Seniors Site

Now that you have finally decided to take the next step on expanding your business, you now have to weigh your pros and cons carefully, so that you start this new business journey on fairly stable footing. By now, you probably know—and heard—the beauty of online selling, and how a business owner can benefit from it. Seniors, particularly, have these advantages when selling online:
•    Lower operational cost
•    Time flexibility
•    Faster transaction time
•    Wider market reach
•    Ease of selling, especially if you have limited range of motion
•    Be able to sell on equal footing with larger companies
It is easy to set up an online shop however, it can be quite expensive and time consuming too. Good thing is, there are people who specialize in this kind of business whom you could hire. Bad point though is that, there are about thousands, if not millions of people, claiming they know everything about this stuff and will charge a whole bunch for a job not so well done! In other words, scams abound, so seniors, be forewarned. On the other hand, if time is not an issue at all, you can build your own online shop all by yourself—arthritic hand and all!
•    First, you need a specific product to sell, or at the very least, a theme to work on. If you’re expanding, then you already have this one but if you are just starting out, then choose your best product or service to highlight on your web business. For example, you sell senior clothes or adaptive clothing line for disabled seniors.
•    Prepare your business plan. Of course, you need one too! It should include feasibility study, marketing plan and financials, as these are the areas which your business will depend on.
•     Choose a domain name—and choose wisely! This is your first in-action experience with the ever doubting web community but it should not be a scary one too! However, choosing a domain name for your website is one of the most important things you need to secure early on as this will carry your online store’s name. As much as possible, choose something that will represent your store more clearly such as “shoppingseniors” or “clothedseniors” (for senior clothes). Your domain name should be .com and nothing else. Also, keep it short and sweet. You can either create unique domain name or just buy an existing one.
•    Pick a good web host for your site. A web host will enable your domain name thus allowing other people to access your website. Without this, your website cannot be viewed at all. Nowadays, there are many web hosting services available for you to choose from. My advice is that you shop around and stick with the popular ones.
•    Build your website. This is where your creative juices must flow. If you don’t have any, then get a good website building software to assist you with your website building needs.
•    Set up a payment system for your website. Your website should be able to accept payments online, credit card especially. A merchant account would do or a third party payment processor.
Now that you have your website up and running, you can either keep it as it is or go a little further by boosting its search engine ranking for better searchability!

Planning and starting your own business, especially for retired seniors, are both fun and exciting as it marks a new chapter in your life and also, it will help you keep the financial aspect of your retired life running. However, doing it on your own can be tougher and may even bring about more stressful situations than all your working years combined—the one you retired from! Your simple solution? Get a partner on board!
While this setup appears easy enough to handle, many businesses get ruined by just a simple mismatched partnership. Great idea, yes, but sometimes, great business ideas get dumped just because partners don’t agree on the same thing—or refuse to give it a shot. Disagreements are expected especially if there’s money involved in it, however, you can eliminate most of the friction by securing these things ahead of time or prior to opening your business:
DO:  Make roles clear. That includes responsibilities each one holds. It may be harder for control freaks but trust me, it removes unnecessary confusion in the long run. Of course, assigning roles based on skills is very important so you need to assess one another‘s strength and weakness.
DON’T:  Be a passive partner. It’s your business too, you know! As much as your partner has the right to know and do things, he or she needs to let you know what’s going on in their assigned areas—and vice versa. This is what partnerships are for! Set up regular meetings to keep each other informed.
DO:  Discuss goals and expectations. Seniors should be wise enough to make sure you and your partner are in exact same page when it comes to how the business should run. Short and long term should be discussed as well as strategies you need to employ to reach those goals. While you’re at it, discuss budget as well.
DON’T:  Get resentment in the way—at least for the business. You should be able to communicate effectively with a partner. It is remotely possible if there is a wall dividing you guys so make sure there’s none.
DO:  Expect disagreements and plan how to settle disputes, if and when a problem arises. There should be a formal method on how to settle disputes and disagreements that is agreeable to both parties. A third party consultant can help.
DON’T:  Come unprepared. Never expect a partnership to always be smooth-sailing. There will be many issues to discuss once your business operates and there is bound to be a dispute along the way. Not knowing what these issues are and how they materialized will only make you vulnerable to manipulation.
Do:  Put it in writing—and have a lawyer look at it! This includes compensations, benefits, salary or how earnings should be divided. In other words, there should be an existing partnership agreement which specifically spell out responsibilities and rights of partners involved.

