Start Your Own Home Business After 50. Robert W. Bly
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
START YOUR OWN HOME BUSINESS AFTER 50
“Start Your Own Home Business After 50 addresses the special needs, problems, and challenges of the over-50 entrepreneur who is looking to build an existing business or start a new one. Its guidance can help you create a successful home business that can generate an ongoing ‘retirement annuity’ for decades.”
—Robert Ringer, bestselling author of Winning Through Intimidation and Looking Out for Number One
“If you’re over 50 and you want to work from home, be your own boss, and control your own destiny, you must read this book. I have never read a book that so clearly provides a step-by-step road map to redefine your life and financial success and security. It’s the single best resource I have ever seen on the topic.”
—Eric Yaverbaum, bestselling author of six books including Leadership Secrets of the World’s Most Successful CEO’s and PR For Dummies
“If it’s time to take your post-50 career into your own hands, Start Your Own Home Business After 50 is an essential. It will give you realistic options for supporting yourself into retirement. Bob Bly knows from personal experience how to make the most of age and experience to succeed as an entrepreneur over 50. In this book, he lays out the options and points you in the right direction.”
—Ilise Benun, Marketing-Mentor.com, author of seven books and co-producer of the Creative Freelancer Conference
START YOUR OWN HOME BUSINESS AFTER 50
How to Survive, Thrive, and Earn the Income You Deserve!
Robert W. Bly
Fresno, California
Start Your Own Home Business After 50
Copyright © 2013 by Robert W. Bly. All rights reserved.
Published by Quill Driver Books
An imprint of Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary Street, Fresno, California 93721
(559) 233-6633 / (800) 345-4447
Quill Driver Books and Colophon are trademarks of
Linden Publishing, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-61035-131-7
eISBN 978-1-61035-146-1
135798642
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bly, Robert W.
Start your own home business after 50 : how to survive, thrive, and earn the income you deserve! / by Robert W. Bly.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61035-131-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-61035-146-1 (e-book)
1. Home-based businesses--Management. 2. New business enterprises--Management. 3. Older people--Employment. I. Title.
HD62.38.B59 2013
658.1’1--dc23
2013000994
This book is for everyone over 50 who has started or is planning to start their own business.
Contents
Chapter 1: The Over-50 Entrepreneur
Chapter 2: Home-Based Business Opportunity #1: Freelancing
Chapter 3: Home-Based Business Opportunity #2: Consulting
Chapter 4: Home-Based Business Opportunity #3: Coaching
Chapter 5: Home-Based Business Opportunity #4: eBay
Chapter 6: Home-Based Business Opportunity #5: Internet Marketing
Chapter 7: Home-Based Business Opportunity #6: Close-Outs
Chapter 8: Home-Based Business Opportunity #7: Import/Export
Chapter 9: Home-Based Business Opportunity #8: Real Estate
Chapter 10: Launching Your New Business
Chapter 11: Setting Up Your Home Office
Chapter 12: Marketing and Promoting Your New Business
Chapter 13: Becoming a Thought Leader in Your Niche
Chapter 14: Operating as a Virtual Company
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank Kent Sorsky and Stephen Mettee for having faith in me and in this book. Thanks also to Nuritt Mittlefeldt for her invaluable research assistance. I’m also grateful to Frank Wilkinson, Amy Sprecher, and Tracy Minella for editorial contributions.
Introduction
You and I have never met, but if you are age 50 or over, I think I can guess a few things about you.
First, your primary financial goal at this point in life—aside from paying for your kids’ college, if you haven’t done so yet—is either (a) saving enough money between now and your retirement to retire comfortably or, if you are already retired, (b) making your money last for as long as you live.
Second, now that you are over 50, you are at a stage of your life where you are less interested in doing what others tell you