The hardest part of starting a business is knowing where to start. This website is all about the strategies and tactics of how to get started in your own business, regardless of what type of business it is. Every two weeks a new blog will be posted with containing tips, tools and tactics you need for the entrepreneurial journey.
Why we started this website
I knew I didn’t have enough money saved for retirement and as I got older there was a greater and greater chance I would be laid-off. As each year passed there was less and less chance of getting hired full-time and if I was hired, the greater the chance of future layoffs. Let’s face it. If you are over the age of 50, corporate does not want you. I would lay awake at night wondering what I could do to change things; to create hope. One thing was for certain. Continuing on the same path was a sure path to failure. If I didn’t have enough money saved after working 30+ years in corporate it wasn’t going to happen by continuing to rely on a corporate job. My strategy had to change. I realized they only way for me to have to kind of life I wanted was start my own business.
I didn’t plan on being in my 50s and being broke. I had worked my way through undergraduate and graduate school, taking advantage of tuition reimbursement from companies where I worked. I had had a decent career, first as an engineer in the telecom arena and later in project management. I had created patents; sold millions of dollars in product and services and managed multi-million dollar deployment projects. I should have been set for my retirement years. But I’m not.
And unfortunately, I’m not alone. If you are reading this, you too are likely in the same predicament.
How will this website help me?
In the blog we’ll cover topics such as:
- Getting the right mindset so you are unstoppable as you start your own business.
- Determining the right business for you based on your skills and you story.
- Is franchising an option for me?
- How can I be twice as productive as I am now?
- I’m already tired from a long day. How can I get the energy to do my own business?
- I’ve never done marketing. How do I market my business?
- Is it possible for me to live somewhere new and start a business?
And a new blog will be published about once every two weeks.
Affiliated links to resources you need to start your business and help it grow.
Guest blogs where you will learn from the best in their field.
The plight of the 50+ year old
Many have it much harder than myself. I’ve volunteered a various job programs over the years and had have heard countless heartbreaking stories. One person had worked in the real estate industry until 2008, got laid off and hadn’t worked in 3 years. I had a colleague who had worked for a company for 29 years and was fired. All because the boss didn’t like him. It pains me to meet people that have worked so hard all of their lives and get tossed aside by the corporate world. I’ve seen the pain in their eyes. People who have great ideas and can make real contributions to companies, but are let go. They don’t have enough money to retire and instead of saving for retirement they have to spend their retirement dollars to survive another day, while they desperately search for a new job. There has to be a better way than holding onto the fading dream that someone with hire them. Hire them for just for a few more years so they put away a few more dollars and maybe, just maybe, that money would be enough to buy food and keep their house. There has to be hope for people. This website is dedicated to providing that hope. If this is you, I welcome you. Together we can create the kind of life we want and truly enjoy our golden years.
Giving Back
While I have experienced difficult times, I know there are many people around the world that have a situation that is much more dire than my own. I either know it first hand from the years I have volunteered in jobs program or the stories I have seen and heard of people trying to eke out a living in order to feed their families. People that have a great idea for a business but can’t get the few dollars to start it. We believe in helping entrepreneurs, not matter where they live. That is why a portion of our revenue will go to fund the operations of Kiva.
Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 and based in San Francisco, with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.
By lending as little as $25 on Kiva, anyone can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy or realize their potential. For some, it’s a matter of survival, for others it’s the fuel for a life-long ambition.
100% of every dollar lent to Kiva goes to funding loans. Kiva covers costs primarily through optional donations, as well as through support from grants and sponsors.
As a final note I want to say I’m grateful for the love and care of my wife Wendy and the hard work she does. I’m thankful for reasonably good health and the people that I have been part of my life over the years.