When you talk about virtual offices, virtual assistants are never too far out of mind. In fact, it would be the next big thing you’ll ever do for your virtual office, especially as your business expands. Many seniors may frown with this idea as it is a fairly new way of conducting business and it requires certain level of techie “know-how”. However, hiring a virtual assistant has many, many benefits and it, like a virtual office would, can save you a lot in the long run!
Somewhere in this blog, I have discussed how out-of-work seniors can explore the many possibilities of freelance work, both online and offline. It includes virtual assistance which I find both flexible enough to handle and challenging enough to keep your aging brain in working order.  On the other hand, seniors need not to be on this side forever, as more and more retirees are starting out their small businesses and eventually will need services of an assistant.
I understand it can be doubtful at times as you will be working with someone remotely, and it is very possible to not meet your virtual assistant personally EVER. It can be scary especially scams infest the internet in overwhelming proportions but believe me, when you finally meet your match, you are most likely to tell yourself that the risk you have taken is all worth it.
FIND YOUR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
There are many online marketplaces today which house different kinds of virtual assistants from all over the world. If you are comfortable working with someone through emails, chats and calls only, then you can hire someone from faraway countries such as India and the Philippines. These countries usually charge lower than other foreign countries which can definitely save you a lot of money. However, you can also hire someone local for a much cheaper rate than having them go to the office everyday! What’s more important is that the hiring senior knows exactly what he wants from a virtual assistant prior to the scouting process. Best stick with reputable marketplaces when posting for a VA job.
HIRING YOUR VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
After posting the job, you are sure to get bids. Depending on the job description you posted, you can receive at least 10 candidates up to a hundred within a minute. Now you can look at their profiles and assess if their skills are what you need. Their profiles are most likely to have their work history, time worked if the marketplace is an escrow service and feedbacks from their previous clients. These things will help you make the right decision in choosing a provider. Rates also vary depending on the extent of work and expertise the virtual assistant may have.  Like traditional office setup, you will have to set an appointment for interview so take note of the time differences. You, as the hiring party, should be able to set rules such as what you expect from your VA and what tasks are to be done.
LAST NOTES
Connection is very important as your virtual assistant will be working with you very closely. In fact, he or she may know way more about you and your business than your partner so make sure that both of you are on the same page. Give your VA a probation period of one to two weeks, and make sure she knows it. By that time, you’ll be able to determine if she’s good for you or if you need to go look for someone else all over again.

I never thought the day would come when seniors would have to brush up on their job interview skills! Back then, when you talk about senior workers, it would be the seniors doing the interview and the interviewee would be 20-something, nervous and perspiring guys. Now that the playing field got even and competition is now made stiffer than ever, it’s very common to see younger guys doing the interview with the senior on the hot seat. Even if roles have changed, some certain rules still apply. However, these are the things you need to avoid:
·    Sending an informal “thank you for your time” note. Your hiring manager won’t like it if you just drop him or her an informal email with letters too hard to understand or even a poke over Facebook. An extra effort goes a long way such as sending a written, formal letter expressing your gratitude for the time spent interviewing you.
·    Generalized resume. While it is convenient to just make a standard resume and cover letter for all your job interview needs, you still have to tweak it for every job you apply to. Bear in mind that most hiring managers go for targeted skills so it is important to consider what is needed for the job and adjust your resume and cover letters as such.
·    Showing up uninformed. Impress your hiring manager by knowing the facts you need to know about the company. You don’t go asking questions instead it should be the other way around since this is an interview. You only ask questions if there is something not clearly indicated on their job description.
·    Showing up distracted. Even if there are one hundred and one tasks waiting for you outside of an interview, you should turn off all distracting thoughts and focus on the interview now. It will only take a few minutes of your time anyway.
·    Trying to be someone else you’re not. Remember that interviews are meant to gauge if you are fit for the job they have in mind, not to mold you into someone they want to work with. Just give your best answers and try not to be too intimidated by what’s happening around you.
·    Too much stuff will bring you down. Just bring your resume, cover letter and yourself, nothing else. Unless of course, if requested by the company or the hiring manager. Take out coffee cups are not welcomed either.

