A growing number of retired Baby Boomers are choosing to work part-time or set up their own businesses as a way to supplement their income, add more purpose to their lives, and in many cases, overcome boredom.
If this sounds tempting to you, read on as we discuss some of the pros and cons of launching your own business in retirement, and to discover 5 great online business ideas.
Should I Start An Online Business?
The biggest benefit of launching an online business when you retire is the potential financial rewards that can make your retirement a lot less stressful. But even if you don’t make a fortune, creating something new like an online business can be extremely satisfying, plus it gives you something to do with that “extra time” so many newly retired find problematic.
However, you should be mindful of the fact that creating and running a business, even a small online venture, can be very time-consuming and there’s no guarantee of success. So, you should be sure to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.
5 Online Business Ideas For Baby Boomers
Here are 5 great online business ideas that you can launch in a matter of days or weeks.
1. Launch Your Own Dropshipping Store
E-commerce is one of the fastest growing sectors in the US and beyond, and it’s forecast to continue to grow over the coming decades. It’s now easier than ever to launch your own online store, and with dropshipping, you don’t have to store any inventory or handle order fulfilment.
In fact, you don’t even need to purchase any inventory prior to a customer placing an order, so you don’t have to worry about costly storage fees or ending up with loads of stock that no one is interested in.
You can easily create your online store on Shopify and find hundreds of suppliers online, across all niches and product types.
2. Sell Products on Amazon.com
It’s more than likely that you shop on Amazon.com, most people in the US and Canada do! It’s relatively simple to get see up as an Amazon seller and you can sell just about any type of product imaginable. If you don’t have a product ready to go, you can re-sell products you’ll find on Alibaba.com.
3. Offer Video Production Services
If you’re good at editing videos, or are willing to learn, you can offer video production services for companies who are looking to make digital content. You can offer your services on freelancing platforms, like Fiverr and People Per Hour, or try to find clients by yourself.
It’s a good idea to put together a portfolio of your work before you begin reaching out to clients so you can show them some of your prior work when pitching them.
4. Start a Social Media Consultancy
Social media consultancies can be very lucrative, and the required skills aren’t too hard to learn. First, you’ll need to decide which social media platforms you’ll cover and then make sure you know how to build and engage an audience on them for your clients.
Then, you can begin pitching clients and offering your services to them. Day to day duties will include things like creating posts, monitoring engagement and reach, and interacting with followers.
5. Start a CBD Brand
Starting your own Cannabidiol (CBD) brand is surprisingly easy, as there are a number of companies that offer white label packages in this industry, so you don’t have to worry about developing your own CBD products or producing them.
Instead, you simply have to focus on branding and marketing your product. Due to certain restrictions on advertising CBD products, marketing your brand can be quite difficult, but it can be well worth the effort if done successfully.
6. Build Websites
Anyone can learn how to build professional-looking websites in a matter of days, especially if you use a platform like WordPress or a website builder like WIX. Once you’re confident in your website-building skills, you can look for your first client – perhaps a local business or a friend’s company – and then use their website to show off your work and attract new clients.
You should be mindful that this space is very competitive, as there’s a lot of existing web development agencies in the US and countries like India, so business might be quite slow for the first few months.
A Quick Summary
- Launching your own business once you retire can be a great way to earn some extra money and keep yourself occupied.
- If you’re looking for online business ideas, then you should consider launching a social media consultancy or a web development agency.
- Other easy-to-start businesses include a dropshipping store, a CBD brand, and a video production agency.
- It’s best to get your first few clients from people you already know/referrals and then use your portfolio to pitch new clients.