Not Ready to Retire?

Judith Moore, 61, founder and CEO of Charleston Cookie Co. in Charleston, South Carolina, turned her lifelong baking hobby into a profitable business and considers herself too young and productive for retirement. "[If I were retired]," she says, "I would probably make anyone around me insane because I have too much energy to just be playing all the time."

A former marriage and family therapist, Moore traces the origins of her business to Christmas 2001. "I went on a quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but I went through a whole bunch of recipes and couldn't find one I liked," she says. So like a model entrepreneur, she stepped up to the plate. Her cookies soon gained an avid following, and in 2003, Moore subleased a small space and opened up shop. Six years later, Charleston Cookie Co. occupies a 5,000-square-foot warehouse and is projected to break $1 million in sales.

Moore has learned plenty of new skills on the job and says that's part of the thrill. "When I started, I had never opened an Excel spreadsheet before," she recalls. "But for the business plan, I had to learn how to do cash-flow projections, costing and accounting myself. It was painful, but it was like, welcome to the life of an entrepreneur."

Although her retirement was interrupted in favor of the business, Moore does plan to step back from daily operations within the next five years. "I don't have the energy I did when I was 30 or even 40," she says. But she does have some words of wisdom for the older entrepreneur. "You better be doing something you love. And if you're not risk-tolerant, you shouldn't be running a business, regardless of how old you are."

Martin Waugh
Liquid Sculpture
After 32 years in the tech industry, Martin Waugh caught his big break as a photographer, offering proof that a hobby business can become a viable career at any age. In 2001, he began a side business called Liquid Sculpture, selling images of water drops captured midsplash to advertisers and individuals. The transition from part time to big time, which happened in his early 50s, was an accident, he says.

"Liquid Sculpture was discovered by the internet sometime in 2005; it was wild," Waugh, now 54, recalls. "One day my website had 30 visits a day, and the next, 3,000. In a month, a million people had seen my work." He quickly realized the business opportunity on his hands, quit his job as a software architect and ramped into full-time work as a photographer. Having dabbled in the venture for several years beforehand, Waugh's transition was relatively smooth, and sales are up 70 percent since he started.

Waugh's prior experience also provided a big boost to his confidence, which helped him when he encountered skepticism about his career move. "You can't listen to the detractors," he says. "They're stuck in their matrix and typically not very receptive." For Waugh, running the side business meant all the difference: "I had a better idea that there was a 'real' life after my career."

Waugh's vision is to be the major supplier for water pictures in the advertising industry and advance his work in the fine arts world. "Those are difficult to do simultaneously," he admits, so retirement is still many years away. But you won't catch him complaining. He quips, "I often think, 'Oh my God, whose life am I living? I hope he doesn't want it back anytime soon and in the same condition I got it.'"

Dan Croft
Mission Critical Wireless
Dan Croft, CEO and president of Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Mission Critical Wireless, used a quarter-century's worth of experience in the wireless industry to pave a relatively seamless path into entrepreneurship.

At the end of 2004, Croft left his post as senior vice president of marketing and business development at Motient Corp. (a former division of Motorola) in favor of starting Mission Critical Wireless, which assists enterprises in implementing wireless services.

Although he had funding and a group of talented employees, not having a reputation was a drawback. But as an experienced executive-turned-entrepreneur, the transition wasn't quite so shocking. "I wasn't a 23-year-old, starry-eyed kid who thought he was going to [be] the next Bill Gates," he says. "I knew how challenging it would be."

For Croft, 54, entrepreneurship is more extreme than the corporate world. "The highs are much higher, the lows are much lower--and the lack of sleep is much greater," he says, laughing.

Retirement, however, isn't in the plans. "My goal is not to be on a tropical island; it's to have this place flourish," he says. "At the end of our first 30 days, our revenue was zero. Today, we have approximately $3 million in annual revenue. To see the activity going on now and know we built that from nothing is great."

No matter what your age, setting proper expectations for your business is key, Croft says. Cut your sales forecast in half and expect plans to take triple the amount of time to implement and cost twice as much. "If you still like the model, then go for it."

Back to Top Email Printer Friendly View

RATE THIS ARTICLE
Rate it:

Not Yet Rated: