Re-Skill and unleash your Second Career

This page was created to provide our pensioner community with a place to provide tips and ideas on how to become economically active after retirement.  And where we can share our stories about our re-skilling or upskilling journeys for the benefit of those individuals who feel they want to make their second half their best half. 

Retirement is a time when one wants to enjoy oneself, love life and prosper. Retirement is a wonderful time to do all the things you never found time for when you were working. But, for some of us, it can be a time of renewed career opportunities and growth. 

Retirees need no longer live on the sidelines. Retirees now have the opportunity to stay economically active and create additional sources of income when and how it suits them. These side hustles can include anything from making money out of your hobbies to even starting a new career or small business. Today, retirees are rewriting the rulebook when it comes to being economically active in retirement. The opportunities are exciting and numerous! 

Questions you can consider when you want to choose a side hustle:

• What jobs did you always admire and wish you could have pursued, but never had the time or money?  Perhaps you can become a court photographer and sell your photos to newspapers and news blogs. Maybe you want to do a Barista course and sell divine coffee two mornings a week to your fellow retirees?
• What interests you, i.e.which topics do you read or research most often? Maybe you can start a blog or vlog on this topic and receive advertising income?
• What hobbies do you have that you can maybe make an income from?  If you enjoy scrap booking or hunting, maybe you can present a short half-day course for other scrapbooking or hunting enthusiasts at a small fee. Maybe you can sell your knitted garments, or vegetables from your garden?
• How much time do you need to pursue your side hustle?  Writing a blog will leave you with a lot of free time, but sewing matric dance dresses or creating beautiful wooden furniture or pottery might be more time intensive. Remember, your retirement years are meant to be relaxing.
• How much capital do you need to get started?  If it is already your hobby, you might need very little capital input, although you will probably need to spend a little bit of money on deliveries and advertising in your local community. But if you want to start renting out a room in your house on Airbnb, you might have much higher starting costs.

Side Hustle Ideas!

Here are some ideas for a side hustle:

1. Teach a class in person or online. Check out Zoom (it is free for up to 40 minutes) as an avenue to present online classes. “Whether it is woodwork, photography, calligraphy, knitting or anything else, there will be a target audience that will be interested in learning,” says Derek Sall, founder of Life And My Finances. 
2. Start a blog. One of the best retirement side hustles is starting a blog. Click here for comparisons and links to the best blogging platforms. And once you have mastered blogging, why not charge a small fee to teach your fellow pensioners to do the same?
3. Become a consultant. There are many industries that you can consult to. Consider consulting to small businesses that are in the same field as you used to be.
4. Become a pet sitter or dog walker. 
5. Do transcription work: A simple job you can do at home. This is where you listen to an audio or video file and type word for word what you are hearing.
6. Make YouTube videos: YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world and it has been growing tremendously over the past decade. You can make videos on any topic. Even if you don’t make money directly from your videos, you can still get free products or services in exchange for an honest review of products and services of other businesses. Why not contact local businesses and ask whether you can review their product?
7. Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing is a business model in which you earn commissions by promoting other people’s or companies’ products or services.
   You can get started with affiliate marketing by registering on one of the popular affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, Clicksense, ShareASale, etc. These networks have their own payment processors and they will pay you a commission for each sale that you make through your referrals.
8. Paid surveys: Paid surveys are a great way to make money online. They’re quick, and you usually don’t have to do anything other than answer questions about the products you buy or services you use. You’ll be given an online survey with a list of questions, and all you have to do is answer them honestly. You’ll get paid if your answers match up with what companies need.
   You can find paid surveys through websites like Survey Junkie and Mobrog.
   Paid surveys won’t make you rich overnight—but if you’re willing to put in some time upfront answering questions from companies all over the world about things that interest you anyway (like food!), it’s possible for this side hustle to earn some extra cash every month!
9. Sell vegetables, fruit or herbs from your garden to your community.

Click here for more ideas on side hustles you can explore after retirement.
Click here for sixty creative ways to make money in retirement.

Resources: 

https://www.incfile.com/blog/what-are-the-best-retirement-side-hustles 
https://due.com/blog/side-hustles-to-earn-money-online-after-retirement/

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