What are your on-the-job skills? Sales? Finance? Marketing?
If you suddenly found yourself without your job – an unfortunately realistic scenario for many these days – what would you do?
Without considering your age: Would you consider starting a business?
That’s exactly what 55-year-old Cinde Dolphin did.
NOT READY TO RETIRE Cinde Dolphin, who was a marketing manager for Coors for 24 years and took a buyout, started a public relations firm that helps winemakers like Story Winery in California. Photo Credit: Jim Wilson, NYTimes
Dolphin, a marketing manager for MillerCoors, was recently profiled in the New York Times. After the merger of Miller and Coors a few years back, Dolphin saw the writing on the wall and took a buyout. She traveled for a while, but soon realized she wasn’t done working.
Problem is, with a recession lurking overhead, it wasn’t the best time to be job hunting, and she was at an age where hiring managers tend to shy away in lieu of younger, faster workers willing to do the same job for much less.
So Dolphin took what she knew – marketing for the beverage industry – and applied it to what she loved: California wine. She runs a company called Marketing for Mavericks, helping California wineries promote themselves using tools like Facebook and Twitter.
More than 5 million Americans age 55 or older are running their own companies or are self-employed, according to the Small Business Administration, via the New York Times. Among 55 to 64 year olds, the number of self-employed climbed 52 percent from 2000 to 2007.
If you’re really thinking of taking the plunge, consider the advice of Civic Ventures’ Marc Freedman, who tells the Times:
“People should start with some realism about what it takes to do this. It’s important to realize that this is a trajectory that can last 10, 15, 20 years. That means take some time to prepare, whether it means going back to school or doing an apprenticeship. There’s no need to succeed at the very first attempt at this. There’s room for readjustment and regrouping.”
In Mrs. Dolphin’s case, there wasn’t much overhead to start a marketing company: She had her “marketable” skills. She had a computer with Internet access. She now has a client roster. She says she’s having a blast. Jeri Sedlar, author of “Don’t Retire, Rewire,” says two types of people start businesses: those who always planned to, and those who cannot find a job. Those who planned ahead may have a leg up and an idea of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. And those who are unable to land a new gig want use their current skills and market those skills to new clients. As Sedlar tells the NYT:
“People have to keep up on their skills, keep up with the latest. You need to be sure you are really a valuable asset. The entrepreneur of today has to be motivated not just to know their skills and the job, but to be constantly challenging themselves. Every day they have to be reconfirming to their clients, ‘I’m good, I’m on top of things. Age is not a factor. Here I am doing it. ”
So, what are you waiting for? These are your Golden Years. Go and do. And enjoy some wine, while you’re at it.
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