Wife looking for part-time retirement job - recommendations?

[trirod]

After we ER'd last year, we moved to an area where we used to vacation. This is perfect in every way except for one thing. My wife had planned to do some paid consulting in retirement (as a scientist) but the problem is that there is not a lot of industry here, so not too many opportunities for that. She is doing some remote consulting for her former employer, but not as much as she would like. She is also a jeweler and is growing that business (from her home studio), but she would kind of like a part-time job where she can get out of the house occasionally (away from me...).

She worked for the Census over the summer and that was perfect. She got to drive around our local area (great way to learn a new place) and was paid over $30 per hour (including bonuses and Sunday premiums etc.) with total flexibility of when and how much to work. That has ended now so she is trying to find something with similar flexibility and interest. Any thoughts on possibilities? Alternatively, any hints on how she can develop her consulting business? Neither of us has been self-employed before we're so not very knowledgeable on how to make contacts and how she can make potential clients know what her skills are and how she can help them.

 

[MBAustin]

I found drumming up consulting business from scratch very difficult, and that was in an urban area. The jewelry business may do very well in a vacation area as people often shop for gifts or otherwise open their wallets while on vacation. There are likely to be local shops that will display and sell her items, and also annual festivals, etc., after COVID of course. She might also be able to grow that business by traveling to other vacation spots and seeking out more shops and festivals.

Has she considered teaching a college class online, or perhaps tutoring high school students in math or science?

 

[cathy63]

She could do tax prep at H&R Block or another storefront. It's not completely flexible, but it is seasonal. Alternatively, if she doesn't need to get paid, she could volunteer for the AARP Tax Aide program.

There are also lots of volunteer opportunities for STEM education and workshops for K-12, museum docents, citizen science projects ...

 

[OldShooter]

The question really is whether making money is important or she just wants to remain active. If it's the latter, then there are tons of opportunities.

I teach an Adult-Ed investing class. It's great fun and even pays a pittance ($20/hour for classroom time). If there is something in her field that might interest adult learners, it's probably pretty easy to propose the class to a local school district and get "hired."

I serve on a couple of nonprofit organizations' investment committees. Many nonprofits struggle to get qualified board members. If her skills or interests align with a local nonprofit, that may suit. DW has made a hobby of nonprofit boards since she retired 15 years ago. I've lost track of the total number but at any given time she's usually a member of three boards and chair of one of them.

I volunteer with American Red Cross. The breadth of the volunteer openings is amazing and many of the management slots on the org charts are also filled by volunteers. ARC is well-organized and the training is very good. https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html#step1

Re consulting business it's always the same: 'Who do you know?" Local and national meetings and conventions, poster session presentations, maybe pro bono work as a foot-in-the-door?

Adjunct at a local junior college? From what I have read these are pretty low-paid jobs but might be an enjoyable way to help build her network.

 

[Crewer]

I'm a retired scientist and I do volunteer tax prep for low income people. It appeals to my bent for numbers and I have a grad school friend who also does tax prep as a volunteer. In my case it's a program run through our county's United Way. Just like the AARP tax prep program, volunteers are pretty well-trained by the IRS. There is no charge for the training. A number of the younger volunteers are students or people who want to get into tax perp as a job.

 

[davebarnes]

1. For part time consulting work she wants to be 1099 and not W2. So, register a sole proprietorship with your state SoS.
2. Beef up her LinkedIn page. I am 72 and still have people "looking" at my page and wanting to be in my contact list. I am decidedly not seeking work.
3. Tell everyone you know that work is sought and desired.

 

[rk911]

i wanted to keep busy. didn't care about $ but didn't want to make a lot of decisions or supervise anything or anyone. i had been doing both for 26-years and enough was enough. before I retired I used to joke about being a WalMart greeter or cutting the fairway at the local golf course..."Which fairway am I cutting today, boss?. i was also a paid judge of election for 10-years and ended up in an unofficial, semi-supervisory posiiton.

i took a volunteer position at our local historical society museum as a docent and watching the front desk. i did that for several years until the local park district took it over and eliminated the volunteers. i was also a paid school crossing guard for about 10-years but gave that up 4-years ago. i am now totally and happily unemployed.

 

[Dash man]

Community colleges are always looking for adjunct instructors, or tutoring local students. Substitute teaching is another option.

