Starting Over at 55
The New York Times, March 5th, 2010
AFTER 24 years as a marketing manager for Coors, Cinde Dolphin knew what
was coming — Miller and Coors had just merged their United States beer
operations, and hundreds of jobs were sure to be eliminated.
Worried that these youth-oriented companies might lay off an old-timer
like her, Ms. Dolphin decided to take a buyout and relax. She sunned on
the beaches of New Zealand, went whitewater rafting on the Yampa River
in Colorado and saw friends and Broadway shows in New York.
But after a few months, she realized that she missed working. So at age
55, she began applying for marketing jobs, confident she would be
quickly hired because of her Coors pedigree. “About four months into my
job search, I realized I wasn’t getting many callbacks,” she said.
A Sacramento resident who has survived three bouts with cancer, Ms.
Dolphin is not one to give up easily. She decided on an alternate tack —
she would start her own business and thus join the nation’s
fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, those age 55 and above.
Mining her decades of experience, she created a marketing and public
relations firm that helps California winemakers get their message out
through Facebook, Twitter and other social
media.
“I’m having a ball,” she said. “I can set up my own hours and work
schedule, and do other things I enjoy.”
More than five million Americans age 55 or older run their own
businesses or are otherwise self-employed, according to the Small
Business Administration. And the number of self-employed people ages
55 to 64 is soaring, the agency says, climbing 52 percent from 2000 to
2007.
Like Ms. Dolphin, some use money from a buyout to finance a new company.
Some of these entrepreneurs were already retired, but after seeing
their 401(k)
retirement plans plunge in value, created a business in a quest for
extra income. Some had lost their jobs and, after months of searching
for work, started a business to make ends meet, perhaps catering,
cabinet making or doing photography.
Read more of this article.
Working in Retirement: As the above article indicates, many programs exist to help seniors who are looking to make career changes or even resume working after their retirement. You can investigate the possibilities at NewRetirement.com