When you say branding, you always associate it with a product, most probably commercial wares you are currently marketing or advertising to a specific target market. The word “brand” itself, by definition, is anything that represents a product, designed to make the product recognizable by its patrons. Branding on the other hand is a process or steps you take in order to educate your patrons of your product. Let’s take for example the Coke brand, they apply branding techniques by TV commercials, merchandise and promotional activities. Over the years, they managed to make Coke a household name such that when you say “softdrink”, it’s either a Pepsi or Coke. Now, that’s what you call good branding!
Nowadays, branding is no longer confined to products and services. If you have just entered the job-hunting scene, you must probably be aware by now that everything has changed since the last time you submitted a resume for a job. Even your basic resume took on a different look and adapted a more professional feel.   Today, personal branding IS the trend, and if you want to stand out and be picked, you need to apply good personal branding techniques to go with your attention-grabbing resume!
Seniors, however, have an advantage when it comes to branding. When all these young people run up and down just to find their own place under the sun, you my friend, exactly know what you are good at—and yes, you can write that down in a snap! Every senior has his or her own expertise, and that expertise means a lot in personal branding. Even a lifetime housewife has her own expertise such as baking or perhaps tutoring to kids. If ever she decided to establish her personal brand, it could be as a baker or a tutor which can land her work in, perhaps, baking cakes for weddings or tutoring kids either at her own home or a nearby daycare center. See how easy it is to brand yourself? Just as long as you know your strengths and capabilities!
Seniors should begin personal branding efforts starting today—and no, you don’t need any professional help as you can do it yourself. It helps you stand out from the crowd especially now that the competition is as stiff as ever! Whether you are looking for work or planning to start your own business, knowing where your expertise lies and having enough proof to backup your claim give you a tremendous edge over your competition. And that is exactly what you need!

Gone are the days when you purchase a readymade questionnaire, or form, with little boxes in it and try as you might to maintain a somewhat decipherable writing or what they call as legible handwriting. With the advent of the computer and yes, the internet too, there are now hundreds of resume templates you can use for your job hunting, or even for reference purposes. Even your hideous looking ID picture can now be enhanced for a sexier, more attractive you! It can’t get any better than that!
FYI seniors, resumes today are not made solely to be printed. A senior looking for a job can now apply even within the comfort of their own homes via the internet of course. If you have been reading posts from this blog, you should know by now that working from home has always been a favorite of mine as I see it fits a senior’s life perfectly. Your resume can now be submitted through emails and through online marketplaces using escrow accounts. Some of the biggest companies in the industry today have their own forms you need to fill up upon application however, preparing a good resume is still an essential part of your job-hunting activities. Your resume should cover these points:
·    A basic resume must be two pages long and as much as possible, no longer than that. Keep it clean and avoid cluttering your resume too much. Use simple, easy to read font and font sizes. If you want to go for a creative looking resume, try browsing for resume templates over the internet.
·    Strength and capabilities. While it is good to emphasize your experience, try to highlight your strengths and capabilities as a person and as a worker instead. Your potential employer must have already acknowledged your experience just by seeing your age written on your resume, what they need to know now are the things you can do for the company or the team.
·    Arrange it chronologically but very well targeted. It is important to read the job description well before getting your resume together. Explain in extent the ones you feel are important for the company but list also those occupations you did in the past—only not that detailed as the former. Your most recent comes first down to your first job.
·    Trainings, seminars and educational background. Same as your work history, you should also include these things in your resume as this is very important for the company to know. This serves as their reference if you are fit for the position.
·    Have someone proofread your cover letter. Grammar and sentence construction are very important as it implies your professionalism. Again, just keep it simple and it should directly answer the job description.

