For retirees like Max Steiner, a wisely funded "encore career" in franchising could be the difference between retiring and retiring well.
PARKER, Colo., May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — By now we've all seen the Prudential commercial where the witty professor poses the question, "How much money do you think you'll need when you retire?" Then participants are given ribbons to represent how many years that amount of money might last.
For Max Steiner, having taken an early retirement last year at age 57, this question became very real. Even though he had built up a considerable nest egg, when he took a look into the future he wasn't satisfied with what he saw.
"It would have been a stretch, financially, to make it," said Steiner.
According to a 2014 Employee Benefit Research Institute survey, only 18 percent of workers say they are very confident they have enough money saved for a comfortable retirement.
For Max, the keyword was comfortable. He didn't want to stretch; he wanted to prosper – without limitations on his income.
He knew he didn't want a full-time job; what he wanted was a business investment – something that was relatively hands-off that he could oversee from afar, and something with a recurring revenue model. For Max, a franchise seemed like a good fit. And studies show he wasn't alone in his thinking.
A TD Canada Trust survey found 54 percent of Baby Boomers have or are considering starting a business, from consulting firms to buying a franchise. Further, in the U.S., the 55- to 64-year-old age group has had the largest increase in entrepreneurial activity over the last decade, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes entrepreneurship.
Max settled his franchise search on a Sola Salons Studio franchise. The model met all of his requirements, but there was just one small problem—it was too expensive.
"At this stage in my life I didn't want to get tied down to a huge [loan] commitment," said Steiner.
Before abandoning the idea, he was introduced to CatchFire Funding, and the notion of using his own retirement money to actually fund the business. In effect, he could access the capital he needed without incurring taxes, penalties, or—perhaps most important to Max—debt.
"If I could do it with my own money, especially the first [Sola] store, then I could draw a salary and not worry about servicing debt. That was a big plus," said Steiner.
And what about his nest egg—was he worried about building it back up?
"You're kinda rolling the dice in a sense, but you're rolling the dice no matter what you do. The thing about doing this [401k funding] is that I'm investing in myself. I'm risking it no matter what I do—let's risk it somewhere I can at least have a hand in what happens to it."
Max Steiner proves that, even in retirement, Baby Boomers are ready and willing to take their investments—and therefore, their retirement income—into their own hands.
More about CatchFire Funding:
CatchFire Funding is a firm dedicated to assisting clients in the effort of unlocking financial solutions for business ownership, specifically in the realm of business and franchise ownership. They specialize in 401k rollover and IRA funding options that aid clients in achieving financial freedom through long-term, wealth building strategies. www.catchfirefunding.com
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