* The number of women starting businesses today is double the number of men.

* Women now account for 55-60% of new startups.

* The number of women-owned companies has doubled in the last 25 years.

* According to the Labor Department, baby boomers and older make up 54% of the self-employed.

Yes, there are various reasons baby boomer women might feel called to start their own business.. perhaps the desire to take on a new challenge,  but also economic reasons…  many have seen their retirement fund severely damaged by the economic crisis  of this past year… they feel compelled to use their knowledge of the business world to recoup their losses.  

For women who have had jobs over the years, the internet presents a new freedom…  an ideal opportunity for them to have their home business and offer consulting, coaching, writing and whatever they decide they would like to do, as independent entrepreneurs.

They have what it takes… attitude,  experience,  the tools,  the skills and
the know-how to set successful goals.

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Yesterday I introduced the subject of boomers making money at home,
this is the first of the 12 ways mentioned:

I wrote my title yesterday as Boomers making money online but there a few other ways a person can make money at home after retiring from a fulll-time job and I’ll mention some.

Assuming that by the age of 60 a person has learned many skills in a line of work, that presents possibilities for offering some kind of service related to their expertise

For instance a plumber who has spent years working with plumbing companies could decide for whatever personal reasons to quit the daily grind of having to show up for work between certain hours every day, or maybe the decision has been made for him in the economy we’re having today.

Well there are many people who will be very happy to get someone who knows how to fix their toilet, a leaky faucet or whatever their need is, for a good fee without having to call a plumbing company,waiting to fit into their schedule and then pay their exorbitant fees…

A flyer posted in places like a laundromat for instance would get him some calls from people in a certain neighborhood and it would only take a couple of jobs to get this plumber boomer plenty of recommendations from satisfied customers to be successful and enjoy his new freedom. 

Bookkeeping is another service that many small businesses need on a part-time basis and a boomer retiring from a company job can offer part-time bookkeeping services working from her home. She could even get started scouting around before she retires…

For types of work that are physically too demanding for some older boomers, there should be possibilities to do some advising type of work teaching or guiding younger homeowners how to do some things to maintain their landscaping or other types of maintenance work in their house.

And that leads right into the subject of writing some How-To manuals! The world is your oyster if you decide to enter that field… if you have a computer and an internet connection to do some research, you can write 10 to 20 pages manuals (usually called reports nowadays) on a myriad of subjects… You write it once, set up a selling mechanism and it keeps on bringing in money…

People buy information about all kinds of hobbies such as collecting things, handicraft such as knitting, scrapbooking… gourmet cooking and on and on…

All kinds of leisure activies such as golf, camping, rock climbing, running,
biking, surfing, shopping, gourmet cooking, fishing, genealogy…

It is best to hone in on a certain aspect of the subject you are going to write about… for example you would write about a certain type of
fishing you are very familiar with… you would write about a particular kind of gourmet cooking like baking or hors-d’oeuvres…

When you get get started on a subject you care about, you would have no problem producing 10 to 20 pages… it doesn’t take a particular talent, you just write as if you were talking with a friend, a good test for that is to read out loud what you have written. Then have a couple of people read it for spelling and grammar mistakes… heck all bona fide writers have editors in publishing houses…

Boomers who have some computer skills can make money at home offering help to Internet business owners who are overwhelmed by all the tasks involved in running their business.

The big buzz in internet circles right now is the need marketers are having for good outsourcing help…

They need help setting up a website or any part of setting up or maintaining a website…

Troubleshooting problems (answering support questions)

Running the customer support remote customer desk…

Doing keyword research…

Creating products…

Installing scripts and forms…

Driving traffic to their websites…

Writing articles… submitting articles to directories…

And much, much more…

By concentrating on producing income from her business, the owner can produce two or more dollars in income to cover the one dollar paid for outsourcing, while at the same time adding to her quality of life.

So there you have it, ideas that you boomers can develop to suit your particular skills and lifestyle desires… while you enjoy your new freedom.

I know you need resources to facilitate some of the projects mentioned…I will list some useful links in another post… watch Apprentice Marketer Gazette for further posts about boomers making money and other related subjects.

Fran

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1.     Decide why you want to unclutter and get organized.

Set goals for why and where you want to end up after you’re done.  For example, I want to have $5000 to make a down payment on a small RV so I can travel, or I want to take 3 truckloads of stuff to Goodwill so I can move into a condo.  Setting goals reminds you of why you’re doing what you’re doing, even if the going gets tough.

2.    Take stock of what you have.

When you stop and look around you with new eyes, you may be amazed/overwhelmed at how much you have accumulated over the years.  Don’t beat yourself up about it, just go through each room with new eyes and make decisions. 

3.    Have everyone in the household pitch in

Teamwork is in order to get this big job done in a timely manner.  The members of your home may have different reasons for getting rid of the clutter, but if you all pitch in the job will get done before you lose interest.

4.    Start small so you won’t get overwhelmed.

Take it step by step, room by room.  If you’ve got a lot to do, start with a closet. The more you do, the better you get at it.  If you simply can’t get started, think about getting a professional in to help you.  A caring friend can add a helping hand as well.

5.    Devise a system.

Use bags or piles labeled Keep/Throw/Charity/Storage.  Having a specific bag to put each thing in helps you move forward instead of becoming overwhelmed because you can’t think of what to do.

6.    Keep it going with anything that enters the home.

The amount of personal mail, junk mail, newspapers, flyers, and magazines that come into your home each month can be staggering if you put off dealing with them.  After you get them initially taken care of, it’s easier to handle any incoming paper on a daily basis.

7.    Document the little things.

You may have an attorney handle your will, but sometimes there are little things you want to let you kids know about. Perhaps you want to tell them your computer password or about any of the forums you attend online.  Maybe you want to give them the combination to your storage shed.  Write it all down on one sheet of paper and give one to your kids and a copy to your attorney. 

Uncluttering is never a fun job but it’s one that gains momentum as you go along.  Keeping in mind WHY you’re doing it will help.  The amazing thing about clearing out all that stuff is you feel so good when it’s done.  Suddenly, you feel free to go on and try new adventures in your life. 

You’ve gotten rid of the old and cleared the way for the new, and I’m not just talking about new material possessions, although there is nothing wrong with that, but brand new freedom.

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