I'm 7 years away from retirement age and have no investments or retirement fund. (That's a long story for another time.) My plan is to work smart for the next 4-5 years, put a pile of money in the bank, live off the interest, then, when I'm gone, have the principal converted to a foundation that will award scholarships and business start up loans. Here are the steps I'm taking, in sequence:
1. Promote prepublication copies of my e-book, Your Wisdom is Worth a Million,
2. Promote profiles on my new speaker directory of Commission-Free Speakers to promote on tour,
3. Start to get in shape to increase energy and stamina for living "homeless" with sporadic power,
4. Finish painting my condo and clean it to immaculate, move-in condition,
5. Find a buyer who can give me the best price and take over September 1,
6. Turn my reports and manuals into e-books,
7. Update 4 web sites,
8. Sell everything I can for as much as I can and give away what I can't sell,
9. Pay off all debt from the proceeds so I am debt-free: consumer credit cards, van loan and home mortgage,
10. Live frugally in my van with few possessions,
11. Generate publicity through the press and media to encourage invitations to speak and invitations to park overnight,
12. Generate an income while living permanently on the road by:
a. Syndicating a newspaper column,
b. Accepting sponsorships for promotion on my web pages and van,
c. Offering one day workshops on Building an Advice Empire,
d. Speaking to professional and business organizations,
e. Performing "Business Biopsies": identifying unhealthy symptoms of professional practices and prescribing "cures,"
f. Offering 30 minute marketing consults by phone and email,
g. Promoting speaker directory and other people's how-to books and columns to press and media as I promote mine,
h. Offering online training/support to students and adults who want to earn income by providing personal services,
i. Processing e-book sales and speaker profiles,
j. Do fun things like voice commercials, voice-mail announcements, etc.
k. Land a contract for a trilogy of books on "advice empires".
13. Visit newspapers and talk radio stations with news releases for potential interviews,
14. Visit people across the United States I have met through various Internet forums,
15. Offer payment or do a household chore in exchange for connection to electricity/Internet, shower, other necessities,
16. Interview leading authorities across the US and Canada for my column and future books,
17. Check out communities where I might want to relocate when I can no longer travel,
18. Post to this blog about my experiences and thoughts.
That's my plan. If you have questions or comments, please post below.
Who I am
- Andrea Reynolds
- Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
- I'm a 72-year-old single female now living in the Tampa Bay area, from Erie Pennsylvania. I spent almost 30 years in Ontario Canada where I owned a personal public relations consultancy and wrote books on getting paid to consult, speak, and write. I stopped blogging in 2011-2012 when I attended to both parents' separate estates.
