Post by: Paddy on September 25, 2007, 09:32:03 PM
I have a Real Estate license, which I've used in the past to sell houses and mortgage loans, and manage rental properties. Also have a license to sell insurance (Life Agent only) which I've never used.
Nobody will hire me because of my age (61) and my previous history of cancer. I have no intention of drawing social security next year at age 62. I fully intend to remain active and productive until some disability overtakes me. I pay my own health insurance premiums, and have no debt.
What can I do to generate some income? I'm willing to invest up to 50k, maybe more, depending on the opportunity, and will reward a successful idea with cash.
Thanks for your help.
Post by: Euclidean on September 26, 2007, 12:44:05 AM
I'm working on what's essentially the same degree you currently hold, and I have every confidence in the world I will wind up in some God forsaken place if I try to use it once I get it.
Crazy idea: are you in a position to get a PhD? Hear me out on this. You obviously have a long track record of experience, and in some places especially at some of the smaller universities they're clamoring for professors in accountancy and business who have actual experience in finance and/or industry. Most of my profs were in their late 50s when they took the professing gig, 61 wouldn't be unusual at all. Just a thought.
Or how about the CPA exam? Granted you'd be underemployed as a staff accountant but thanks to the gov't boondoggle in accounting act of 2002, auditors are needed.
Yeah I wouldn't want to do work like that either for my first choice, don't blame you if you don't want to go there.
Crazier idea: being underemployed sucks but it's MUCH better than being unemployed. It keeps your mind together, and it's a little something coming in at least. I know a lot about this...
I know it's a hell of a lot easier to say all this than to actually come up with anything that might help you out.
Post by: onions! on September 26, 2007, 02:32:21 AM
Well shoot man!Become a "coyote"!
Strictly a cash business(I'm sure that w/your background you know how to wash your $$$),you'll meet lots of interesting people,& it'll be a lot more interesting than a desk job!
Get out & enjoy the fresh air!
Post by: Laurent du Var on September 26, 2007, 02:42:37 AM
What can I do to generate some income? I'm willing to invest up to 50k, maybe more, depending on the opportunity, and will reward a s u c c e s s f u l idea with cash.
Thanks for your help.
How about you come to the south of France and we'll open an English bookshop/
artgallery ?
You'd make no money and lose what you'd have invested and I
wouldn't ask you a reward....
The Côte d'Azur is weatherwise the same as California, the mediterrenean sea is way nicer and cleaner than the pacific ocean and the region is just a little more despised by your fellow Americans than yours and there is good wine here and there.
Oh by the way the social security including all costs for healthcare
in France for a businessowner is around 600 $ a month, you do the math.
Post by: jeepmor on September 26, 2007, 03:35:57 AM
I'd say come to Oregon and invest in a Brewpub with me and some buds, but that's a ways out for us still and just an idea we happen to be kicking around. Had I done that out of college, I'd have several by now. Back in 92 they were not everywhere much like they are now. I'd personally like to find some sleepy little small ski resort town and put one up at the base or in the town down from the hill. We would need a good money guy.
I think all other guy and myself would have at least $50k each to put into this idea in a small town West of Portland called North Plains. It's about the only town left in the Portland Metro area that has not been overrun by development just yet.
Post by: Harold Tuttle on September 26, 2007, 04:17:38 AM
www.indeed.com
Post by: charby on September 26, 2007, 04:22:59 AM
I've been wondering if opening a shop that sells Chinese made gas scooters would be a smart decision, I see them sell on Ebay for $500-$1000 and I bet you could buy them a lot cheaper by the the shipping container from China.
http://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Scooter.html
Post by: grampster on September 26, 2007, 04:37:26 AM
Aren't realtors independent contractors? We have several firms her in Michigan that provide space/tools for realtors for a fee. Although the last house that sold in Michigan was last January.
If you like travel, buy a sleeper cab and haul freight. OVR truckers are in high demand. As an owner/operator, your age and health are not an issue.
Post by: AJ Dual on September 26, 2007, 06:17:48 AM
It seems to me that all the tax, accounting, and real-estate type things are ones that could all be done on a 1099 or comission-only basis. Have you been up front with the age and health issues and offered your services to any agencies or firms that way?
