7. Senior Care

Some people are not looking forward to retirement—they are not ready to settle into a golf routine and move to Florida just yet. Or, they may be looking for a way to supplement their retirement savings. The answer: launch a start-up. In fact, according to a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report, 18 percent of those involved in early-stage entrepreneurship are over 55 and 7.9 percent are over 65. These are the seven businesses people are starting most often after they retire and here is a story on five reasons you should consider starting a business and postponing your retirement.

After spending a career working in a certain industry, you’ve likely garnered expert status. By opening a consulting agency you can capitalize on the knowledge you’ve acquired throughout the course of your working life. Businesses will want to tap into the network and information you’ve gathered for help reaching a particular client base or for your tried and true ways to market a product or service.

Just because you’ve retired doesn’t mean that you’ve lost the ability to grab the attention of others and speak with boardroom authority. A professional speaking start-up has endless potential. You can market yourself to be an expert speaker in your industry, infuse excitement and creativity into office retreats and brainstorming sessions, or be a motivational as well as problem-solving speaker for a variety of niche audiences in offices, events, or conferences.

By launching an online business, you can maximize the flexibility your company’s medium allows. Work wherever, whenever. All that’s really needed is a basic Internet connection and the ability to reach your start-up’s team. As long as your business is well organized you won’t even have to invest in an office and all of the other accoutrements and expenses that come along with a brick-and-mortar store. You can work comfortably at home and capitalize on the endless possibilities of an online business, whether it’s pursuing your true passion or finding a new way to utilize those honed career skills.

It’s not going to happen overnight, but by creating a credible, well-followed blog with valuable, expert advice, it’s possible to bring in more than mere pennies for your thoughts. The blog can be the tip of a start-up iceberg by promoting a service or product and bringing in funding, or it could be a form of self-advertising for a reputable, specialized, and knowledgeable blogging business.

Running a franchise can provide a great blend of structure and freedom, which is great, especially if you’ve been working under someone your whole career. Franchises are a valid way to pursue your passion or interest without having to start everything from the ground up. Innovation still exists to a reasonable extent and you can look to the franchises of others for guidance and assurance.

The daydream of many, opening a bed-and-breakfast is a great, retiree-friendly start-up. What the idea lacks in originality it makes up for in freedom and creative opportunities. A B&B also lends itself well to someone wanting to live in a particular area and take a step back from a corporate day-to-day workload. However, despite the casual environment, you still have the power to control the design, vibe, and desired client base of the B&B, allowing it to be customized to fit your desires and those of the market. You can start your B&B from scratch or take part in a franchise opportunity.

You’re aging. You’ve seen your parents age as well, and likely even your own children. This makes the retiring generation particularly equipped to provide aid for others. If you haven’t cared for someone close to you throughout the years, you at least have a better understanding and respect for the needs of the generation above, and often first-hand knowledge of the difficulties of the system. Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, persons 85 years old and up are the fastest growing group of the elderly, so the needs of the market shouldn’t wane.

— Caitlin Berens