LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER 15 December 2008

feel free to contact Bernard Kelly (right) admin@retirelaughing.com

MALAYSIA LURES RETIREES


Malaysia now appears to be the destination for choice for a growing number of retirees.

It offers the “Malaysia My Second Home” program to entice middle income retirees with a ten year renewable visa, and other benefits – such as the ability to own real estate, no tax on offshore income, and options to buy locally made cars tax free.

The appeal of south east Asia as a retirement destination is endless summers and low daily living costs.

Medical facilities, once a major worry in less developed countries, are highly regarded in Malaysia.

Malaysia offers secure land titles, a liquid market, a favourable tax regime, the ability to borrow against the property to enhance the investment return and stable government.



Applicants are expected to be financially capable of supporting themselves for ten years on this program, without the need to work and they must lodge a fixed deposit placement of RM150,000 (US$42,000).

ENCORE CAREER - TEACHING



Teaching appears to be the encore career of choice, judging from the boom in articles and studies about people taking up the challenge of public school classrooms.



“Clearly it’s not for the money,” writes Meg McConahey in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.





“For many, it is a calling that went unheeded early in life in favor of a more lucrative career. For others, it is a chance to reconnect with a subject they once fell in love with, whether it be art, literature or history.”



The story highlights Dave Donnelly, who co-founded a successful biotech company, sold it to a Japanese corporation, and returned to his first love — teaching.





“Students are amazing. They’re funny. They have incredible insight. I write down pages of things I’ve learned from students,” the economics teacher at Sonoma Valley High School told McConahey.



Education, and teaching in particular, topped the list of desired encore careers in the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey of 44-70 year olds, released earlier this year.





That finding was confirmed by a survey for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, N.J., which found that 42 percent of college-educated adults ages 24 to 60 would consider teaching as a career.



“There are many people of this generation who are extremely idealistic and who came out of the spirit of all that was going on when they were growing up and had a great desire to make a difference in many different ways,” said John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures, which publishes Encore.org.



“But a lot of people get diverted, and life intervenes and you end up being something you never thought you were going to be. And yet for some, there is a little flame that still burns with idealism and their dreams deferred.”



Sourced from encore.com 15 November 2008


PROFITABLE HOBBY – SELLING RAW PEANUTS

This hobby business would suit someone who’s already not working a full week.

If you’re ever worked in an office or factory, you will be familiar with Honesty Snacks – the mini stand of low value chocolates with an adjacent honesty box for your money.

And even more profitable hobby business (so I’m told) is to package up raw peanuts and sell them in factories.

You don’t need much equipment to get started, and raw peanuts are easy to source.

You’ll need to pack 60 grams into clear cellophane bags and arrange a fixed schedule to refill your display (and collect your money).

Pricing might be tricky – but try to sell at four times the cost of the ingredients. The rationale is one quarter for the raw materials, one quarter for wastage, one quarter for overheads, and one quarter for profit.

If customers baulk at your price, just say “unless I make a profit, I can’t provide the service”.



PROFITABLE HOBBY - SPIT ROAST CATERING

If you have had any experience in catering for a large family group, chances are that you hired a spit roast rotisserie to handle the cooking.

Now you could move on and upwards by commencing a (weekend) spit roast catering microenterprise yourself.

THE BASICS

You probably need to put a business plan down on a sheet of paper – nothing too elaborate – however it will help you to avoid mistakes.

THE PRODUCT

Let’s assume that you will start with offering “a popular value for money option suitable for all occasions” service and only on Saturday evenings.

To get you established in the marketplace, you will need to know who to target and then develop an appropriate brochure and website.

MARKETING

Basic spit roast catering is ideal for informal groups – such football and sporting clubs, community centres, and church groups.

Once you establish yourself in one of these markets, your business will expand automatically as you will know where to look for customers, and other groups will hear about you and come automatically to you.

Ideally you will need a brochure, a website, and a mobile phone.

A simple website is essential for this hobby business, as your target market will go online to search for supplies when the committee decides to have a spit roast event.

Try to obtain the mobile number 1300774877 which you promote as 1300SPITROAST. Don’t worry about the length of the name, because your phone will ring once they get to ten digits i.e. 1300SPITRO

SETUP COSTS

You’ll need to acquire a rotisserie (buy one second hand off eBay).



If you plan on a rotisserie suitable for a whole pig, lamb, or pieces of meat on the prongs or grills, you might be lucky and find one for sale for less than $1,000. Otherwise you may have to buy one from a manufacture for around $1,500.

As well you’ll need a trailer to transport it, and you’ll need to buy linen table cloths for the buffet, plus servingware, tableware and serviettes.

Plastic plates and utensils will be adequate for informal events.

And as you’ll need staff to cook, carve, serve and clean up, you will need to formalise a business structure. The cheapest form of business ownership is to register as a sole trader.

THE MENU

Start by offering only one menu - Crackled Roast Pork with Apple Sauce with say six vegetables.

Plus freshly baked breads & butter packs

Plus a choice of say three desserts.

PRICING

Spit roast business charge per person, for a minimum number.

An appropriate pricing could be $35 per person, with catering provided for a minimum 50 guests.

If anyone quibbles about the price, just say “if I don’t make a profit, I can’t provide the service” and move on to your next client.

REVENUES

With upgrades, your average revenues should come in around $2,000 of which $1000 should be profit (before you pay yourself a wage).

By your second year, you should have recovered your start-up costs, and be making true profits.

THE FUTURE

As this profitable hobby grows, you will eventually need to have access to a commercial food preparation area and kitchen, with the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.
Don’t build this commercial kitchen into your family home, as when the time comes to move on, you won’t be able to separate the home from the business, and consequently you won’t be able to sell either.

In time, this microenterprise will have developed a repeat client base, and will be able to be sold for a tidy sum.

If you need a website to assist you with your profitable hobby, go to www.valuewebsites.info


IDEAS FOR PROFITABLE HOBBIES

If you have even only the slightest notion of what your hobby is (or could be), go to PayPal Shops to see what others in your niche are selling.

The link is https://www.paypal.com/row/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_shop-ext#

As a simple example, if you have an interest in herbal remedies, go to PayPal Shops and look under “herbal remedies”.

There are hundreds of products there, each being made by a home based business and being sold for real dollars.

As you browse this online information resource, you will be able to create a list of what products you are attracted to. Then you will be able to create those which will be most appealing to customers and clients.



Coming soon: additional profitable hobbies at www.hobbiesforprofit.com