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 06:23:17 AM
On the CPA thing, I know a guy who as a high school teacher in his 40's decided he wanted to be a CPA. He earned an accounting degree and passed the CPA exam. Part of the licensing requirement is a 2 year 'internship' with a CPA firm, but nobody would hire him!
On the coyote thing, no hablo espanol :
Quote
the region is just a little more despised by your fellow Americans than yours
Laurent, that's hilarious!
The Brewpub could work if the location is right, but the food and beverage business can be tricky. Sometimes your landlord makes more than you do.
http://www.indeed.com/ That's a great link. Thanks!
Don't know about the made in China scooters. Who is the target market? But, something along those lines -buying, importing, middlemanning, then selling might be just the ticket. That's the way a lot of ebay sellers work, right? They have no inventory, they just take orders for stuff, buy it from somebody else, mark it up and sell it?
I got involved with Primerica a few years back, which is why I have the insurance license. Never did anything with it or Primerica because I didn't like the way they operate; they're somewhat less than honest. The higher ups on the food chain make their money not only from overrides, but mainly from the 'sphere of influence' of new people. IOW, they want to sell all your friends and relatives life insurance, mutual funds and annuities.
All good ideas. Thanks! keep 'em coming.
Post by: Euclidean on September 26, 2007, 07:24:46 AM
Franchise business.
You have the real estate experience so you could probably find the right place at the right price, and unlike most franchisees I've ever met you actually know how a business is supposed to run itself. (Note that I've met successful franchise owners who have no formal business training or experience whatsoever they just bust their butts to make it work!)
The only catch is the startup cost. I bet it would be ridiculously high in CA.
Post by: charby on September 26, 2007, 07:29:45 AM
Quote
Don't know about the made in China scooters. Who is the target market? But, something along those lines -buying, importing, middlemanning, then selling might be just the ticket. That's the way a lot of ebay sellers work, right? They have no inventory, they just take orders for stuff, buy it from somebody else, mark it up and sell it?
Anyone who wants cheap transportation
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 07:40:59 AM
Quote
It seems to me that all the tax, accounting, and real-estate type things are ones that could all be done on a 1099 or comission-only basis. Have you been up front with the age and health issues and offered your services to any agencies or firms that way?
Yes. I live in a semi-rural area with mostly sole proprietor mom and pops, vineyards and wineries,and a bunch of retail chain stores and restaurants. The largest employers are county and state governments. No major business headquarters so that kind of freelancing would require at least temporary relocation. I'm not willing to live in a motel and eat restaurant food for weeks/months on end.
I do (or did until I underwent cancer treatment right at the beginning of the 2006 tax season) seasonal tax work. I was a one man show, working out of an office at home. Between the surgery and the radiation, I was too sick to work for several months. I don't ever want to put clients or myself in that position again.
That leaves some kind of regular 9-5 job as an employee. I've circulated my resume and get callbacks and some interviews. There's interest until they ask what I've been doing for the past two years, then disappointment is obvious when I mention the "C" word. Next time, I'm going to just say 'I was sick for awhile', and see what happens.
I'll probably wind up 'underemployed', as Euclidean says, and that's ok too, provided the working conditions aren't awful. I won't work for dishonest aholes anymore. BTDT. I have friends who've been on the same job for 20, 25, 30 years and are (for the most part) completely miserable. They can't wait to retire and are counting the days. I suppose there's some value in job longevity and security (most work for county or state government), and a secure pension. Can't see being unhappy for the entire workweek, then spending Sunday dreading Monday morning, for years on end.
The other possibility is some sort of business but I haven't been able to figure out what.
Post by: Brad Johnson on September 26, 2007, 09:21:45 AM
Brad
Post by: Gewehr98 on September 26, 2007, 09:36:51 AM
Post by: meinbruder on September 26, 2007, 09:56:21 AM
Traffic in the Portland metro area has become so miserable that I dont even take a third of the closings because of commute times. That tidy fee doesnt mean much when it takes four hours round trip to make it. This gig would make a nice retirement supplement but not much of a living. My under employment is wrecking my marriage and Im not sure I care.
}:)>
I'll probably wind up 'underemployed', as Euclidean says, and that's ok too, provided the working conditions aren't awful. I won't work for dishonest aholes anymore. BTDT. I have friends who've been on the same job for 20, 25, 30 years and are (for the most part) completely miserable. They can't wait to retire and are counting the days. I suppose there's some value in job longevity and security (most work for county or state government), and a secure pension. Can't see being unhappy for the entire workweek, then spending Sunday dreading Monday morning, for years on end.
