The biggest fear for many people these days is whether their nest egg will last throughout their retirement. One way to avoid outliving your money is to work longer—on your own terms. While you may not be able to retire at 65 (or don’t want to), if you’re doing work that you enjoy in your own business, setting your own schedule, and fulfilling goals that you’ve set yourself—it may not even feel like work.
Many Baby Boomers and retirees plan to start a business or are already self-employed, and many of their businesses are turning a profit. Pursuing professional dreams while working for themselves has enabled many older self-employed workers to secure their financial future. A recent survey by AARP found 10 percent of workers ages 45 to 74 plan to start a business and 15 percent of workers in this age range are already self-employed. Some started a business due to a job loss, others had already retired but weren’t ready to fully stop working.
On average, self-employed workers who are in their 40s or 50s spend nearly two decades working for themselves, the study found. “What we see is that most of the individuals that start businesses later in life represent professional services,” said Jean Setzfand, vice president for financial security at AARP. “Whether it be lawyers or accountants, data processing that tends to be more of what we see in terms of older self-employed workers.”
Mary Parker, a 59-year-old entrepreneur, spent more than three decades navigating two challenging industries before taking the helm of her own firm. After being downsized from her job as at auto manufacturing plant early in her career, Parker saw a job opening for a security officer. Some people may have seen that as a step down from the managerial role she previously held. Yet, she saw the long-term potential of taking this position and started to learn the security business from the ground up.
“In terms of career opportunities, you never really think about a security guard being anything other than a guard. What I learned was the security industry is a very lucrative industry,” she said. While rising through the ranks in that field, she felt she would be best fulfilled if she was running her own firm. “Although my career in corporate America was very successful, I just believe that any time you work for other people there are so many limitations,” she said.
Like many self-employed workers, including Boomers, Parker focused on providing a service. In 2001, Parker founded ALL(n)1 Security Services, based in Atlanta, Ga., which provides security personnel and technology. As CEO, she runs a multi-million dollar enterprise with more than 200 employees. See video of her story below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZCGBuYDdNA&w=560&h=315]
Parker isn’t alone in her accomplishments. Most of those surveyed by the AARP said their businesses were successful. “Once you have the life experience, you probably have a shorter pathway to being successful and that is something we’re seeing,” AARP’s Setzfand said. Nearly three-quarters of older self-employed workers surveyed by AARP indicated that their business made a profit in 2011. This may explain why 9 out of 10 self-employed older workers believe it is not likely that they will have to give up working for themselves in the next year.
Parker certainly intends to keep running her business. Thanks to a diversified portfolio of retirement funds and real estate investments, she said she could retire in a few years, but she’ll probably just keep working. “When I’m ready to retire in the next 3 to 5 years, financially I don’t have to worry about what that will look like,” Parker said. “I will not have to work, although I know I will continue to work.”
report by Sharon Epperson via nbr.com
Posts published in “Videos”
Jay Z and Justin Timberlake took a moment out of their recent show at New York City’s Yankee Stadium to honor the late teenager Travyon Martin. The duo was in New York City this weekend for the latest stops on their co-headlining Legends of the Summer Tour.
Jay Z and Timberlake closed their Friday show with a performance of Jay Z’s “Forever Young,” dedicating the song to the 17-year-old Martin who died last year.Take a look at the duo’s dedication below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQqLhBGaV3o&w=560&h=315]
While in New York this weekend, Jay Z also attended a rally for Martin with his wife, Beyonce, joining a crowd speaking out against the recent ruling that aqcuited Florida man George Zimmerman in the case of the shooting death of Martin. Beyonce also recently made her own tribute to Martin, holding a moment of silence for the young man at her Nashville show after the ruling was announced.
Other celebrities who have spoken out on the case include singer Bruce Springsteen, who dedicated his song “American Skin (41 Shots)” to Martin at a show in Ireland, and Stevie Wonder, who announced that he will no longer perform in the state of Florida until it changes its Stand Your Ground laws.
article via huffingtonpost.com
Jay Z and Timberlake closed their Friday show with a performance of Jay Z’s “Forever Young,” dedicating the song to the 17-year-old Martin who died last year.Take a look at the duo’s dedication below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQqLhBGaV3o&w=560&h=315]
While in New York this weekend, Jay Z also attended a rally for Martin with his wife, Beyonce, joining a crowd speaking out against the recent ruling that aqcuited Florida man George Zimmerman in the case of the shooting death of Martin. Beyonce also recently made her own tribute to Martin, holding a moment of silence for the young man at her Nashville show after the ruling was announced.
Other celebrities who have spoken out on the case include singer Bruce Springsteen, who dedicated his song “American Skin (41 Shots)” to Martin at a show in Ireland, and Stevie Wonder, who announced that he will no longer perform in the state of Florida until it changes its Stand Your Ground laws.
article via huffingtonpost.com
This week, radio host and philanthropist Tom Joyner (pictured) appeared on Piers Morgan Live to explain why he felt moved to offer friend and star witness in the George Zimmerman trial Rachel Jeantel (pictured below) a free college education at any Historically Black College or University (HBCU) of her choosing. According to Joyner, both the media’s and lawyer’s treatment of Jeantel inspired him to make a lasting impact on her her future. (Video of Jeantel accepting offer below.)
