Retirement is changing.
Boomers are healthier and living longer than their parents and pivoting into new directions as they age. Finding a way to pay for later-in-life necessities, hobbies and interests can be a challenge, but not for these Northeast Ohio residents. They’ve found side hustles that are fun and profitable.
Follow their cue and earn extra cash doing something engages your mind, uses your skills and ignites your passion. It’s a tall order, but if they can do it, maybe you can, too.
Meet Julie (52) & Bill Skinner (57) of Medina
The Skinners love their full-time careers and happened upon two successful side hustles. Bill posted on Facebook a photo of a wood-cutting board he made, a byproduct of his woodworking hobby. A friend asked if he could make more to sell at her craft show, and a business was born.
Skinner wanted his wife by his side at local craft shows so she began creating and selling upcycled wool mittens. Skinnerwoodandwool.com was a perfect pairing and resonated with shoppers.
The Skinners focus their side hustle earnings for travel and savings. When retirement time comes, they have encore businesses already established. They’ll continue enjoying their work creating useful products from natural materials while being engaged in their communities.
Meet Susan Farnham (56) of Bay Village
Farnham enjoys cooking and sharing hacks to get the most out of something we all need to do every day – eat. As a Pampered Chef representative, she shows others how to make delicious meals in 15 to 30 minutes so they can ditch the drive-thru lane and make dinnertime a priority.
Farnham sells the popular Pampered Chef cooking tools and food in a turnkey, multi-level marketing business that relies on at-home demonstrations. She replaced her corporate job with this side hustle. Working 48-60 hours a month, Susan earns $2,000-3,000 plus gets vacations and products. Her business is pamperedchef.biz/SusanFarnham.
Perhaps you crave flexibility, have a skill set to leverage and want an hourly side hustle. Ever consider being a virtual assistant?
Meet Laura Liscursi (50) of Strongsville
Liscursi owns Elite VA and matches people with skills such as marketing, editing or graphics with people and companies around the country who need virtual assistants (VAs) to do those jobs. Elite VA does the marketing, retains clients and handles all contracts. Those who contract with Elite VA make themselves available for work, based on their income need and time. Her business is at elitevahub.com.
Meet David Paul (58) of Elyria
An animal lover, Paul leveraged an opportunity of living in Nairobi, Kenya for three months in 2018 into his Luxury Safari side hustle. His photography business — he was a wedding photographer for 15 years — prepared him to turn the camera on the wonders of Kenya as he guides others through his custom itinerary of the landscape, beautiful people and stunning wildlife. Paul spends about 5-10 hours per week on his job. He expects to set aside his 2019 profit of $10,000 for his next safari. You can see Paul’s photos at davidpaulphotography.zenfolio.com.
Inside Side Hustles
Freelancers and independent contractors are predicted to become the U.S. workforce majority within a decade.
Boomers are twice as likely to start a new business as Millennials and 24.3% of all new entrepreneurs are between 55 and 64 (The Kaufmann Foundation).
Ten thousand Boomers are reaching retirement age every day, according to AARP. Fifty percent of Boomers plan to work until 70 or older, but 36% feel they may never be able to afford retirement.
Websites for Freelancers
Clarity.fm
Flexjobs.com
Remote.com
Fiverr.com
Websites for Creatives
Etsy.com
Cafépress.com
Zazzle.com
Want to Work Online? Try:
Virtual assisting| Audio editing | Tax prep | Writing | Tutoring | Translation |
Teaching | Social Media Management
Read More About It
Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau
Side Hustle Law by Myles G. Taylor
Never Too Old to Get Rich by Kerry Hannon
Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman
Online Communities & Newsletters
Retirepreneur.com
Nextforme.com
Author/speaker/workshop facilitator and blogger Traci McBride (TeeMcBee.com) launched TeeMcBee Wardrobe Styling & Image Management in 2008.
