It’s time to start thinking about when you’ll retire from your corporate job and how you want to spend the rest of your life. If you’re like many Baby Boomers, you might not have enough saved to guarantee your lifestyle through retirement. So now what? Below are five great reasons to consider retiring sooner and investing retirement incentives and/or some of your savings into a small business such as a MaidPro cleaning franchise.
Earn above-average ROI. With interest rates at historic lows and the U.S. economy caught in a liquidity trap (meaning rates could stay low for a very long time), there aren’t many options for making your retirement nest egg grow at a rate that can deliver the lifestyle you desire (unless you invest heavily in high-risk stocks, which isn’t advisable for retirees relying on fixed income). Investing in a small business, in a growth market such as home cleaning, and one that generates steady cash flow with low fixed costs is a formula for earning much higher average returns on the savings you have managed to put away for retirement.
Something new. Chances are, you’ve been doing the same thing every day for a very long time. Getting out now and starting a small business is a chance to reinvigorate your relationship with work, learn new things — such as how to market a business using social media — while putting to good use the many skills and capabilities you’ve acquired throughout your long corporate career.
Stay busy, stay young. Starting a successful cleaning business is no easy undertaking. You’ll need to work hard especially in the beginning to establish a strong base of recurring, highly satisfied clientele who’ll gladly recommend your services to friends, family and acquaintances. That said, if you follow the established franchise model and use recommended metrics to drive decision making, there’s a clear inflection point where it becomes very easy to hire people to do all the heavy lifting in your business while you as the business owner assume a more hands-off role. That’s a sweet spot for retirees who want to keep busy initially, but scale back work effort as they age while still generating a generous and steady income.
A legacy for your family. Especially if you’ve traded in your equity or gone into considerable debt to pay for college, weddings and other big family bills, you’ve not only risked your lifestyle through retirement, but left yourself unable to offer any type of financial assistance or legacy for your children. Retiring sooner rather than later and building a successful small franchise cleaning business is a great way to rewrite that story.
Free jobs, create jobs. By leaving your corporate job, you’ll be contributing in three ways to future economic growth. First, you’ll be making space on the corporate ladder for more un- or underemployed millennials to step into stable, well-paying jobs. That’s going to help them pay off student debt faster, buy homes, and — as the largest living generation of consumers — drive macroeconomic growth, which is good for everyone. Second, you’ll be helping your company to become more profitable. They can pay a younger person less to do your job and then invest the savings in innovation, market expansion, and growth. Finally, as a small business owner, you’ll be actively creating jobs and contributing to economic well-being right in your own community.
If you’re ready to talk franchising with MaidPro, please complete the form here or schedule a call below and we’ll be in touch. In the meantime, check out how Bill & Marilyn turned MaidPro into their retirement in the video below!
