One Coach

What are your plans for retirement?  Do you plan to relax in a comfortable chair, drinking tea, and watching the trees dance to the wind? Do you plan on reading all the books you have postponed because of lack of time? No? That’s actually a very good choice.

When they retire, most people wish to remain as active as before, with a little twist… they want to remain active while doing what they love.  This is why many decide to start a business; they’ve got the time, the energy, the experience, and some money.

Retirement is the perfect stage to become your own boss, and here are six reasons why.

1. First, money.
   Most people don’t retire wealthy.  By starting your own business, you can earn some money to add to your wealth, be it that you have enough to live comfortably or want some extra cash.  You can use part of your retirement money to start your venture.
2. Second, time.
   Accept it, after retiring you will have a lot of time on your hands.  You can spend your time thinking about creative business ideas, and take your time implementing them well.  You can choose your schedule, work part-time or full-time, so that you can still do other activities like traveling or relaxing, and you can take a vacation anytime!
3. Third, experience.
   After so many years of life and living, you are indeed an expert on how the business world works.  You know about good customer service, you can feel what people want, and you are a great communicator.  You acknowledge the great feeling that comes from doing a job right, and you know how to take calculated risks.
4. Fourth, energy.
   You are still full of energy and your mind is sharp, maybe even more so than before.  You can put all your energy into a worthy project instead of letting it die while you sit in front of the TV.
5. Fifth, control.
   You probably know what it feels like to have a boss and to have someone else make all the rules, whether these worked for you or not.  If you start a business, YOU make the rules, and you will succeed or fail on your own terms, with your decisions and knowledge.
6. Sixth, passion.
   Have you been lucky enough to work on something you love?  Probably not, most of us settle for a 9 to 5 schedule doing something we don’t find appealing just because we have to make a living.  Our passions are mostly left for weekends or free time, but not after you retire!  Once you do, you can devote all your time to what you love, and get paid to do it.

To begin with, connect with what you are passionate about.  The more passionate you are about something, the more people will want to buy from you, because passion can be felt.

Then, create a business plan for what you want to sell.  Keep it simple, and if you need help, get some business coaching, hit the library, browse the Internet, or get some business books for small business owners.

If you want help running your business, ask other retirees.  There are lots of groups and organizations of retirees that give free advice to anyone starting a business.

Today, retirement should be seen as the opportunity to have a new life; don’t let it slip between your fingers.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.onecoach.com as the original source).

Are you looking ahead and setting goals for 2010? Here are a few quick tips that your business can use to flourish in the New Year:

1. Find out who your ideal client is and make sure you’re marketing to them.

For any business to succeed, knowing your ideal target market is an absolute must have. Who are the ideal people to purchase your products and services? Why do they want to come to you instead of your competition? Which group of people would you love to work with? Take some time to interview some of your top clients to create an “ideal client profile” and adjust your marketing so that it will speak to them and their wants and needs.

2. Find the time to work on your business, not in it.

When was the last time you evaluated your business operations? Are you too busy dealing with customers, answering phones, creating invoices and running your company? Acquire the necessary infrastructure so that you won’t have to rely on yourself to do everything. Get help in the areas where you don’t excel so that you can spend more time on the things you’re good at. The goal is to have your business perform well without you so that you can spend time on the things that will make your business move forward and grow. Create a model that will ensure things get done right from top to bottom.

3. Create a long-term plan.

What is it that you want from your business? Where do you want your business to be next month? In a year? In five years? Set step by step goals that are achievable. For example, figure out how many sales you must have in order to meet your revenue goals. That way you know what to aim for. Find out what is working and what isn’t and make sure you’re spending time daily to reach toward your goals. Find the right people to help you get the proper strategies in place and keep you accountable. This will help you avoid mistakes and prevent having to rebound from any major setbacks later.

4. Build strong social media channels.

Every business should have a strong presence in social media. It’s not going away. For example, a few months ago Facebook was close to 300,000,000 users. It’s now accounting for more than 70% of the entire Internet population. What’s more is that social media will significantly increase in 2010. Your clients are out there. Whether you’re a dog trainer or a business consulting, it’s very important to start engaging with your target market online.

5. Seek help.

We know that running your business can be difficult and growing your business is even harder. You’ve put all your time and energy into your business and you’ve sacrificed time for yourself and with your family. That’s why at OneCoach, we help our clients take the right steps, in the right order to grow their businesses. We’re committed to helping you achieve your business goals and to live the life you’ve always wanted. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, we’re here to help. Click here to learn more about our Business Coaching programs that are specifically designed to help your unique business succeed.

Is this the year that you and your business will grow to extraordinary levels? That’s up to you.

Is your website fulfilling its purpose? Is it driving leads, building relationships and generating sales to your business every day? Watch this strategy video with John Assaraf and Adrian Ulsh to learn the fundamentals of making your website effective and stand out from your competition.

To learn more ways to grow your business, sign up for a complimentary Business Growth Assessment.

I recently recorded this video about The Power of Setting Goals for people interested in achieving the life of their dreams. I wanted to share this with you since being able to set and achieve goals is such an important part of running a business as well.

If you watch this and want to know more about how to achieve all your business goals, then I recommend you sign up for a complimentary business assessment with one of our certified OneCoach advisors. During this one-on-one session, they will guide you on how you can take your business from where you are to where you want to be.

Enjoy and feel free to share this with others! To sign up for that complimentary business assessment, go to www.OneCoach.com/grow.

John Assaraf

Part two of this series is here; part one of the series is here.

See part two of the series here.

We’ve all been through it at least once in our lives. We decide to make a change: Make more money, lose weight, quit smoking, start exercising, whatever. We set goals and work toward them. And for a while, there is progress.

Then we start to slip, and before we know it we are back where we started. This happens all the time. The source of the backsliding isn’t that people lack self-motivation or willpower. The primary reason that so many people don’t achieve their objectives is that they have no idea how to create workable goals and maintain the forward motion necessary to make them happen.

Successful people are masters at setting and reaching goals. If you interact with people who have “made it,” you will see patterns that anyone can apply. Here are seven goal-achieving “musts” from the “success masters”:

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