Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Is Lotto Really A Viable Retirement Solution?

According to a Canadian survey of baby boomers conducted for TD Waterhouse in 2010, 32% of those polled said they were counting on winning a lottery to fund their retirement. "While this statement may be tongue-in-cheek, according to the survey results, this group is less likely to have a financial plan and more likely to be anxious about retirement and feel behind in their savings," according to a TD Waterhouse statement. Whether the responses about winning lotto were serious or not, the data clearly indicated that a lack of retirement security is a source of distress for those who responded.

A separate poll released early in 2011 by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) indicated that you are more likely to be more successful in your financial planning if you have a goal in mind and a roadmap to get there. In a survey for Standard Life, 41% of those respondents were unsure if their rate of saving would provide enough for them at retirement.

Typically, financial advisors advocate "save more, save more, save more" as the answer to how to increase the amount available for retirement and other needs. But for many, saving more is simply not an option, because they are not earning enough to have additional funds to save and invest. Others may be able to save more, but are unwilling to do so because they do not want to live a diminished quality of life while saving for a time that they may not live to see.

Some baby boomers are waking up to the fact that there is another retirement solution - create new sources of income that will provide them with monthly cash flow and a residual payment in the future. They are no longer working for a paycheck; they are building a millionaire business for cash flow and financial security.

If you are interested in creating a new source of income with a millionaire business, start with what you know best, what I call your 3 "S" Factors: your skills, your strengths, and your successes. Create a product or service around these factors that other people want or need and have already demonstrated a willingness to buy. Then identify a small segment of that market to focus on, called a niche market.

You will have the best chance for success if you give your niche market what it wants to buy. Not sure what that is? Then ask the people who are in your niche market. Do a simple survey, either online or offline. Here are a couple of ways you can do it. First, if you are near a college, ask if your survey can be part of a market research class. Need faster results? Find out where the members of the market go and have to wait, and survey or interview them while they are waiting. For example, if you need to survey moms, ask them to fill out a short survey while waiting in line to pick up the kids from school. The key is always to think like your potential buyer, but you have to know how they think first.

Do you have a friend who knows you so well that she can practically finish your sentences for you? That's how well you want to know your niche market. You want to know exactly what the members of that niche market are thinking so you can offer them exactly what they want.

You will want to customize your product or service for your niche market, so consider how you can modify the elements of the marketing mix: the characteristics of your product or service, your promotional strategy, how you will deliver the product or service to the customer, and the price you will charge. (Here's a hint: never compete only on price. When you compete only on price, the market sees your product as a commodity, with no distinct market advantage, and you can easily get locked in a downward price spiral.)

Start today to build a millionaire business so that you don't have to rely on winning lotto to be able to have the retirement of your dreams.

Are you afraid that you won't have sufficient income for retirement, which seems to be approaching faster than a speeding bullet? Maybe you want to be able to assure your kids a college education at the school of their choice, or have debt that you want to eliminate as fast as possible because you haven't had a good night's sleep in months.

Join other entrepreneurial women and aspiring millionaire business builders who want to grow a Millionaire Business that will provide cash flow now and financial security for a lifetime. Jan Sandhouse Hurst has taught hundreds how to grow and improve their businesses. Get her free tips and training at Millionaire Business Blog.

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