonably priced options.

Look over the catalogs for your local colleges, especially community colleges. Take a look at what is being offered in certificate programs and in their noncredit programs. These offerings will indicate what may be in demand in your community. You may want to earn a certificate or take a course or maybe you have the background to make the transition into this new field. Employment or self-employment in this new field may be possible.

Visit http://www.entrepreneurbookstore.com. They sell two types of books: kits to help you start your own business that generally cost $69 and start-up books that retail around $18 – $22. The kits have business forms and worksheets and walk you through the entire planning process. The start-up books have plenty of information about the business and how to start it, but not the forms. If you are exploring your possibilities, the books are helpful. I purchased one recently thinking that it represented an area I could expand my current business into. Well, I could go that route, but I discovered that there were many aspects of this new business venture that would not be a good fit with my current life style. I got some ideas I might use so it was $19.99 well spent.

Since Entrepreneur Press is the publisher (my only affiliation with Entrepreneur magazine is that I subscribe to it) many of the kits and start-up books are appropriate for those with a professional or administrative background. Title include: Public Relations, Event Planning, Consulting, Freight Brokerage, Tutoring and Test Preparation, Executive Recruiting, Staffing, Online education, Import- Export, Home Inspection, College Planning Consultant.

Event Planning

If more than one idea interests you, research it further – interview someone who does this type of work; research your local market; talk to the former executives who staff your local SCORE office or visit or agencies (at colleges, Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Bureau) that assist those starting new businesses. Can’t narrow down your choices – a career coach or Profiting from Your Passions coach can help. Need guidance in setting up a business – consider a new business coach.

January 30, 2014
Encore Entrepreneur vs. Encore Entrepreneur

Approximately 25 million Americans between the ages of 44 and 70 are interested in starting new businesses or nonprofits in the next five to ten years. According to the U.S. Small Business Association, 15 percent of workers between the ages of 50 to 64 are self-employed, and that figure increases to 25 percent when considering entrepreneurs who are 65 and older. A 2010 survey by the Kauffman Foundation found that Americans 55 to 64 start business ventures at a higher rate than any other age group. In 1996 approximately 14 percent of 55 to 64 year olds were entrepreneurs, now almost half the working members of this age group have started their own businesses.

Ken Haley

So what do we call these older, new entrepreneurs? The press, book authors, academics love to label people! They sometimes call them boomer entrepreneurs and they are now also calling them encore entrepreneurs.

Boomer entrepreneur is obvious. Encore entrepreneur? It’s time to enter a fuzzy, new stage of life – the encore years and the accompanying encore career. This new stage of life can begin anytime after 40 and can last well past 70.

Marc Freedman has popularized the idea in his books Encore and The Big Shift, in which an encore career means a new second career that an individual would feel good about, and would use their experience in a meaningful way to improve the quality of life in his or her community. Marci Alboher in The Encore Career Handbook concurs with this concept of an encore career.

Using their books and definition, an encore entrepreneur then would also be a social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurship is defined as using entrepreneurial techniques to achieve social change. It includes nonprofits and for-profits businesses with a social purpose. By this definition, all those 55 -64 years of age who start businesses that do not include a social purpose and improving the quality of the greater community are not encore entrepreneurs. Boomer entrepreneurs, yes, but not encore entrepreneurs.

So much for definitions. The popular press is calling older entrepreneurs, encore entrepreneurs. If someone is making a transition to being an entrepreneur after the age of 50, the author of this blog also considers them to be an encore entrepreneur. My guess is that any older entrepreneur is starting their business for profit as well as to do something that brings them meaning and pleasure.

Two examples!

Example 1

Feather a Bee – photo on a Ken Haley cell phone case

Channel 9 in Eugene Oregon considers photographer Ken Haley to be an encore entrepreneur. Ken does incredible nature photography, but he is not a social entrepreneur. He hopes his photographs will inspire a response and if they sell, that’s a plus. He sells cards, posters, prints, and cell phone cases. His work can be found at http://www.redbubble.com/people/kensabe

Example 2

Judi Thompson-Henderson

Judi Townsend-Henderson became an encore entrepreneur in her mid-40s, creating a mannequin recycling business. Her recycling business is credited with saving 100,000 pounds of mannequins from landfills in a single year. Learn more at http://mannequinmadness.com/.

I will be using both terms. If you are over 50, look for blog posts on Encore Entrepreneurs, Boomer Entrepreneurs, and their half-time variation – halfpreneur.

July 22, 2013