The other possibility is some sort of business but I haven't been able to figure out what.
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 10:13:26 AM
Quote
Income on what scale?
Brad
Brad
Not a whole lot; +- 50k
Post by: charby on September 26, 2007, 11:41:40 AM
Quote
Income on what scale?
Brad
Brad
Not a whole lot; +- 50k
$50K per year is a lot...
Post by: Monkeyleg on September 26, 2007, 12:18:42 PM
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 12:38:23 PM
Post by: Euclidean on September 26, 2007, 12:40:33 PM
Quote
Income on what scale?
Brad
Brad
Not a whole lot; +- 50k
$50K per year is a lot...
It is, but in the ideal situation he's probably actually qualified to make twice that amount.
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 12:55:31 PM
Quote
It is, but in the ideal situation he's probably actually qualified to make twice that amount.
Only if I got lucky and were in a large metro area. Most probably though the lack of a CPA certificate would keep me away from 6 figures. That amount would be unreachable around here; most small business owners don't earn that much themselves. Plus, this is a college town with plenty of cheap labor.
Post by: Big_R on September 26, 2007, 12:56:49 PM
Ryan
Post by: Brad Johnson on September 26, 2007, 12:57:07 PM
Quote
college town
There's your source of income.
Brad
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on September 26, 2007, 12:59:25 PM
Post by: Brad Johnson on September 26, 2007, 01:15:53 PM
Brad
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 01:24:22 PM
Post by: jnojr on September 26, 2007, 01:34:04 PM
That would be about perfect. I thought I was there just a few days ago when a firm called in response to my resume. We were having a fine conversation until I answered the question "what have you been doing the last 2 years?" After the "C" word, there was only the sound of crickets chirping. Never even got an interview.
So stop saying the "C" word.
When they ask what you've been doing, say you tried retirement and it didn't really fit for you, and you realized you want to work for several more years.
Post by: Paddy on September 26, 2007, 01:46:38 PM
Quote
When they ask what you've been doing, say you tried retirement and it didn't really fit for you, and you realized you want to work for several more years.
That's what I'll have to do, and it is partially true. I recovered from treatment before the end of 2006, and haven't done anything, even look for work, since then. So I did try retirement. Sooner or later though, I'd have to come clean. The surgery took my sternocleidmastoid (the big muscle on the side of the neck) and the radiation fried all but one of my saliva glands, so I carry a bottle of water around all the time.
Post by: Bogie on September 26, 2007, 02:28:06 PM
I'd suggest going into a part-time business. Heck - do taxes.
Post by: grampster on September 26, 2007, 03:21:13 PM
I take some meds that dry up saliva. Try chewing sugarless gum, helps produce saliva.
Post by: charby on September 26, 2007, 04:16:44 PM
Quote
college town
There's your source of income.
Brad
open a liquor store or a bar with discount beer nights.
Post by: Ned Hamford on September 26, 2007, 05:59:17 PM
Post by: Jamisjockey on September 27, 2007, 06:05:35 AM
http://www.cryobank.com/
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on September 27, 2007, 06:49:32 AM
and another tack you might try is turn the recovery into an asset. i am an alcoholic and junkie 15 years sober 20 some off the dope. i am candid about it and turn it to an asset with many folks. i can tell you that i admire anyone who can deal with the stress of cancer and come through it. its far from easy from what i've seen. i've always prefered being candid cause when the truth comes out and it almost always does the fact you've concealed something affects the relationship.pm me my sis worked for a number of accounting firms with offices all over i'll give ya her number and she might be able to help hook you up with someone in your area.and if someone is such a pissant that the fact you had a disease and fought through it deters em from hiring you screw em their loss and you don't need to work for a pissant anyway. i
Post by: Paddy on September 27, 2007, 06:51:32 AM
Quote
I'd suggest going into a part-time business. Heck - do taxes.
