Changing careers at 55 or supplementing your current one would like to hear your thoughts or advise

[Joint Custody]

So I have been in the same industry for 30 years and over the last five years the industry I am in has just gotten harder and harder to find and sign up good new clientele on top of that our industry has been a challenge as well to have success in the way we did five / ten years ago.

We are in the contract brand management business. A good client for us is.. Do they have a good brand, Do the have the backing to take it to market, do they pay on time, do we fit with them on a business and personal level, will we have balance of life if we sign them.

Our legacy brands that we have " 15 years +" have all been sold to VC groups so half have gone away other brands we have had to drop for lack of payment. The brands we have in our portfolio are good brands however they don't pay on time.. they do pay eventually but it is hard to count on them for your monthly/ quarterly nut.

There are new brands to get however in today's world they only can pay 50% of our monthly fee so you have that challenge as well with new brands.

All of this has me burned out and a little jaded.

I am going into 2023 50% down in income and the clients we are courting just haven't come in yet. I have plenty of savings and cushion however I don't want to touch it.

One thing i learned from 2008-2009-2010 is you can burn through your savingings fast off setting the short fall and at 55 I don't want to do that.
I did have one bad investment in 2021/2022 that taped my savings pretty hard and I just don't want to go into them again if I don't have too.

With that all said with my current clientele I am only working around fours hours a day and pretty much done the work week by thursday. This has left a lot of time on my hands and you can only do so much around the house to keep busy and if you get out of the house you just spend money so I am trying to be smart about things and quite frankly has had me in a pretty bad funk!

I have the chance to work another industry 20 hours a week or less that would bring around 80k to 100k a year....pretty much set my own schedule other than working every other saturday. It is selling and that is what I like to do so that is good. I did my first day today with them ... great people and when you get a sale it is instant gratification. It will be a bit of a learning curve but it is not rocket science. It is retail sales and I have always been wholesale sales.
I would much rather just get my current business back in the right direction but that is going to take some time.

I haven't work for someone day to day in 30 years or gone into a office either. I have always been in outside sales and didnt feel tied to one location.

My struggle as I sit and write this is. I kinda feel like a failure at my age and there is a little bit of humility doing this to off set my loss. The goal with doing this is to get me out of my home office and around people, to not touch my savings and investments and to hopefully revitalize myself and motivate myself to overcome the challenges in my current business.

I would love to hear from those of you that have done something like this.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Mark.60]

I’m 62 worked for the same company for 35 years. The co. sold last year and last September I was laid off. Talk about a kick in the balls. Fortunately College tuition and weddings have been paid for some time ago. I am working but trying to decide what to do when I grow up. Glad I only have 2 & 1/2 years to retire. Stay positive,I know thats hard, good things will come.

 

[highslice]

Not exactly the same. I have been an in house controller or CFO since 1996. In 2017 I applied for a CFO job that sounded pretty good. Turns out it was outsourced accounting. Like you we have to sell to clients. I have never been in sales a single day of my life. I was 51 at the time. I decided to take on the challenge. Best decision I have ever made. I love the selling side of the business. The accounting work I can do in my sleep. More power to you. I hope it turns out for you.

 

[The Bill Collector]

Jim, this way more than I wanted to put on Front Street, but you bared all.... I have been in the collection industry for 30 years, opened my own shop 9.5 years ago, income took a little bit of a hit, but quality of life went way up... Well last year I missed 5 monthly paychecks and in December I went back to work for the man (corporate employer). I'm 64 and I'm close to retirement but not quite there yet... So, humbled yes, but what is right for me and my wife.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Maybe not too helpful but I'll share. I changed careers when I was 32. I was literally bored with my job. I had gone back to college at night to work on a second degree in software engineering. I quickly learned that's where my passion was. I looked forward to my classes, I looked forward to my projects and learning. About halfway into the college program I got an offer. It was over half less than my salary. I never thought twice and accepted it as quick as I could, I was so excited. I just wanted to write code and learn more.

Almost everybody close to me said it was going to be a mistake, that I couldn't afford the change. I didn't care, I wanted to get into software engineering. I had to sell my car and get a cheap one. No more dinners out and other cutbacks.

