To reference the Kaufmann Foundation (2008), nearly 20% of all small businesses are started by people who are 55+. Boomers apparently like the idea of leaving their old jobs behind and starting a business that either capitalizes on what they have done in the past or indulges a passion they haven’t gotten around to “living.”

The benefits are flexible hours and, perhaps, the ability to work at home.  The downside may be long hours, lack of colleagues to bounce ideas off of, and lots and lots of legalities and paper work.

I started a resume writing business when I retired- Resume Specs, LLC. Since retirement I have written over 50 resumes and could have written many more if I had the computer skills to speed up the process and the will to focus on bits and pieces of information and please picky, sometimes cranky customers.

Since, in my former life, I was a career counselor and workshop presenter at a university, resumes were very much a part of my job. I loved the challenge of helping people tell their stories in the most effective way possible. Of course, I didn’t write the resumes for my clients. I just gave advice.

The beauty of actually writing resumes for people, however, is that I get to do the job myself, culling their best selves from the mundane facts of their employment, educational histories, and extracurricular histories. So after certification by the Professional Resume Writers’ Association and following the steps that Legal Zoom told me to, Resume Specs was up and running.

After 3+ years, I am starting to lose interest. I hate to charge people for my services and resent all of the time it takes to carefully format their resume. The resume writing process is still creative and fulfilling, but some clients go back and forth over a particular word or phrase which gives me a headache.  With all of the time it takes me to write a resume and cover letter for someone, my pay is so low that it isn’t worth it.  Yet, I feel uncomfortable charging people who are looking for employment or a better job what the resume is worth in terms of my time.

I’ve been thinking that I will use my skills to volunteer at an employment center or returning homemakers’ group.  Of course, I’ll miss the income but receiving money was more stressful than it was worth.  I wonder how many 55+ people give up their businesses after a few years?  I should research that!

Categories: wisdom