The senior citizen population is growing like zucchini summer squash in your backyard garden. It could double in the next couple or three decades. Money is tight, and jobs for the 65+ demographic are hard to come by. But that demographic age area is also a growing market for special and necessary items. Their lifestyles change and their needs are different. Maybe they want to move to smaller or larger housing, or warmer weather; maybe those healthy bodies and the usual physical activities are changing; maybe their financial picture has drastically changed, either for the better or worse; maybe they want to travel, have the money, but don’t know how to go about it and be secure as well as have fun; or maybe they just want to eat better to live longer.

You can’t be a worker, but maybe you can be the boss and top dog by starting your own business. All these trends mean an opportunity for knowledgeable entrepreneurs who want to start a business serving this growing and mostly well-to-do market. It doesn’t have to be a full-size and elaborate industry, and it can just be a one-person or one-family operation working from home in a spare room or that garage. In your work-life existence you may have toiled at a job and learned a lot about something special that you can pass along as a service or product.

There are a couple of different approaches to this potential income enhancer. You can start your own business from scratch, or you can purchase an existing business or franchise. The latter option sounds simpler, but it may be more costly and you don’t know what you are buying, and you have to be wary of why someone is selling a profitable business for so cheaply. Think about it, and check the facts before you put out your hard-earned retirement funds. Speak to other people, examine the books, watch the operation for a while, and don’t sign the papers until you are sure because you can always say “no” before that.

Starting your own business sounds overwhelming, but it may be the best path. There are some things you must do first. Here you have to examine your own books, determine a budget, check your knowledge bank, decide what you know and do the best, decide what and how you can sell this knowledge, and start taking notes about the dos and don’ts.

Maybe be you worked at a travel agency; this would be an easy transition for you. You know how, what, and where to go for cheap price, and you can probably sound pretty knowledgeable. Maybe you worked as a secretary for an important executive and had to type all his or her letters. You must have gained a lot of business knowledge doing that, if not, you know how to type, structure, and produce, or maybe just edit, these letters. There may be many small business people who need that service but can’t afford a full-time employee. You can get a group of steady clients who will depend on you and pay for this service. And if you decide to start a cleaning service or any kind of service, you will need a tight schedule to work from.

This is where the Internet and e-mail come in handy. Learn about these things. Many services and information can be provided from your computer. You must learn about marketing and advertising, your local taxes and licenses, shipping if you have a product to sell, cash or credit cards, and you will need a good name for the business, and in these days, you will need a web page. This isn’t as hard as it seems because there are many sites out there that will provide the connection as well as the tools to build your own.

OK, now that you have thought about it, start your own business.

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