Starting a business in retirement in Nigeria can offer many benefits. If done properly, a retirement business can not only help fill a retiree’s time and replace their work identity, it can also help make their retirement savings last longer.
A retirement expert, who authored “The naked Retirement,” Robert Laura, offers the following tips on doing business as a retiree:
Don’t jump: Obviously, the most important part is “done properly.” Unfortunately, I see many people make the jump to entrepreneurship unprepared for the mental and financial toll it can take. Instead of providing joy, fulfillment and reducing the burden on their savings, it can consume both them and their nest egg.
Prepare your mind: New business owners who develop their own product or service often endure criticism and disappointment. When you’re employed or selling someone’s products you’re usually less attached to it emotionally. That makes it easier to criticise the operation and shift responsibility or blame when things don’t go well. If it’s your own idea or service, however, you not only carry the financial burden, but the emotional load as well. We live in a capitalistic society, which means you’ll run into people who don’t like what you have to offer, who don’t want you to succeed, doubt your ability to make it work, and will let you and others know how they feel. If you’re not prepared to deal with the mental anguish and the trials and tribulations that come from hanging out your own shingle and developing your own product or service, consider buying into an existing business with a proven track record, or partnering with someone who will help share the emotional liability.
Dont start from the top: You can’t spend your way to success. Too often, I see new business owners spend unnecessarily trying to fulfill their idea of being a business owner. Even before they get their first client they invest in the latest and greatest tablet, cell-phone, CRM software, website, or office space to prove to themselves and others that they are in business and ready to make money. However, starting and running a successful business has very little to do with how much flashy things one has, or how new it is. It’s more about your mind set and the sacrifices you’re willing to make to make it work.
Remember a basic rule of thumb: Use business revenue to grow your business, not retirement savings.
Expect the unexpected: New business owners need to build in contingencies as well. Among the biggest threats to any new business is under-capitalisation, not having enough money to carry on in face of difficulties, industry changes, or unexpected requirements.
Fall in love with the work not the numbers: Understanding the financial of a new business can be one of the most difficult and frustrating things for new entrepreneurs. A business, especially your own, can start out exciting as you dream of the freedom, financial gain, and ability to impact someone else’s life. But businesses live and die, based on how much work it takes to make it succeed, not the numbers on paper.
Source: Dailytrust