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With extraordinary rewards and nerve-wracking risks, here’s a simple how-to guide for six types of businesses, plus one thing you can’t afford to ignore.

Some retirees need to bolster their finances. Others want to escape boredom with meaningful activities. A few of those “never-retirers” would like to gently tap the brakes. Finally, there are those anxious retirement squirmers who simply can’t sit still.

Starting a business might be just what the doctor ordered.

If you’re like many of us, you may not want to plunge headfirst into the tranquility of retirement, so running a part-time business is a great way to keep you from being tranquilized. Thousands of retirees are already doing it. It’s motivating, exhilarating, and profitable. And sure, sometimes it’s infuriating.

All you need to do is pick the business that’s best for you and get ‘er going.

Customers are king!

Never ignore the importance of customers or the difficulty of finding and keeping them. You can have the best business plan, build a perfect widget, and pack it up as safe and snug as a newborn. But unless you have someone who’ll pay you for it, you’ve wasted a ton of money and time.

The world will not beat a path to your door

The hardest part — and most important — of any business is marketing, networking, finding, and selling to … customers! Before you pick up a spatula or swing a crochet hook be sure to talk with people who buy your products and services. Understand what they want, and learn how to deliver it.

Start networking and selling before you start your business so when you hang out your shingle you’ll have a modest list of paying customers. You’ll also have learned an essential skill that will serve your new business well: marketing.

Prepare

Nobody owes you success, you’ll have to capture that elusive animal on your own. Luckily, a part-time retirement business is a joyous endeavor, and so is planning for it.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”
— Benjamin Franklin

Start with a plan, make sure you document every detail you can think of, and answer the following questions — and others that come to mind. A written plan is essential so you can reference back to it as you build the business.

• How much will it cost to start and run? Can you fund it on your own?
• Do you need to earn rent money or just beer money?
• Which type of business is best for you and the time you can commit?
• What if it fails? What will you do and how will it affect your future?
• What will an average day for you look like? Are you ready for that?
• When you’re all done, how will you elegantly exit the business?

Types of small part-time retirement businesses

There are as many different businesses as your imagination — which is why this is so much fun — but we can organize part-time ventures into six categories, each with its own unique characteristics.

There may be some quibbles with this chart because no two people approach a business the same, so let’s consider it a starting point and delve deeper into each category below.

1. Hobbyist products

Hobbyists sell products they make. They enjoy the art of making and then enjoy selling — for double the fun. Their products include pottery, flower arrangements, painting, woodworking, growing vegetables, quilting, baking sweets, almost anything you can imagine.

You’ll sell your products on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, your website, local fairs, farmer’s markets, or in person. I know of a group of women who arrange flowers and sell them for $20 from a wooden cabinet on the side of the road.

Analysis:
You get to make money from things that you enjoy making. What could be better than that?

Sadly, you’re not going to get rich selling hobby products, although a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month can go a long way to helping ease financial burdens.

A hobby business is easy to start up (and shut down), inexpensive to run, and you can work as much or as little as you like. It’s the perfect low-risk job for a talented individual who needs a modest cash infusion.

Startup:
Watch some videos on how to sell products on eBay, Etsy, and Amazon. Expand your hobby with some upgraded equipment if needed and build a small backlog of items. You should also try selling at local farmers’ markets or art fairs. Take the time to know your customers and ask what they like so you can direct the growth of your new business.

2. Service offerings

Like a physical product, you can sell personal services such as writing, editing, research, tutoring, or creating online courses. You can offer childcare, pet sitting, lawn mowing, or design services for yards or homes. You can be a handyman, bookkeeper, or life coach.

Services are sold most successfully through word of mouth and networking. Start with friends and neighbors and push them gently for referrals. List your service offerings online through social networks and send people to your website. Consider hiring a professional web designer and marketing expert.

Analysis:
Selling services won’t make you rich either, but like building a physical product, you can offer a service that delivers a wonderful warm feeling of pride.

These part-time ventures are easy and inexpensive to kick off, but some of them come with a commitment. For example, if you’re writing educational courses, you can’t just stop mid-stream. If you make a commitment to a pet-walking, you’ll need a backup for vacations and days off.

These jobs are best for those who love what they do and don’t have a complex life to interfere with a regular schedule. They’re harder to stop once you build a stable of repeat customers, but with a little advance notice, you can cut the cord and move on.

Startup:
Start slow with friends and neighbors. Find out what works, offer the best you can, and then expand to a level you can comfortably sustain.

3. Consulting

Consulting is a service business as well, but it tends to be more formal and pay better. You can charge a premium for expertise and advice, particularly specialized advice like finance, accounting, tax, construction, marketing, design, and professional coaching.

If you have the type of skill that is unique and highly valued, you should consider this as a part-time career. It’s one of the best you can take up in retirement for many reasons, but beware, consulting is as competitive as it is rewarding.

