Business Insights

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.

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In the last year, social media has become very popular.  Everybody is talking about it and almost every online marketer has used it. However, most of them have failed at it. Why? They just don’t get the way it works. I am about to share with you some of the things we discovered promoting over 80 clients using social media.

1. Don’t Steal Other People’s Work
I see this all the time. Someone takes the time to create a group, sends them great information, and builds a relationship with his followers. Then someone else wants to take advantage of this group that took the owner so much work to put together and starts posting promotional comments about his own company. Needless to say, these comments are always removed and the poster ends up looking like a spammer. If you want to succeed in Social Media, create your own group and post your own content, don’t try to cash on someone else’s efforts.

2. Avoid Self-Promotion
Don’t talk about yourself and your company all the time. People don’t care about it. Give them something of value, build relationships, and get people to trust you. Let them know what you do but don’t try to sell them anything. They will call you when they are ready to buy.

3. First Give, then Ask
Don’t you just hate it when someone sends you an email every other day asking you to do something (check out a website or register to get their free ebook) but they don’t do anything for you? We encourage some of our clients to join lead groups. The first thing we recommend that they do is to send leads to other members. Then these members start sending leads their way. That’s how it works. 95% of the people take, take, and take. They never give. Do things the other way around and I guarantee that you’ll be noticed.

4. Use Your Real Name
I get about 10 friend requests per day on Facebook and LinkedIn from companies. I ignore all of them. If you want to network with me, tell me who you are and show me your face.

5. Do It Only if You Enjoy It
I love meeting people and networking. I love having conversations with strangers and exchange ideas. I am not always thinking about how I can make money out of the person I am talking to. If you don’t enjoy the process, you are not likely to be successful at it. People can read between lines and they can tell if all you care about is their money.

6. Don’t Annoy Your Followers
Send them a message or a request only if they will be useful to them and don’t do it ten times per week. I immediately unsubscribe from lists that send me more than 3 messages per week. This guy sent me 15 emails per day last week! That’s not the way to get others to buy your stuff. Monitor the number of people that unsubscribe from your lists. If that number is too high, revise your strategy.

Follow these tips and you’ll have a strong basis in utilizing social media for your business!