For Joyner, seeing the barrage of criticism Jeantel received while she was on the stand disturbed him,
“Well, it all started of course at the trial. And when she testified, the reaction to her testimony was very troubling to me. People were criticizing her and her education and communication skills. The way the lawyer was just beating her up on the stand just really moved me.”
Still, Joyner didn’t get the idea to offer her a college scholarship until she appeared on the “Piers Morgan Live” show Monday night, “And then last night when I saw her on your show, you did a follow-up question that [asked her] what do you want to do in life.
“That’s when the light bulb went off. I said I want to help her. We have a foundation that helps students in historically black colleges and universities. The Tom Joyner Foundation has been around since ’98 and since then, we’ve donated and raised more than $65 million to that end.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD2g02gf9jI&w=560&h=315]
To Joyner, seeing Jeantel being still in high school at the age of 19 and struggling with the tragic death of friend Trayvon made him come to one conclusion: “She deserves a chance. All this criticism about, you know, how the system has failed her or she’s failed the system. She’s 19 years old and she’s a senior in high school. Right, OK. So in the past year-and-a-half her life has been turned upside down. She’s been back and forth with depositions and appointments and everything, plus sad about her best friend being killed. So her senior year is all a wreck.”
When Piers Morgan asked Joyner whether he thinks Jeantel will manage in college, Joyner responded that he and his team are willing to do the work to get her ready, “It’s going to take some work, first of all, to get her high school diploma and get her ready for the SAT test … and then entered in to college. But we are going to do that…I told her she can go to any historically black college she wants to.”
article via newsone.com
For Joyner, seeing the barrage of criticism Jeantel received while she was on the stand disturbed him,
“Well, it all started of course at the trial. And when she testified, the reaction to her testimony was very troubling to me. People were criticizing her and her education and communication skills. The way the lawyer was just beating her up on the stand just really moved me.”Still, Joyner didn’t get the idea to offer her a college scholarship until she appeared on the “Piers Morgan Live” show Monday night, “And then last night when I saw her on your show, you did a follow-up question that [asked her] what do you want to do in life.
“That’s when the light bulb went off. I said I want to help her. We have a foundation that helps students in historically black colleges and universities. The Tom Joyner Foundation has been around since ’98 and since then, we’ve donated and raised more than $65 million to that end.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD2g02gf9jI&w=560&h=315]
To Joyner, seeing Jeantel being still in high school at the age of 19 and struggling with the tragic death of friend Trayvon made him come to one conclusion: “She deserves a chance. All this criticism about, you know, how the system has failed her or she’s failed the system. She’s 19 years old and she’s a senior in high school. Right, OK. So in the past year-and-a-half her life has been turned upside down. She’s been back and forth with depositions and appointments and everything, plus sad about her best friend being killed. So her senior year is all a wreck.”
When Piers Morgan asked Joyner whether he thinks Jeantel will manage in college, Joyner responded that he and his team are willing to do the work to get her ready, “It’s going to take some work, first of all, to get her high school diploma and get her ready for the SAT test … and then entered in to college. But we are going to do that…I told her she can go to any historically black college she wants to.”
article via newsone.com
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lccfPqwxn8g&w=560&h=315]
As we write, a peaceful protest march for Trayvon Martin is occurring in Los Angeles that started at LaCienega Park and is now on Wilshire Blvd. heading into Beverly Hills. Good Black News is on the scene covering the event, and grabbed a short interview with rally organizer Patrisse Cullors (see video above) before the march started.
Cullors and others started the Justice 4 Trayvon Martin in L.A. Collective out of the Leimert Park protests that occurred in the past few days, with the objective of offering clear local and national demands to end racial policies that affect black and brown communities. Their slogan is #BlackLivesMatter and below is their list of demands:
Justice 4 Trayvon Martin, Los Angeles Demands:
1. Federal Charges against Zimmerman. The Department of Justice must file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman.
2. Pardon Marissa Alexander. Ms. Alexander comes from the same state as Zimmerman, she did not hurt anyone, she was protecting herself against someone who abused her, she was traumatized, she stood her ground and the law wasn’t afforded to her.
3. No More New Jail and Prison Construction. Jails and prisons draw critical funds away from poor, working class communities of color. The business of prisons generates the need to criminalize Black & Brown bodies.
4. End Gang Injunctions & Database. The rationalization of gang injunctions follows the same rational of racial profile that allowed for Trayvon Martin to be hunted and murdered.
5. Community Control Over All Law Enforcement With an Elected Civilian Review Board. The families of people with stolen lives by law enforcement should have their cases re-opened, reinvestigated, and given reparations. These are our tax dollars, our community; we should have a say of what safety looks like.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZ7FeijoKQ&w=560&h=315]
As everyone knows by now, George Zimmerman was found not guilty. This shocking verdict was not the first, nor the last. But that still doesn’t take the sting out of it. Protestors have gathered and the majority have been peaceful. But what else can be done to continue to fight against injustice? How can we move forward?