Analysis:
A consulting business costs very little to start up and run since it’s mostly advice you’re selling. Age doesn’t matter, only up-to-date knowledge, good organizational skills, and confidence. Sometimes you can do it remotely too, so you could be away on vacation and still run your business.

The most challenging part is getting customers. Business usually comes from word of mouth so you’ll have to network and promote your services with gusto. It has an easy exit plan in most cases, although some customers expect ongoing commitments.

Startup:
Get heavily involved in industry and social groups. You’ll gain visibility and insight into how to best run and market your business. You’ll need a professional website to point potential customers to (which might be your largest expense). Expect to grow slowly at first, but give it all you got because repeat customers are gold.

4. Part-time and gig jobs

The dream of being your own boss flies out the window with a “regular” part-time job. Working in a restaurant or a retail store can be fun and a good way to get a consistent income, but it’s a terrible way to be free from working for the man. The man also doesn’t pay well.

Gig jobs (independent, freelance) such as driving for Uber or Lyft offer more freedom but the upfront costs of technology can be significant. You can freelance online by writing code, designing websites, or doing almost anything people request on sites such as Fiverr or Upwork, but since you’re competing with a thousand other people, you won’t be getting rich in this lifetime.

Analysis:
If you need a job to make your rent payments or you simply don’t want to hustle for customers, regular jobs and gig jobs are great options for you. A consistent paycheck (regular job) can relieve a lot of stress when you’re tight on living expenses.

For the most part, these jobs are plentiful and easy to find, and the upfront costs are only a concern when you need a website or automotive technologies (Uber and Lyft). You can jump in and out of these jobs at will — even traditional jobs have few commitments.

Startup:
Apply for jobs online by going to the company’s website or use a service like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. In some cases, your qualifications are less important than the condition of your vehicle. Freelance gig jobs require technical and trade skills, but the only judges of quality will be the customers you win and whether they return or not.

5. Direct Sales

Direct sales jobs are independent positions that promote and sell a company’s products in exchange for a commission. There are over a thousand companies that offer this opportunity including common names like Amway, Avon, Mary Kay, and Pampered Chef.

If you can flit like a social butterfly and have a lot of friends, you can make good money in sales. You’ll have to invest a few dozen to a few hundred dollars in products and training though. A lot of people are successful (think Mary Kay pink Cadillac), but a lot more earn just a pittance.

These tend to be multi-level programs, where salespeople are stacked like a pyramid. People above you (uplevel) will help you so they can earn money from your sales. To be truly successful you’ll need to recruit others below you (downlevel) so you can supplement your income from their sales.

Analysis:
These jobs are common, legal, and in some cases can be quite lucrative. It takes a special person with a strong backbone, a large social network, and a hearty commitment. For most people, though, the income is low and inconsistent.

On the positive side, the hours are entirely your own and the rewards are directly related to your effort. If you find it doesn’t work out, there’s no commitment and you can just stop selling and move on to something else.

Startup:
This is super easy to get started because they’ll accept almost anyone with a few dollars to invest. Find the company with a product line you’d like to sell and sign up on their website. They’ll connect you with a mentor who will help get you trained. As soon as you finish training and get your sample products you can pick up the phone and start your new career.

6. Business ownership

It’s hard to own a business part-time, but there are ways. You can buy homes and flip them or keep them and become a landlord. You can buy or build a bed-and-breakfast business that becomes part of your life. Many people have Airbnb or VRBO rentals that don’t take a lot of effort and create nice incomes. You can buy a franchise or any business and hire someone to run it.

Analysis:
These ventures aren’t the same as a conventional job, but if done right can be managed with less than a full-time effort. Be prepared for a time commitment nevertheless, because you can’t zip away on a vacation and ignore them for weeks at a time, they need regular nourishment from their owner.

Income potential is off the charts, but so is the investment commitment. Only the rarefied few with lots of money to spare and good business intuition should venture into this minefield. The risk is high and since almost half of all small businesses fail in the first 5 years, you could stand to lose a lot of dough, and put your future at risk.

Startup:
It takes lots of cash, and sometimes gigantic loans to get these businesses off the ground. You’ll also need plenty of operating capital on top of that to pay for raw materials, upkeep, and to cover losses when business dips.

You’ll find business brokers in every big city. They’re a good place to start, but you’ll also want to put your ear to the ground once you decide on what you want — there are tons of unlisted businesses that you can find through networking.

Summary:

A successful business starts with research and planning, so begin your next career by talking to people and writing down your ideas. Find people who will buy your products and figure out your expenses so you can make an honest profit.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

The more expensive and complex your business, the more research and planning you need to do. The older you are, the more difficult it is to recover from financial troubles, and businesses are notoriously tricky. Start small and grow your way to a safe success.

Most of all, have fun! The whole point of being your own boss and putting in your sweat and blood is to enjoy it.

In a retirement career, benefits are much more than just money

We only have so many years left, so make them the very best you can!

I’d like to thank one of my subscribers for the idea for this story: Chris — you know who you are. Thanks!