Contrary to popular notion, being a senior or indeed a baby boomer can be financially hard especially if you have retired earlier than your nest egg could afford you. Unfortunately, in a cut throat world of corporations, nobody is indispensable – the minute you’re laid off, there are about 30 people waiting in line to replace you! This effectively places seniors and baby boomers in a very difficult situation.
I personally recommend seniors and baby boomers to have a second career, or a part time, just in case an unexpected financial crisis hits you. One can never be certain so there really is no harm in trying to fatten up the couch that will catch you if all else fails. If you care to look at my older posts, you’ll find plenty of career opportunities suitable for seniors ages 60 and above. Here is yet another one: coaching.
Surely you have years of experience under your belt. Better if you have had expertise in areas and fields which are still quite a mystery to others, young and old. For example, if you worked on “health papers” before and you know exactly how it works, you can offer your services to other seniors and their families on how to go about it such as where to go to secure papers, what documents should they have to acquire from doctors and hospitals, etc. These things may seem trivial to you but believe me, a lot of people need help on this area!
Truly, retirement careers are on the rise, since more seniors are becoming interested in starting their lifelong dreams and “dream careers” after quitting their 9-5 jobs. Seniors nowadays think that retirement is a new phase in their lives, a great way to start something worthwhile for themselves. Having experienced the world for so many years, you now have the authority to speak what you have learned and the air of expertise. These things can certainly help you in launching your career as a life coach.
If you are thinking of starting your own life coaching and counseling business, you must, first and foremost, know your target market. This means you should have a definite idea of whom to sell your concept and where to find them. Do your research by interviewing and observing people from your community. Also, it will help you tremendously if you start researching online, since almost all of your needed information can be found there. Take note too that you would have to do your own marketing, if you are to coach. If you think you can’t handle your own PR, then you might want to think about hiring a good PR consultant (see, a coach needs a coach too. Lol)
Be ready to do a lot of interaction as well since your customers should be really comfortable with you, personally and professionally. Join groups and associations to build networks and don’t forget to widen your services as go along.