Final Thoughts
9. Hire smart
If your business will need one or more employees other than yourself (this is especially likely if you're starting a service business), be aware that how and whom you hire will affect how successful your business is. Before you even think about placing your first employment ads, get familiar with federal, state, and local labor laws (these cover areas like hiring discrimination, child labor, independent contractors, immigration law, and more). Don't worry; you don't need to navigate these areas on your own. If you become a member of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), you'll have free access to its labor law hotline. You can also consult with an attorney.
Once you're familiar with all applicable hiring laws, it's time to get the ball rolling. I recommend making sure that you can get the labor you need before you officially open your doors by running test ads. If you don't get five applicants within three days, you might want to rethink which field you're going into, because you want a business that is effortless to hire for. At this stage, if you like, you can hire respondents as subcontractors (not official employees) who work when you have jobs for them - after thoroughly vetting them, of course. Once your business becomes more popular, you can consider hiring your subcontractors full-time.
When you do reach the full-time hiring stage, be sure to look for talented, smart, experienced, and competent people with integrity. Don't automatically hire friends and family members because it's convenient! Remember, experience, competence, and commitment are invaluable assets.
10. Use your time wisely
Good time management is an important skill for any entrepreneur to have, but it's especially crucial for retirees who don't want to go back to a full-time work schedule. If you aren't purposeful and efficient, your responsibilities will bleed over the 20 hours a week you've allocated to run your business ... and soon your business will be running your retirement!
Whenever possible, I recommend planning each day the night before. Write down all of the things - family and business related — that you'd like to do the next day. Then, mark each one with an A, B, or C. "A"s are tasks that must be done. "B"s should be done, and "C"s would be nice to get around to. This system will help ensure that you're spending your time on high-value activities instead of reactively chasing every shiny ball that rolls your way.
While these rules don't cover every step of creating your own business as a retiree, they will help you to head in the right direction. So stop procrastinating. If you have a good idea for a business, want to stay busy, or want to start earning more money, there's no time like the present. So begin Round Two of your professional life now.
Odds are, you'll wonder why you didn't "retire" a lot sooner!
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