Your satisfaction level at work is very important especially during your senior years. It should be something that you enjoy doing and dealing every single day. A work that stresses a senior is most likely to have implications to his or her health. However, due to financial reasons—and maybe a little bit of hormonal imbalances on the side—seniors are having a hard time knowing if they are really dissatisfied with their work or they just need a break. Here are some signs a senior should consider before switching careers:
·    Your pay and benefits. The longer you work for a company or business, the greater are your benefits. Is it worth risking it? Also, take some time to compare the amount you are getting paid in terms of the position you are holding, examine it and ask yourself, is it possible to get the same amount, if not greater, if you go looking for another job or career?
·    Your fellow office mates or coworkers. A new career will allow you to begin your slate, sparkling clean. However, it also brings uncertainty for a senior can never really be sure if a team will be kind enough to welcome him with open arms. If the camaraderie you’ve developed with current workers is priceless, then think twice before leaving your job.
·    Your work’s physical location. Your work’s location should be convenient enough for you, to and fro. By now, you must have memorized your way to work and can even get there blindfolded! Are you comfortable with altering your way to work after you get the new job? Take into consideration your travel time as well.
·    Work environment. If you are comfortable working with your uniforms on then you move to a work which will require you to wear suits, would that be okay with you? The same goes for corporate climate or laid-back kind of team..
·    The ground you’re standing on. Keep in mind that economy today is still unstable. If you already made a name for yourself in your current job and are considered as indispensable in the company, why risk it by starting all over again in a new career?
·    Your boss. A good, understanding boss is hard to find and the friendship and bond you most likely have been able to establish all those years can never be replaced by anyone. Unless you are starting a business wherein you’ll be the boss, you can never really tell if your next boss will be as kind as your current one.
·    Room for growth. This one is very essential in a senior’s life. A senior needs growth in his or her life too, especially as a person. If your current job allows this, why make the switch?

As the competition in workforce grow stiffer by the minute, more and more seniors are leaning toward entrepreneurship as their means of income before and during retirement years. It’s quite understandable though, as starting/maintaining your own business gives you more control and if you’re really, really good at it, stability—things that you cannot be certain when employed to a company. However, starting a small business can be complicated, and can even give you a headache, if not given enough attention.
As the business owner, you must familiarize yourself in all areas of your work.  Of course, as your business expands, you will need people to work with you hence you will provide training for them and allow them some room to grow on their own. What’s important though is that you know how to handle these things yourself if worse comes to worst, just so you don’t have to rely your business entirely to somebody else.
It is also important to choose a business that will enable you to grow as a person. Add to this the fact that it should be able to retain your interest for a long, long time. I have known businesses which are doomed from the very beginning just because their owners have chosen these areas based on spur-of-the-moment decisions and half-baked ideas. I would like to think that starting a business, whether small or big must be considered as a commitment, like a life-changing event, something you can live with for years and years to come.
Secondly, your business should be able to make you money. The amount you make should be enough to compensate your hard work. If not, then drop the idea and leave it to somebody else. Guide to save your sanity: it’s business if you make money out of it, it’s passion if it only gives you self satisfaction at the end of the day. The beauty of it is, you can actually combine the two and greatly benefit from it!
Business plans are important, so as business timelines. Don’t include expansion plans yet, just your simple startup plan would do just fine. As much as possible, do without complicated work at this point. Focus on getting your business up and running then see from there what else needs to be done. This way, you avoid cluttering your life with unnecessary mess. While you’re at it, consider your financing options: would you be needing financial assistance or perhaps loans? If so, how are you planning to pay for these services?
Consider the ownership structure of your business. Are you getting a partner or perhaps start a corporation-type of business. These things affect your business tax, by the way, so you really need to sort these things out ahead of time. Also, take some time to check and register your business name as this will protect you from copycats and scammers. Check with your local agencies for filing of licenses, permits and also insurances. Most importantly, get a good accounting/bookkeeping service to help you keep your books straight.