I've been doing seasonal tax work all along. About 1997 I gave up my client base to go corporate (bad choice
, but I didn't know it yet) Lemme back up. Sometime in the late 1980,s several of my tax clients were realtors who consistently earned upwards of $100k. I wasn't making anywhere near that. Plus, I was in a depression (didn't know that, either) and had just gone through a divorce and lost my house. I looked at them, looked at the numbers and said to myself "hell, I can do this". So I got my real estate license and went to work. Right off, I had two strikes against me (yet another thing I didn't know then). First, I had no idea how to sell real estate. Sure, I had a license, knew the mechanics, rules, law, ethics of a real estate transaction, but that was it. I had no idea how to get listings (which shouldhave been my focus). Instead, I wound up driving 'buyers' (ha!) around three counties. I didn't know how to sell, I didn't qualify them, I wasn't working with a loan agent. Nada.
Second, the recession of 1990 hit, then Saddam invaded Kuwait. Interest rates went up, real estate activity went down, and I was screwed, blued and tatooed. I jumped over to working for a mortgage broker selling loans and refis. Unknown to me, the broker and his wife were involved in some shaky deals, were on the verge of divorce and coked up to boot. I didn't sell many loans, and didn't get paid for some I did sell. My meager post divorce savings were rapidly dwindling.
Onward. I still had the real estate license so the obvious next choice was property management. I earned a wage rather than a commission. Did everything, screened tenants, did move out inspections, prepared rental agreements, served notices, evicted tenants, prepared owner's financial statements, reconciled bank accounts, etc. After about 5 years, I was approaching burnout and the owner's wife (who worked in the office) was becoming a real PITA. One day, she caught me at the wrong time and I said 'take this job and shove it' or words to that effect, cleaned out my desk and left.
My next job search turned up a corporate accounting gig in Orange County, about 300 miles from here, so I gave up my tax client base and relocated. Paid a nice starting salary. It wasn't too long, however, before I saw the light. High, high stress, overtime hours with no extra pay (they called me an Accounting Manager-ha!), and volatile clients. Mommy I want to go home.
Next stop was Santa Barbara where I worked preparing multiple financial statements for a lawyer who managed mobile home parks. Won't even go into all the snaky sideways deals in that business.
Anyway, the next job took me back home (into corporate accounting again, but I didn't know it at the time). Went to work for a small community hospital, a non-profit. Good starting pay, bennies, stable work environment (ha! double ha!) It wasn't long before I figured out what was going on. This hospital, and two others were owned, and being sucked dry, by a group of shysters in San Diego. These guys had big cars, bigger boats, and even bigger houses, under the auspices of a 'non-profit'. Bankruptcy was the final step in their business plan. Then a sale to an interim owner, who spun off two of the hospitals to a huge west coast healthcare provider with dozens of hospitals (another 'non-profit'). They relocated me 50 miles from home and brought in a series of high paid 'consultants' and idiot sycophant supervisors. They brought in one chucklehead who had been the CFO of a small local HMO that went broke due to mismanagement, and left it's physicians and patients high and dry.
Anyway, they put this yutz in a position between me and my boss, where there was nothing for him to do. So, he started taking work away from me, to justify his existence. The bastiche was stealing my job and there was nothing I could do about it. Pretty soon, I had very little to do except keep track of assets (which sounds like a lot of work in a hospital but isn't. The software does all the depreciation and amort, schedules, etc. All had to do was add new purchases and subtract retirements once a month). I kept asking for more work to do, but got none. Had time on my hands and spent a lot of it on THR, working up to 7k+ posts. Then I got busted.
Unknown to me, the waddling fatass twinkie munching nerds in IT had been monitoring and recording my internet use for several months, and had a complete record of all the sites I visited. Got called into HR where my idiot boss gleefully showed me the thick stack of records tracking my internet usage. There followed a lot of head shaking and clucking about 'guns', 'assault weapons', etc., and I was escorted out of the building by security. That was my last job. (They fired that guy several months later for complete incompetence. He couldn't read and interpret financial statements let alone prepare them. Hell I could have told them that two years earlier)
Post by: Paddy on September 27, 2007, 06:57:06 AM
Quote
I take some meds that dry up saliva. Try chewing sugarless gum, helps produce saliva.
grampster, check out the Biotene products made especially for 'dry mouth'. Xylitol gum is useful too, but expensive.
jamisjockey, will they give you a hand with that?
cassadrasdaddy, thank you for the encouraging words, they are appreciated. And congratulations on your continuing sobriety.
