From Retirement To Career Change

Should You PostPone Your Retirement?

During the last couple of years millions of people have postponed their retirement, that is, if they could keep their job or keep their business going. Deciding when to retire is becoming a tougher decision as everyone struggles with the economy.

 

The basic question you need to answer is whether you will have, at the very minimum, enough income to cover your basic living expenses for the rest of your life. To answer that question you need to also answer these questions:

Do you know what your basic monthly living expenses will be in retirement?

Do you know what your basic monthly income will be in retirement?

 

If your figures total a negative number it would seem you are going to have to continue to work.

 

Other questions you should be able to answer:

Do you have an emergency saving fund for just in case?

Have you calculated your life expectancy?

How will inflation impact your expenses?

When were you thinking about collecting your Social Security?

How much can I withdraw from my retirement funds?

How do I find a steady stream of income during retirement?

 

Well, what do you think? Should you postpone your retirement?

Let us know what you think about the economics of retirement.

 

To you success

 

Ruthan Brodsky

 

Set Up Your Email Basics

Email can be an integral part of your business and professional life in your retirement. It enables you to continue communication with your clients and to build your customer list.

 

You probably already have an email  address. My question is it effective for business. Now that you're not in an office it's even more important that you five the appearance of being serious about your business.

 

If you already have a website that reflects your business with the domain name, you may want to create an email address using that same domain name. Keep in mind do you want to be known for your own name or for your business name. For example, about a year ago I purchased the domain name Ruthan Brodsky and now use that for an email address. Ex: JohnDoe@JohnDoe.com   Previous to that I used my business name, RAB, but no one knew who that was unless they already had done business with me.

 

You, on the other hand, may be known as the doctor's coach and want to include that in your email. Ex:  coachingdoctors@professionalcoaching.com

 

If you do more than one thing, such as coaching and marketing organic hair products, you may want to use an email that's your own name. In other words if you want to appear professional and an expert in your field you need to decide whether to use one domain name that is your business name or your own name to start branding your business with email.

 

This isn't difficult to do but if you need help or don't want to bother then use your Virtual Assistant or webmaster.

 

To your internet success regardless of age,

 

Ruthan Brodsky

 

Online Training for Building Your Business

Taking a class to learn a new skill to build is one thing. Figuring out how to apply what you've learned is quite another.

You would think that with all my formal education and years of adult study I would be an expert at implementing what I've learned.  Well, I'm not and apparently I'm not alone.

Some studies suggest that we only apply between 10% to 40% of what we learned at a class or training program. That is leaving a major chunk of change on the table. And I'm as guilty of wasting my money taking online classes as the next person.

Sometimes I don't apply what I've learned because I've selected the wrong class and the information simply doesn't apply to my business or to anything else in my life.  Sometimes I have trouble with the scheduling and get lazy about downloading a recording of the class and listening later. That also includes finding the time to listen and take notes. Sometimes I don't like the instructor or I find them selling and not teaching and I don't pay attention to what they're teaching ...or promoting.

I suspect, however, this reluctance is part of human nature. Training involves change and change creates anxiety and most of us find ways to avoid anxiety. For some classes old habits and current writing assignments break down my strong resolve to use the newly acquire skills and knowledge. I sometimes think that if my office were more tidy my workplace environment would be more encouraging for change. And then I think of a new post for one of my blogs. So much for tidy.

I've recently devised an action plan that I believe will help me apply what I learn on an online course. I want to share it with you and see what you think.

After I take a course, or even following a teleseminar for a course, I am going to write down how I plan to use the new skills I've learned. I'm convinced that just writing it down makes it more likely to happen. My notion is to answer these 4 questions in my plan:

What will I do to implement a concept from today's session?

When will I do this?

What results doI expect?

Do I need outside support to implement?

The first thing I realize is that I'm going to have to schedule 20 minutes after each class to answer these questions. This is the time when I find out that I may need more information to take action. And that is good because there is nothing more frustrating than setting aside the time to get something done and I find there are missing pieces.

I started out 4 years ago with the idea for an internet business. My goal this month is to make learning transfer a more obvious and important part of my training and development. I suspect this will help me become far more effective than I already am.

What do you think about this notion? Do you think it's worth the time? Better yet, tell me what you do to transfer what you've learned in teleseminars and programs. Or what kind of problems do you have when taking an online training course? Scroll down to comments and type in the blank window.

To your success at any age.

Ruthan Brodsky