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Retiring Executives Can Retool Themselves As Independent Consultants
By Jennifer Leake of Consultants Gold
These days, many seasoned business executives are transforming themselves from retired employees into active entrepreneurs. Some have always dreamt of having their own business and see retirement as the ideal time to make their dream come true. Others, forced into early retirement by recession-weary companies, are seeing self-employment as a lifeline. No matter which category they fall in, they all must answer the same question,"What type of business is best for me?" For many of them, the perfect answer is "Become a consultant!" Any mature business executive has acquired a lifetime of insider knowledge and personal skills. That knowledge and those skills had real value to past employers. They now have real value to future consulting clients. Consultants with specific industry knowledge are in wide demand in the business world. Businesses hard-hit by a down economy need experts to help them assess their operation, cut costs and build profits. Yet many can't afford to add on an employee. Such businesses turn to outside experts, independent consultants with the industry knowledge and life skills needed to help a company keeps its ink black. There's a huge demand for consultants. Harvard Business School recently estimated that U.S. businesses were spending roughly $200 billion dollars annually on the hiring of consultants. That means the retired business executive that reinvents himself or herself as a consultant steps into a marketplace with a ready-made demand for their services. But demand alone doesn't guarantee success for a new business. It takes planning and prep work to get any new business off the ground. Consultants are not exempt for that dictum. Executives thinking of moving out of the executive suite and into the seat of a self-employed consultant need to make a road map, one that shows how to handle the transition. For example, an executive may be accustomed to having an assistant assigned to them to manage the calendar and contacts. It can come as a shock when the newly independent consultant realizes these tasks are now assigned to their own desk. They must quickly adapt from "I'll do that for you, boss," to "How do I do this myself?" The retired-exec and now new consultant must be prepared to be their own sales and marketing department, place their own calls, make their own travel plans, arrange for their own services like telephone and internet,all things once provided to them by an employer Taking on all the tasks that were once done by a staff can be an eye-opener for any former exec, as well as a challenge. And woe be to the would-be entrepreneur that doesn't plan for it. As a successful independent consultant, myself, I've seen too many retired executives stumble over that perilous first step and fall. The new consultant that fails to write a business plan, mapping out how they will manage the transformation from employee to entrepreneur, seriously increases the odds that they'll fail within their first year. That's why writing a business plan is the first step we stress at Consultants Gold, my resource community for independent consultants. We help new consultants, and even established consultants that want to move their business to the next level, create an actionable plan that they can follow to get more clients and bank more money. For business executives that still have plenty to contribute, retirement doesn't have to lead to rust. It can just as easily lead to reinvention. Reinventing themselves as independent consultants takes advantage of the skills and knowledge they already have, requires low start-up costs and offers a market hungry for their services Team that up with a great business plan, and you've got a road map for retiring out of the executive suite and into the sweet life of a highly paid independent consultant!
Jennifer Leake is the founder of Consultants Gold, a resource community offering classes, study action groups, access to experts and peers in the community and other resources to help independent consultants get more clients and bank more money. For details, visit Consultants Gold at http://www.consultantsgold.com
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Resources For Independent Consultants
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Thank you for sharing this ***** information, Jennifer.
I've been retired from a varied sales career for 9 years and without any pensions, finances are tight. We do have a website and have been building a business, which takes time.
Qondio backlinks have been an asset to our rankings.
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks Frederick for the encouragement and thoughts. After a lifetime in sales, I appreciate hearing from a retired fellow salesperson and executive. I'm glad you read and commented - it supports my goal of offering valuable info to those considering the transition you made 9 years ago.
Hi Jennifer, I think retired professionals are the best, they have a wonderful calmness that young people have not mastered. Great information I loved your point of view.
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