Post by: Jamisjockey on September 27, 2007, 07:01:24 AM
Quote
I take some meds that dry up saliva. Try chewing sugarless gum, helps produce saliva.
grampster, check out the Biotene products made especially for 'dry mouth'. Xylitol gum is useful too, but expensive.
jamisjockey, will they give you a hand with that?
cassadrasdaddy, thank you for the encouraging words, they are appreciated. And congratulations on your continuing sobriety.
It helps if you bring a friend.
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on September 27, 2007, 07:02:08 AM
Quote
Unknown to me, the waddling fatass twinkie munching nerds in IT had been monitoring and recording my internet use for several months, and had a complete record of all the sites I visited.
You should never have an expectation of privacy on a corporate network. I'm a fatass IT guy (but I hate twinkies) and people around here get canned pretty regularly for blowing the day on social networking sites and looking at porn.
Post by: Paddy on September 27, 2007, 07:20:17 AM
Quote
Unknown to me, the waddling fatass twinkie munching nerds in IT had been monitoring and recording my internet use for several months, and had a complete record of all the sites I visited.
You should never have an expectation of privacy on a corporate network. I'm a fatass IT guy (but I hate twinkies) and people around here get canned pretty regularly for blowing the day on social networking sites and looking at porn.You're right. I knew better. I was warned in advance and would have survived it had I been on better terms with my boss. I don't visit porn sites, though. Either at home or work.
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on September 27, 2007, 07:24:32 AM
Post by: Paddy on September 27, 2007, 07:33:10 AM
There's a cemetary on the other side of the mountain from here that uses the Rodenator. They call the PD beforehand every time because there are always 911 'shots fired' calls.
Post by: jnojr on September 27, 2007, 11:04:38 AM
That's what I'll have to do, and it is partially true. I recovered from treatment before the end of 2006, and haven't done anything, even look for work, since then. So I did try retirement. Sooner or later though, I'd have to come clean. The surgery took my sternocleidmastoid (the big muscle on the side of the neck) and the radiation fried all but one of my saliva glands, so I carry a bottle of water around all the time.
But you'll "come clean" after you're hired. Then, if they want to fire you for having had cancer, they can write you a check
Post by: roo_ster on September 27, 2007, 03:30:51 PM
Post by: Paddy on September 27, 2007, 03:52:52 PM
Although I've seen Mike's photo, and he doesn't have much hair.
Post by: charby on September 28, 2007, 03:47:44 AM
Dear Student,
We seek honest, self - motivated people with a desire to work in the home typing and data entry field area. The preferred applicants should be at least 18 years old. No experience is needed. You can earn from $1000 to $3000 dollars per month or more.
You will be instructed to process the information by selecting and entering it online. If you are interested in making money using your computer at home or at school just reply to my email!
Requirements:
-Basic computer and typing skills
-Ability to follow instructions
-Computer with Internet access
-Valid email address
-Basic Internet knowledge
Job description:
-Fill simple marketing forms
-PPC Data entry
-Ad submitters
-Web researchers
-Several other entry level positions
Best Regards,
Brad Sommers
Recruitment Deptartment Manager
Brad Sommers [sommers@netmark-global.com]
Post by: jefnvk on September 28, 2007, 05:00:56 AM
Quote
But, something along those lines -buying, importing, middlemanning, then selling might be just the ticket. That's the way a lot of ebay sellers work, right? They have no inventory, they just take orders for stuff, buy it from somebody else, mark it up and sell it?
I got two housemates and a friend who do so. Theyre making upwards of $1000 a month for about an hour or two of work a day. Figure if they went full time (were all college kids), they'd be making quite a bit more. Basically, they bought a membership into a buying club, that gets them discounts/dealer pricing from like 200 stores. They take products from those stores, list them in their eBay store with a markup. When the person buys the item, they basically go to the retailer, put their information in the BILL TO fields, the buyers info in the SHIP TO field, and make a quick buck off doing pretty much nothing. They make whatever profit they get off the markup, and usually a percentage (I think around 6%) from the company they made a sale with.
http://www.simplx.com/ is the dropship company they use
Post by: Jamisjockey on September 28, 2007, 07:10:51 AM
Post by: InfidelSerf on September 28, 2007, 08:11:28 AM
If you were really serious about learning I could give you a couple names of guys I know that are pretty successful at it.
There are some great tax advantages to trading futures over other securities.
Just a thought.