The Second Start

Many of us always desire to be an entrepreneur, but hesitate to take the risk due to family responsibilities and other reasons. After retirement, with leisure time and money saved, starting a business is one of the best options. And what better way than franchising to fulfil your entrepreneurial dream!

Debshankar Mukhopadhyay, CEO, Zee Learn, shares: “We believe that contributions to self and to the society can be made at any age. With decades of experience about life, the silvers can impart knowledge that cannot just be found in books.” Similarly, Amol Arora, MD, Shemrock & Shemford Schools, shares: “With increasing lifespan and better health – today retirement is a phase in one’s life in which they can decide to open a second chapter in their life. Since most of their responsibilities are over by now, it is the perfect time to do something which excites them.”

TOP FRANCHISES FOR STARTING SECOND INNINGS

Although any franchise business can prove beneficial if it is good and viable. However, there are surely certain businesses which are favourable for retired entrepreneurs, who wish to add another feather to their cap.

Education Sector:

The educational franchise is apt for people over 60 for various reasons. Firstly they have experience, which is critical for running any successful franchise. For retired professionals, taking educational franchise also helps in spending their time with children, who bring real joy to the lives. Experience, expertise and engagement – all three are rich abundance in an education franchise. Arora of Shemrock says, “Education suits people over 60 as it is a satisfying and respectable sector. Education is recession proof. Moreover, with less working hours, lots of holidays and vacations, senior citizens don’t need to exert themselves.”

Food & Beverage Sector:

Lot of oldies can draw inspiration from the owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Colonel Harland Sanders, who started it late in life with his love for cooking. Retirees, who have a talent for cooking and innovating dishes, can think of taking a franchise of any good F&B brand. Sharing his views, Murali Parna, CEO, Sagar Ratna Restaurants, says, “We are open and encourage retirees to take the Sagar Ratna franchise as long as they have the capabilities and the willingness to work with us.”

Business Consulting:

Taking any business consultancy franchise can be apt for retirees with their rich experience and age. They can surely provide excellent guidance for different businesses. Moreover, it does not require running around and late nights, so health won’t be affected.

FRANCHISOR

Lot of franchisors, understanding that retirees can be great franchisees are motivating and opening their doors for 60-plus people. Mukhopadhya of Zee Learn, shares: “I believe that we as a business leader must encourage this transition for our seniors and help them in living an amazing life of dignity and self respect by providing them with the opportunity as well as the enablement. Some of our franchisees are senior citizens and I can say with experience that what they bring to the table in terms of contribution is immeasurable.” On the same lines Arora says: “We actively encourage retirees to join Shemrock as they do very well as franchisees. Their experience is handy in operations as they know people management.”

WORD OF CAUTION

With franchising, senior citizens can be safe guarded from many challenges. As Mukhopadhya points out, “At Zee Learn, we provide end-to-end support to our franchisees and partners from setting up the school/ preschool, recruitment, day-to-day operations as well as marketing and growth.” Regarding shortcomings, Arora brings up one challenge for oldies, “As franchisors we observe and overcome the shortcomings. However, one challenge is few retirees are lacking in technological skills. As the backbone of any good system is technology, we provide them with training on it.” Parna of Sagar Ratna says, “Any business is risky as it doesn’t have steady flow of income that retirees are used to, so they should be prepared for the ups and downs as well.”

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