I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation

What is (or will be) your Encore Hustle style?

The Aristotelian side of my nature loves creating classifications and making organizational systems.   In the case of Encore Hustles I propose they can be broadly classified under the 4G's.

1) Grinder

2) Grower

3) Guru

4) Gigger

Grinder
A Grinder would be someone who works a regular "job", just like they did before leaping past 65.  A Grinder will make an hourly wage and will receive a W-2.  For many people a Grinder job would be ideal.  It could be full or part time and maybe include benefits, such as healthcare and 401k.  Grinder jobs could range from being a barista at Starbucks, a seasonal employee or even continuing with the same job they had before reaching 65.

Grower
A Grower is someone whose Encore Hustle is starting a business.  A Grower could transition from being an employee to a boss by essentially doing what they were doing pre-retirement but they get to use their skills and experience to put any profits into their own pocket.  A Grower could also buy a franchise, monetize a hobby or strike out on a new venture that has been longtime dream. Of course a Grower will experience the stress of starting and running a business.  It could involve creating business plans, raising start up capital, marketing, and dealing with accountancy and taxes.  Being a Grower would not necessarily be right for everyone but if you always had a hankering to be the Boss now is the time to seize the moment.

Guru
A Guru is someone who making teaching, editing, freelance writing, mentoring, consulting, coaching, training or tutoring their Encore Hustle.  You might be a retired teacher who has become an on-line tutor or substitute teacher.  A Guru could also be an engineer with a lifetime of accumulated knowledge who hires out to clients or teaches as an adjunct at a local college. A Guru could also be tour guide who gets to share the history of their area and get about to flaunt their knowledge of local trivia.  

Gigger
A Gigger takes advantage of the internet and the sharing economy to cobble together a string of Encore Hustles.  A Gigger could drive for Uber, pet sit, rent out a room with Airbnb, be an online juror, flip garage sale finds on eBay or serve wine at an event thru a Craigslist ad. Sure the work for a Gigger can be sporadic and pay will swing wildly but it will have flexible hours and if the work is not to your liking then just drop it and find another gig. You can think of Gigging as the ADHD of Encore Hustles.  But Gigging also gives you time to hone your skills and build your brand.

If you wanted to present the above classifications as Venn Diagrams it would be clear that many Encore Hustles within the 4G's would intersect.  For example, a tutor (Guru) could be a Gigger when they find students through Tutor.com or they could be Grower when they start their own tutoring business.  And there is nothing to stop a Grinder, maybe working a cash resister at Walmart, picking us a few extra bucks being a Gigger by being a petsitter, or setting up their own Esty shop to be a Grower.  This is one of the exciting aspects of Encore Hustles - the possibilities and permutations are only limited by your imagination. 

Let me know what your Encore Hustle is and we can feature it on a future postings.

Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to my first posting.  As you might have guessed this blog is dedicated to the 10,000 people that are retiring everyday.  Among those are the dreamers and schemers who have decided that retirement is only a pause before starting their encore hustle.

For myself I am, as they say at college, a Rising Senior.  As you can see from my profile I have 30 plus years as an engineer and I can see retirement on the horizon.  And although there are mornings when I wake up and wish I do not have to head to the office and I check my 401k more often than I should I really don't relish the idea of retirement.  I still still enjoy learning something new and being smarter when I leave the office than when I arrived.  However I am looking forward to the day when I can work on my own terms (hopefully a mix of work and travel) and this blog is one of the ways that I am preparing for that day.

There is something called the Baader-Meinfon phenomenon, alternately known as the recency illusion.  Sort of like when you buy a red car you notice how many other red cars are on the road.  In my case it is noticing people who are working well past what we like to call "retirement age".  For example I was recently flying with a regional carrier and I noticed that our flight attendant was well past 60.  I made a slight joke about how many years he has been on the job and I was surprised to learn that he was 64 and had only been on the job for a year.  It turns out he was previously a manager at a fast food restaurant and was recruited by the airline because of his exceptional customer service.  He told me that being a flight attendant was the best job he ever had and he would keep doing it as long as he could sling baggage into the overhead compartment.

I love meeting people who have these stories and this is what I want this blog to be about.  I want to share stories of people who are pursuing their encore hustle and provide resources to people who want to find and succeed at their hustle.  Hopefully this blog with grow and become the EH community with forums and resources.

Thanks for reading and I would love to hear about your EH.