If you’re managing a one-man business then you don’t have a problem with employees. Chances are, you are just starting out and don’t need help yet. But as your business grows, you’ll soon realize how important it is to get help, probably one or two to do the office and admin work while you’re off to expanding your business. Even if you’re employing virtual workers or in-house staff, it is important to keep them on their toes without you being rude or mean to them. Keeping them on their toes will help them focus and be efficient on what they do but it has to be just right. As their senior and their boss, you must give them enough freedom to do their own thing without losing track of what they do.
For me, I can say that it all comes down on how good the boss in managing his staff. I have had many bosses for me to know the attitude of the boss comes first in everything, especially in maintaining his staff. Your staff’s loyalty is something you cannot pay or demand, it must be earned by no one else but you. If you don’t trust yourself to be good enough for your staff to actually like you, get someone you can fully trust and let him run your staff. This way, you only have your staff manager to boss around.
Managing a team involves knowing how to keep your people inspired. Being a senior, you must have had managing experiences before. Apply the things you have learned from that experience and make it work to your advantage. Here are some simple tips to keep your staff as effective as they can be:
·    Give compliments when it’s due. Ever heard of the term “thankless job”? Coming from your employee, it means you are not giving enough compliments even if they already gave it their best. Also, this should be considered as a warning sign as it only means your staff is not happy working with you anymore.
·    Apologize when you’re wrong, instead of demanding your staff to make it right for you. They are also thinking humans, they would know if you’re the one who blundered a job off. Acknowledge your mistake and encourage your staff to think of ways to help the situation—or salvage what’s left of it.
·    Listen to your employees. It won’t hurt if you talk to them once in a while, initiating a talk that is non-business. It will help you know your staff more, gauging where their weaknesses and interests lie and be able to harness it for your business. It also improves interpersonal relationships.
·    Give and respect their own space. It will allow them some room to grow and flourish. Give them enough space to do their own thing and just be there to guide them. Learning things their own way gives them a sense of accomplishment you can never really give if you just force your way into them.
·    Make them feel important. Giving each of them their own time to shine will inspire them to do even better—even exceed your expectations.

Just so we are seniors doesn’t mean we will not be alarmed when our partners suddenly lose interest on us or just fall asleep the minute their backs hit the bed. Or let’s, for a minute, reverse the situation and suddenly find ourselves too tired to cuddle and just guiltily climb into bed without further ado. If there’s something we can do about it then why not, who in his or her right mind would like to always go home tired and depleted anyway? Only sometimes, going home tired and weary cannot be helped even by your most trusted multivitamins as a backup.
Your sex life, at any age, is important. It covers one of human’s basic needs, no matter how dirty that may sound. As we age, sex becomes more than just a physical act. In a way, it creates or rekindles connection between two human beings and can even fill a void in their lives. However, as reality starts to kick in and human obligations and responsibilities come knocking at your door, that’s when the problem starts.
It was said that sex is at its most beautiful when participants are relaxed and free of inhibitions. However, energy spent at work can really put even the strongest man down. It is important to know that the body has only one energy reserve. If your bucket of energy is spent somewhere else besides sex, there will be no more for anything else. This is especially true for seniors since an aging body seldom has the vitality of a younger one. As we grow older, we really need to slow down and redirect our attention to our own needs, particularly that of our bodies. Problem is, work can really interfere with our private lives, whether it’s a personal choice or a matter of obligation. Fast-phased life demands more from us than ever and sadly seniors who are still with the workforce are compelled to always give it their best even if it means sacrificing their sexlife at the end of the day. Furthermore, technology today makes it harder for us to leave work in the office. Now that almost everything is mobile, work can really invade your home and your bedroom!
Let’s not forget the tension, stress and angst that go with working. If you belong to the 9-5 workforce then you must be worrying about losing your job in this very unpredictable market atmosphere as well, while those working at home are always on their toes keeping up with their self-set quota. If you are really concerned about your dwindling sex life, a senior must learn how to limit energy spent working, including those you tend to bring home like your laptop, mobile phone and reports. Actually setting aside a time for it, like one-day honeymoon can help you forget work for a while and enjoy each other’s company as well. Sometimes, sex drive is only a matter of being in the right place at the right time, so really be there when that time comes.