The money eventually took care of itself, I was happy as a pig in mud. Best decision I've ever made in my life as far as my career. Over the years I've moved up into management roles, made a lot more money but I miss being a software engineer, writing code and solving problems with code. I'm 56 now, and sometimes wish I was still writing code, but I haven't done it in over 10 years.

I say do what makes you happy, the rest will take care of itself.

 

[Golfman25]

I wouldn't use the word "failure." Business changes, and these days business is 10x as hard as it used to be. The new generation just doesn't have it, IMO. They end up causing more problems due to inexperience, ignorance, and the inability to think. I have seen it at suppliers, customers, etc. In my own company, I am concerned about the long term viability due to labor issues. Just not a lot of people who want to show up and do old school jobs. Maybe that changes, hopefully.

So, yeah, you look at things and what the future holds. At this point, I have no interest in putting my savings into the company. If it can't stand on its own, then it's over. I'm too old for a rebuild. After a pretty good year last year, we are looking at the recession year. The numbers going forward don't look good, and the losses will likely pile up. Luckily we are in a good spot to withstand the carnage. But like you said, finding new customers sux. They don't want to pay, trying to get away with 120 day terms and other BS. I don't have the patience and just say go somewhere else. There are times just I want to be the guy at Portillos hot dogs that calls out the order numbers -- "24 come get some more."

In your case, nothing wrong with diversifying your income. Give you time to take a breath and re-evaluate your business. If things change for the better and it can be rebuilt, then you can work that. In the meantime, sock as much away as possible and prepare to for retirement. Good luck.

 

[Joint Custody]

Great comments from all.

I am very fortunate. I have five business partners and we all cover each others back and look out for each other.
I also have a great girlfriend and four kids that don’t want for much.
Just like others here I am just frustrated with how things have been on the business side and as you all know there is something about your physical side at 55 things just aren’t the same as when your in the forties.
Having some heart issues in 2022 messed with my mind and the meds I take now just don’t let my body work like it should so that is frustrating too.
The good thing about what are business is we have always been able to control our future and we always had a long list of good clients. The industry we are in is retail food products and everyone always will need that.
It usually takes around six months to sign one however at this time it is just taking longer than that to get it done and we really want to get three or four signed.
It just felt out of the norm today to go to work at the new place and it has been a long time since I was the FNG on top of being a different industry than I have been working for 30 years.

 

[Skybolt]

Everything has changed over the past 10 years so drastically I don't know how any business can keep up with it. All the rules have been broken and new ones trying to emerge. Glad I made the decision to go back to working for a world wide organization.

I have never thought twice about switching fields or taking on new opportunities. I started out in a boat yard, then boat transporter, then commercial fishing, then oil spill clean up (running landing barge). Then finally back to school and became a EE. Then on to software doing both EE design and software running that design. Been doing this for so long everything just sucks, everything except the pay check that is. Sound familiar?

Non of those things were decisions I had to make, they just evolved into what they were. One thing lead to another and there I was. I've had my own company a couple of times but have always been beat out by big brother. An example of that is I started a computer company in the 90's was just getting off of my feet when Dell came around and blew all of the little guys out of the water. That story has happened so many times that I gave up and went back to work for the large organizations. Sounds like the same is happening to you. I say let it happen. A lot less stressful at times.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I like what Orlando said in his last paragraph. That's kind of been my story; at 56 I plan to ride it out until the end, whatever the date/age is, not sure yet. I am "Ok" with where I am, it's not my favorite job/company, or the worst. I've made more money, and less at other companies. I'd rather be more hands on writing code (again) at this point in my career, but that's a shift like I did when I was 32 and I don't think I have that in me again. It would be an easier shift since I used to do it, however the industry has changed, a lot, since then. Nor do I want to take a pay cut again, this time at 56 years old with not a lot of working years in front of me.

I too feel like a failure at times as I did not continue to chase my passion, hands on software development, and moved into management. I've also changed companies a lot, 4 times not by choice (laid off) because of various frustrations. I sometimes wish I could say I have been with the same company for many years.

