Best Home Businesses for People 50+: 70+ Businesses You Can Start from Home in Middle-Age or Retirement

by Sarah Edwards and Paul Edwards

For the fastest-growing segment of our population, here is a comprehensive guide to starting and running a home-based business in midlife and retirement. A baby boomer turns fifty every seven seconds,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585423807
• ISBN13: 9781585423804
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Tarcherperigee
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

This Book is Changing My Life

I have registered in our community college to study accounting because of this book. It details careers that you can pursue from home before or after retirement. Some of the other reviews were not as positive, saying that you can google the information. I disagree -- there is no way you would have time to google all the information that is contained in this book. It is a wonderful resource. If you are afraid that social security just won't be enough, buy this book and get to work on building a second career. This time, it will be from home and you will be your own boss. You won't regret buying this book!

Giving hope to perspective retirees

This book gives hope to those over 50 and in so many cases people tend to forget that the over 50 age group is already looking for opportunities. It's a book that can be used to plan a career after your done working for someone else. Very informative and gives lots of ideas

Buy this one, save your money on the rest

The authors are long-standing, genuine experts on self-employment, and this is one of the best of their many books. It's well-researched, thorough, specific and an excellent place to start your research into what you really want to do -- and might realistically be able to do -- in your later-life career. I've been pretty good at reinventing myself several times, careerwise, but this book had info on occupations and solo or small businesses that I didn't even know existed. As a reality check, the info was accurate and adequate for the 3 that I already knew quite a bit about, from experience. Highly recommended.

Practical and Helpful-- Brimming Over with Ideas

If you're over 50, or even just approaching that age, you'll want to read this book. Unfortunately, ageism is a very real issue, but the Edwards' explain how to turn a perceived drawback into a very strong asset. They identify jobs that are well suited to those 50+, including some you probably didn't think of (e.g., Wedding Planner, Daily Money Manager, etc.). Aside from the job descriptions, I really like the resources sections, which point you to places for more details. Highly recommended.

Well Researched, Well Written

I was kind of skeptical when I picked up this book. I was expecting to see comments of having a dream of being your own boss, etc. Then I found a section on Why a Home-Based Business at Fifty-Plus - and it was right on. the authors listed seven reasons people would want to keep working and Why a Home-Based Business at Fifty-Plus makes sense. The third reason was "Unexpected Problems Have Sidetracked Our Plans." My father worked for one company for 35+ years, then they laid him off. The sixth reason was "Ageism is a reality." A number of friends of mine have somehow found themselves out of jobs at fifty-plus and no one is interested in them. A few have gotten jobs of the Walmart greeter or McDonalds varieties. The happiest ones are running a small business at home. My own observations are that you won't need as much money as you did while working. The second reason stated in the book was "We're Concerned We Will Need to Work." It reports that most experts say we need to replace 75%-80% of our income to live comfortably when we leave the workforce. That's probably true if you maintain the same kind of expenses. But after the house is paid for, the car is paid for, and the kid is out of college, your need for income can really go down. But I'm just quibbling over details. I would certainly agree that it would be difficult to live on Social Security alone. The authors then discuss some seventy small businesses that they have found fifty-plus people operating successfully. Of coure all 70 won't appeal to you, but you only want one. Above all else, these seventy businesses may serve as a starting point for you to decide on just that business that fits you. Good Book.