Hi, 55 and planning to Retire at the end of the month

[JonB]

Hi,
Glad I found this forum. I am 55 and about to "retire" at the end of the month after 33+ years with the same company. This opportunity came up sooner than I expected, but includes a decent separation package from my company. It looks like I will be OK financially to retire, but still looking to continue doing some fun and motivating "work". This would also help me to continue my lifelong journey of learning!

I am hoping to leverage my skills and experiences to help mentor and coach some startup companies, first near to home, and potentially further afield after getting some more experience matching what I can contribute to what is needed. I did already have the CEO of one startup in San Francisco, which I have been working with in my current role, express interest to have me come work for them. I'm not ready to make that leap yet, but will consider staying on their advisory board. I've also signed up as a mentor for a few local startup incubators, so testing the waters.

Was wondering if there was any advice on getting started working for myself after spending a career in a large corporation.

Would setting up a LLC make sense, or just start up as a sole proprietor?

Some startups may be tight on cash early on, does it make sense to just negotiate for some equity in the company as compensation for my contributions, or does some consultancy fee make some more sense, or maybe a mix?

My current company integrated and tailored many concepts across different engineering and manufacturing capabilities like TPM, HPWS, Lean Mfg., etc. but I do not currently have any externally recognized certifications. I was considering getting a Six Sigma Black Belt and perhaps some others. Do you think these certifications help open some doors, or is the resume sufficient?

I also have some question on the age to take SS which I have not seen a specific answer on the forums I looked through so far. I am the primary earner, my wife doesn't have any income to receive benefits on her own. She is 6 months older than me. I am thinking since her benefit will max out at 50% of mine when I reach full retirement age (67), I am thinking to start taking SS just after I reach full retirement age as hers will not grow further (even though mine would). Does this make sense? Is there a good calculator which I could use to model this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bingybear]

I would check any employment contracts/non-compete contracts you have that are still in force. From one company it covered anything the company worked on... not just what I did.

As for what to do with your setting up a company, what is your skill set? Sounds like process engineering.

 

[JackJester]

I realize you say that "I am 55 and about to "retire"" But, it sounds like from the rest of your post that you are just looking for more work after you leave your current company. Have you run your #s through FIREcalc? Maybe you can just fully FIRE and then be glad you did.

 

[bobandsherry]

I am hoping to leverage my skills and experiences to help mentor and coach some startup companies, first near to home, and potentially further afield after getting some more experience matching what I can contribute to what is needed. I did already have the CEO of one startup in San Francisco, which I have been working with in my current role, express interest to have me come work for them. I'm not ready to make that leap yet, but will consider staying on their advisory board. I've also signed up as a mentor for a few local startup incubators, so testing the waters.

Was wondering if there was any advice on getting started working for myself after spending a career in a large corporation.

Sounds like you've confused self employment with retirement. Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[JonB]

I would check any employment contracts/non-compete contracts you have that are still in force. From one company it covered anything the company worked on... not just what I did.

As for what to do with your setting up a company, what is your skill set? Sounds like process engineering.

Thanks for the suggestion. Went over the non-compete restrictions with my HR rep last week, so I think I should be ok for they types of opportunities I am considering.

As to my skill set, yes process engineering is a piece of it, I am a Chemical Engineer by training, but have developed a lot of experience in the end-to-end innovation process for CPG products from product design, scale-up, global expansion, equipment design/control strategies and operating strategies, project management, capital management, Modeling & Simulation-both physics based and empirical/machine learning models, and design systems.

 

[JonB]

Yes, I have run the numbers through FIRECalc and looks ok to retire from a financial POV. Starting off coaching and mentoring some of the local startups probably doesn't have much potential for pay, but rather thought it would be a chance to explore the needs vs my skills, and continue the learning journey as well. And may help give me some motivation...

 

[JonB]

Sounds like you've confused self employment with retirement. Good luck in your endeavors.

Thanks! It does seem the "modern" retirement has many more definitions than of old with people doing many activities which they find interesting, some the benefits of others through non-profits, some doing some part-time "work" which they enjoy and supplement their incomes with, some exploring new lines of interest, etc. Not sure exactly what the future holds for me, but do know I would like to continue getting out of bed in the morning and keep the learning journey moving forward...

 

[savory]

As has been discussed in the forum before, retirement means the choice. It sound like JonB that you are making the choice to do the things you like within the work environment you left. And, mostly on your own terms. I think that is great.

As for how to structure your consulting, I think that will depend on your path forward and perhaps your tax situation. This maybe a good forum for that type of question but reaching out to people with a more legal and tax background might be important. You may also want to be sure you are protecting your assets against legal actions, now that you will need to do that yourself in a business vs your former employer.

 

[JonB]

As has been discussed in the forum before, retirement means the choice. It sound like JonB that you are making the choice to do the things you like within the work environment you left. And, mostly on your own terms. I think that is great.

As for how to structure your consulting, I think that will depend on your path forward and perhaps your tax situation. This maybe a good forum for that type of question but reaching out to people with a more legal and tax background might be important. You may also want to be sure you are protecting your assets against legal actions, now that you will need to do that yourself in a business vs your former employer.

Thanks for the advice to check with legal and tax experts. I did touch base with my lawyer and he seemed happy to help me set up a LLC, but looks like it is pretty simple in Ohio, so I may do so on my own to protect my assets. From a tax POV, we'll see how the GOP tax bills net out. But currently from talking to a rep at Deloitte, it seems to be a wash, but there may be some advantages in the future due to how they are considering to treat the pass-through income. We'll see.

Now just need to come up with a good name for the LLC...

 

[Erbragg1]

My current company integrated and tailored many concepts across different engineering and manufacturing capabilities like TPM, HPWS, Lean Mfg., etc. but I do not currently have any externally recognized certifications. I was considering getting a Six Sigma Black Belt and perhaps some others. Do you think these certifications help open some doors, or is the resume sufficient?

/QUOTE]



Hi Jon,

I am a Six Sigma Blackbelt, so I have some knowledge in this area. I don't think getting a Six Sigma Black Belt certification will help you much unless you have several years of practical experience demonstrating your expertise in using those skills to back it up. I know quite a number of process and manufacturing Engineers that have received certifications in Six Sigma that never really used it much. If I was looking for a consultant to help with process improvement activities, I would be looking for someone who been at it for many years.

Best of luck to you!