Awaken Dreams Success Coaching: Entrepreneurship Is Perfect for Retirement

by Debi Auger

Welcome to Part 4 of my "Entrepreneurship is Perfect for..." Series

Entrepreneurship IS perfect for retirement in so many ways. Times have certainly changed retirement and for many, it's not for the better... especially our Baby Boomers who have now started retiring. So let's look at entrepreneurship as a Retirement Plan for various age groups shall we?

First Let's Define These Generations

The Greatest Generation includes veterans who fought in World War II and those born between 1901 - 1924.

The Silent Generation includes those too young to join the service in World War II, born between 1925 - 1945 and commonly called the "children of the Great Depression."
The Baby Boomers were born following World War II between 1946 - 1964.
Generation X includes those born between 1965 - 1981.
Generation Y, or "the Millenials," includes those born between 1982 - 1999.
And that leads us to the current generation... Generation Z or "the Internet Generation."

The Greatest and Silent Generations

The men and women of the Greatest and Silent Generations have already retired, but for some that still means working part time because they can't afford to live otherwise. A foray into entrepreneurship may not be the first choice for them, but I wouldn't rule it out. Especially if they have an idea and possibly interested family to start a business with. It could be a very gratifying experience.

The Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers started reaching "retirement age" a couple years ago. According to surveys done by the Associated Press and LifeGoesStrong.com in 2011:

60% lost value in investments because of the economic crisis
42% are delaying retirement
25% claim they'll never retire (currently still working)

Seriously?? NEVER retire?? OMG what kind of life is that?? Let me tell you, I feel for this generation... BIG time! These are the folks who believed in loyalty in the workplace. They went to college or started working and they were dedicated, stayed at their jobs, were loyal to their employers, expected (and often received) loyalty in return. And they believe that's the way it should be. (So do I.)

My parents are Baby Boomers. And the sweeping changes in the workplace where loyalty no longer matters have often been discussed among us. They find it absolutely incredible how things have changed so terribly. I mention this because it has become an unfortunate M.O. now for companies to terminate employees reaching retirement age (luckily not my parents, but we've noticed the trend). They're left stuck trying to get someone to hire them at their age, knowing it's not likely. And that CEO who decided this was "in the company's best interests" just ruined this person's life; all he got for his years of loyalty was a huge smack in the face. Unfortunately such is life in our society now. It's disgusting and I for one am determined that MY company will NOT treat employees this way.

Nonetheless it's the harsh reality faced by many Boomers. But, with the luxury of the internet, if you're one of them, you could turn your luck around. There are so many opportunities for entrepreneurship that could help you fund your retirement, give the finger to the big banks and the losses to your 401k's and have the retirement you expected to have... and that you deserve. And the best part is that, if you build yourself a lifestyle business around something you're passionate about, it won't even feel like you're working! You can earn the money to do what you want to do AND make sure you have the TIME to DO IT.

Younger Boomers and the Generations That Follow

Some younger Boomers and the rest of the generations have an entirely different option available to them. It's doing away with the old concept of the deferred-life-plan and replacing it with a lifetime of "mini-retirements." This concept is perfectly laid out in Tim Ferriss's book "The 4-Hour Work Week." Don't let the title fool you (it was chosen via a popularity poll), the book is no joke and not a bunch of big pie-in-the-sky promises. It's full of actionable steps to rethink "retirement" and, more importantly, LIFE. And entrepreneurship is the way.

If this idea interests you and it's an option you'd like to explore further, you might want to consider my Program:

You don't need to be an artisan to take this course. It's a lifestyle business planning course in which I'll be doing Niche Selection Workshops for those who aren't sure exactly what they want to do/offer. So, if you think it's something that might interest you, stop over and learn more about the Program. But don't wait... registration closes at 12am on Thursday morning. I hope to see you there :)

And if you have any friends or colleagues you think might be interested in the Program, please share with them as well. I'd appreciate any help spreading the word :)

Much Success,