 

[freedomatlast]

I have a consulting gig going on right now that I wasn't even seeking. I agree with the poster above about keeping your Linkedin page up to date. It was through Linkedin that I was contacted, and after refusing a few offers, one company made it worth my while big time, and I'm actually having fun and making some serious dollars.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Just enjoy being FIRED.

 

[harllee]

In my area I see that CVS is advertising for people to work on the Covid vaccine distribution. They need people who can give the shots but also nonmedical people. Would your wife be interested in something like this?

 

[jollystomper]

Has she tried any of the temporary employment agencies in that area?


Also, is there any kind of business association in that local area that she can join?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Not sure about your area, but our area is in absolute DESPERATE need of substitute teachers. While there is often a shortage, the COVID madness has made it just crazy.

 

[Blue531]

Doordash and Amazon delivery have flexible schedules available if they are in your area. They allow drivers to choose when they want to deliver in 4 hour blocks of time, last I looked into anyway. Domino's isn't a bad gig either if you live in a decent area.

 

[teej1985]

Doordash and Amazon delivery have flexible schedules available if they are in your area. They allow drivers to choose when they want to deliver in 4 hour blocks of time, last I looked into anyway. Domino's isn't a bad gig either if you live in a decent area.

Most drivers lose $$ after considering the wear and tear on the car.

 

[38Chevy454]

I think the question is does your wife want to stay in technical knowledge circle (for her science expertise), the money or the social outlet? Being that you are in a vacation area, I am sure she can find a lot of minimum paying jobs at local merchants. That would provide the social outlet and some money, albeit fairly low amount. Working on her jewelry business and attending shows as a seller would provide the social outlet at the shows, and depending on sales some potential money. If she is serious on the jewelry there are many tax benefits to having a home based business. I have had a small home based business related to my old car hobby for 12 years now. Get a nice tax benefit every year, all 100% legit. Volunteering is a great way to help your community, but with no income potential.



Overall, you and her need to evaluate what purpose the intended part-time work is going to be serving. Maybe she just needs to get more into retirement mode and enjoy not working?

 

[Markola]

1. For part time consulting work she wants to be 1099 and not W2. So, register a sole proprietorship with your state SoS.
2. Beef up her LinkedIn page. I am 72 and still have people "looking" at my page and wanting to be in my contact list. I am decidedly not seeking work.
3. Tell everyone you know that work is sought and desired.

I have been wondering about this question. I have a friend who set up an LLC to do consulting but you are confident that sole proprietorship is the way to go. I kind of like the ring of “limited liability” but can you provide a tip or two about why sole proprietorship is better?

 

[Jerry1]

I have been wondering about this question. I have a friend who set up an LLC to do consulting but you are confident that sole proprietorship is the way to go. I kind of like the ring of “limited liability” but can you provide a tip or two about why sole proprietorship is better?

There may be situations I’m not familiar with, but I’ve always understood that a LLC doesn’t really do anything for you if it’s just you (no employees). As an individual in business, it’s not like you’re not going to be liable for your actions in the case of negligence just because you set yourself up as an LLC. It’s also not likely the banks are going to loan you a bunch of money as an LLC and not require you to personally guarantee the loan. So as an individual in business with no employees, the structure of your business as a sole proprietor or LLC doesn’t really change your liability.

I’m too far removed from business tax law to remember if there was a tax benefit to the LLC but that may be a consideration.

 

[USGrant1962]

I have been wondering about this question. I have a friend who set up an LLC to do consulting but you are confident that sole proprietorship is the way to go. I kind of like the ring of “limited liability” but can you provide a tip or two about why sole proprietorship is better?

It is not so much that SP is better than LLC, rather a single-member LLC is not obviously better than SP and a little more work to set up. This is the case for charge-by-the-hour consulting. I don't do a retail or online business or anything with capital/inventory, so not sure if LLCs have an advantage there.

As Jerry1 said, the consensus is that a single-member LLC provides no real liability protection. So I carry both general and professional liability insurance, which are frequently required by clients.

As SP I still do Schedule C and deduct office supplies, computers, unreimbursed mileage, etc. And on Schedule A a SP can deduct QBI, self-employed health insurance, solo-401(k) and half of self employment tax. LLC is not required for any of that.

I've heard that some large companies require you to be incorporated (LLC or other) to sign a consulting contract but I haven't run into that yet.