If I read your post correctly, it sounds like you can continue with the 30 year industry/company AND do the new industry/side gig. I say continue, go for it, see where it takes you.

 

[Joint Custody]

"If I read your post correctly, it sounds like you can continue with the 30 year industry/company AND do the new industry/side gig. I say continue, go for it, see where it takes you."


Yes you are correct I can do the new gig and work the hours/days I want and still do my 30 year business at the same time.

The overall goal is to keep my mind and body busy and supplement the change in income going into 2023. I could easily do nothing however I would have to tap into my savings/ investments time to time and I don't want to do that.

Just sitting around the house was killing me! This really is more about my mental state more than a financial issue.

We all feel better when we control our destiny.

 

[Blueone]

So I have been in the same industry for 30 years and over the last five years the industry I am in has just gotten harder and harder to find and sign up good new clientele on top of that our industry has been a challenge as well to have success in the way we did five / ten years ago.

We are in the contract brand management business. A good client for us is.. Do they have a good brand, Do the have the backing to take it to market, do they pay on time, do we fit with them on a business and personal level, will we have balance of life if we sign them.

Our legacy brands that we have " 15 years +" have all been sold to VC groups so half have gone away other brands we have had to drop for lack of payment. The brands we have in our portfolio are good brands however they don't pay on time.. they do pay eventually but it is hard to count on them for your monthly/ quarterly nut.

There are new brands to get however in today's world they only can pay 50% of our monthly fee so you have that challenge as well with new brands.

All of this has me burned out and a little jaded.

I am going into 2023 50% down in income and the clients we are courting just haven't come in yet. I have plenty of savings and cushion however I don't want to touch it.

One thing i learned from 2008-2009-2010 is you can burn through your savingings fast off setting the short fall and at 55 I don't want to do that.
I did have one bad investment in 2021/2022 that taped my savings pretty hard and I just don't want to go into them again if I don't have too.

With that all said with my current clientele I am only working around fours hours a day and pretty much done the work week by thursday. This has left a lot of time on my hands and you can only do so much around the house to keep busy and if you get out of the house you just spend money so I am trying to be smart about things and quite frankly has had me in a pretty bad funk!

I have the chance to work another industry 20 hours a week or less that would bring around 80k to 100k a year....pretty much set my own schedule other than working every other saturday. It is selling and that is what I like to do so that is good. I did my first day today with them ... great people and when you get a sale it is instant gratification. It will be a bit of a learning curve but it is not rocket science. It is retail sales and I have always been wholesale sales.
I would much rather just get my current business back in the right direction but that is going to take some time.

I haven't work for someone day to day in 30 years or gone into a office either. I have always been in outside sales and didnt feel tied to one location.

My struggle as I sit and write this is. I kinda feel like a failure at my age and there is a little bit of humility doing this to off set my loss. The goal with doing this is to get me out of my home office and around people, to not touch my savings and investments and to hopefully revitalize myself and motivate myself to overcome the challenges in my current business.

I would love to hear from those of you that have done something like this.

Thanks for the input.

Omg toughen up….. you already know what to do…… make money. I retired at 55…… probably the dumbest thing I ever did…… second dumbest was buy a company 2 years later. We all make decisions….. good or bad you push thru

 

[mrsrobinson]

Your log in name should be "Mr. Empathy"

 

[TTG]

when you say retail….what type of industry are you talking about if you don’t mind me asking. I went from wholesale to retail and it’s been interesting.

So I have been in the same industry for 30 years and over the last five years the industry I am in has just gotten harder and harder to find and sign up good new clientele on top of that our industry has been a challenge as well to have success in the way we did five / ten years ago.

We are in the contract brand management business. A good client for us is.. Do they have a good brand, Do the have the backing to take it to market, do they pay on time, do we fit with them on a business and personal level, will we have balance of life if we sign them.

Our legacy brands that we have " 15 years +" have all been sold to VC groups so half have gone away other brands we have had to drop for lack of payment. The brands we have in our portfolio are good brands however they don't pay on time.. they do pay eventually but it is hard to count on them for your monthly/ quarterly nut.

There are new brands to get however in today's world they only can pay 50% of our monthly fee so you have that challenge as well with new brands.

