6 Things Seniors Should Know About Starting a Home-Based Business
Guest Blog by Carla Lopez
Looking for a simple way to earn extra income during retirement? You’re not alone. More seniors are continuing to work after retirement, even if that work is only part-time. Their reasons range from staying connected to other people to paying off debts, but not matter the reason, simple is always better when it comes to working during your golden years. A home-based business can provide that simplicity as well as the following perks:
Home-Based Businesses Provide Seniors With Flexibility
If you need to work during retirement, you still want to have some time to really enjoy your golden years. So if you still plan on traveling during retirement or making time for other hobbies that improve your quality of life, you need the flexibility that working from home can provide. A home-based business allows you to create your own schedule and work at your own pace, so you can easily fit in the relaxing and fun activities you need for a satisfying retirement.
Seniors Can Choose From a Variety of Home-Based Business Options
So you may be wondering, what can you do to earn an income from home? The answer is just about anything but you need to be careful about choosing a legitimate business option. For seniors, the most convenient ways to work from home can include helping professionals polish their resumes, editing or writing online articles or even providing customer service for larger businesses. If you have a creative side, you can also make a decent amount of money by selling arts and crafts online, with sites like Etsy and even Amazon.
Retired Seniors Can Put Career Skills to Work as a Consultant
For seniors retiring from successful careers, a consulting business can be also nice fit. This is an especially inexpensive and low effort home-based business to start, since you already have the connections and experience you need to land those first clients. If you need to connect with additional clients, social media sites like LinkedIn are a good tech tool to use. You can set up a basic account for free or pay a small fee for additional networking features.
Home-Based Businesses are Fairly Inexpensive to Start
If your primary reason for starting your own business is to earn extra income, you don’t want something that will require enormous start-up costs. Which is why a home-based business may make perfect sense. If you’ve already set up your home office space, you really only need to worry about buying an easy-to-use laptop to get your business up and running. Although other start-up costs can apply as well, so you may want to look for senior business funding options.
Professionally Designed Websites are a Simple Way to Promote Success
When you secure additional start-up funds, consider putting those funds toward the development of your business website. Hiring a website developer will ensure that your site is unique and professional. When it comes to hiring web devs, Upwork explains that the right person should specifically meet your website’s needs, whether that means handling data management or making forms and menus more visually-appealing, so take your time reviewing portfolios and candidates. Bear in mind that you want to find the right fit, since fees can be expensive, ranging anywhere from $30 to $150 an hour.
Productivity Tools Can Help Drive Focus and Discipline
Of course, having more flexibility can be tricky to get used to, so think about using productivity tools to keep yourself on track. Treat your home-based business tasks like any other work tasks, try to complete them as early as possible and be sure to create a space in your home where you can really concentrate. A small home office doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective, so don’t worry about this maxing out your budget. With $100, you can set up a desk, get a comfy chair and create a work space you will enjoy spending time in each day.
The basics of a home-based business may seem too simple to be true. Really though, these types of businesses are simple to start and manage. This could be the perfect way for you to make some extra money in retirement, without sacrificing your comfort or lifestyle. So really give this easy money-maker some thought!
Photo Credit: Pixabay
BIO:
Carla Lopez retired a couple of years ago, but she didn’t lose her entrepreneurial spirit. She created Boomer Biz for retirees like herself who still have a desire to work and achieve. The site is a resource for people in their golden years who want to start their own business or go back to work doing what they love. https://www.boomerbiz.org/
