It is usually natural for most people to anticipate their later years as a time to just sit back and relax. This, however, is not the case with most people when they become senior citizens. One of the most popular experiences of most senior citizens is that they still want to remain somewhat active. Most of them say it is good for their health whilst some still want to make money despite being advanced in age. So there are still lots of entrepreneurship opportunities for senior citizens in South Africa. Especially if one was building up their savings over the years the financial aspects of starting a business might not be as daunting. We shall be discussing 10 business ideas that a senior citizen in South Africa can consider starting.
Farming
This is a favourite amongst many senior citizens. This is because farming can be effectively done without having to break your back per se. The experience of exercising oversight over a farming business affords one with the blissful time to co-exist with a natural and serene environment. This plays a huge positive role on the overall well-being of senior citizens whose health can be somewhat delicate. Over and above that, farming is a very lucrative venture whether it is in livestock or crop farming.
Consultancy Services
If you are a senior citizen then it is usually the case that you spent the greater portion of your earlier years specializing in a particular field or trade. Using your skillset you can build a business in which you do consultancy work for clients in your respective field. Suppose you were majoring in business strategy formulation you can offer your expertise to other businesses. This can be done through hosting clients at your home, setting up offices or operating online. This line of business can be setup in any field of endeavour.
Content Creation
This is domain that involves a lot of things which all constitute content creation. We are looking at things like blogging, podcasting or vlogging. For senior citizens it can be most expedient to choose areas that they enjoy (as hobbies). They must also be areas that can draw in a huge following and spark high levels of engagement. An example can be a senior citizen who has decided to go on a round trip around the globe. They can document their journey and experiences in the form of a blog or vlog. That can be sure to attract a huge following which when sufficiently large can be monetized through paid ad placements.
Coaching Services
Coaching here is in the broad sense and not just confined to sporting activities though that is one avenue. Coaching can involve leadership training, mentorship, counselling services and so on. Senior citizens, especially those who would have already distinguished themselves during their careers can easily make a name for themselves in this regard. The approach is to note areas whose demand for coaching services is high and sustainable.
Events Management
Interestingly, there is a significantly high number of event management businesses owned and run by senior citizens. Due to their having been around for many years puts them at a position where they have a wide network of people. Thus it can be easy to quickly cultivate and grow a substantial client base. One would obviously choose which types of events they would like to cover. Most senior citizens would prefer private or corporate events though preferences do differ.
Tutoring
Already we have talked about consultancy and coaching as possible businesses a senior citizen can do. Closely related to those is tutoring which can either be online, physically or both. Universally anyone can become a tutor in a field they have mastered and this is no different for senior citizens. Senior citizens might even have the advantage of having advanced knowledge that has been refined experientially.
BnB Services
The interesting reason for why some senior citizens start a bed and breakfast business is their yearning for company. Most bed and breakfast joints are actually owned and run by senior citizens. This type of business brings in steady and consistent income and is not quite tasking. Some can re-purpose properties they own for this, they can actually build from scratch or just purchase a property to convert into a bed and breakfast location. After all, it affords them the opportunity to regularly meet and converse with diverse groups of people.
Books
This is a classic and still remains a common thing amongst senior citizens. When people are in their advanced years they usually have stories or a story that is worth sharing with the world. Committing such stories, experiences or ideas to paper can become a resounding business. There are a large number of best-selling authors in the world who are senior citizens.
Speaking Engagements
Just like writing books this field thrives on one’s ability to become an authority in a particular field or on a particular subject. With advanced mastery of one’s knowledge, perfecting public speaking and building a widespread network this can become a huge business. There are some senior citizens who have made it big in this business who now charge thousands of dollars per hour because they are now worth that much.
Investments
If one is not keen on getting themselves involved with the intricacies of starting and running a business they can opt for investing instead. Making investments is a high-risk business and requires one to seek professional help wherever possible. Warren Buffet who is an authority on investing advises people to invest in industries they are familiar with or that they comprehensively understand. It would be a disaster if a senior citizen loses their hard-earned money through making the wrong investments.
These are 10 tried and tested business ideas senior citizens can start. Considering that they are now advanced in years, trial and error must be avoided at all costs. Virtually everything must go right because losses at this stage in life can actually be fatal.