All of this has me burned out and a little jaded.

I am going into 2023 50% down in income and the clients we are courting just haven't come in yet. I have plenty of savings and cushion however I don't want to touch it.

One thing i learned from 2008-2009-2010 is you can burn through your savingings fast off setting the short fall and at 55 I don't want to do that.
I did have one bad investment in 2021/2022 that taped my savings pretty hard and I just don't want to go into them again if I don't have too.

With that all said with my current clientele I am only working around fours hours a day and pretty much done the work week by thursday. This has left a lot of time on my hands and you can only do so much around the house to keep busy and if you get out of the house you just spend money so I am trying to be smart about things and quite frankly has had me in a pretty bad funk!

I have the chance to work another industry 20 hours a week or less that would bring around 80k to 100k a year....pretty much set my own schedule other than working every other saturday. It is selling and that is what I like to do so that is good. I did my first day today with them ... great people and when you get a sale it is instant gratification. It will be a bit of a learning curve but it is not rocket science. It is retail sales and I have always been wholesale sales.
I would much rather just get my current business back in the right direction but that is going to take some time.

I haven't work for someone day to day in 30 years or gone into a office either. I have always been in outside sales and didnt feel tied to one location.

My struggle as I sit and write this is. I kinda feel like a failure at my age and there is a little bit of humility doing this to off set my loss. The goal with doing this is to get me out of my home office and around people, to not touch my savings and investments and to hopefully revitalize myself and motivate myself to overcome the challenges in my current business.

I would love to hear from those of you that have done something like this.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Joint Custody]

when you say retail….what type of industry are you talking about if you don’t mind me asking. I went from wholesale to retail and it’s been interesting.

Industrial trailers and equipment.

 

[TTG]

Industrial trailers and equipment.

I think this was mentioned above but it sounds like you can do both which is great! Over the past 5 years there has been a drastic change in the retail customer, their expectations, and their overall attitude in my opinion (I’m trying to be polite). It can wear retail salespeople out. I see it in my staff more frequently than ever before. Of course, there are a ton of variables but regardless of retail industry there seems to be a pattern emerging. Just my worthless two cents which isn’t even worth that.

By the way thanks for sharing and opening up. Sometimes it’s good just to type things out regardless of audience.

 

[Skybolt]

... Yes you are correct I can do the new gig and work the hours/days I want and still do my 30 year business at the same time. ...

We all feel better when we control our destiny.

So where is the problem, sounds like the best thing ever.

Do any of us actually have any control over our destiny. At best we can only try and steer it in a certain direction.


I have had so much happen that is totally out of my control happen that it is common place now. Roll with it or get rolled over.

 

[Skuza]

This strikes close to home.
I've been soul searching for a couple years myself. I'll be 46 next friday. 26 years in my father's collision shop. Hard to find any help in this industry. Been doing it by myself for 5 years. Burned out doing it now. I know there are other things I would be good at and enjoy going to work. Something that would pay better as well.

 

[GypsmJim]

I am a Professional Engineer. Worked for the same company for 30 years, in a very limited industry. The company was bought out thru a leveraged buyout, and my office was relocated to XXX. No freaking way I'm moving to XXX. Anyone over 55 was given a package, with full benefits equaling SS to age 65. I was 54.

Others in the industry wooed me, but I still didn't want to move there either. I opened my own Engineering firm, charged my clients thru the nose and was quite successful for 10 years. I worked 10 days a month, and took off June-August to go go vacationing. The Depression of 2008 made the industry very sick, and my clients couldn't afford to pay me any more.

Got a Plant Engineer job close to my house in a completely different Industry. With my background I kinda fit in. Loved it. At age 67 I retired.

Now I do whatever I want to and my Pensions and SS keep me happy.

Kinda cliche', but when one door closes, another opens. If you got stamina and drive, there is nothing you can't do. After 30 years I was scared. But then I found out that no matter what happens I will be OK because I won't let the alternative happen.

Now today, with all the wars, political upheaval and crap going on, I must admit I'm scared again. The problem is that the idiocy today is beyond my control. I can't fix Washington.