01/ 25/ 2008
by Maggie Flynn
Retirement, for many Americans, no longer means not working. For reasons ranging from combating boredom to making a little extra financial padding, you might be considering going back to work. But for former small-business owners, this situation can be tricky. After being the boss for so long, could you handle working for someone else? Ask yourself the following questions before filling out that application.
What did you like about being the boss?
Think back on your days as a small-business owner. Make a list of all the things you liked about being in charge. Your answers will give you insight about how you might handle being someone's employee. If, for example, your answers run along the lines of making your own schedule, only answering to yourself, and leading the team, you might have a hard time giving these things up.
On the other hand, your answers may indicate work-related pleasures you could also enjoy if someone else were holding the reins. For example, if you liked having intelligent, interesting people work for you, you could still enjoy working alongside dynamic co-workers. The fact that they no longer work for you might even allow you to forge closer relationships with them.
What did you dislike about being in charge?
Again, make a list. Are any of the headaches you listed ones that will no longer be yours if someone else is the boss? (Worrying about having enough funds to pay employees, scrambling for health insurance, paying colossal taxes, firing people, and so on.) If this is the case, you'll enjoy simply concentrating on doing your job and letting someone else sweat the big stuff. Working itself could seem like a retirement from the stress that went along with running a business.
How did you handle employee feedback and criticism?
When employees gave you suggestions for improving your business or pointed out things that weren't going well, did you welcome the input or feel that they were overstepping the line? Your reaction in those situations can help you gauge how you might handle taking directives from someone else. If you were open to feedback, even as the person in charge, then you will probably be more comfortable in a situation where you'll be receiving a lot more of it. But if you were the type to dish it out and not take it in return, you may find yourself quite unhappy being expected to follow orders.
Did your business fulfill all of your professional goals?
If you left your business after having the career you'd always dreamed of, then going back to work for someone else might feel like a letdown. But chances are you can use work as a means of tapping into a deferred dream or goal, especially if you have a good nest egg and are viewing going back to work as a source of stimulation, not a substantial income. If this is the case, let's say that you always dreamed of working in the arts, but ended up in a more practical field. Now is your chance to work in the box office for your favorite local theater group or preside over a museum gift shop. Looking at a new job as a way to tap into some of your favorite interests will make the transition to working for someone else that much easier.
Once you start taking those resumes around town, you'll probably find yourself in demand. All of the skills and personality traits it took to run your own business—dedication, diplomacy, motivation, salesmanship—will make you a very attractive potential employee. But if you can't give up being the boss, this doesn't mean you should be resigned to passing all of your days at the golf course. You could always spend your retirement starting another small business, right?
