How to make money with older workers
You have saved up some money and you’re not sure what to do with it. If you have at least $100,000 set aside you can become an “angel” investor who helps someone start a new business. But you don’t want to pick anyone at random. Instead, you want to invest your money with someone who has the skills and experience to make a business succeed. You may know exactly that kind of person in your personal circles, or at work.
Older workers who are forced out of their jobs, or who are approaching retirement, often make great entrepreneurs. But they may need partners with money or technical skills they don’t possess. You don’t have to do anything more than have an attorney write up an investment agreement for you if you’re not ready to move into a new company. But that business partnership could pay off handsomely for you over the years.
There will always be some demand for older workers, but not enough to sustain us going into the next 10-20 years. That is because the Baby Boomer generation is hitting retirement age and they are not all ready to retire. The competition for age-neutral jobs will heat up and that means more older workers will take their experience into new business ventures.
They are already looking for help with ideas on what to do next in their lives. They just may not have enough money to start the business that they could build for you. That is where you come in as an angel investor. You don’t have to call the shots. You just have to find someone who has the experience and the wisdom to grow a new company from the ground up.
It has been done before. Take for example Nicholas bredimus, who started a software company when he retired from American Airlines after a 25-year career in the aviation industry. Bredimus went on to build an entirely new company and industry in flight ticketing systems. His story is just one of many you can find where an older worker took his experience and created something worthwhile.
The demand for opportunities for seniors is only going to grow, which means they will create their own opportunities. By investing with a senior worker in a new business you create opportunity for yourself and you will gain experience in business investing that will help you in years to come. Whether your partner buys you out, you buy him out, or you both sell the company won’t matter as long as you realize a good return on your investment.