I had a wonderful conversation this morning with someone I just met today. She and a 
friend have partnered together to create a very successful non-profit that any aspiring entrepreneur would be proud of. As we talked, she said that as far as the planning and preparations were concerned, she and her partner had to treat the formation of their non-profit just like anyone starting a for profit venture.
As she talked, she said that they worked for months in their research and planning. This before they would even speak openly about what they were planning. And of course in those nine months of research and planning, no money was made to compensate them or their charity.
That said, the question comes to mind, “When should you start working on your second career?” The simple answer is, “Way before you need it to make you any money!”
The more educated and responsible answer would likely have three aspects:
- You need to start while you are still making an income from your first career (or your non-retirement career for you well traveled Boomers.) These ladies put nine months of research and planning in before they ever decided to make the leap.
- You need to give yourself sufficient time to begin to show the kind of income you have decided is necessary in order to leave your current career for your retirement career. Don’t let one or two good months allow you to leave that regular paycheck too soon. Create and show consistency before you leave.
- You need to take stock of the time requirements for your retirement career. If you are going to have to spend more time than you would like to create the kind of income you are looking for, you might want to re-think your choice. The worse thing that you can do is to create a business that you hate and have to live off the income from that business for the remainder of your life!
My program teaches a two year retirement model. The first year falls under the category of education, research, and preparation, while the second year includes the launch, branding, client building, and systems tweaking. In this two year period, profits will come at a premium, but by taking right amount of time to create and grow your second career, you will be more comfortably able to leave your current career for a relaxing and productive retirement life!
Dave,
I like your approach but I am working with boomers who will never be able to retire and need a significant income. For some of them this is a four to five year plan but you are correct you need to plan. Plan, plan, plan, plan and launch while you still are working on your first, second, third…. career.
Marc – retirement for me does not mean no work, it means doing what I want to do rather than to do have to do. For folks who are middle-class the time frame may indeed be more than two years. I think we are on the same page. Thanks for helping the conversation along!
Nine months before…almost the same as giving birth. Any business you start will be as costly in both time and cash as any child, and you’d better love it or it won’t get off the ground. The time required to get a business off the ground may be way more than anyone facing retirement may want to invest-or their partner may not be interested in having them invest time, let alone money and emotion, into it. The emotional support of your partner in life as well as your partner in business is going to be critical during beginning years, including during the planning.
Nancy – What incredible insight! having the support of your partner is critical. Time to plan and to experiment, test, and build are critical and everyone involved must be on the same page!