Interactive One (parent company to HelloBeautiful) has decided to be a mouthpiece for this generation, and wants young men of color to know that while they may wear the same hoodie Trayvon Martin wore and walk to the store for a snack, just as he did, their lives don’t have to end in the same way. They want the young men who have looked at this tragedy in fear to know this–Your Life Matters.
Share your stories of inspiration to uplift this generation. We need it right now!
Join the fight by liking the YOUR LIFE MATTERS Facebook page today!
article by Danielle Young via hellobeautiful.com; edited by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
When N.Y.C. pastor Jordan Rice (pictured right) and marketing specialist Jessica Moreland (pictured left) married each other on June 22nd, they probably never guessed their union would spring forth from tragedy. But it was grave misfortune that brought them together. Moreland’s previous husband, Jarronn, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2009, a mere two-and-a-half months after their wedding. “His injuries were so serious that the blood had drained out of his body,” said Jessica. “There was too much strain on his heart.”
Eventually, she began dating, unsuccessfully, for the next three years. Jordan’s previous wife, Danielle, fell ill shortly after their wedding; doctors found she had primary cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare heart cancer. An X-ray found that she had fluid around her heart that appeared to be a virus. Danielle died in 2011, barely two years after their marriage and 10 months after the horrifying diagnosis. “She started really getting worse very quickly,” said Jordan. “Within four days, she couldn’t walk anymore. Her resting heart rate was around 140 beats a minute — lying down.”
“I was miserable,” Jordan said. “I felt out of place … a 27-year-old doesn’t die of cancer. It was very unfair and challenging on every front.” Eventually, Jordan began dating again, with no results. In 2012, one of Jordan’s friends sent him a link to Jessica’s blog, One Day At A Time, where she’d posted pictures from her previous wedding and shared its tragic ending. Jordan also happened to be a blogger, and Jessica describing her former spouse reminded him of their shared experience.
“I loved how candid she was,” he told ABC News. ”She described the raw emotion that I had felt on so many occasions. … I respected her for honoring his life. How much she adored him was something very powerful to me.”
Jordan decided to “friend” Jessica through Facebook, taking special care to not appear stalkerish. ”That’s not my MO,” he said. Jessica initially ignored his request, until she noticed they had mutual friends from Morgan State, Jordan’s alma matter. ”I smiled, but I never responded,” she said.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFon14QjmFw&w=560&h=315]
A few days later, however, she had lunch with a couple who knew Jordan and vouched for him as a good guy. She decided to look up his blog and offered him consolation, knowing what he was going through. “I was a little further along the path — I was three years out and he was only at a year and a half — and I told him you never get over it, but you learn to live with it,” said Jessica. The two began trading text messages and eventually developed a bond. Jordan decided to visit Jessica in Washington, D.C. Their departed spouses became an emotional talking point.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZZXBQrDh8Y&w=560&h=315]
This week, Universal Pictures released the official trailer to The Best Man Holiday, the upcoming sequel to the 1999 film, The Best Man. Writer/director Malcolm D. Lee is at the helm again, and he has reunited his all-star cast of Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, Harold Perrineau, Melissa De Sousa and Regina Hall for a story set fifteen years later during the Christmas holidays. The movie is scheduled for wide release on November 15.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5bI7TwZnM8&w=560&h=315]
In case you missed it, check out the amazing acrobatic team, Chicago Boyz, performing on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” last week. Their amazing talent and inspiring story made for great television — they made it to the next round in Las Vegas, and hopefully will go all the way to the finals to compete for the $1 million prize.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzZolMOUSko&w=560&h=315]
Newark mayor Cory Booker has released his first television campaign ad for the New Jersey Democratic race for U.S. Senate. This ad is his first foray into the primaries which conclude in August. This ad is titled “Run”, and features Booker listing some of the successes he’s had tacking problems as mayor.
“I’ve proven that by bringing people together, even with big problems we can make big progress,” says Booker in the video. “Washington ducks our problems, I wont.” Booker is competing against his fellow Democrats Frank Pallone and Rush Holt to win the seat of the late Frank Lautenberg who passed away earlier this month.
article by Adrienne Green via thegrio.com
Robert Calvin “Bobby” Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013, né Brooks), also known as Bobby “Blue” Bland, was an American singer of blues and soul. He was an original member of the Beale Streeters, and was sometimes referred to as the “Lion of the Blues”. His storied career came to an end this weekend, when he passed away at the age of 83 due to complications from an ongoing illness.
Bland was also known as the “Sinatra of the Blues” because of his super-suave persona and his flawless 1961 album Two Steps From the Blues, which should be required listening for anyone who appreciates soul. Along with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Junior Parker, Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. His music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
To learn more about his life and music, click here. To see him do his thing, click below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn1lZP5uPXw&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson